Easiest to read page size

[Steve Litt]

Rich Shepard said on Wed, 25 Oct 2023 10:36:55 -0700 (PDT)

>My web searches for the optimal printed document page size finds only
>hits on fonts, not the page size itself. I'm curious whether an
>executive page size (8x10 inches) would be more readable than the
>letter page size (8.5x11 inches) because each text line is shorter. If
>shorter text lines read more quickly then perhaps 6x9 inches would be
>a good page size.
>
>Those with more knowledge on page size and readability are encouraged
>to share their knowledge with me.

Hi Rich,

I've done some research on this topic. Generally speaking, each line
should be a little less than 70 characters. If they get much longer,
the reader has a hard time going to the proper next line. If they get
much shorter, you get increases hyphenation and funky inter-word
spacing.

Beyond that, a lot of readability hinges on where the reader will be
reading. Paper? PDF on full sized monitor? PDF on mobile device? ePub?
Combination of preceding?

By the way Rich, if it ends up that you need a custom size, let's say 5
inches high and 3 inches wide to fit a mobile device, I can help you
with that, as I'm already doing it. My method works for the standard
book document class; you can translate it into KOMA, which I believe is
your document class of choice.

SteveT

Steve Litt 

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