Making content accessible is sometimes described as ‘inclusive publishing’. Inclusive publishing aims to tackle the specific issues in accessing information for readers with print disabilities. These are defined by the Australian Inclusive Publishing Initiative as ‘any visual, perceptual or physical condition that creates an inability to read, or a difficulty in reading, printed material’ (Inclusive publishing in Australia, 2019), including:

• low vision

• colourblindness 

• increased sensitivity to excessive brightness of colours

• age-related vision problems

• conditions that make it difficult to hold a book or turn pages (eg arthritis, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders)

• physical disabilities or injuries that limit finger dexterity or mobility

• perceptual disabilities (eg dyslexia) 

• temporary disabilities (eg eye infection, broken arm, ‘situational’ disability such as low light)

• not being a ‘visual’ learner

• low literacy or learning difficulties

• first language other than English.

Preparing electronic content for full access by those with print disabilities involves attention to 3 aspects: 

• Medium. Inclusive design is flexible in its presentation of content to take advantage of the multimedia possibilities of electronic publication. For example, information can be presented in both visual (text, graphics, video) and audio (sound file) formats, with support from captions and audio descriptions.

• Content. Inclusive publications contain responsive content that can be interpreted by assistive technologies. This means, for example, avoiding purely visual references (eg the table on the right, above/below) that have traditionally been associated with print layouts. Text must be structured and tagged so that a screen reader can read it. Links should make sense as standalone text.

• Structure. In print documents, formatting helps to mark the structure on every page. For inclusive electronic publications, the structure must also be clearly marked so that assistive technologies can articulate it for users, and help them to navigate the content efficiently. Heading tags should be used to flag content hierarchy and support users in finding their way through. Similarly, tables should be marked up with HTML elements so that their structure can be interpreted properly by screen readers.