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Hi Marije A great initiative - the time you best catch the attention of suppliers in relation to accessibility is when you're about to part with money! Can I clarify, is this about a contract for printing your prospectuses, teaching resources etc? Or is it more about providing printing services like photocopiers etc ? if it's the former then one of the critical things to consider is the experience they have in creating accessible documents . Sample questions might include * which digital formats are created as part of your printing workflow? (EPUB3 is great if you can get it, HTML / EPUB2 next best, PDF - the most likely output - is okay if they know how to make it accessible) * are your PDFs accessible and if so what do you mean by that - please tell us what you do to ensure accessibility? * Which assistive technologies have your outputs been tested with? There may well be other questions but in the time available that all I can come up with! It's important not to be over-swayed by people who spout standards at you because they can be a smokescreen... the spouter of standards usually knows that you don't really know how to check what they are saying. It's not that the standards are unimportant. It's more that well applied standards should provide demonstrable end user benefits. Always insist on the demonstration - get them to show you how their PDFs can magnify and reflow. Get them to demonstrate text to speech working on them. Get them to demonstrate how well they've coped with describing images. A From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marije Davidson Sent: 02 April 2014 12:08 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Tendering for printing services Dear all, We are renewing our printing contract this year and we want to build equality and diversity considerations into supplier selection. I would be very grateful for suggestions for, or examples of, supplier questions. These can be general questions (about policies, for example) but we are in particular looking for functional questions (e.g. accessibility for disabled users; ability to use different name forms). If you reply to me at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> by Tuesday 8 April then I will collate the responses and share them. PS I'm hoping that by sending this email out to JISCMail groups simultaneously people who are subscribed to more than one list will get this email only once but if not - my apologies for cross-postings! Kind regards, Marije Davidson Equality and Diversity Adviser York St John University, Lord Mayor's Walk, York YO31 7EX T: 01904 406457 (please dial full number) E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> W: www.yorksj.ac.uk<http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/> @ysjequality This email and any files transmitted with it were intended solely for the addressee. If you have received this email in error please let the sender know by return. Please think before you print. This e-mail along with any attachment(s) is strictly confidential and may contain privileged information. It is intended solely for the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please do not disclose, store, copy, take any action or omit to take any action in reliance of its contents: to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender and delete the e-mail immediately. Views expressed in this e-mail are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Higher Education Academy. Please note that this e-mail has been created in the knowledge that Internet e-mail is not a secure communications medium. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security and take any necessary measures when e-mailing us. Although we have taken steps to ensure this e-mail and attachment(s) are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure that they are actually virus free as the Higher Education Academy will not be liable for any losses as a result of any viruses being passed on by this e-mail and/or any attachment(s). The Higher Education Academy. Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales no. 04931031. Registered as a charity in England and Wales no. 1101607. Registered as a charity in Scotland no. SC043946.