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Re: Accessibility of EPUB vs PDF

for

From: Jackson, Derek
Date: Jan 12, 2018 1:35PM

Hi Lisa,


Yes that helps a lot! It also leads me down another good path of looking at other publishers that have made the switch to EPUB.


Thank You!

Derek





From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > on behalf of L Snider < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2018 3:07:20 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Accessibility of EPUB vs PDF

Hi Derek,

I did extensive research on EPUB about a year ago, and just started another
round. I found a ton of resources in the academic book publishing industry,
like this one:
http://accessinghigherground.org/epub-versus-pdf-epub-is-the-new-standard-for-accessible-ebooks/

A link to a PowerPoint is here (sorry for the long URL)
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved
hUKEwjhxryUm9PYAhUO7mMKHf5FBmQQFghSMAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Faccessinghigherground.org%2Fwp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F06%2FePUB-versus-PDF.pptx&authuser=1&usg=AOvVaw2KpeGmfDfsMf93m2GUW6TD

I would suggest not going lower than EPUB 3, as Daisy was brought into that
version.

Major places like IBM went to EPUB:
http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/f/24/t/38861.aspx

There is now a good EPUB checker that was brought out recently:
http://validator.idpf.org/

One problem I found was the creation tools were lacking. InDesign can make
a pretty good EPUB (if you make that doc accessible), but for Word, etc. I
had real problems finding a good solution. There are a couple of creation
programs out there, but that was the sticking point at that time. Calibre
was a really easy to use convertor, but it only did EPUB 2 files...I wish
someone would update it, it would really make a huge difference!

Hope that helps!

Cheers

Lisa
PS-Some of the links above are not the best resources, but they were the
ones that sprang to mind first!


On Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 1:51 PM, Jackson, Derek <
<EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> Hello,
>
>
> I am trying to make the argument that relying solely on PDF has a lot of
> pitfalls when considering the need to provide accessible digital content,
> while offering EPUB in conjunction with PDF brings great benefits in terms
> of accessibility (providing DAISY Files, customizable
> color/font/background, Reflowable, etc.). I wonder if anyone on this
> listserv might know of related resources or have thoughts that I could rely
> on to make this argument... or perhaps does anyone find an issue with this
> notion?
>
>
> In addition I have been looking for any information on user preferences
> for accessible formats, e.g. what is the break down of usage/preference for
> accessible content in different formats (PDF vs EPUB vs HTML(browser)).
> Does anyone know if that has been gathered anywhere?
>
>
> Any help, ideas, references, or suggestions is greatly appreciated!
>
> Derek
>
>
> Derek Jackson
>
> Manager, Content Production
>
>
>
> HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING
>
> 20 Guest Street, Suite 700 | Brighton, MA 02135
>
> 617.787.6711 | 617.783.7492 fax
>
> hbsp.harvard.edu
>
>
>
> > > > >