Coloring Books for Low Vision: What Makes a Page Easy to See

Low vision rarely means no vision. Most people with macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma or simply aging eyes can still enjoy coloring if the page is designed to be seen. The trouble is that most adult coloring books are designed for the opposite: thin gray lines and hundreds of tiny sections. Here is what makes a page easy to see, and what else helps.

This is practical advice about choosing coloring books, not medical advice. A low vision specialist can recommend magnifiers and lighting for a particular person’s eyes.

Five things that make a coloring page easy to see

1. Contrast. Solid black lines on bright white paper are the single biggest factor. Avoid books printed with gray or brown lines, pre-shaded areas, tinted paper or colored backgrounds. They look soft and pretty in the listing and disappear on the table.

2. Line weight. The outlines should be thick enough to see at the distance the person holds the book. Thin lines vanish first as vision fades.

3. Shape size. Big, open shapes can be found and filled without tracking tiny edges. A page with a dozen large spaces is far easier than one with two hundred small ones.

4. Nothing in the background. Busy backgrounds of dots, swirls and patterns turn into visual noise. One clear subject on a plain page is easiest.

5. Large print text. If the page has words, such as a quote or a fact, they should be big and plain, not script. The American Printing House for the Blind recommends at least 18 point for large print text.

“Large print” means less than you’d think

There is no standard for a large print coloring book. The words on a cover are a marketing choice, not a measurement. Two books both called large print can be wildly different on the table.

That is why we state measurements where we can. Our puzzle books give the printed height of a letter in millimeters, and we publish a free Large Print Test with a printable ruler you can use on any book, ours or anyone else’s. For coloring books, the test is simpler: print or look at a real sample page at the distance the person will hold it.

Set up the table, not just the book

The book is half of it. These help at least as much:

• Light. Bright, even light from the side, so the coloring hand doesn’t shadow the page. A daylight-style lamp on an adjustable arm is a good investment.
• Angle. A slanted surface, such as a tabletop easel or a clipboard propped on a book, brings the page closer to the eyes without hunching.
• Size. If you buy a printable PDF, you can print a page at whatever size works, including enlarging a section onto a full sheet.
• Magnification. A lighted stand magnifier lets both hands stay free. Ask a low vision specialist which strength suits the person.

What to color with

Markers, almost always. They lay down strong, saturated color that stands out against white paper, so it is easy to see what has been colored and what hasn’t. Choose bold, distinct colors over pastels, which can be hard to tell from the paper. A chisel tip fills big shapes quickly. See our guide to the best markers for coloring books.

Books that suit low vision

From our own shelf, the boldest are Uplifting Words, Bold & Easy Sea Creatures and Modern Botanicals: thick outlines, one subject per page, nothing in the background. For puzzles rather than coloring, see our large print activity books. Several, including Big Print Autumn Word Search and Large Print Sudoku for Seniors, are built to the American Printing House for the Blind’s guidelines and state their letter heights in millimeters.

More on choosing for older colorists in coloring books for seniors, and the thinking behind the style in what is a bold and easy coloring book.

The fastest answer is a real page. Print a free sample page, sit in the usual chair and light, and see.