Thoughts on color prints.

[Frederick_Law]

During covid, one of the news outlets loved to make maps that were all the same color, but different shades. Now there’s a state, in the middle of the country, and your trying to decide of that is shade #3 or shade #4, and the legend is too far away to be of any value.

This isn’t the worst example, but you get the idea.

image.png

Even if you aren’t colorblind, that seems like a bad idea.

It is a Heat Map.
Different colour won’t work.
Is this yellow darker then that blue?

Colour blind will have no problem. It still show dark and light area.

[Frederick_Law]

The packaging industry uses “color blocks”, aka “process control patches”, as part of the printing process.

I suppose if one wanted to use a color on a print, but was a bit hesitant about everything printing the same grey tone, or looking too faint, they could do something similar in or near the title block that included all used colors. Thus anyone with a known accessibility issue could understand at a glance what they might find difficulty with.

Color Block on Lindt Chocolate Package.jpg

Really?
Color blind can see the blocks and know what color it is?
Is the gray box on the left blue? The one on the right red?

[SPerman]

As a young child, I knew my Grandfather was colorblind. Growing up in the era where we switched from black and white TV’s to color TV’s, I assumed being color blind meant you only saw in black and white. Then I found out I was color blind and realized that wasn’t at all how it works, at least not for the vast majority. I can see color just fine, it’s some of the nuances that get lost for me. My grandfather had it much worse, but he still saw color.