Document Conversion Guidelines

Best practices for enhancing document accessibility

When sending documents to be digitized, please consider the following:

Photocopies are not a substitute for the original, unless it is the only thing available. (The reason for this is the contrast from being scanned do not digitize well).

If something contains pictures and/or color text we MUST have the original, due to formatting issues.
If something needs to be converted to an entirely different format e.g. Braille, we need original text documents if at all possible. While we can do it from images of the text, it takes at least twice as long.
Documents that are being turned into Braille cannot have images or extensive formatting as those things will be lost in the final document.
Turnaround time depends on what has to be done. The following are approximate turnaround times for different formats:

• Text documents - 1 day
• Textbooks, etc - depends on the content, generally requires 1-2 weeks
• Converting PDF's to make them accessible - 1 day depending on the length and graphics content.
• Creating Accessible PDF's for distribution from other formats e.g. word documents - 1-2 days depending on formatting, content, etc

Rushes can be put on things, however please let us know if you have a rush request when you will need the document(s). We prefer to have at least two days to work on items, due to the complexity of the work.

Everything that is done is done in the Portable Document Format (PDF) requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 or higher in order to use them, it is a free download and should already be on your computer. If you want to access it, go to www.adobe.com/products/reader/.

If you have any questions contact Erin Salva (salvae@kenyon.edu) extension 5453.