Text – background polarity affects performance irrespective of ambient illumination and colour contrast

@article{Buchner2007TextB,
  title={Text – background polarity affects performance irrespective of ambient illumination and colour contrast},
  author={Axel Buchner and Nicholas W. Baumgartner},
  journal={Ergonomics},
  year={2007},
  volume={50},
  pages={1036 - 1063}
}
In a series of experiments, proofreading performance was consistently better with positive polarity (dark text on light background) than with negative polarity displays (light text on dark background). This positive polarity advantage was independent of ambient lighting (darkness vs. typical office illumination) and of chromaticity (black and white vs. blue and yellow). A final experiment showed that colour contrast (red text on green background) could not compensate for a lack of luminance… 
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Highly Influential Citations
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90 Citations

Effects of ambient illumination, contrast polarity, and letter size on text legibility under glance-like reading.
Positive Display Polarity Is Particularly Advantageous for Small Character Sizes
TLDR
The findings are in line with the assumption that the typically higher luminance of positive polarity displays leads to an improved perception of detail and are important for the design of text on such displays as those of computers, automotive control and entertainment systems, and smartphones.
Smaller pupil size and better proofreading performance with positive than with negative polarity displays
TLDR
Pupil sizes were smaller and proofreading performance was better with positive than with negative polarity displays, compatible with the hypothesis that the positive polarity advantage is an effect of display luminance.
Influence of contrast polarity on the accommodative response☆
Impact of Color and Polarity on Visual Resolution with Varying Contrast Ratios and Different Text Backgrounds
TLDR
As contrast decreases, color plays a more significant role than the non-color factor in the resolution of fine details in both polarities as it influences the visual resolution outcome which is reflected in the measurements in logMAR units.
Comparing colour discrimination and proofreading performance under compact fluorescent and halogen lamp lighting
Legislation in many countries has banned inefficient household lighting. Consequently, classic incandescent lamps have to be replaced by more efficient alternatives such as halogen and compact…
Effects of ambient illumination conditions and background color on visual performance with TFT-LCD screens
Effect of display polarity and luminance contrast on visual lobe shape characteristics
TLDR
The results indicated that positive polarity and contrast of medium to high (41:1) levels are possible display settings for better visual lobe characteristics and better anticipated search performance in industrial inspection tasks.
Greater effect of contrast polarities on visual acuity measurements using chart with shorter wavelength background
Our study aimed to explore the effect of positive and negative polarities on visual acuity measurements by utilizing black and white as a text against background with three distinct colours. Visual…
The advantage of positive text-background polarity is due to high display luminance
TLDR
Readability of text presented on computer screens is better when the overall display luminance level is high, as in positive polarity displays (dark letters on light background).
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References

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TLDR
No evidence suggested differential effects of luminance polarity or hue, with the only exception that cool background colors tended to be preferred for the light-on-dark polarity.
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TLDR
The findings suggest that color contrast and Luminance contrast are coded in similar ways in the visual system but that the neural signals used in letter recognition are carried by different pathways for color and luminance.
Effects of polarity and luminance contrast on visual performance and VDT display quality
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TLDR
Reading speeds tended to be slower for the negative image conditions, but reading comprehension scores were similar for all conditions, and visual fatigue was significantly greater when subjects read from negative microfiche projected on a metal screen or from the screen of a VDT with positive-appearing images.
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TLDR
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Abstract In future, as well as visual human-computer interfaces, acoustic interfaces will get more and more important. However, the visual channel will be the more important channel due to its…
Psychophysics of reading—V. The role of contrast in normal vision
Reading from CRT Displays Can Be as Fast as Reading from Paper
TLDR
It is shown that people read more slowly from CRT displays than from paper, and a series of six experiments shows why, and the explanation centers on the image quality of the characters.
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Abstract The following paper deals with the question of whether VDUs with positive polarity or negative polarity are preferable from the ergonomic point of view. It discusses to what extent…
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