How to improve your Printed Documents

This guide will help you to improve the accessibility of your printed documents. Follow the guidance below to highlight where you might need to make changes.

1. Use sans serif fonts like Arial, Calibri or Candara. Yes/ N
2. Use the same font consistently. Yes/ No
3. Write in sentence case (Not Title Case or CAPITALS) Yes/ No
4. Do use BOLD for emphasis, rather than italics, underlining or different colours, which may be less accessible to some users  Yes/No
5. Use a minimum of 12pt text (or 14pt for Easy Read) Yes/ No
6. If colour is used, ensure the text colour contrasts well with the background Yes/ No
7. Use left aligned text (not centred or justified) Yes/ No
8.  Use short sentences Yes/ No
9.  Use plain English Yes/ No
10.  Break up long text with headings and subheadings Yes/ No
11.  Use the accessibility function on your computer to advise on any changes to improve accessibility. Yes/ No
12. Explain the content of images in text, for users who cannot see them. This is important when someone is using a screen reader to read the document. Yes/ No
13. Let readers if easy read information is available Yes/ No
14. Offer different ways for people to get in touch with you. This might be email, text, phone call or by writing. Yes/ No

For more information visit the Business Disability Forum website.