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Re: Accessibility of EPUB vs PDF

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From: Mallory
Date: Jan 14, 2018 10:27AM

Pearson publishes EPUBs as well. As for readers, I'm a bit confused but just heard Microsoft announce something about EPUB3 support in Edge (the browser).

cheers,
Mallory

On Fri, Jan 12, 2018, at 10:29 PM, L Snider wrote:
> Hi Derek,
>
> One of the big publishers went to EPUB, and not PDF about a year ago. I
> could be totally wrong, but it was a big one like Harper Collins.
>
> The one other issue I found a year or so ago, was that the readers were not
> as common as I would have liked...That was a sticking point as well, even
> though EPUB is basically HTML in a box. Today, I am not sure I would say
> that, but it hasn't changed significantly.
>
> I still like the idea of EPUB a lot, and think it has great potential.
> PDF/UA has helped PDFs, and I now don't consider them apples and oranges,
> even though one can still argue that PDFs are problematic in many ways.
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> Cheers
>
> Lisa
>
> On Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 2:35 PM, Jackson, Derek <
> <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> > 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
hUKEwjhxryUm9PYAhUO7mMKHf5FB
> > mQQFghSMAQ&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
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
> > > >