every once in a awhile I get one with super tiny numbers, I toss 'em in the copy machine at 150% enlargement  LOL

Hi Lisa,

Maybe it's the part of our country that I am working in but this is very, very common these days.

How many are mailed that way vs being provided electronically?  You have to remember everything tax wise is being generated in terms of DIYers who download everything into the software or take a picture of it.

Actually, at least so far in my experience, the ones that have been downloaded and printed have been far better than the ones being sent in the mail from the companies. The print is larger and much more legible. One in particular - and not by any means the worse of the bunch - is one of the "Big 3."
"

Sorry - by that I mean the ones that have been mailed out by one of the "Big 3."

The big companies are using the big payroll service providers. I don't think the print is any smaller than it was 50 years ago.  The programmers back then were 25 years old with perfect vision, and the programmers today are 25 years old with perfect vision.  Meanwhile, our eyes have changed.  

It doesn't help that IRS requires much more information on a W-2 than it did back in the last century.  I have one client who works for a major discount broker.  They can't get all the codes in Box 12 (C, W, D, DD, etc.) so they actually give him 2 W-2s, with one just for the spillover.  

I am glad others have had this problem. I was beginning to think it was only me.

The numbers were getting harder and harder for me to read last year ......................... and then I had cataract surgery and the numbers don't seem to be a problem anymore.

The numbers were easy for me to read before I had cataract surgery.  Now I use reading glasses for close-up work, which is a minor nuisance now that I'm not also wearing a mask.  For the first time in my life, though, I can drive without glasses.  I could have spent a few thousand more for the upgraded lenses that may or may not work for close-up vision, but with no guarantees and a doubtful useful life, I went with the glasses option.  But now my favorite reading glasses are no longer available on Amazon, and one of the nose pads has fallen off.  I have the spare parts and tools to replace it, but unlike earlier occasions it is offering extreme resistance.  

Thank you - yes - I thought my pop bottles were getting weak. the print is too small.

Back in the days when fax was common, W-2's were not any easier to read with those low resolution scans that came out just as fuzzy on the receiving end.  After a while, you get pretty good at making out those subtle differences between 5 and 6, 6 and 8, etc.

With the advance of technology, it's much easier to improve the legibility of poor photos and scans.