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Number of posts in this thread: 5 (In chronological order)

From: Howard Kramer
Date: Thu, Sep 27 2012 11:50AM
Subject: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation
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Hello All:

I have a project to create an ebook. I saw a presentation on InDesign at a
recent conference on Academic Technology and from a visual standpoint it
looked like it had the capability to produce a really nice product. I
understand that it can produce books in an ePub and Kindle (mobipocket)
format. I haven't heard anything about DAISY. Does anyone have any
knowledge on the accessibility of this platform (InDesign 6). Any
recommendations for different tool?

Thanks in advance.

-Howard



--
Howard Kramer
AHG Conference Coordinator
Access Specialist
303-492-8672
fax: 492-5601
Disability Services
Division of ODECE- achieving excellence through diversity and inclusion

From: John E Brandt
Date: Thu, Sep 27 2012 12:19PM
Subject: Re: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation
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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 ADDRESS REMOVED =
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA

From: Monique Brunel
Date: Thu, Sep 27 2012 1:12PM
Subject: Re: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation
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Hi,

There are several ressouces about EPUB, DAISY and accessibility in my tweets
http://www.twylah.com/webatou/topics/epub

Best regards,
Monique

2012/9/27 Howard Kramer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >

> Hello All:
>
> I have a project to create an ebook. I saw a presentation on InDesign at a
> recent conference on Academic Technology and from a visual standpoint it
> looked like it had the capability to produce a really nice product. I
> understand that it can produce books in an ePub and Kindle (mobipocket)
> format. I haven't heard anything about DAISY. Does anyone have any
> knowledge on the accessibility of this platform (InDesign 6). Any
> recommendations for different tool?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> -Howard
>
>
>
> --
> Howard Kramer
> AHG Conference Coordinator
> Access Specialist
> 303-492-8672
> fax: 492-5601
> Disability Services
> Division of ODECE- achieving excellence through diversity and inclusion
> > > >



--
Accessibilité et qualité des sites Web
Monique Brunel - Conférences - Ateliers - Conseil
| http://blog.webatou.info | Tél. +32(0)473 25 81 94
| www.opquast.com | www.openweb.eu.org | www.mozilla-belgium.org |

From: Ryan E. Benson
Date: Fri, Sep 28 2012 6:30PM
Subject: Re: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation
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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 ADDRESS 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 ADDRESS REMOVED =
> 207-622-7937
> Augusta, Maine, USA
>
>
>

From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Fri, Sep 28 2012 8:56PM
Subject: Re: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation
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Unfortunately, yes, graphic designers have to build in accessibility from
the start. It's not something that's added into the layout file but instead
a series of techniques and steps that will create an accessible PDF when
it's exported from the InDesign layout.

Earlier this year I wrote a step-by-step tutorial for InDesign Magazine on
how to create accessible PDFs from InDesign. If you know any InDesign users,
pass along this URL:
http://www.indesignmag.com/View.asp/Id/O936-J192168013148-D842-A201202171638
43
They can purchase that edition of the magazine alone, or subscribe to the
magazine (which I highly encourage for all InDesign users).

As with any tool, you need to learn how to use it correctly to get the best
end result. Although the 2 Adobe TV online videos are good, they cover only
the most elementary steps in the process (for example, my classes in
accessible InDesign are 3 days long). If a designer really wants to create
the most accessible PDF possible - or create not just accessible PDFs but
also eBooks/ePubs and exports to XML and other multi-channel technologies -
then a lot more needs to be learned.

- Bevi Chagnon

- PubCom.com - Trainers, Consultants, Designers, and Developers.
- Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
Accessibility.
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