Please use B&W text in documentation

[waclawek.jan]

In some newer STM32 documents, such as ES0418, text is rendered in various tints of blue. This results in decreased readability and problems when printing.

Can ST please constrain fancy color schemes to marketing material, and use conservative black-on-white in the technical documents.

Please do communicate this across management levels who may not be aware of real users' needs.

Thanks,

Jan Waclawek

PS. Other users, if agree, please add a "+1" reply

[AvaTar]

I wholeheartedly agree.

Consider business users (engineers), who use to print pages on department printers. Those are usually set to automatically convert color to B&W. Have you ever checked what then remains of the fancy formatting ?

[Imen.D]

Hello,

Thanks for your feedback and contribution.

The new template for technical documentation was chosen with the objective of using color to obtain a more modern look-and-feel. 

If it is only a printing issue, you can print in grayscale.  

Thanks for your understanding!

Kind Regards,

Imen

[waclawek.jan]

No, Imen, it's not about our understanding, it's ST's lack of understanding of basic principles we are talking about here.

The "more modern look and feel" is absolutely irrelevant when it comes to technical documentation.

And telling us to learn how to print means that you put obstacles to us and then require we invent ways how to circumvent them. Is this ST's idea of support?

As I've said, I believe that this may be difficult to understand for the managerial types, that's why I invite them to come here to discuss this publicly under their own name/nick and stop hiding behind the Moderators.

Jan

[jaromir sukuba]

+1

[AvaTar]

Proper documentation as I know it uses explicit symbols to mark specific contexts, which do not get lost in B&W printing like fancy color shades.

Take operation manuals for electronic device (like a TV) as example. It is used to work with, not to impress.

[Bob S]

That shade of blue that ST chose is difficult to read ON THE SCREEN, not just when printed. It lacks contrast with the white background. Low contrast == hard to read for anyone with less than perfect eyesight. Specifically, in ES0418, table 3 is quite difficult for me to read. The entire text in the table is blue. This is the most important table in the document (it is basically the table of contents). The blue for section numbers and table numbers, while less than idea, is at least tolerable.

As @Community member​ said, this is technical documentation not sales brochures. Making it absolutely clear and easily legible should be the highest priority. I don't need or want "slick and glossy".

[Tomas Hamouz]

+1

[OKozu]

+1

[Andreas Bolsch]

+1