Tips for Creating Accessible Print Materials

Content

• Ensure your message is clear, including for people:
  • Outside of your field
  • Of varying education levels
  • Of varying cognitive abilities
  • Under stress (Example: during an evacuation from wildfire)
• Ensure your content is well written
  • Use plain language
  • Use common words
  • Define any words that may be unfamiliar
  • Avoid acronyms, abbreviations, jargons, idioms
  • Convey one idea at a time
  • Avoid if/then sentences
  • Use short sentences
  • Use active voice
• Ensure your content is well organized
  • Place the most important info first
  • Use headings
    • Use headings in order
    • Use a unique style for each level
    • Ensure each level’s style is consistent
  • Use short bulleted/numbered lists where possible/appropriate
  • Accompany text with visuals and visuals with text

Design

• Ensure design is clean, attractive, organized
  • Use white space
  • Justify text left
  • Use columns (~8-15 words wide)
  • Use headings
    • Use headings in order
    • Use a unique style for each level
    • Ensure each level’s style is consistent
  • Avoid awkward hyphenations
  • Draw attention to key takeaways
  • Clearly distinguish need-to-know vs. nice-to-know info

Colors

• Use good color contrast
  • Among and between all of the colors in any visuals
  • Between visuals and the background color
  • Between the font and background color
    • Consider the font size
    • Consider the paper color, texture and weight
  • Most readable
    • Black text on white background/paper
  • Tip: Use a checker, such as Colour Contrast Analyser, and print the document in black and white to test contrast
• When color conveys meaning, include a secondary indicator (texture, etc.)
• Limit colored text to titles, headlines, brief passages

Visuals

• Avoid text on images
• Use high-resolution visuals
• Reference and explain visuals in the text
• Locate visuals near their text reference/explanation
• Accompany visuals with explanatory labels/captions/legends/keys, etc.

Fonts

• Stay away from all caps
• Balance leading/tracking with font size/weight
• Use bold or heavy, not italics or caps, for emphasis
• Make body copy 12-18 point, depending on the font
• Use brand fonts (Myriad Pro (headings and body copy), Minion Pro (body copy), Arial)
  • Sans-Serif fonts (Myriad Pro) can be easier to read
  • Serif fonts (Minion Pro) can be harder to read
• Don’t use
  • Fonts with light/thin letters
  • Complicated, decorative or script fonts
  • Fonts that have large changes in line stroke width
  • Extra black, italic or condensed fonts
    • Or, use only with larger fonts/in bigger font sizes

Printing

• Use
  • Matte paper
  • Wide binding margins
  • Spiral bindings if possible
  • Heavier weight paper when printing double-sided