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RE: State of Virginia Red Oval questions



One more thing on red ovals and color blind persons -
 
The Minnesota customers have been considering having red ovals printed on their ballots and have been reviewing samples of ballots printed in this manner.  Diane Teff of Anoka Co., MN (whom many of you know) has three (yes three) sons who are color blind.  They had great difficulty with the ballots that had regular weight red ovals.  The ballots printed with thick red ovals were okay for them.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-support@gesn.com [mailto:owner-support@gesn.com]On Behalf Of Nel Finberg
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 5:52 PM
To: support@gesn.com
Subject: Re: State of Virginia Red Oval questions

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: State of Virginia Red Oval questions

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Dix
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 4:30 PM
Subject: State of Virginia Red Oval questions

I received a call from State of Virginia with the following questions regarding red ovals and I need assistance in responding. 

 

1.) Can we use red ovals?   Yes the color of red ink must be Pantone 032

 

2. ) Are there issues with the blind population in regards to seeing the red ovals?  According to the National Institute for the Blind, 90% of the blind have limited vision.  Those that are colour blind see colour in shades of grey.  Red is seen as almost black.  The ideal is a 14 point font on white paper with good lighting.  I would think that using one of those technician's lamps with the circular fluorescent lamp and magnification would be ideal.  I believe they are used for repairing circuit boards.

 

3.) What is the acceptable width of the line that makes up the red oval?

Red ovals may feature any width, as 032 red is invisible to the card read sensors.  This is the advantage of using red.

 4.) Can I print all ovals in black and then make a second pass at the ballot covering the black ovals with red ink?  I have run an election with this combination.   About 4,000 voters.  No problems.

 

5.) Does anyone have the printer specs for red ovals?

The oval weight, placement and size are encoded into the Postscript code.  The oval weight may be manually extended by the print company, as red does not require a weight restriction, and GEMS will only print the oval weight at our fixed maximum level, which is .002 inches.
 
Two options are available in GEMS for printing ballot artwork with red ovals.  The first one involves printing ballot artwork with separations, where text and control marks are printed in one separation and ovals are printed in another separation.  The print company then prints the text and control marks with black ink, whereas the ovals are printed using 032 red.  Alternatively, the print company may electronically identify that ovals must be printed using red, while printing the remainder of the ballot image using black.

They would like a response by September 1, 2001 so that they can discuss at a state wide meeting.

 

I would suggest you call the local blind association and discuss what is ideal.

 

Greg

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

Larry J. Dix

Vice President of Operations

Global Election Systems