Built-In PDF Accessibility: Your Strategic Advantage

Meeting accessibility requirements in your company’s documents provides a better user experience for individuals with disabilities, helps prioritize inclusivity, gain a larger customer base, and promotes a positive association of your brand as socially responsible. Web accessibility and how to implement it is well documented. However, to truly make your full suite of communications readable for all audiences, it is imperative that you also build accessibility into your PDF documents.

Creating ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant PDFs is not just about inclusivity—it’s a crucial part of risk management for businesses. Non-compliance with ADA standards can lead to legal challenges, reputational damage, and financial penalties. By ensuring all PDF documents are accessible, companies can mitigate these risks while demonstrating their commitment to equal access.

What is an accessible document? What does it look like?

Accessible documents do not have a distinct look that differentiates them from any other non-accessible document. Rather, accessibility is embedded into the creation and metadata of the file itself—it cannot be “seen” with the naked eye. Accessible documents are primarily built to enable screen readers—software programs developed for users with visual disabilities that read text with a speech synthesizer or braille display—to scan and read text and graphics. Ensuring assistive technology like screen readers can convey all your information in a logical, accurate way provides a complete experience for users with visual disabilities.

How Ideas On Purpose Builds In PDF Accessibility

Our process follows best practices and begins at the foundation of document creation—essential for achieving truly effective and efficient ADA compliance. We create our InDesign files with accessibility in mind, implementing built-in hierarchical styles and a robust document structure from the outset, and testing periodically as we go. This proactive approach allows us to seamlessly integrate accessibility features throughout the development process, rather than attempting to retrofit them at the end. This approach also allows for faster iteration if unexpected changes need to be incorporated late in the process.

Creating ADA-compliant and accessible PDFs for complex documents is a meticulous process that requires expertise, attention to detail, and a comprehensive understanding of accessibility standards. Key elements of our strategy include:

1. Color contrast optimization: From the start of the design process, we carefully select color combinations for text and graphics that meet WCAG standards, ensuring readability.
2. Tag structure and reading order: The heart of accessibility, we meticulously organize the document’s tag structure to ensure a logical reading order, enabling screen readers to follow text and other content in a logical manner. 
3. Descriptive links: Hyperlinks use meaningful text that clearly indicates their destination or purpose.
4. Comprehensive “alt text”: Every image, chart, and graphic has embedded descriptive alternative text, providing context for users relying on screen readers.
5. Metadata: We embed essential document information, making it easier for users to identify and navigate the content.
6. Content optimization: Repetitive and purely decorative elements are carefully managed to avoid cluttering the reading experience.
7. Navigational aids: We include comprehensive bookmarks aligned with the document structure, facilitating easy navigation throughout the PDF.

Our rigorous approach reduces risk

We validate the final PDF document, allowing us to perform thorough remediation. We verify accessibility through Adobe Acrobat Pro’s robust accessibility checker. IOP’s processes are adapted for each project to ensure each of our clients’ unique deliverables are thoroughly aligned with ADA standards and modern practices. For “schedule sensitive” projects, we can deliver fully accessible PDFs as a fast follower, a few days after the initial web-optimized versions. Many of our clients need to make late-breaking changes, sometimes after publication, so doing all the accessibility at the end is fraught. Our approach ensures accessibility isn’t compromised even if a new version (or two) is needed.

The Takeaway

Doing the right thing is worth the investment. By partnering with an expert when creating your communications and taking a comprehensive approach to PDF accessibility, you can ensure documents are not only compliant with legal requirements but also truly inclusive, reaching the widest possible audience. The expertise and effort involved in creating fully accessible PDFs for complex documents translates into a superior user experience for all readers, regardless of their abilities or the devices they use. By investing in these practices, you can reduce legal and reputational risks while supporting a more inclusive brand image. This proactive approach to accessibility can turn a potential liability into a business asset.

Ideas On Purpose can Help

Need help bringing your sustainability, marketing and communications to life for ALL audiences? We are experts in document accessibility (and Web accessibility too!). For over 20 years, IOP has been helping companies of all sizes. We’ve written, designed, and developed many initiatives—websites, reports, and sustainability communications. Email us to discuss the options.

Photo by Anna Seeley on Unsplash