PDF Accessibility
PDF Remediation and Section 508 Conversion Services
Yes, we must say that PDFs should be accessible. A tagged PDF ensures equal access for people with disabilities who use a screen reader, speech to text technology, or a braille displayer. Accessible PDFs are now required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508, and the AODA.
A document's availability as a downloadable PDF does not imply that it is an accessible PDF. PDFs, as we all know, are the preferred format for organisations to share information.
Formats are used to deliver
User Manuals
TextBooks
Training Manuals
Marketing Brochures
Application Forms
Annual Reports
How can we make PDFs more accessible?
Making a well tagged PDF ensures that it is an accessible PDF, where assistive technology and screen readers make sure the content is accessible for users.
A tagged PDF contains various elements that must be marked up. It's a lot like an HTML document. We can then set the relevant content into the specified tags after tagging a PDF. The tags then provide relevant information about the type of content in the document to assistive technology.
What methods are there for tagging a PDF document for accessibility?
After converting a PDF to a tagged PDF, the content is marked up to ensure that it is understandable by assistive technology such as screen readers. Some of the techniques used by the PDF accessibility testing team include:
- Determine the appropriate Heading Structure
- Highlight the document's language and content
- Determine the proper reading order
- Mark the lists
- Configure the column and row headers for simple and complex tables
- Configure the bookmarks
- Adjust the colour contrast for textual content (optional)
At Coherent Art Studio, we write the Image Descriptions in addition to providing PDF accessibility services and ensuring accessible PDF document remediation.
What standards do we follow when it comes to Accessible PDF document remediation?
The PDF accessibility team uses PDF/UA and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and 2.1. Our team ensure that the PDF is also compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
How can we make sure the PDF document is accessible?
We provide Section 508 conversion services at Coherent Art Studio and put the quality on top. With expertise in PDF/UA and WCAG 2.0 & 2.1, the PDF accessibility testing team not only tests with the PDF Accessibility Checker in Adobe Professional, but also ensures that a manual quality check on the tags and content is thoroughly implemented. Furthermore, all of our documents are tested by a native Screen Reader User to ensure that they go above and beyond compliance and are accessible to people with disabilities.