A Space for Thoughtful 
About the Client
The client is a global leader in children’s publishing and literacy solutions, producing books, curriculum programs, classroom magazines, and multimedia content that support learning and reading engagement worldwide. With a strong emphasis on educational quality and compliance, the organization requires digital content that meets accessibility standards while adhering to intellectual property and licensing regulations.
Challenges They Faced
The client required the creation of an accessible fixed-layout ePUB from source PDFs while ensuring strict compliance with font licensing restrictions.
Key challenges included:
- Font Licensing Constraints: Several fonts embedded in the source PDFs were not licensed for ePUB distribution and required masking without altering the visual design.
- Accurate Font Identification: All fonts used in the PDFs had to be extracted, analyzed, and cross-verified against a client-provided licensed font list.
- Selective Font Masking: Only confirmed unlicensed fonts could be masked, while licensed fonts needed to remain intact to preserve typographic consistency.
- Accessibility Preservation: Font masking could not compromise WCAG accessibility requirements, including text selectability and compatibility with assistive technologies.
- Design Fidelity Requirements: The final ePUB had to maintain the original layout, typography, and visual integrity of the source PDF.
Solutions We Offered
A structured font audit and compliant conversion workflow was implemented to meet both licensing and accessibility requirements:
- Comprehensive Font Audit: Extracted and analyzed all fonts from the source PDFs using an in-house tool, followed by a detailed audit report identifying licensed and unlicensed fonts for client validation.
- Client-Approved Masking Strategy: Implemented font masking only for confirmed unlicensed fonts, ensuring precise compliance without unnecessary modifications.
- SVG-Based Font Masking: Converted unlicensed fonts into SVG format using Adobe Illustrator, preserving visual accuracy while keeping text selectable and accessible.
- Accessibility-Conscious Implementation: Ensured masked text remained readable by assistive technologies and met WCAG accessibility standards.
- Hybrid Font Preservation Approach: Retained licensed fonts in their original format, maintaining typographic consistency and layout integrity.
Results We Delivered
- Produced a fully accessible fixed-layout ePUB that met WCAG requirements while complying with font licensing restrictions.
- Delivered a verified font audit report enabling transparent validation of licensed versus unlicensed fonts prior to conversion.
- Masked unlicensed fonts without altering layout or readability, preserving the original visual design and user experience.
- Maintained text selectability and assistive technology compatibility, ensuring the ePUB remained fully accessible.
- Achieved first-pass client approval, eliminating rework and accelerating time to publication.
Client Quote
“The team’s detailed font analysis and the SVG-based font masking solution addressed our licensing, accessibility, and design requirements seamlessly. The final accessible fixed-layout ePUB met all our expectations, enabling a smooth and successful sign-off.”