The formatting of a page can make the difference between a clear and easy to read document, and one which people struggle with. The following tips are designed to help document designers start the process of creating more accessible print documents.
Headings
Effective use of headings can allow people to quickly navigate a document, both electronically and in print. If you use styles in the design of your documents it reduces the effort required to ensure consistent presentation, as well as facilitating rapid navigation and assisting in the creation of accessible formats.
All headings should be created so that they are in a format clear and distinct from the paragraph it references, but in close proximity so that they remain associated.
As a general principle we recommend all headings are left aligned to allow someone using magnification to quickly find the relevant information by reading down the left hand edge - centred headings throughout a document can be challenging to find.
Text size
The text in your document should be as consistent as possible, so all body text is presented in the same way - providing further usability clues for all users. We would generally discourage the use of small print, and would recommend you produce clear print, being prepared to generate large print if required.
Alignment
There are typically four options for alignment of text - left aligned, right aligned, fully justified or centred. RNIB recommend the use of left alignment for all paragraph text.
Right alignment - when magnifying text can make it very difficult to find the start of each sentence. Thankfully right alignment is rarely used in paragraph text, and as a general rule its use should be discouraged.
Centred text - faces the same challenges as right alignment, as it can be difficult to find the start of each line when using magnification.
Justified - depending on the size of the page and the scale of the text, justification can vary in the challenges it presents. Justification produces variable gaps between words on a line, and when text is scaled up the gaps can become prohibitively large. Magnification users can accidentally miss information from justified text when a large gap between words might be mistaken for the end of the line.
Left aligned - because the start of all text is on the left of the page, and spacing between words is consistent, left aligned text is the recommended alignment for paragraph text.
Columns
Text presented in columns can also create challenges for low vision use, especially where the gap between the columns is not clear and distinct. When using columns always try to leave a reasonable gap to prevent people (and scanning technology) from reading across the gap.
Widows and Orphans
A sentence which starts on the last line of a page (known as a Widow) or the tail end of a sentence or paragraph which is at the top of a page on its own (known as an Orphan) are generally considered bad practice in the print industry, and in terms of accessibility this practice is also discouraged because people using magnifiers or scanning in the text can inadvertently miss pieces of information. Wherever possible it is much better to keep sentences or paragraphs together.
Further information about page layout can be found in our section on electronic documents, and in the See it Right publication.