During my first semester of college, I realized that my print disability was more “obvious” than I thought it was. This probably sounds like an odd observation from someone that was diagnosed with low vision around age three and that stopped reading physical books in middle school, but I had not noticed how much I relied on assistive technology, display customizations, and other accessibility settings to access print materials in physical and digital formats until I created a handout for one of my classes about disability and classroom accommodations for print disabilities.
As my vision loss has changed over time, I have updated my list of what I have learned about print disabilities to include new strategies, accommodations, and modifications that have helped me with accessing standard print visually across multiple contexts— even as a PhD student, I am always learning something new! Here is a list of resources and accommodations for print disabilities that I have used as a student with low vision that accesses information visually.
Background: What is a print disability?
A print disability is defined as the inability to read standard print due to a visual, perceptual, physical, cognitive, developmental, or learning disability. People with print disabilities use alternative access methods or assistive technology to read physical or digital printed materials, which can encompass a variety of different methods including braille, large print, audio formats, simplified reading displays, or a combination of multiple formats.
A print disability is not a separate disability classification, rather it refers to a person’s functional ability to interact with printed materials. Assessments for print disability are usually done in conjunction with other diagnostic tests or assessments— in my case, I was diagnosed with a print disability by a low vision ophthalmologist because my vision loss cannot be corrected by glasses, contacts, or surgery (though I do wear prescription glasses with a lined bifocal).
What is standard print?
Standard print is defined as printed or digital text materials that do not have any additional modifications to make them easier to see. Standard print is typically around 10 to 12 point font (or 16px in browsers) and can be either a serif (e.g. Times New Roman) or sans serif (e.g. Arial) font. Some examples of standard print include a book off the shelf, a newspaper, or a website with default zoom settings enabled.
Related links
- Accessing The News With Assistive Technology
- How To Create Accessible Summer Reading Lists For Print Disabilities
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- My Favorite Free Fonts For Print Disabilities
Determining access preferences for low vision
Whenever possible, I prefer to access information visually instead of using auditory or tactile media (e.g. text-to-speech or braille). Two of the major components of my visual impairment are double vision and reduced visual acuity, which make it impossible for me to read standard print even when I am wearing glasses— I can’t identify letters or locate items on a page because of the distorted double, blurry vision.
For me, reading text with a larger font size or large print makes it possible to access printed materials. However, everyone’s definition of large print is different— it can be as small as 14-pt font or larger than 96-pt font, depending on who you ask! Some people with low vision may not use large print if they have a narrower visual field.
To figure out what font size would work best for me, my low vision ophthalmologist provided several copies of large print materials and had me read them during a visit to identify which font size was the most comfortable to read. They used this information to determine the recommended font style and font size for print materials that would be used for my disability accommodations at school, and reminded me that vision loss can fluctuate— I would need to learn how to increase font sizes for digital materials and not strain my eyes or force myself to read smaller font.
Another professional that can provide advice on large print is the teacher of the visually impaired/teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI/TSVI). They can evaluate students using assessments such as a functional vision evaluation (FVA/FVE) or a learning media assessment (LMA).
Related links
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Ten Lessons My TVI Taught Me
- Veronica’s Four Eyes: All About My Glasses For Low Vision
- Using PicsArt To Simulate Low Vision
Accessible materials for print disabilities
My high school IEP for low vision and college disability accommodations list a minimum font size for print materials, which has changed as my vision loss has progressed— font sizes listed over the years have included 18-pt, 20-pt, 22-pt, and 24-pt fonts, and now my preferred font size is somewhere around 28-pt to 32-pt depending on the task. My level of usable vision often fluctuates due to environmental factors like lighting, temperature, and fatigue, so I prefer digital materials when possible since they offer more options for zoom/magnification or adjusting font sizes.
Here is a list of tips and strategies that I have shared with teachers and professors over the years for creating accessible print materials to accommodate my print disability:
- Use a sans-serif font like Arial when possible, because serif fonts are often harder to read with double vision.
- Provide digital copies of notes, slideshows, or other information that is shown on the board or projector, which can help with notetaking and enlarging text.
- When possible, use double spacing for lines of text on handouts, or provide digital copies in reflowable layouts (Word, EPUB, HTML website) so I can enable it myself.
- Write symbols, subscripts, or superscripts larger. This includes dynamics for sheet music.
- Share documents as a Word document, EPUB, or website (HTML) as these support text resizing better than a PDF in a fixed layout. I can adjust font sizes on my own when using reflowable formats like those mentioned above.
- Have text in a single-column layout, as multiple columns close together can be hard to read or navigate.
I prefer digital formats because they are easier for me to enlarge on my own and don’t require a trip to the copier— I use a laptop, iPad, or phone to read text in the classroom depending on the task. That said, I primarily received physical copies of accessible materials in middle school and high school, and have a post that goes into detail about low vision accommodations for print materials below.
Related links
- Low Vision Accommodations For Print Materials From My Low Vision IEP
- Ten Spooky Inaccessible Assignments For Low Vision Students
- Implementing Shared Folders For Accessible Materials
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
Sourcing accessible file formats for print disabilities
As great as it would be to have books and classroom materials accessible by default, individuals with print disabilities often have to locate accessible file formats that support large print, text-to-speech, braille, or other access modalities. This is something that will need to be addressed as part of an IEP, 504 plan, or disability accommodations in college. Sources that I have used for accessible materials include:
- For students in K-12 schools, NIMAC provides accessible textbooks and classroom materials in a variety of file formats. As a student in Virginia, I used AIM-VA. NIMAC coordinators may also partner with Learning Ally for accessible materials.
- eBook stores and mainstream eReading apps that support larger font sizes as part of their reading tools.
- Requesting alternative formats for textbooks from my college assistive technology office and/or Disability Services.
- Bookshare for books, some textbooks, and novels— Bookshare is an accessible online library available for users with a qualifying print disability.
- University library and databases for locating journal articles in HTML formats or options that support large font sizes.
I have linked several other lists of resources for locating accessible materials below for further reading.
Related links
- Receiving Accessible Educational Materials With NIMAC and AIM-VA
- Ten Cool Things You Didn’t Know About Bookshare
- Ten Questions To Ask When Buying Digital Textbooks
- How To Request Accessible Textbooks In College
- How I Read Research Sources With Assistive Technology
- How I Find Research Sources In Accessible Formats
- How To Find Accessible Picture Books For Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Classroom Posters For Students With Visual Impairments
- Free Accessible Periodic Tables For Low Vision
- Reading Bookshare Titles With Microsoft Word
Low-tech or no-tech assistive technology for print disabilities
When people think of assistive technology for print disabilities, they often imagine high-tech computers and software reading text out loud. I share more about those types of tools later in the post, but there is so much more to assistive technology for print disabilities than just high-tech devices. Here is a list of low-tech or no-tech assistive technology and accessibility strategies that I have used as a student with a print disability:
- Colored paper or colored overlay for decreasing glare on a page. These are also known as acetate sheets.
- Index card, line guide, or line tracker for blocking out surrounding text.
- High contrast markers or pens for writing or making text/symbols larger.
- Colored highlighters or markers, which can make text or symbols easier to see or identify.
- Larger paper sizes for print materials, which display enlarged text without cutting words or symbols off at the edges.
- Slanted display for reading or positioning pages/screens at a comfortable angle.
- Magnifying glasses or magnifying sheets for enlarging printed text.
Other simple strategies that help me with managing a print disability include having extended time for exams and highly visual tasks, preferential seating for choosing a seat in class, and getting a list of books and textbooks ahead of time so that I can track down accessible formats.
Related links
- Paper Colors And Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- Writing Aids For Low Vision: My Personal Superlatives
- Highlighting Information With Low Vision
- Paper Sizes and Low Vision Accessibility
- Magnifying Glasses For Low Vision
- How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
Mid-tech assistive technology for print disabilities
What is mid-tech assistive technology? In this context, mid-tech assistive technology for print disabilities includes devices that require a computer or another device, or that are powered by a battery. Some examples of mid-tech assistive technology I use with a print disability include:
- RFID labels or QR codes for identifying objects instead of reading labels— these are mostly used at home.
- Scanning pen that recognizes text with optical character recognition (OCR).
- External camera that connects to a computer or tablet and can be used to enlarge text.
- Stylus for accessing text content on a tablet.
- Video magnifier or screen magnification for enlarging text— these may also be classified as high-tech tools.
- Audiobook player or CD player.
This is by no means a list of every assistive technology tool or device someone with a print disability “should” use, rather it is a list of options that individuals may want to consider for themselves.
Related links
- Assistive Technology For Medication Labels
- ScanMarker Air: OCR Scanner Pen for Low Vision
- Apple Pencil Customizations For Writing With Low Vision
- All About The Eschenbach SmartLux Digital Video Magnifier
- Windows Magnifier and Low Vision
High-tech assistive technology for print disabilities
As a college student with low vision that primarily takes online classes, I spend a lot of time using high-tech assistive technology for print disabilities. However, high-tech does not necessarily mean high-cost or speciality devices— many mainstream devices offer accessibility settings for print disabilities as well.
Some examples of high-tech assistive technology for print disabilities include:
- Computers, tablets, smartphones
- eReaders or eReader applications
- Simplified reading displays that apply a consistent font size, page color, and layout to digital text
- Text-to-speech or screen readers
- External monitors or screen mirroring tools (e.g. AirPlay, Google Cast)
- Smart speakers or virtual assistants
Out of all of the items on the list, I use an iPad tablet, simplified reading display, and computer/phone with accessibility settings enabled the most often. I like that I can position a tablet screen underneath the bifocal in my glasses, which is easier and more comfortable than leaning close to a computer screen.
Related links
- Why I Prefer My Schoolwork Digitally: Updated Edition
- My Talk At A Future Date: What I Wish I Learned About AT Before Starting College
- How I Use My eReader For School and Online Classes
- How I Use Microsoft Immersive Reader With Low Vision
- How I Use Google Chromecast With Low Vision
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Read
Ten things I wish I knew about print disabilities in high school
While this post has undergone several updates over the years, the motivation for writing it remains the same— I wanted to share the things I wish I had learned about print disabilities before graduating from high school and starting college. These can best be summarized in the following ways:
- Straining isn’t seeing— if something is physically painful to look at, it’s okay to admit you can’t see it.
- For math and science, you need to read every single symbol and number. Guessing what something says will lead to you getting it wrong!
- If you can’t see something, tell someone or find a way to enlarge it yourself. Don’t expect people to exempt you from assignments.
- Vision fluctuates and changes over time. It makes sense that someone might have more trouble reading at the end of a school day.
- Color is a great tool for labeling, and color-coding is a great way to help with identifying information in math and science classes.
- Large print is not a specific font size— sometimes even “large print” books at the library are too small.
- A print disability does not cease to exist outside of the classroom. Develop strategies for accessing environmental text, reading flyers, and handwritten notes from friends.
- Enlarging your own sheet music is an awesome skill to have, keep it up! Also consider trying different page sizes for music so it can fit on a stand.
- You didn’t fail a test, the test failed you because it wasn’t in large print. Don’t get frustrated over your visual impairment or print disability, get frustrated over a lack of accessible materials and think of ideas to make things easier to read.
- It’s annoying to have to spend time figuring out how to make something accessible before actually getting to read or learn something. But these access skills will one day become second nature, and you’ll be texting with your friends, reading books for fun, and thriving in college!
It is awesome to think about how I went from struggling with a print disability in high school to pursuing a PhD where I focus my research on access to print materials for students with low vision.
Related links
- Learning to Self-Advocate
- Math Test Accommodations For Low Vision
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Reading Handwriting With Assistive Technology
- My Large Print Music Binder
- Texting and Low Vision
- Why I Study Assistive Technology
More resources for students with print disabilities
- While some print disabilities like dyslexia are not affected by numbers, low vision is. I share strategies for making math content accessible in How To Create An Accessible Formula Sheet
- Want to learn more about access to digital text? Read A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- Interested in more content about print disabilities? Check out Reading and Writing archives | Veroniiiica
Published February 20, 2017. Updated July 2025