Question about Font Size

[dugarner]

I remember a while back someone (I think it was Merr) giving us the "25% rule" with fonts. When I'm building a 12X12 page, I zoom in to 25% and if the font is readable, it will be okay when it's printed. This has worked like a charm and font sizes have never given me trouble.

I don't have a printer at home, and I want to use a new font in my December Daily book that I've never seen printed before. I'm creating at 12X12 and the font is 12 pt, but it looks awfully small at 25%. My gut would be to go with 13pt for 12X12, but my concern is that if I print at 8X8, it will be reduced even more. Does anyone have any advice how to judge the final size of the printed font?

Thanks!

[esther_a]

That is a great tip. I haven't heard that before! So, if my mathematics is correct, the 8x8 equivalent zoom would be 16%.
The rule of thumb I've been using is that as an 8x8 is 2/3 the size of a 12x12, the fonts are 2/3 the size too. So if a 10 point looks good on 12x12, it'll have to be increased to 15 point if you want to print the same page 8x8.
I generally use 10-12 point if printing 12x12, and 14-16 pt if planning to reduce and print 8x8. It depends on the font as to how big/clear it looks at a particular size.
ETA: There was a little chat about this back in 2008!

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by esther_a

That is a great tip. I haven't heard that before! So, if my mathematics is correct, the 8x8 equivalent zoom would be 16%.
The rule of thumb I've been using is that as an 8x8 is 2/3 the size of a 12x12, the fonts are 2/3 the size too. So if a 10 point looks good on 12x12, it'll have to be increased to 15 point if you want to print the same page 8x8.
I generally use 10-12 point if printing 12x12, and 14-16 pt if planning to reduce and print 8x8. It depends on the font as to how big/clear it looks at a particular size.
ETA: There was a little chat about this back in 2008!

Esther, you're just the bomb. !!! I had forgotten about that thread . . . and I can't believe I didn't think about creating a doc in Word at 8X8 and viewing at 100%. I'm not sure if the 100% works in PSE, if I have a LO at 100% am I seeing it at printed size?

I just used that font in Word on an 8X8 at 13pt and you know what, it looks really light. I think I'm going to scrap it and go with a font I know prints well. But this is terrific advice for the future. I will remember this from now on. Thanks!

[esther_a]

I'm not sure about the 100% thing! I was wondering, too. Can you choose "view print size" from the View menu in PSE? And, heck, if you're not sure if it IS 100%, you can just get out a ruler and measure how big the image is on the screen!

[sarahdg]

You could also zoom in until a real-life ruler held up to the screen matches the rulers on your page. (One inch really is one inch.) Then you'll see exactly how big it will be. I do that all the time!