smallest font size for legal and disclaimer info
KrunkPony (136 points) | Mon, 2009-06-22 20:54Hi,
I have always heard that there is a legal standard that a font size cannot go below for disclaimer info.
I know it is either 6 or 7 pt. Does anyone know exactly what this is or who I can verify the information from exactly. Who sets this rule?
-T
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Good, fast, and cheap. Pick any Two.
The future is now.
Big Pony Blog
Design Portfolio
I think it depends on the paper and the printing technology. You can make it less than 6. Or 6pt with low contrast.
What I'm finding on the web is it's down to
1. The medium
2. Is the text legible in that medium
The disclaimer text is null and void if it cannot be read, which is the main point I get from this information, though I can't quote anything directly on this except for my cursory knowledge of the law.
Jeez, I even sound like a lawyer right now. :D
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The Salon Design Tech
i think part of the issue with that is who determines whether it's legible or can't be read? is it your eyes? my eyes? my 70 yr old dad's eyes? if it's my dad's 70yr old eyes, how to you test it?
even worse on the web, where the actual medium changes by user. in print, i know exactly what it's going to look like. on the web, different monitors, different resolutions, different contrasts... it's not something you can control.
You can control minimum font size, though, in nearly any medium. Legible is most likely judged by someone with 20/20 eyesight. Most laws aren't written with 70 year olds in mind. :D
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The Salon Design Tech
you can control minimum font size, but you can't control screen resolution or screen size on a monitor. 6 pt in a browser on your monitor may be a different actual size than 6 pt in a browser on my monitor. that was my point.
I'd imagine they'd set the standard based on physical documents instead of screen resolution for just that reason.
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The Salon Design Tech
Ive gone down to size 6 for body copy - so I'm sure you can go smaller for disclaimers.
Jack
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BRANDING | PRINT | WEB
www.jhousedesign.com
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Generally speaking, the disclaimer text is:
6pt if it's on a dark background
5pt if it's on a white or very light colored background
However, there is no standard rule - other than you have to be able to read it. Obviously this isn't something that gets enforced often. If it did, half the commercials on television wouldn't get approved. Have you ever seen a disclaimer in a TV spot? They're generally so small, and scroll so fast that you couldn't possibly read them even if you viewed the video frame-by-frame.
The important thing to remember is that a disclaimer exists to cover your ass. If your disclaimer is so large that you feel the need to shrink it down to an unreadable state, consider just having a disclaimer that states "see Web site for more information: h††p://www.somewebsitehere.com"
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All true info. I guess its a bit subjective. I always thought there might be an ultimate rule somewhere. guess not.
-t
---
Good, fast, and cheap. Pick any Two.
The future is now.
Big Pony Blog
Design Portfolio
from my experiences
For printed advertising terms and conditions/disclaimers/legal mumbojumbo the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) set the rules here in the UK. Good luck
I wouln't go below 7, otherwise some farsighted people might not be able to read it :P If you are in a really nasty mood you could also change the font color on it :P like a light grey on a white bacground, if your plan is to reduce visitbility even further...