Choosing a font for any purpose can be difficult. There are tons of font designs, and what’s worse is that when you choose one it might not look the same printed as it does when you typed it. Many of the fun sans serif fonts look appealing but can come across as overdone on print. These 5 best and worst fonts will be sure to lead you the right direction for any printing project.
The 5 Best Fonts
1. Century Gothic
This sans serif font is a neat, legible choice for print material. Fonts like this are best for headlines. These grab attention and can be read from far away, making the headline stand out.
2. Palatino
This is a serif font, which makes this font great for long pieces. This font looks best on anything that is going to be read that is longer than a headline. Serif fonts are easier to read, so they are extremely efficient for print material.
3. Rockwell
The Rockwell font is another serif font, so it is another great choice for print. An additional bonus about serif fonts is that studies show readers are more likely to retain what was read if it was printed in serif more than if it was printed in a sans serif font.
4. Tahoma
The Tahoma font is ideal for printing for displays or headlines. This font is a great for outlines and titles but can look too heavy if overused. The most important thing about using a font such as this is being choosy on where to place it, and combining it with other fonts.
5. Verdana
This font is great for print because of its flexibility. It looks great in all sizes, and it is easy to read. Finding a font that will look good and be legible in a small or large size is difficult, but Verdana is flexible enough to fill these needs in print.
5 Worst Fonts
1. Comic Sans
Although this is a popular choice, comic sans font has been deemed childish and overused. Beware of this, as it will evoke memories of the 1990s AOL chat to anyone who sees it. Though the general public seems to loathe this font, it somehow manages to make its way onto print.
2. Arial
Arial was designed to be the Microsoft version of Helvetica for home computers. Thankfully, this standard font has been replaced with Calibri. This font doesn’t look as professional as some of the other options available.
3. Old English Text
The main reason for this is the fact that it is so hard to read. In order to be legible this font must be printed in a very large size, and most of the time that large size looks tacky. Unless you are a party planner, this font has no use for your printing needs.
4. Curlz
Well, not just curlz but really any font with too much “curl” to it. This one is also hard to read, and most of these really curly fonts might seem fun when typing but end up not looking so neat on print. Curlz just has way too much going on and gets really overwhelming, especially on print.
5. Chiller
There is no good reason for this font to exist. Chiller, likely named for a look similar to icicles is far from ideal for printing use. If this is not being used to invite someone to an igloo themed party, stay away.
When choosing a font to fit your printing needs, it can get overwhelming looking through all the different options. While some fonts look appealing, really think through what message you want to get across and try to choose something simpler.
