It isn't always just up to the creator of a PDF file to determine whether an image is being used or the underlying text is available to Adobe. That's true if the author is using desktop publishing software to create a document and is saving it in a PDF format. However, if you only have a hard copy of a document and you're going to scan it, which you often have to do when capturing a signature, then the creator of the PDF doesn't have a choice.

On 19/02/16 14:58, Alan Seemly wrote:
Alan,

I'd like to correct your statement that "PDF is actually a picture of
the document and no screen reader can read a picture to you." While it's
true that screen readers can't read images or pictures, PDF files can
most certainly be saved in either an editable or searchable format so
that their text is preserved and readable by a screen reader. Not all
PDF files are images but it is up to the creator of them to decide
whether they contain text that can be read or searched electronically.

Alan Lemly

*From:*viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] *On
Behalf Of *Alan Paganelli
*Sent:* Friday, February 19, 2016 10:18 AM
*To:* viphone@googlegroups.com
*Subject:* Re: Unacceptable Response from Issuu Support Team Regarding
VoiceOver Accessibility

I went through this with iPhone Life.  They were very nice folks who
took the time to explain to me that the reason why they use PDF is so
the magazine in PDF format looks exactly like the print magazine.  PDF
is actually a picture of the document and no screen reader can read a
picture to you.

HTH

Alan

Sent from my iPad Air


On Feb 19, 2016, at 7:31 AM, Christine Grassman <cgrassman1...@gmail.com
<mailto:cgrassman1...@gmail.com>> wrote:

    Dear All:

    Issuu is an app which provides access to millions of magazines,
    newsletters, etc., on virtually any topic you can think of.  My son,
    who is also a VoiceOver user, wanted to access his high school’s
    newspaper which is on the platform. However, it is in an image pdf.
      Furthermore, trying to get around the app is nightmarish, and it
    does not appear that any of the available resources is accessible.

    I wrote to their support center, and this is the response I
    received.  My response to that unhelpful response is first, with the
    response in the middle, with my original message at the bottom. I
    think this is absolutely something which should be available to
    those who use screen readers. If others agree, I think we should
    bombard them with requests to make their platform accessible.

    Christine



    Begin forwarded message:

    *From: *"Christine Grassman (issuu Support Team)"
    <feedb...@issuu.com <mailto:feedb...@issuu.com>>

    *Subject: Update from issuu Support Re: Poor VoiceOver accessibility*

    *Date: *February 19, 2016 at 10:16:27 AM EST

    *To: *Christine Grassman <cgrassman1...@gmail.com
    <mailto:cgrassman1...@gmail.com>>

    *Reply-To: *issuu Support Team <feedb...@issuu.com
    <mailto:feedb...@issuu.com>>

    ## Please do not write below this line ##

    Christine

        

    *Christine Grassman*

    Feb 19, 16:16

    With all due respect, there is no excuse for this. Apple makes
    available to developers, free of charge, guidelines for making apps
    accessible. There's absolutely no reason not to do this.
    Christine

    Sent from my iPhone

    Angel

        

    *Angel*(Help Center)

    Feb 19, 11:51

    Hi Christine,

    Unfortunately we don't have a way for those with visual impairments
    to use screen reading technology or have a way to make our site
    accessible at this time. We also haven't been informed of any plans
    to add that functionality any time soon. I'm so very sorry about that.

    If we do introduce this functionality at any point, we will put up
    an announcement on our blog (blog.issuu.com
    <http://blog.issuu.com/>) and on our help center (help.issuu.com
    <http://help.issuu.com/>), so please do keep checking these places
    for updates.

    Please don't hesitate to write back if you have any other questions,
    and we'd be happy to assist you.

    Best regards,
    Angel

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    issuu is oniOS <http://bit.ly/issuuonios>andAndroid
    <http://bit.ly/IssuuOnAndroid>.

    To learn more about issuu, please visit ourHelp Center
    <http://help.issuu.com/hc/en-us>.

    Christine

        

    *Christine Grassman*

    Feb 15, 22:42

    I am blind, as are my children. We use iPhones with VoiceOver
    accessibility to access text. I am deeply disappointed that Issuu is
    not voiceover accessible. Only some features are accessible, and one
    cannot find and read magazines. In this day and age, this is
    unacceptable. Information should be accessible to us just as to others.
    There is no reason why the text of your millions of publications
    should not be accessible using a screen reader. I hope that you will
    address this as quickly as possible.
    Christine Grassman

    Sent from my iPhone

    This email is a service from Help Center. Delivered byZendesk
    <http://www.zendesk.com/>.

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