Choosing The Right Font for Print

Did you know that choosing a font can create a powerful first impression. Similar to a handshake, you want to make sure it’s strong, but not over powering. When designing business cards or other printed materials such as EDDM postcard, envelopes, brochures, it’s important to choose the appropriate type. !Fonts are broken down into two types; sans-serif and serif. We’ll describe the difference and looking into the importance of incorporating the best font for print.

Serif Fonts Serifs are small lines or features tailing from the edges of letters and symbols. These fonts are most commonly used for print because they are easier to read. The serifs make the letters more distinctive and allows our brains to recognize the letters quickly. Without the “serif”, the brain takes longer to identify the letter as the shape of the font is less distinctive. Example of serif fonts: !• Rockwell • Times New Roman

Sans-Serif Fonts These fonts do not display the small projecting feature that is known as “serifs” located at the end of strokes. Sans-serif fonts are best used for websites. When choosing a small font size, these fonts display clearer because the fonts simple form. Some great examples of sans-serif fonts include: !• Franklin Gothic • Helvetica • Tahoma

Limit your business card design to two fonts. That also applies for other printed pieces such as every door direct mail postcards. Choosing contrasting fonts not only makes the content more appealing, it makes it easier to understand the over all message your trying to convey. !By choosing a specific font, it can ultimately change the look and feel of your printed piece and the overall tone of the message you’re trying to pass along. !

Contrasting Fonts Examples of contrasting fonts may include Gill Sans and Times New Roman. The font Gill Sans is considered an “eye-catching” sans serif font and including Times New Roman as the content font will make it easy to read. Another font to consider to grab the attention of the client can be Helvetica. Baskerville is another font that is easy to read and would work well with the “eye-catching” fonts. !!

Fonts and Space When it comes to designing your premium business cards or other business pieces, be mindful of space. There are some fonts that are fat and wide such as Franklin Gothic and will take a lot of space when designing your business card or marketing piece. As you know, there are times where there isn’t a lot of space when designing and can become a designing challenge. But, there are fonts that are thin and narrow such as Didot. This front is a better choice when there is little space available to work with.

Great Fonts for Print Here are some additional fonts that work well for print: !•Futura •Optima •Lucida • Times •DIN !

Fonts to Stay Away From for Print Here are some additional fonts that we suggest you don’t use when designing your print materials: !•Trajan

• Comic Sans • Papyrus • Brush Script • Tekton Pro

The content (message and information) is generally the main focus and it’s very important to make it a lasting first impression. You’ve heard it before; first impression means everything. Make it a good one with a well designed business card or business marketing piece. !We can help! Not only can we print your business card and marketing pieces, we now offer custom design services to help you create the perfect business card, EDDM postcard, brochure, letterhead and more. Contact us today to get started on a custom design!