Tools make PDF files accessible
From: Federal Computer Week - June 25, 2001
By: William Matthews

Federal agencies continue to grapple with accessibility on the Internet, and
in particular with Web sites that use PDF files.  

There are tens of thousands of such files on government sites, according to
Greg Pisocky of the government systems division of Adobe Systems Inc., the
company that invented the PDF.  

The format is a favorite of agencies because it enables them to preserve the
appearance of the government documents they post on the Web. But some PDF
documents pose accessibility problems because they are difficult to access
with screen readers or refreshable Braille devices used by people who are
blind or otherwise visually impaired.  

Adobe has taken several steps to overcome the problem. To help Web designers
create accessible pages for users with vision impairments, Adobe has created
the Make Accessible plug-in, which works with the latest version of its
document exchange software, Adobe Acrobat 5.0.  

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/0625/tec-pdf-06-25-01.asp