Guide
The Complete Guide to Accessible Publishing
This page is provisional copy about accessible publishing. Nobody has reviewed it, the content ledger records it as unverified, and approved prose replaces it wholesale before launch.
In this guide
Explore the topic
Use the index below to reach the piece that answers your question.
What is accessible publishing?
Provisional summary of what this page will say about what is accessible publishing.
ReadWhy accessible publishing matters for publishers
Provisional summary of what this page will say about why accessible publishing matters.
ReadThe European Accessibility Act for publishers, explained
Provisional summary of what this page will say about european accessibility act publishers.
ReadWhat are the accessibility standards for publishers?
Provisional summary of what this page will say about accessibility standards for publishers.
ReadHow do you create accessible EPUBs?
Provisional summary of what this page will say about accessible epub.
ReadHow do you add accessibility metadata to an EPUB?
Provisional summary of what this page will say about accessibility metadata.
ReadHow do you write effective alt text for books?
Provisional summary of what this page will say about alt text for books.
ReadEPUB accessibility testing, step by step
Provisional summary of what this page will say about epub accessibility testing.
ReadAccessible book conversion for an existing catalogue
Provisional summary of what this page will say about accessible book conversion.
ReadHow can publishers build an accessible publishing workflow?
Provisional summary of what this page will say about accessible publishing workflow.
ReadPDF accessibility: making an existing PDF readable
Provisional summary of what this page will say about pdf accessibility.
Read
Trusted by
- Wolters Kluwer
- Plantyn
- Leuven University Press
Certified & compliant
- EAA
- WCAG 2.1
- ePub3
- ONIX
The full guide
What publishers need to know
01
What this is
This page is provisional copy about accessible publishing. Nobody has reviewed it, the content ledger records it as unverified, and approved prose replaces it wholesale before launch.
Accessible publishing is the subject of this page, and a production team reaches for it when a manuscript has to become a file a printer or a store accepts without argument.
The approved copy also has to cover digital accessibility publishing, creating accessible content, each of which a publisher expects answered plainly rather than named in passing.
Provisional paragraph. An approved version explains how accessible publishing is decided in practice, who signs it off, and what a publisher has to supply before the work can start.
02
How it gets decided
Provisional paragraph. It will set out where accessible publishing sits in the production line, which steps depend on it, and what goes wrong downstream when it is skipped.
Provisional paragraph. The approved text names the file formats involved in accessible publishing, the checks each one needs, and the point at which a title is considered finished.
Provisional paragraph. Here the approved copy answers the cost question about accessible publishing honestly: what drives the price, what a publisher can do in-house, and what is worth buying.
Provisional paragraph. It compares the common approaches to accessible publishing, says which suits a small list and which suits a large one, and does not pretend the answer is the same for both.
03
Where it sits in the production line
Provisional paragraph. This is where the approved copy handles the edge cases in accessible publishing — tables, formulas, footnotes, illustrations — rather than leaving them to a support ticket.
Provisional paragraph. The approved version records what a publisher should ask a supplier about accessible publishing, and which answers should end the conversation.
Provisional paragraph. It explains how accessible publishing is measured, what a reasonable turnaround looks like, and how a publisher can tell a good result from a merely finished one.
Provisional paragraph. An approved version explains how accessible publishing is decided in practice, who signs it off, and what a publisher has to supply before the work can start. (2)
04
Formats and the checks each one needs
Provisional paragraph. It will set out where accessible publishing sits in the production line, which steps depend on it, and what goes wrong downstream when it is skipped. (2)
Provisional paragraph. The approved text names the file formats involved in accessible publishing, the checks each one needs, and the point at which a title is considered finished. (2)
Provisional paragraph. Here the approved copy answers the cost question about accessible publishing honestly: what drives the price, what a publisher can do in-house, and what is worth buying. (2)
Provisional paragraph. It compares the common approaches to accessible publishing, says which suits a small list and which suits a large one, and does not pretend the answer is the same for both. (2)
05
What it costs, and what drives the cost
Provisional paragraph. This is where the approved copy handles the edge cases in accessible publishing — tables, formulas, footnotes, illustrations — rather than leaving them to a support ticket. (2)
Provisional paragraph. The approved version records what a publisher should ask a supplier about accessible publishing, and which answers should end the conversation. (2)
Provisional paragraph. It explains how accessible publishing is measured, what a reasonable turnaround looks like, and how a publisher can tell a good result from a merely finished one. (2)
Provisional paragraph. An approved version explains how accessible publishing is decided in practice, who signs it off, and what a publisher has to supply before the work can start. (3)
06
Comparing the usual approaches
Provisional paragraph. It will set out where accessible publishing sits in the production line, which steps depend on it, and what goes wrong downstream when it is skipped. (3)
Provisional paragraph. The approved text names the file formats involved in accessible publishing, the checks each one needs, and the point at which a title is considered finished. (3)
Provisional paragraph. Here the approved copy answers the cost question about accessible publishing honestly: what drives the price, what a publisher can do in-house, and what is worth buying. (3)
Provisional paragraph. It compares the common approaches to accessible publishing, says which suits a small list and which suits a large one, and does not pretend the answer is the same for both. (3)
07
Tables, formulas and the other edge cases
Provisional paragraph. This is where the approved copy handles the edge cases in accessible publishing — tables, formulas, footnotes, illustrations — rather than leaving them to a support ticket. (3)
Provisional paragraph. The approved version records what a publisher should ask a supplier about accessible publishing, and which answers should end the conversation. (3)
Provisional paragraph. It explains how accessible publishing is measured, what a reasonable turnaround looks like, and how a publisher can tell a good result from a merely finished one. (3)
Provisional paragraph. An approved version explains how accessible publishing is decided in practice, who signs it off, and what a publisher has to supply before the work can start. (4)
08
What to ask a supplier
Provisional paragraph. It will set out where accessible publishing sits in the production line, which steps depend on it, and what goes wrong downstream when it is skipped. (4)
Provisional paragraph. The approved text names the file formats involved in accessible publishing, the checks each one needs, and the point at which a title is considered finished. (4)
Provisional paragraph. Here the approved copy answers the cost question about accessible publishing honestly: what drives the price, what a publisher can do in-house, and what is worth buying. (4)
Provisional paragraph. It compares the common approaches to accessible publishing, says which suits a small list and which suits a large one, and does not pretend the answer is the same for both. (4)
09
How a good result is measured
Provisional paragraph. This is where the approved copy handles the edge cases in accessible publishing — tables, formulas, footnotes, illustrations — rather than leaving them to a support ticket. (4)
Provisional paragraph. The approved version records what a publisher should ask a supplier about accessible publishing, and which answers should end the conversation. (4)
Provisional paragraph. It explains how accessible publishing is measured, what a reasonable turnaround looks like, and how a publisher can tell a good result from a merely finished one. (4) Provisional note 1: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 2: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 3: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 4: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 5: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 6: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 7: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 8: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 9: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 10: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 11: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 12: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 13: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 14: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 15: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 16: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 17: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 18: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 19: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 20: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 21: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can. Provisional note 22: the approved copy will say more here about accessible publishing than a placeholder can.
Nothing on this page has been reviewed. Its provenance is recorded as unverified in the content ledger until somebody signs it off.
At a glance
| Capability | Standard ePub2 | Accessible ePub3 (EPUB Accessibility 1.1) |
|---|---|---|
| Format version | ePub2 | ePub3 |
| Semantic HTML | Limited (HTML 4 / XHTML 1) | Full HTML5 semantic elements (nav, aside, figure, etc.) |
| Navigation | NCX only | HTML5 nav element with table of contents and page list |
| MathML support | Not supported | Native MathML for accessible equations |
| Reading order declaration | Spine only, implicit | Explicit logical reading order via spine and landmark nav |
| Accessibility metadata | Not standardised | schema.org accessibility properties in OPF package document |
| WCAG alignment | None | Mapped to WCAG 2.1 Level AA via EPUB Accessibility 1.1 |
| EAA compliance | Cannot comply | Compliant when requirements are met |
| Validation tooling | EPUBCheck only | EPUBCheck + ACE by DAISY |
| ONIX metadata support | No formal link | ONIX code list 196 declares features from ePub metadata |
Frequently asked questions
What is accessible publishing?
What is accessible publishing? Provisional answer: the approved copy explains this in terms of accessible publishing, with the detail a publisher can act on.
Which accessibility rules apply to publishers in the EU?
Which accessibility rules apply to publishers in the EU? Provisional answer: the approved copy explains this in terms of accessible publishing, with the detail a publisher can act on.
How does a publisher make an existing backlist accessible?
How does a publisher make an existing backlist accessible? Provisional answer: the approved copy explains this in terms of accessible publishing, with the detail a publisher can act on.
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