Genuine digital text — text that’s searchable and selectable, rather than just an image of text — is essential for users of assistive technology.
Images of text (including scanned documents) can present many problems to users of assistive technology, so it is vital we provide proper digital, reflowable text. Real digital text is text that you type or can select with your mouse pointer. You can also think of this as “searchable text” or “selectable text.”
When we use truly digital text (rather than images of text), users can adjust the font family and font spacing, which may be particularly important for people with dyslexia. Users can also more easily adjust the colors and color contrast to improve readability. Proper digital text ensures that when people with low vision magnify your content, the text will reflow nicely and maintain a clear resolution. Real digital text is also a prerequisite for text-to-speech tools (including screen readers) to work reliably and effectively.
More broadly, when we use genuine digital text, it is easier for everyone to search and annotate the text and copy/paste when necessary.
Sometimes images of text will be essential for your work, such as text included within a logo or perhaps images of a particular font, and in these cases it is perfectly appropriate to use images of text. However, for ordinary text that’s meant to convey information, we should use true digital text where possible.
What To Do
Wherever possible, avoid using images of text in favor of proper digital, reflowable text (text that is searchable and selectable).
Beware scanned documents. Try to locate a born-digital source to share instead (such as a Word document, ebook, or a webpage). If you need to share scanned documents, use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tools to convert the scans into actual digital text and correct any errors before sharing with others.
Human Impacts
Without genuine digital text, your content won’t reflow when users try to zoom, forcing people with low vision to repeatedly scroll in all directions to view your content. Additionally, when users zoom in with magnification tools, the text will blur rather than maintaining a clear resolution, and people who may need to adjust the font family, font spacing, or color contrast can be prevented from doing so.
Without proper digital text, text-to-speech tools won’t work reliably and screen readers simply won’t work. This can block access for people who are blind and introduce significant barriers for people with cognitive disabilities such as dyslexia.
WCAG References
This skill corresponds to the following success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG):
- 1.4.5 Images of Text (Level AA)