Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design. Online Vs. Print Publishing. Writing@CSU Guide As printing became more prominent and widely accepted, it also became more commonplace. Following World War II, a great deal of machines were put into action stimulating circulation. Just as the distribution and number of printed texts expanded to reach a variety of audiences and range of topics and knowledge, so the world of texts online is expanding rapidly. And while there are not near the amount of constraints of wars and technology upon production, the future of online publishing may change our world. How we read and learn from the face of the screen staring at us as well as how we read from the printed page is changing. Online and print publishing are significantly different. WAC: Why Use PDF? Download/print this document in PDF format (may require Adobe Reader). Note: the following is a reprint [slightly edited] of a response posted to a WebAIM discussion board.
To see the complete discussion, visit the WebAIM discussion archive: "PDF vs HTML". Since the requirements for creating an accessible PDF document closely mirror the requirements for accessible HTML "conversion", the effort required is approximately equal. However, one is a proprietary format, the other is an "open" and public format. The bigger question is, why is he arguing this point? Your colleague has done a decent job rebutting (or rather, arguing against) the points made, however he has not (to my mind) provided evidence on the superiority or benefit of using PDF in lieu of HTML.
As we move to a more "web-centric" world, not all participants will be using Internet Explorer with the Adobe Plugin. John Foliot Web Accessibility Specialist / Co-founder of WATS.ca Web Accessibility Testing and Services. PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption. Use of PDFs.