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.