Know a scale of readability font vs. screen size vs. # feet away?

[Guest]

Hi,
We're doing a PowerPoint presentation that will be displayed on a 50"
screen. My manager says that there's a scale that allows one to calculate
font size vs. screen size vs. distance from screen. Has anyone heard of this?

Thank you in advance!

 

[TAJ Simmons]

HTML version
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cach...rojection+screen+font+height+calculator&hl=en


PDF Version
http://www.conceptron.com/articles/pdf/legibility_of_projected_information.pdf.

Cheers
TAJ Simmons
microsoft powerpoint mvp

awesome - powerpoint backgrounds,
http://www.powerpointbackgrounds.com
free powerpoint templates, tutorials, hints and tips etc

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hi,
We're doing a PowerPoint presentation that will be displayed on a 50"
screen. My manager says that there's a scale that allows one to calculate
font size vs. screen size vs. distance from screen. Has anyone heard of this?

This explains a few rules of thumb:

How big should text be? What's the ideal font size?
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00125.htm

 

[Pete]

I'll end up dating myself but as a quick and dirty test we always used
to throw the transparency (yes! thermofax) on the floor and look at it
while standing up. If it was legible then it passed. Of course this
assumes that your presentation screen scales with the size of the room.

I still do this today with printouts.

 

[Guest]

Thanks to everyone for their replies, and so quickly

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I'll end up dating myself

And what's wrong with that? No arguments over who pays the tab at the
restaurant, no arguments about what restaurant to go to or what movie to see and
no worries about catching nasty diseases from you. ;-)

but as a quick and dirty test we always used
to throw the transparency (yes! thermofax) on the floor and look at it
while standing up. If it was legible then it passed. Of course this
assumes that your presentation screen scales with the size of the room.

I still do this today with printouts.

Can't beat the old tried 'n true. And it's possible to work out how far to stand
from a monitor of a given size once you know room size and screen height.

 

[John O]

I'll end up dating myself but as a quick and dirty test we always used

to throw the transparency (yes! thermofax) on the floor and look at it
while standing up. If it was legible then it passed. Of course this
assumes that your presentation screen scales with the size of the room.

I still do this today with printouts.

I go to show mode on the monitor, and stand in the back of my office, about
eight feet from the screen. Same idea.

-John O