Again, there is no good reason. The source of this problem probably rests with the original ANSI standard for pipe . The fundamental design elements for this standard date to the 1920's and many feel that they need to be updated.

Pipe marker legend can be hard to see if approached from an angle or seen from below.

What happens when you approach a marker from an angle? It is bad design to use a very tall letter that is extraordinarily hard to read, just to follow the ANSI doctrine. A far better solution is to either: (1) change the design to one that uses a condensed type font (see SmartSign Clearview^®), or, (2) change the design so you do not have such hard-to-decipher legends. Another alternative, which we do not favor, is to use abbreviations.

Trading hard-to-read, skinny letters for easy to read, but hard-to-understand legends is not progress! The Scrunched designs use a compressed font that is easier to read than most compressed legends. Or, try a design that allows you to print a larger legend, such as Large Header, 2-Row Design or 2-Row Centered Design.