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Effects of Contrast and Character Size upon Legibility of Japanese Text Stimuli Presented on Visual Display Terminal

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Abstract

We examined effects of contrast and character size upon legibility of Japanese text stimuli presented on visual display terminal (VDT). In the experiment, three different character sizes were employed and the text stimulus was presented under a variety of conditions where contrast between the text and the background changed. Reading speed and the rate of readable characters were measured. Subjective rating for legibility was also evaluated. Results showed that legibility increases with luminance contrast for all character sizes examined here. A strong correlation was found between the subjective rating index and reading speed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Human Science and Biomedical Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Japan

    Hiroyasu Ujike

  2. Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd., 1048 Oaza Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka, 571-8686, Japan

    Wataru Iwai

  3. Nissan Research Center, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 1 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-8523, Japan

    Masami Funakawa

  4. Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwa-dai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan

    Katsunori Okajima

  5. Department of Information and Control Systems Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya University, 7-1-2 Yoto, Utsunomiya, 321-8585, Japan

    Miyoshi Ayama

Authors
  1. Miyoshi Ayama
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  2. Hiroyasu Ujike
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  3. Wataru Iwai
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  4. Masami Funakawa
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  5. Katsunori Okajima
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Ayama, M., Ujike, H., Iwai, W. et al. Effects of Contrast and Character Size upon Legibility of Japanese Text Stimuli Presented on Visual Display Terminal. OPT REV 14, 48–56 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10043-007-0048-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10043-007-0048-7

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