Accessible PDFs
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The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a widely used format, particularly for electronic versions of publications, prospectuses and other marketing materials, but can easily be very inaccessible if they are not created with accessibility in mind. As a result PDF documents are often incorrectly considered to be inaccessible, and this can lead to reluctance to use the format.
This is becoming an increasingly important topic, given the demonstrable rise in the numbers of e-books and e-book readers now available.
There are a number of simple ways to ensure a PDF document is accessible, particularly if it is created in-house.
Accessibility Essentials 4: Making the Most of PDFs covers the creation of accessible PDF documents, both in-house and commissioned by third parties. This follows on from the advice in Accessibility Essentials 1 and 2 where JISC TechDis gives valuable insight as to why it is important to ensure all text based documents across an organisation are initially created in an accessible format.
When an organisation agrees the specification for any new contract/tender with regard to marketing materials, screen or print based, it is important to ensure that the invitation to tender includes a clause about delivery of outputs. These need to meet minimum standards of accessibility as stated by the Single Equality Scheme of the organisation concerned.
