Accessible Document Guide

Material produced for the university in printed or electronic format. It is important that this material be designed and presented in such a way that it is accessible to a wide an audience as possible, including print disabled people.

Who are Print Impaired Users ?

Print impaired refers to anyone who has a problem accessing printed paper. This includes Blind, Partially Sighted, people with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia and Physical Disabilities.

5 Key points

If the document is electronic, make it available in the original format & a PDF document, often this will enable the material to be adapted to personal preferences.
Text should be a minimum of 12 point, Sans Serif font (Arial, Veranda) with 1 ¼ to 1 ½ line spacing. Pick a font that is easily readable with clear defined letters and clear spacing between the letters. Avoid fancy fonts, underlining and italics
Text layout - left aligned on the page, it is proven to be quicker and easier to read
The page layout needs to be generally clear and unfussy, Avoid complex layouts, keep it simple
Do not place text over image, and avoid faded images in the background

Additional items

Avoid complex tables & check the text follows easily from column to column.
Provide a ‘Table of Contents’ for long documents (as in MS© Word)
Avoid words split between two lines
Ensure text contrasts clearly with background. Chose a background that is solid rather than textures or patterns
Pictures and Graphics need descriptive text clearly separated from the graphics, The graphic should not be the only means of understanding a documents. There are exceptions like maps