Welcome to Episode 22 of our Making College PDFs Accessible series! In today’s episode, we’ll walk through a hands-on, practical process for turning a non-accessible college PDF into a fully WCAG-compliant document. Using a real example from Evergreen College, we’ll explore how fix color contrast and tagging issues, and run accessibility checks using trusted, professional tools.
Video Guide
If you are interested in the real-life practice and nuances of document remediation, please check out the other posts in our Making College PDFs Accessible series.
Identifying Accessibility Issues
Color Contrast Failures
The TPGi Color Contrast Analyzer tool revealed that:
- White text on a blue background failed contrast requirements.
- Green text on a white background also failed.
The solution involved changing both sets of text to black, ensuring compliance with minimum contrast ratios.
Problems with Canva-Generated PDFs
Inspection of the tags panel showed that the PDF originated in Canva, a design platform notorious for accessibility issues. Canva-exported PDFs typically include:
- Incorrect or poorly structured tags.
- Weak accessibility metadata.
- Minimal compliance with PDF/UA standards.
The Accessibility Guy recommends creating fliers and other graphics with Venngage to minimize accessibility issues on export to PDF. Venngage is an excellent, accessible alternative to Canva!
Correcting Document Tags
Auto-Tagging for Structure
The auto-tag tool in Adobe Acrobat created a new tag structure, providing a more workable base than the Canva output.
Manual Tag Adjustments
The structure was refined by:
- Setting the document title as an H1 heading.
- Artifacting unnecessary tags.
- Assigning text as p tags.
- Removing irrelevant or empty tags.
- Ensuring links appeared as proper hyperlinks.
Metadata and Link Accessibility
Updating Metadata
The Document Properties panel was updated with:
- Title: Virtual Scholarship Workshops
- Author: Evergreen College
- Subject: Virtual Workshops
- Keywords: Accessible PDF, Scholarships
Handling Links
The flyer contained a raw Zoom meeting URL. While descriptive text usually improves accessibility, the raw URL remained since the flyer was meant for print.
Running Accessibility Checks
Adobe Acrobat’s Built-in Checker
After remediation, Adobe’s internal accessibility checker passed the document.
PAC 2024 Tool Results
PAC 2024 identified further issues:
- Fonts were not embedded.
- Link annotations lacked proper content entries.
- The PDF/UA identifier was missing.
The corrected file passed both WCAG 2.1 and PDF/UA compliance tests, verifying it as accessible.
Recommendations
- Avoid Canva for accessible document creation.
- Use Venngage, a platform that exports more accessible files with fewer fixes required.
- Always validate documents with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and the PAC 2024 tool.
- Apply accessibility principles during the design stage rather than relying solely on PDF remediation.
This case study emphasizes the importance of starting with accessible design tools, embedding accessibility into the creation process, and using professional checkers to confirm compliance.
Let me be your champion for inclusion. I offer tailored solutions (and self-paced courses!) to ensure your documents meet and exceed compliance expectations. For more detailed insights, tutorials, and in-depth discussions on accessibility and related topics, don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel: The Accessibility Guy on YouTube. Subscribe for regular updates!
