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Printing to Adobe PDF creates img only, untagged PDF

seabizquik
seabizquik
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When I print a page in Firefox (66.0.3) and select Adobe PDF, the resulting pdf is not OCRed or tagged. I end up with pretty much an image-only PDF that is inaccessible to users of screen readers.

In Chrome, if I print the same page and select Save as PDF, the resulting document IS OCRed and tagged.

Firefox has been a browser of choice for NVDA screen reader users, but this issue causes some serious accessibility problems.

There should be an option to "Save as PDF" that OCRs and tags the document. Why would anyone want an untagged PDF? you might as well just use a jpg....

When I print a page in Firefox (66.0.3) and select Adobe PDF, the resulting pdf is not OCRed or tagged. I end up with pretty much an image-only PDF that is inaccessible to users of screen readers. In Chrome, if I print the same page and select Save as PDF, the resulting document IS OCRed and tagged. Firefox has been a browser of choice for NVDA screen reader users, but this issue causes some serious accessibility problems. There should be an option to "Save as PDF" that OCRs and tags the document. Why would anyone want an untagged PDF? you might as well just use a jpg....

All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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When you print to a virtual printer like Adobe PDF, Firefox will sometimes send text and drawing instructions, and sometimes send an image. The most common reason Firefox will send an image is when the site uses downloadable web fonts instead of built-in fonts. I guess Firefox doesn't want to embed those fonts for some reason.

Do you have a recent version of Adobe Acrobat? If so, try using the Adobe Acrobat extension (previously called Create PDF) to convert the page to PDF. The extension should add an Acrobat button to the main toolbar for this. If you don't see the button, you can check whether the extension is enabled on the Add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
  • type or paste about:addons in the address bar and press Enter/Return

In the left column of the Add-ons page, click Extensions.

Then find Adobe Acrobat on the right side. If it is disabled, it usually will appear at the bottom on a grayed background.