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points by echoangle 4 days ago | 0 comments

> There’s a reason we don’t write white text on black paper.

Because wood is bright and you can’t really print white ink on a black paper?

There might be a usability advantage but using black ink on white paper doesn’t really prove that, that’s just the easier option of the two possible choices.

[–] MBCook 4 days ago

It’s easier, sure. Especially at first. But we’ve had paper for a while now. Different colors of ink too. If light text on dark background was superior, we would be using it. And could have for hundreds of years for anything considered important.

[–] ssl-3 4 days ago

The playing field isn't level.

I can't buy a white pencil or ballpoint pen that works as reliably as something from Ticonderoga or Bic. White Sharpie markers do not exist. White inkjet cartridges do exist, but they're specialized items that have a high ratio of solids and this produces far worse clogging issues than the CMYK we're used to using.

[–] echoangle 4 days ago

I disagree, white on black could hypothetically be 5% better for the eyes and it wouldn’t be worth it to switch. If black on white were horrible for the eyes and the inverse was 10 times better, sure.