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  3. Tiny, tiny print on packaging. Can someone who does this explain?

Tiny, tiny print on packaging. Can someone who does this explain?

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  • C Offline
    C Offline
    Chris Maunder
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
    2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
    3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
    4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
    5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

    cheers Chris Maunder

    R OriginalGriffO G Sander RosselS R 27 Replies Last reply
    0
    • C Chris Maunder

      Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
      2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
      3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
      4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
      5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

      cheers Chris Maunder

      R Offline
      R Offline
      RossMW
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      They're all young developers with good eye sight. As you get older the fonts needed goes from small to nana-vision...

      A Fine is a Tax for doing something wrong A Tax is a Fine for doing something good.

      H 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • C Chris Maunder

        Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
        2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
        3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
        4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
        5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

        cheers Chris Maunder

        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriff
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        6. The developer who wrote the label printing software got the code from SO and doesn't know how to modify it. :sigh:

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
        "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

        P A 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

          6. The developer who wrote the label printing software got the code from SO and doesn't know how to modify it. :sigh:

          "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

          P Offline
          P Offline
          Peter_in_2780
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          OriginalGriff wrote:

          6. The developer who wrote the label printing software got the code from SOChatGPT and doesn't know how to modify it.

          ftfy

          Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • C Chris Maunder

            Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
            2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
            3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
            4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
            5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

            cheers Chris Maunder

            G Offline
            G Offline
            GKP1992
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Maybe to save some printing cost. Most business decisions are driven by the cost so I don't know why this would be any different.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • C Chris Maunder

              Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
              2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
              3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
              4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
              5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

              cheers Chris Maunder

              Sander RosselS Offline
              Sander RosselS Offline
              Sander Rossel
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              As a matter of fact, I've made labels for packagings in the meat industry. Your #2 is pretty close to the mark. Mostly, the software that creates labels isn't exactly high-tech, so scaling is not something it does. The size of labels is restrained by the printers a company has, those printers aren't easily replaced because you'd have to change all labels too, which can easily grow into the hundreds (different labels for different products, countries, customers, etc.). Labels are usually too small for all the data that producers are now legally obliged to print. There's a big chance your label is unreadably small because the Arab translation of the text is a bit longer and the label has to accommodate both. And sometimes it's just that font size 8 is too big, but font size 7 is too small (or there is no 7 and you have to fall back to 6), and if those are your option you go for the size that fits and call it a day! BarTender is popular label printing and design software and this is what it looks like: BarTender[^]

              Chris Maunder wrote:

              No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking

              There's usually not really any design phase. Some IT guy just makes a label and drags and resizes until it fits. The people who print the labels and put them on the packaging are not paid nearly enough to care!

              Chris Maunder wrote:

              To save time and money they did zero usability testing

              I've never heard of a label being usability tested :laugh: They print the label once to check if all necessary data is on it (read, they can't be sued) and continue with more important business. Companies don't make those labels for you, they make them so you can see their logo and they don't get fined by their government.

              Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LI

              pkfoxP C H 3 Replies Last reply
              0
              • Sander RosselS Sander Rossel

                As a matter of fact, I've made labels for packagings in the meat industry. Your #2 is pretty close to the mark. Mostly, the software that creates labels isn't exactly high-tech, so scaling is not something it does. The size of labels is restrained by the printers a company has, those printers aren't easily replaced because you'd have to change all labels too, which can easily grow into the hundreds (different labels for different products, countries, customers, etc.). Labels are usually too small for all the data that producers are now legally obliged to print. There's a big chance your label is unreadably small because the Arab translation of the text is a bit longer and the label has to accommodate both. And sometimes it's just that font size 8 is too big, but font size 7 is too small (or there is no 7 and you have to fall back to 6), and if those are your option you go for the size that fits and call it a day! BarTender is popular label printing and design software and this is what it looks like: BarTender[^]

                Chris Maunder wrote:

                No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking

                There's usually not really any design phase. Some IT guy just makes a label and drags and resizes until it fits. The people who print the labels and put them on the packaging are not paid nearly enough to care!

                Chris Maunder wrote:

                To save time and money they did zero usability testing

                I've never heard of a label being usability tested :laugh: They print the label once to check if all necessary data is on it (read, they can't be sued) and continue with more important business. Companies don't make those labels for you, they make them so you can see their logo and they don't get fined by their government.

                Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LI

                pkfoxP Offline
                pkfoxP Offline
                pkfox
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Good old fashioned arse covering :)

                In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • C Chris Maunder

                  Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                  2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                  3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                  4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                  5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                  cheers Chris Maunder

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  RainHat
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Possibly convenience. If you have a large font that fills the available area then you need to align the print very well and you will get occasional mismatches - these will be a reject - product and all - and cost money. It is easier to use a small font and aim for the centre, then a little misalignment does not create a reject.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                    6. The developer who wrote the label printing software got the code from SO and doesn't know how to modify it. :sigh:

                    "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                    A Offline
                    A Offline
                    Andre Oosthuizen
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    Credit to that user, he did asked how to on this site but no code given and thus no answer. ChatGPT gave him a false answer by stating it is the correct font to use, carry on... :laugh:

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • C Chris Maunder

                      Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                      2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                      3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                      4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                      5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                      cheers Chris Maunder

                      A Offline
                      A Offline
                      Andre Oosthuizen
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Quote:

                      They don't actually want you to read the labels

                      Hiding all the "stuffed ingredients" in small print like 2g chlorine, 0.1g sianide... In bolder readable letters - "The safest product ever!, consume it now"! :-D

                      C 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • C Chris Maunder

                        Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                        2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                        3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                        4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                        5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                        cheers Chris Maunder

                        D Offline
                        D Offline
                        Daniel Pfeffer
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        It's No. 5. Definitely. :) Seriously, I think that Sander's explanation is probably close to the mark. Certain countries mandate a minimal point size for ingredients, the "small print" on contracts, etc. In some of them, a contract that is printed in too-small font can even be invalidated on that basis!

                        Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

                        H 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • C Chris Maunder

                          Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                          2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                          3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                          4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                          5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                          cheers Chris Maunder

                          T Offline
                          T Offline
                          tronderen
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          I have made a habit of scanning all Instructions for Use, User Guide or whatever, at 600 dpi suitable for scaling, as soon as the product enters my house. I haven't started doing it for food labels yet, but the day I see a need for it, I've got the routine. It won't work that well if the label is wrapped half way around a cylindrical bottle or can, but if it goes half way around, the print can't be that small. Maybe my SLR would work better for bottles/cans; the flatbed scanner wants the image to lay flat on the glass. Transferring photos from the camera to the PC is also a well drilled routine. I've got a macro lens for my camera, so focusing on 2pt print is not a problem (I guess it would be with most smartphone cameras).

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • C Chris Maunder

                            Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                            2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                            3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                            4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                            5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                            cheers Chris Maunder

                            J Offline
                            J Offline
                            Jeremy Falcon
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            It's point number one. They don't want you to know what's in the product. It's not just for bread and soy sauce. There's also a lot of tricks they play. Like for instance, the FDA allows the package to say "zero trans fat" if there's less than 0.5 grams per serving. With a small serving size that can still add up despite the package saying zero when it's clearly not. It's not by accident. How it's made and if it could kill you or not isn't "cool". What's cool is logos and if it was shown on TV with chicks or something.

                            Jeremy Falcon

                            T 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Sander RosselS Sander Rossel

                              As a matter of fact, I've made labels for packagings in the meat industry. Your #2 is pretty close to the mark. Mostly, the software that creates labels isn't exactly high-tech, so scaling is not something it does. The size of labels is restrained by the printers a company has, those printers aren't easily replaced because you'd have to change all labels too, which can easily grow into the hundreds (different labels for different products, countries, customers, etc.). Labels are usually too small for all the data that producers are now legally obliged to print. There's a big chance your label is unreadably small because the Arab translation of the text is a bit longer and the label has to accommodate both. And sometimes it's just that font size 8 is too big, but font size 7 is too small (or there is no 7 and you have to fall back to 6), and if those are your option you go for the size that fits and call it a day! BarTender is popular label printing and design software and this is what it looks like: BarTender[^]

                              Chris Maunder wrote:

                              No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking

                              There's usually not really any design phase. Some IT guy just makes a label and drags and resizes until it fits. The people who print the labels and put them on the packaging are not paid nearly enough to care!

                              Chris Maunder wrote:

                              To save time and money they did zero usability testing

                              I've never heard of a label being usability tested :laugh: They print the label once to check if all necessary data is on it (read, they can't be sued) and continue with more important business. Companies don't make those labels for you, they make them so you can see their logo and they don't get fined by their government.

                              Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LI

                              C Offline
                              C Offline
                              Chris Maunder
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              I'm deeply depressed and so totally not surprised. Thank you so much for the great answer and insight. It's very cool to be able to throw out a question like that and get an insider's view.

                              cheers Chris Maunder

                              L 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • A Andre Oosthuizen

                                Quote:

                                They don't actually want you to read the labels

                                Hiding all the "stuffed ingredients" in small print like 2g chlorine, 0.1g sianide... In bolder readable letters - "The safest product ever!, consume it now"! :-D

                                C Offline
                                C Offline
                                Chris Maunder
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                Obligatory [XKCD](https://xkcd.com/641)

                                cheers Chris Maunder

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • C Chris Maunder

                                  Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                                  2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                                  3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                                  4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                                  5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                                  cheers Chris Maunder

                                  F Offline
                                  F Offline
                                  fgs1963
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  On a related subject - I also hate it when they print black letters on a dark colored (blue / red / green) background. The font size might actually be big enough to read if they had just printed in white or chose a lighter background. Contrast people! Contrast!!

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • C Chris Maunder

                                    Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                                    2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                                    3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                                    4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                                    5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                                    cheers Chris Maunder

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                                    Nelek
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    You forgot occam's razor The new dev just copy pasted some bits of code from somewhere, because he / she has no idea how actually do it properly.

                                    M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

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                                    • C Chris Maunder

                                      Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                                      2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                                      3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                                      4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                                      5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                                      cheers Chris Maunder

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                                      Lost User
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      I'm not kind: brain dead designers. Lack of empathy.

                                      "Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I

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                                      • C Chris Maunder

                                        Is there anyone here who works on systems that print food labels. The specific ones I'm thinking about are small sachets of soy sauce, or the labels printed for in-store, freshly baked bread. The labels that are 90% whitespace with 2pt high text that you almost need a microscope to read. The trend of unreadably-tiny-font-on-an-area-that-could-accomodate-a-billboard seems to have been increasing in the past few years and I would love an actual reason for it. My guesses 1. They don't actually want you to read the labels. They package the raisin bread with the whole grain bread in the same exact package, label, tie, everything, with the only difference being the teeny tiny words that allow you distinguish, in the mood lighting of the bread department, what it actually is. It makes shifting unwanted inventory easier
                                        2. They have software that can't scale a font to make it fit the space, and also have to cater to labels that are potentially 1024 characters long, so they take space / # chars = microscopic font. Problem solved!
                                        3. Someone in accounting worked out that based on font size, total chars printed, total number of labels, and the cost of ink, they would save $5.47 each year if they printed in 2pt font size.
                                        4. No one involved from label design to product creation to printing to stocking has ever actually tried purchasing a product printed like this in an actual store. To save time and money they did zero usability testing
                                        5. They are simply evil. Can anyone shed some light here?

                                        cheers Chris Maunder

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                                        PIEBALDconsult
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Doesn't it have to be in French and English as well?

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                                        • C Chris Maunder

                                          I'm deeply depressed and so totally not surprised. Thank you so much for the great answer and insight. It's very cool to be able to throw out a question like that and get an insider's view.

                                          cheers Chris Maunder

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                                          Lost User
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Do what the "weed" people do: a "2-ply" label that peels apart with the pre-printed instructions, etc. inside. Two sides versus part of one face.

                                          "Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I

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