Reader preference for report typefaces
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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Training Synesthetic Letter-color Associations by Reading in Color
Published on: February 20, 2014
M B Cooper1, H N Daglish, J A Adams
1Post Office Research Centre, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK.
Abstract:
A postal survey of typeface preference is described. The survey was designed to help in the choice of typeface to be used for the internal technical Reports produced by the Post Office Research Department. Type setting for these Reports is carried out using an IBM Selectric Composer for which seven typefaces suitable for reports are available. One hundred and twenty-five people who regularly receive copies of these Reports and 57 Trainee Technicians (Apprentices) were asked to arrange these seven typefaces in order of preference and record this ranking on a response sheet. About 85% of both groups returned response sheets for statistical analysis. The results showed a significant preference for three of the typefaces: Press Roman, Theme and Univers. Of these, Press Roman is used for the text of Research Department Reports and Univers is used on diagrams and tables.
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