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NewFormat AB

PDF standards make the world work




Our solutions are based on
tested, reliable, and highly accessible software solutions.

NewFormat is Appointed Reseller and Solution Partner in
Nordic (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway)
and
Baltic Region (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
of leading technology for accessible PDF from axes4.




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axes4
Accessible PDF (PDF/UA) Simply Done

Solutions and Services for Accessible PDF (PDF/UA)

We make PDF documents accessible to everyone
for a more accessible world

Software and professional services that help businesses create
accessible PDF documents complying with accessibility standards
such as PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) and also PDF/A,
and W3C/WCAG 2.1, and U.S. Section 508.


axes4 products and services are "PDF/UA-Ready"

PDF/UA - Icon

Create, show, read, share, publish and navigate in
PDF/UA compatible PDF documents




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Accessible PDF


A fully PDF/UA compliant PDF can be just as
accessible as a WCAG compliant website.




Understanding the Concept of "Accessible PDF"

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    What is an accessible PDF?

    To ensure that PDF-based content is accessible to people
    with disabilities or can be adapted for different usage situations
    (for example, for reading on mobile devices, smartphones,...),
    it must be available in digitally accessible form.

    There are some basic technical requirements for accessible PDFs
    that you can easily check with a PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) tool, like:


    For example, an accessible PDF contains an invisible structure layer
    on which all content-relevant elements are coded in the correct order
    in a machine-readable manner and important additional information
    is included for comprehension and targeted navigation.


    Important.
    Precondition for working with a PDF document for accessibility
    is that your PDF document already has a tag structure.
    If this is not the case then first create a PDF with tags,
    either from converting the source document or
    with a PDF editor.


    Why is PDF accessibility important?

    On the one hand, much essential information exists exclusively as PDF content.
    PDF is the most widely used file format worldwide for exchanging documents;
    be it reports, minutes, tickets or bank statements, for example.

    However, most PDFs available to date have massive barriers for
    people with disabilities or are inadequately equipped for current and
    future usage scenarios (mobile Internet, AI, Big Data, for example).
    Accessible PDFs provide a remedy here.

    On the other hand, PDF accessibility is already required
    by law for many organizations.
    The laws are gradually being extended to other areas.
    The EU would like to play a pioneering role here,
    because digital inclusion enables all people to
    participate fully in the information society.

      "Many people don't know that PDFs actually have to be barrier-free.
      There are still misunderstandings,
      e.g. some people say that PDFs are not a website,
      but it is clear, and PDFs must be just as accessible.
      I would like to clarify that."

      Michael Wahl,
      Head of the German Federal Monitoring Agency for
      Accessibility in Information Technology


    PDF/UA - The ISO Standard for PDF Accessibility

    The ISO standard 14289, also known as PDF/UA,
    where UA stands for Universal Access, guarantees
    the best possible user experience for end users of
    the most widely used document format in the world.

    • Which PDF/UA requirements need to be evaluated?

      • Basic requirements
      • Are the basic rules according to the PDF specification adhered to?


      • Logical structure
      • Are there errors in the tag tree that make content inaccessible?


      • Metadata and settings
      • Does the PDF have settings that limit accessibility
        or is it missing important metadata that is required for smooth processing?


    WCAG - The global guidelines for accessible web content

    The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
    Level A and AA for a PDF.

    • Which WCAG requirements need to be evaluated?

      1. Perceivable
      2. Can all content-relevant elements be perceived?

        This includes requirements such as:

        • Are text alternatives available?

        • Is the contrast minimum met?

        • Is it possible for software to distinguish between
          content-relevant and decorative elements?

        • Is software able to access all content-relevant elements?


      3. Operable
      4. Are information, settings, and mechanisms available to enable
        navigation and interaction (for example, with form fields)?

        These include:

        • Is the title available?

        • Is the tab order set for interactive elements?


      5. Understandable
      6. Can users understand the content and user interface,
        even if they use voice output, for example?

        These include:

        • Are natural language defined for all elements?

        • Is there a Unicode equivalent for each character?


      7. Robust
      8. Are the basic rules according to the PDF specification adhered to?




Common Ways for the Creation of Accessible PDF Documents

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    There are two common methods for the creation of accessible PDF documents:

    • The direct method based on source format:
      If you want to create accessible PDF documents with authoring software
      like Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat,
      or if you want to convert a structured format like HTML or XML into PDF,
      you usually click the magic “Create PDF” button.

      If the conversion software does a good job, the necessary internal tag tree
      is created automatically in a high quality.


    • The indirect method based on existing PDF file:
      If the source file is not available or if the authoring software doesn’t do
      a good conversion job, you can take the PDF without tags,
      generally a web-PDF, and rework it.

      During this process you tag every relevant content element and
      add some additional accessibility features like alt text to figures.
      For doing this you need a software tool, a PDF editor,
      that is capable to create and edit PDF tags.


    But do not expect too much.
    Only very few software programs offer the possibility to create high-quality
    PDF/UA compliant documents out of the box or at least with less effort.


    This is when you need help by axes4 tools to finally get a
    100% PDF/UA compliant document in a few minutes:

    • Direct method / MS Word source format: axesWord

    • Indirect method / Any existing PDF: axesPDF




    News - New key features in axes4 software solutions

    See also axes4 blog






Universal Accessibility

Software and Services Empowering Easy Creation of
Accessible PDF Documents (PDF/UA)

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Products

axesWord - Logo with text

Create PDF/UA and WCAG compliant PDF files from within MS Word



axesPDF - Logo with text

Remediate any existing PDF for PDF/UA compliance



axesCheck - Logo with text

Validate any existing PDF file for PDF/UA and WCAG compliance



Services

axes4 Services - Document Tagging - Text banner     axes4 Services - Word Templating - Text banner

(Click on Products / Services above for detailed information)



axes4 Support and Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Support and the SLA contract are mediated by NewFormat AB and
concluded between axes4 (product owner) and end-customer:

axes4 Support Basic
(included in the subscription fee)

and

axes4 Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Support Standard
(optional)




For more information contact NewFormat


NewFormat AB
Smörblommegränd 14, SE-165 72 Hässelby (Stockholm), Sweden
tel:+46 (0)70 631 53 01

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All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks
are property of their respective owners.



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