In today’s digital world, PDFs have become ubiquitous. We use them for everything from sharing documents to distributing marketing materials. However, many PDFs are not accessible to people with disabilities. This is where pdf accessibility remediation services come in. Remediating PDFs for accessibility opens them up to a wider audience and helps organizations comply with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In this blog post, we’ll explore what makes a PDF accessible, when you might need remediation services, and how experts can enhance accessibility for your PDFs.
What Makes a PDF Accessible?
For a PDF to be considered accessible, it needs to have certain features that make it usable for people with disabilities. Here are some key elements of an accessible PDF:
- Tagged structure – The document needs semantic structure so assistive technologies like screen readers can navigate and understand the content. This includes proper headings, reading order, alt text for images, etc.
- Searchable text – All text must be machine-readable so it can be searched, copied, and used with text-to-speech tools. Scanned documents without OCR are not accessible.
- Logical reading order – The PDF should be navigable in a logical order from top to bottom. Tables and columns need proper markup for navigation.
- Color contrast – Text and images need proper color contrast so those with low vision can see and understand the content.
- Descriptive links and headings – Links and headings should be descriptive and make sense out of context. For example, “click here” links are not accessible.
- Alternative text for images – All images require alternative text descriptions for screen reader users. Decorative images should be tagged as such.
- Accessible forms – Interactive form fields need to be keyboard accessible and properly labeled.
When is PDF Remediation Needed?
There are a few instances when you may need to utilize PDF remediation services:
- You have an inaccessible legacy PDF – Older PDFs that were created without accessibility in mind will likely need remediation. This includes scanned documents, PDFs with untagged structure, and ones without proper headings, alt text, etc.
- You need to make a PDF ADA compliant – If you want a PDF to conform to ADA or other accessibility laws and guidelines, remediation can help you achieve compliance. This is crucial for public sector organizations.
- You have client-facing PDFs – If you plan to share PDFs with clients or users who may have disabilities, having accessible PDFs is necessary. This includes documents like reports, presentations, brochures, and more.
- You want to improve SEO – An accessible PDF file aids in search engine optimization. Remediating helps add tags, structure, and metadata that search engines use for indexing.
- You have PDFs with user-submitted content – Any PDFs generated from user-submitted content like forms are likely to contain accessibility issues. Remediation provides quality assurance.
The bottom line is if you want your PDFs consumable by the widest audience, PDF remediation services are highly recommended to enhance accessibility.
How PDF Remediation Improves Accessibility
So how exactly does the PDF remediation process work to improve accessibility? Here are some of the key steps experts take:
- Analyze PDFs for issues – The first step is assessing your PDFs to spot any areas that need remediation for accessibility. This gives the full scope of work.
- Add document structure – Your PDFs will need proper semantic structure added including PDF tags, reading order, headings hierarchy, tables, etc. to aid navigation.
- Increase color contrast – Text and important graphics may need adjustments to meet minimum color contrast ratios for those with low vision.
- Fix form fields – Interactive form fields will need remediation to make them usable with keyboard navigation, properly labeled, etc.
- Add alt text for images – All images will need appropriate and descriptive alt text added for screen reader users. Decorative images will also be tagged.
- Create accessible tables – Tables will need proper table structure and markup added for navigation and contextual understanding.
- Remediate links – Any links will need to be descriptive and make sense out of context. “Click here” links need rewording.
- Check reading order – The PDF viewing order will be checked to make sure it reads logically from left to right, top to bottom for screen reader users.
- Run accessibility checks – After remediation, the PDFs will be checked with automated accessibility checkers and readers to identify any outstanding issues.
The combination of human expert remediation and software produces fully accessible PDFs compliant with ADA, WCAG 2.1, and Section 508 accessibility guidelines. Your PDFs will be consumable by those using assistive technologies like screen readers.
Partner with Experts for PDF Remediation
So those are some of the key benefits of utilizing pdf accessibility remediation services. But you may be wondering how to actually get started with remediating your organization’s PDFs. Here are two main options:
Train In-House Staff
If you have in-house staff that can be trained on remediation, this allows you to build internal expertise. You’ll need to research best practices and invest in PDF remediation software tools. Your staff will then need to allocate ongoing time and effort to evaluating and remediating PDFs. This works best for larger organizations.
Outsource to PDF Accessibility Experts
Alternatively, you can outsource remediation to third-party experts. There are vendors that specialize in PDF accessibility services. They have the expertise, software tools, and resources to efficiently remediate large volumes of PDFs. This option is faster and more cost effective for most organizations.
When evaluating PDF remediation partners, be sure to ask about their level of expertise in accessibility standards and compliant remediation methods. Also request samples of remediated PDFs to review quality. Turnaround time and security of your files are other important considerations.
Prioritize Accessibility with PDF Remediation
Accessible PDFs provide more equal access to information for people with disabilities. They also demonstrate an organization’s commitment to inclusion and compliance with current regulations. By utilizing pdf accessibility remediation services, you can efficiently transform PDF content into accessible formats consumable by all. Reach out to a specialized service provider get expert help making your PDFs accessible.