Key outcomes Meet-up Frankfurt Book Fair: production

Key topics discussed

• E-book Production: Is production handled internally within companies, or outsourced to external suppliers? 

• Integrating Accessibility in Print Production: Are accessibility considerations for the e-book being incorporated during the print book production phase? 

• EEA Requirements: The European Accessibility Act mandates adjustable word, letter, and line spacing. Compatibility of these features with PDF format was questioned. 

• EPUB vs. PDF: Discussion on the acceptance of EPUB versus PDF, especially in technical publishing sectors. 

• Backlist Accessibility: Addressing the challenge of making older publications (backlist) accessible. 

Key findings and challenges

E-book Production

Most organizations outsource e-book production and InDesign typesetting to external vendors. 

• Emerald Publishing: Handles e-book production externally. 

• Mondadori: Outsources production but enforces strict standards and training for over 100 vendors, reserving the right to discontinue vendors who don’t meet requirements. 

• Hachette Example: Enforced XML usage in InDesign among vendors, ensuring files were validated and suitable for simpler books. 

• Taylor & Francis: Developed proprietary standards and validation tools to ensure accessible e-book production. 

• Scientific and Scholarly Publishing: Often requires complex features, including technical graphics, which presents additional challenges for accessibility. 

• Smaller Publishers: Face challenges due to limited resources to implement rules and validation for accessibility. 

PDF Accessibility

• Layout Adaptation in PDFs: Some accessibility adjustments are theoretically possible in PDF, such as reflowing text, adjusting text size, and modifying line spacing to meet individual reader needs. However, as Gregorio noted, while PDF UA2 claims to support reflowable text, no major reading solutions currently enable this feature, limiting practical accessibility for users. 

• Format Preferences in Technical Publishing: Customers in technical standards publishing largely prefer PDF over EPUB, leading some publishers to discontinue EPUB production for this audience. 

Backlist Accessibility

• National Legislation: Different countries interpret backlist accessibility requirements differently. 

• Prioritization: It is generally advised to start with frontlist (new) titles and then consider popular or recently used backlist titles. 

• Schoolbook Publishing: Backlist remediation decisions may depend on the book’s lifecycle; if a new edition is imminent, remediating the previous version may be unnecessary. 

• ABELab Project: Focused on exploring tools for semi-automatic remediation of EPUB and PDF files to make backlist publications accessible. Findings indicated that print production PDFs are almost impossible to make accessible, while EPUB remediation tools (e.g., Bookalope) exist but may strip styles. In many cases, re-exporting from the original InDesign files is simpler. 

Layout Challenges

• Complex layouts, like boxed content, pose difficulties in accessibility. One proposed solution is to restrict layout to a limited set of accessible elements. 

• Technical Standards Publishing: Typically uses a simple layout but often includes complex graphics and flowcharts, which are challenging to make accessible.

Accessible Music Scores

Specialized libraries produce braille music scores, often using standard software to export accessible versions. 

Use of Color

• Contrast: Ensure adequate color contrast. 

• Avoiding Color Dependence: Avoid using color alone to convey information; consider adding patterns or other indicators. 

• Interactive Elements: Minimum size for buttons and interactive elements recommended at 24px x 24px for accessibility.