New NCBI Clear Print Mark

July 8 2010, 09:02am

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NCBI Media Centre recently launched its new clear print mark and advisory service

About NCBI

NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland) provides a range of quality services to people experiencing significant problems with their eyesight. There are more than 15,000 people who are blind or vision impaired using NCBI services at the moment. Of this figure, 82 per cent have some useful vision.

About Sight Loss

Someone experiencing sight loss may have blurred vision, colours can become dulled and it may be difficult to see small details. The person may also have difficulty scanning text and may be able to see only a small part of an image or text at a time.

Clear Print Can Help

Clear print is a design principle that makes printed information easier to read for everyone, but particularly for people with sight problems.

NCBI Media Centre recently launched its new clear print mark and advisory service as a way to assist voluntary, public and private organisations to make their printed information more accessible using clear print design.

The aim of the quality mark is to acknowledge organisations that use clear print design in their printed information. To achieve this quality mark, organisations can submit documents, forms, posters and any other printed information to NCBI’s Media Centre, who will advise on its accessibility in terms of clear print principles and recommend changes which will make it easier to read.

Organisations who comply will be awarded the clear print quality mark which can be placed on a publication.

There is a charge for this service.

Ensuring that information is made accessible has become increasingly important since the introduction of the Disability Act 2005, which obliges public bodies to provide information in accessible formats. Social and corporate responsibility too has become more important, where all organisations now understand the benefits of providing, and being seen to provide, greater access to information to people with sight problems.

More Information

Please Lina Kouzi, NCBI Library and Media Centre manager, by phone 01-8642266 or by email on Lina.Kouzi@ncbi.ie for any enquiries about this new service.

Further information also available on NCBI website here http://www.ncbi.ie/services/services-for-organisations/making-print-and-multimedia-accessible-mcs