7.1. Larger Print as Reasonable Accommodation.
7.2. Making Original Printed Documents More Visible.
7.3. Printed Maps and Drawings.
7.4. Pictograms.
7.1. Larger Print as Reasonable Accommodation.
While we recommend that 16pt print be the default in printed and digital material, notwisthstanding and without prejudice to this, larger Print (paper) versions of documents must be available on request with no extra charge to the person requesting it. Where a large print document has been requested, the visually impaired person’s preference of font type and font size must be respected.
Where regular engagement is expected between the person doing the requesting and the public body, the public body should have the capacity to, and to offer to, put the requester’s preferances on record (in compliance with GDPR), so that the individual does not have to keep requesting their preferences anew every time they engage with the public body.
7.2. Making Original Printed Documents More Visible.
The following is advisable:
7.2A. Font Size.
7.2B. Pagination and Page Alignment.
7.2C. Binding.
7.2D. Clarity of Print.
7.2E. Background Colour.
7.2A. Font Size.
- Default font size should be 16 point. If a person requires larger font, this should be provided as reasonable accommodation.
7.2B. Pagination and Page Alignment.
Where possible, enumerated section headings should be used for reference purposes, so that where pages do not align in large print versions of documents, the page-numbering is irrelevant.
Otherwise, documents of more than 5,000 words, page-numbering can be important for referencing. Therefore, care should be taken to make sure that the pagination of the adapted document aligns with that of the original. If it is not possible to have the text literally matching alignment with the original pagination (e.g., on A3 paper from the original A4), the original page-numbers should be clearly marked before the corresponding text.
7.2C. Binding.
Larger print versions of documents should be appropriately and adequately bound.
7.2D. Clarity of Print.
- all fonts should be clear, e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Abadi MT Condensed, etc.
- lines should not be bunched together for aesthetic affect, or any other reason. In other words, there should be an adequate clear width, as is normal, between lines.
- there should only be one font in a document.
- original italicised and bold text should be maintained in adapted documents.
7.2E. Background Colour.
All texts must be in clear contrast to the background colour and there should be only one background colour for all texts The normal default of black on white for printed documents is fine, so there’s no point in re-inventing the wheel on this one.
While we strongly caution against imaginative approaches which transgress this norm, in particular, green on red or red on green should always be avoided, since it makes texts invisible to those who are colour-blind.
7.3. Printed Maps and Drawings.
Printed maps, charts, and technical drawings should always be available, with appropriate speed, on request, as reasonable accommodation. Often, such documents are a vital part of public consultations, and no partially sighted person should ever be at a disadvantage as a result of delays to receiving such documents in their preferred format, including A2 versions with maximum detail.
7.4. Pictograms.
VVI’s Recommendations are as follows:
7.4A. Sketch-type pictograms consisting of black lines on white background, can be unclear to people with low vision.
7.4B. To remedy this, the images should have more colour – e.g., be “coloured in”.
7.4C. Bright objects on dark backgrounds are easier to make out, especially gold on navy, since glare is reduced. Consider in the ‘speaking difficulties’ pictogram putting a navy background which would highlight the speaker more, and putting the speech bubble in for example yellow, with the speaker being also in colour.