The new legislation requires that all downloadable documents and forms published on existing public sector websites after 23 September 2018 must be made accessible by 23 September 2020. In addition, any such documents published on new public sector websites (those published after 23 September 2018) must be made accessible by 23 September 2019 (Article 12, paragraph 3). The new regulations build on rather than replace the existing relevant legislation, namely the Equality Act (2010) or the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) (DDA) in Northern Ireland. Digital accessibility is a fundamental right of every citizen, including via the internet. Achieving accessible PDF is therefore part of an inclusive global approach for the general public and all your stakeholders.

The accessibility of PDF documents offers many advantages: A certified publication: publications made accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.0 / ISO 14289-1 standards are eligible for “e-accessibility” certification issued by Ipedis. An improved SEO: the use of XML tags to structure the document in the same way as a HTML page enables better indexing of content by search engines.

The need to read a document only once suggests that all four formats should be considered, and appropriate ones should be made available depending on where the information will be read. If someone needs to read an agenda during a meeting, for example, an audio tape is not ideal, unless the tape is distributed ahead of time. In this situation, braille or large print may be the best choices, or if the agenda is available beforehand, the person may prefer to download the electronic file into a portable reading device for review during the meeting. Like sighted people, blind individuals want to follow along with the text and fully participate. Understandably, handouts may continue to change until close to the time of the meeting, so time pressure may become a concern. But good planning and communicating in advance with blind or visually impaired attendees will result in a better experience for everyone.

To help you comply with these regulations, we have developed an innovative technology solution: e-Accessible-PDF, which renders PDF documents “accessible”, at an ultra-competitive cost. Whether you are in the non-profit sector or the private sector, this solution allows you to expand your audiences and make them more inclusive for people with disabilities.

For the 10% of the population who have a visual, cognitive or motor impairment in Europe, access to the content of websites can be a real challenge. How have an inclusive life without access to critical information on the internet, such as a bus schedule, a new administrative regulation, or the user instruction manual for an electronic device . The notion of PDF accessibility is at the very heart of this problem.

People who exhibit deficits in: attention, thinking, perception and memory. They are found in varying degrees in neurodegenerative diseases as well as in cases of head trauma. Reading tools are also essential for them. According to WHO, about 1.3 billion people in the world, have some form of visual impairment. In Europe, the statistics show that almost 10% are affected. These figures include people with blindness, low vision, cognitive and motor impairments. The majority of these individuals are over 50 years old. With the growing and ageing of the population, coupled with a greater prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s), the WHO estimates that the number of visually impaired is expected to double by 2050.

For many years we have developed and improved our accessibility and PDF tagging techniques and now have developed a proprietary solution to accelerate the production of Ultra Accessible PDFs. This allows us to produce on a fast turnaround and at competitive costs quality PDFs. We have customers around the world, public or private companies, and meet the international standards defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), such as ADA, Section 508, WCAG 2.0 AA, HHS and PDF / UA. We are able to produce various accessible documents such as PDF, documents from the Microsoft range (word, Excel, Power point) or Epubs. See more info on Accessible PDF at the fair price

Unfortunately, PDF, Word, Excel or PPT documents, which are widely integrated on websites, are rarely adapted to these tools. Our role is to render these documents accessible for processing by reading software so that they can be vocalized in the correct reading order. A blind or visually impaired person can use a “screen reader” to vocalize what is appearing on the screen. There are two main screen readers for desktop computers using Windows: JAWS and NVDA. In addition to reading the elements out loud present on the screen, these screen readers offer a wide range of keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the content with greater ease. Although not free, JAWS is the most popular and most commonly used because it is more advanced in terms of functionality and assistance.

The specificity of PDF is to preserve the layout of a document – fonts, images, graphic objects, etc. – as defined by its author, regardless of the software, operating system and computer used. Thus, the simplest pages (of text), just like complex pages (design combining text, graphic forms, photos, legends, tables, graphics, etc.) are converted into several “blocks” of images. ” These, even if they are text, are not formatted to be interpreted by the speech synthesis systems or the braille tracks, which are utilized by the visually impaired users.

Achieving an accessible PDF requires a rigorous, multi-step process. We have developed our own tagging expertise, with an analysis methodology combining both artificial intelligence and human control. During and after the tagging of the document, we perform user tests in two stages. All the accessibility criteria are scrutinized: presence and order of titles and columns of texts, accessibility of tables, diagrams and graphs, differentiation of images and illustrations, insertion of alternative texts if necessary. This method is labeled “e-accessible PDF.”

What are the benefits of the Accessible PDFs we produce ?

– PDFs that meet the following standards PDF / UA, ADA, Section 508, WCAG 2.0 AA, HHS.
– Documents validated through user tests
– Accessible PDFs directly utilisable
– Quick production turnaround
– A fast and customized service

For your users :

– More user-friendly navigation
– The ability to convert text to voice
– Reading on different media (tablets, mobile, screen magnifiers)
– Replacing mouse actions with keyboard combinations
– The possibility of searching in images
– A help to navigation

Those who read large print may be able to read a document with the aid of prescription lenses, but others may use handheld magnifiers for reading. Some of those who read large print use a closed circuit television (CCTV) at home or in an office. A CCTV is equipped with a camera that enlarges the print and projects it onto a television-like screen. Those who read large print may also have software to enlarge the print displayed on the computer’s monitor. For french visitors see more info on https://e-accessiblepdf.com/index.php/un-balisage-numerique-permet-laccessibilite-des-pdf-e-accessiblepdf/.