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Re: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation

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From: Ryan E. Benson
Date: Sep 28, 2012 6:30PM

John said:
> Regarding InDesign, I don't have recent information, but I recall that the
> product also had the ability to create accessible digital documents and to
> be able to convert them into accessible PDFs. Again, the assumption is that
> the author/developer knows to add the necessary elements to make the
> document accessible.

I don't know about using inDesign to make an e-book, but you can make
accessible PDFs using inDesign. I usually point people to the
following video: http://is.gd/dcMezL. The main gruff I hear back is,
"but I already created the file, I need to tweak a lot or start over."
That is the key point of the video, you have to think about
accessibility at step one.

--
Ryan E. Benson


On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 2:19 PM, John E Brandt < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> The latest versions of DAISY and EPUB (3) standards can be used to produce
> fully accessible digital documents assuming that the author/developer adds
> the necessary elements. Apple uses EPUB 3 as the standard for the iPad and
> these books work with VoiceOver on the iOS.
>
> I don't know about the Kindle standard or the accessibility of the device. I
> recall the US-DOE informing institutions of higher ed that they should not
> be using the Kindle DX as the device was not accessible to students with
> disabilities. See
> http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.html
>
> Regarding InDesign, I don't have recent information, but I recall that the
> product also had the ability to create accessible digital documents and to
> be able to convert them into accessible PDFs. Again, the assumption is that
> the author/developer knows to add the necessary elements to make the
> document accessible.
>
> That all said, the hottest thing in e-books is the creation of what are
> essentially multi-media, rich-content documents which include video clips,
> interactive widgets and features. Apple has a free app for OSX called iBook
> Author which creates iBooks in the EPUB 3 format and allows the addition of
> these multi-media, rich content features. I am not sure of the accessibility
> of all of those multimedia features. These kinds of multi-media documents
> will be the next big accessibility challenge.
>
> ~j
>
> John E. Brandt
> www.jebswebs.com
> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> 207-622-7937
> Augusta, Maine, USA
>
>
>