By default, a standard PDF is not accessible to people with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments. Many individuals, referred to as “print-disabled,” face challenges accessing traditional documents, including those who are blind, visually impaired, or have cognitive disabilities like dyslexia or dyspraxia. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 2.2 billion people experience some form of vision impairment.

In an increasingly digital world, it is essential that documents made available to the public are inclusive and accessible. Accessibility is not only a regulatory requirement but also a moral commitment to ensure everyone has access to information.

What Makes a Document Accessible?

An accessible PDF can be read and understood by technical aids used by people with visual impairments, such as screen readers. These assistive technologies, like the popular open-source tool NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access), convert text to synthesized speech or Braille, allowing users to access both content and document structure.

For a document to be accessible, it must include proper markup to define its structure. This includes:

• Reading Order and Structure: The document’s structure, including the logical order and navigation elements like headings and sections, must be well defined so assistive technology can interpret it correctly.
• Alternative Text for Images: Images should have descriptive alt text, allowing users to understand visual elements through a screen reader.
• Avoid Redundancy: Content that is repetitive, such as logos or footers that appear on each page, should be tagged so screen readers can ignore it, enhancing the reading experience.

PDF/UA: The Universal Accessibility Standard

In 2012, a universal standard for accessible PDFs was defined: PDF/UA, which stands for “Universal Accessibility.” The ISO 14289 standard sets the guidelines for creating documents that are accessible for all users, including those relying on assistive technologies. This standard ensures the document’s structure is properly defined, allowing navigation and content interpretation through screen readers.

There are several versions of the PDF/UA standard:

• ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA-1): Applicable to PDF 1.7 documents.
• ISO 14289-2 (PDF/UA-2): Designed for new-generation PDFs (PDF 2.0).
• ISO TS 32005: This technical specification provides guidance for integrating structural elements across both PDF 1.7 and PDF 2.0 formats.

How to Check if Your PDFs Are Accessible

If you want to know whether your PDFs are accessible, there are free tools available, such as PDF Accessibility Checker, that help you test for compliance with accessibility standards.

How to Make PDF Documents Accessible

There are two main strategies for making PDFs accessible:

1. Designing with Accessibility in Mind: The best practice is to implement accessibility from the very beginning when creating documents. This approach ensures that the content structure, tagging, and alt texts are all incorporated during the design phase.

2. Transforming Existing Documents: If you have documents that were not originally designed for accessibility, they can be updated to meet accessibility requirements.

Creating Accessible PDFs with Sefas HCS Accessibility Solution

Sefas has offered an accessibility feature for several years that allows document structures to be defined with all the necessary tags from the design phase. With Sefas’s Harmonie Communication Suite Accessibility Solution, it becomes easier to ensure your document models meet all accessibility standards from the outset.

Discover Sefas HCS Accessibility Solution

Organizations can significantly improve their accessible communications, ensuring that their information, products, and services are inclusive and available to all. Learn more about how Sefas can help you reduce risk, adhere to regulatory requirements, and serve all customers better by improving your accessible communications capabilities. Contact us.