Most readable fonts for those with less than perfect vision?

speakingtohe · 05-12-2010, 03:20 PM

Hi not exactly a Calibre question, but someone might know.

I am over sixty and have a hard time sometimes reading Sony 600 in low light. I crank up the size and this helps but with spacing between paragraphs or even without in large I get about 4-5 ugly lines per page.

This is ok but could be better.I will make a test paragraph of two and format in several fonts/sizes and see what I see best.

I am asking for suggestions as to where to start as there are a lot of fonts out there. Or if anyone knows of a font testing file/program for Sony 600

I can read pbooks fine in low light but the eink and small bit of glare makes it harder.

Thanks for any advice
Helen

jackie_w · 05-12-2010, 08:53 PM

Hi, Helen

I like Charis SIL or Georgia on my PRS-505. I also believe DejaVu is quite popular.

speakingtohe · 05-13-2010, 02:50 AM

Thanks will try and locate

jackie_w · 05-13-2010, 09:47 AM

If you have a Windows PC you should find the 4 files of the Georgia family in c:\windows\fonts

Google should locate the other two easily enough.

troymc · 05-13-2010, 03:48 PM

You might be interested in this epub I created.

It shows 14 different common fonts (plus your default & generics).

They're not in any specific order - just kinda paired sans/serif.

Arial
Times New Roman
Verdana
Georgia
DejaVu Sans
DejaVu Serif
Liberation Sans
Liberation Serif
Free Sans
Free Serif
Fontin Sans
Fontin
SIL Andika
SIL GentiumAlt
SIL Ezra

The text is Lorem Impsum + a polytonic greek excerpt + hebrew excerpt. (so don't be surprised if you see lots of missing characters - that's intentional.)

But with the lorem ipsum you should be able to get an idea of what each font looks like on your reader. (Assuming it supports epubs & embedded fonts.)

Troy

edbro · 05-13-2010, 03:54 PM

I tried quite a few fonts before settling on Droid. It was developed by Google for the Android mobile. In my opinion, it is the best on my Sony PRS-505.

http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Droid-Sans

pollito pito · 05-13-2010, 04:43 PM

Totally agree with edbro ; favor the san serif Fonts:
Google Droid-Sans or on Microsoft Windows, Calibri.

troymc · 05-13-2010, 05:30 PM

I like Sans-serif fonts for interfaces, menus & such - it seems to be easier to read at a glance. But I still prefer a serif font for reading. I think that's probably another holy-war - sans vs. serif. Maybe it simply depends on what you grew up reading and are most familiar with.

I really like the droid fonts. But somehow while implementing 43,000 glyphs they managed to completely skip the couple hundred polytonic greek & hebrew characters. And since I use polytonic greek constantly, including in some book titles, that makes them a non-starter for me.

I've replaced my 505's default fonts with FreeSans, FreeSerif & FreeMono. They're definitely not the prettiest, but I now have good unicode coverage for titles & authors.

I prefer SIL's GentiumAlt for reading - and particularly for anything requiring polytonic greek.

Troy

05-12-2010, 03:20 PM	#1
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	Most readable fonts for those with less than perfect vision? Hi not exactly a Calibre question, but someone might know. I am over sixty and have a hard time sometimes reading Sony 600 in low light. I crank up the size and this helps but with spacing between paragraphs or even without in large I get about 4-5 ugly lines per page. This is ok but could be better.I will make a test paragraph of two and format in several fonts/sizes and see what I see best. I am asking for suggestions as to where to start as there are a lot of fonts out there. Or if anyone knows of a font testing file/program for Sony 600 I can read pbooks fine in low light but the eink and small bit of glare makes it harder. Thanks for any advice Helen

05-13-2010, 03:54 PM	#6
edbro Banned Posts: 640 Karma: 4911 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Grapevine, TX Device: iPad4	I tried quite a few fonts before settling on Droid. It was developed by Google for the Android mobile. In my opinion, it is the best on my Sony PRS-505. http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Droid-Sans Last edited by edbro; 05-13-2010 at 03:56 PM.

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05-12-2010, 08:53 PM	#2
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	Hi, Helen I like Charis SIL or Georgia on my PRS-505. I also believe DejaVu is quite popular.

05-13-2010, 02:50 AM	#3
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	Thanks will try and locate

05-13-2010, 09:47 AM	#4
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	If you have a Windows PC you should find the 4 files of the Georgia family in c:\windows\fonts Google should locate the other two easily enough.

05-13-2010, 04:43 PM	#7
pollito pito i warned you ... Posts: 54 Karma: 222 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: none	Totally agree with *edbro* ; favor the san serif Fonts: Google Droid-Sans or on Microsoft Windows, Calibri.

05-13-2010, 05:30 PM	#8
troymc Groupie Posts: 161 Karma: 608 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Plano, TX Device: Sony PRS-505 + B&N Nook + Motion LE1700 + Motorola Xoom Wifi	I like Sans-serif fonts for interfaces, menus & such - it seems to be easier to read at a glance. But I still prefer a serif font for reading. I think that's probably another holy-war - sans vs. serif. Maybe it simply depends on what you grew up reading and are most familiar with. I really like the droid fonts. But somehow while implementing 43,000 glyphs they managed to completely skip the couple hundred polytonic greek & hebrew characters. And since I use polytonic greek constantly, including in some book titles, that makes them a non-starter for me. I've replaced my 505's default fonts with FreeSans, FreeSerif & FreeMono. They're definitely not the prettiest, but I now have good unicode coverage for titles & authors. I prefer SIL's GentiumAlt for reading - and particularly for anything requiring polytonic greek. Troy