Please make the print LARGER

If my adult children and my friends' children are any indication, the vast majority of readers of a newspaper are the over 40-year-olds, and likely, the most avid readers are well over 50 and many are retirees.

The "youngsters" either get the news from TV or Internet. Given that this assumption is true, why would The Daily Herald then print articles in extremely small font size?

I am referring to the Health and Fitness section of the paper dated June 9. This section's font is significantly smaller and resultantly more faded than the rest of the paper.

As we age, eye coordination (eye aiming and focusing) and figure ground (being able to discriminate information in a crowded field of view) decreases making reading of the written word more difficult. This is a slow albeit relentless process. (Have you been to the library and noticed how many large print books there are?)

To make an article's physical size smaller and crammed onto a page induces unnecessary strain for what should be an enjoyable and hopefully a learning experience.

Many newspapers cry about their decreasing circulation. Wonder why. A paper needs to know its readers. If this was an experiment to see if any one noticed, you got my attention. If the decision to cram more news/info in less space continues, then don't be surprised when the only option will be for many to quit subscribing to the paper and either read online where the font size can be easily manipulated, or listen to the news and hear about the decay of newspaper readership from a talking head.

Roger Blank, OD

Lake Zurich