[Mr_Beer]

Note:
The last entry in this thread is a postscript regarding a recent article in the WSJ about ADA compliance..

This thread is fairly long and if you are interested go to my last post on the topic. 
I recommended that we have 'learned' a lot about this topic and now the AHA needs time to respond. 

I believe that this thread should be closed.

*** Start of original thread  ***

I am trying to read the Zmurgy magazine on a desktop computer with a fairly large screen.

The articles are essentially unreadable for average users with low vision.  Try as I could I can find no way to enlarge the print to be viewable by humans.

Tried on a Surface with an 'expandable' screen and the same result -- no ability to read the text of the article.

This is not what I expected from the digital edition. 

[bucknut]

double click in the area of text you wish to read,  it will zoom 1 level and then  + - will appear in the bottom right hand of the screen.

[Mr_Beer]

With all due respect, my assessment stands.  Your suggestions failed.
Opened Zymurgy in a Firefox browser tab.
Selected an article and clicked.  It did not increase in size -- what you referred to as level 1.
+ is available but repetitive clicks do no good at all. 

Repeated the same action with Chrome browser.  Same result.

Very disappointing -- ADA compliance apparently has been ignored in pursuit of some other publication objectives. 

[KellerBrauer]

I find this thread very interesting.  I currently subscribe to the print version of BYO.  However, I’m disappointed with BYO because, as of late, much of their on-line content is off limits to me even though I pay for my subscription.  So, as such, I have decided to allow my subscription to expire at the end of this year and move toward Zymurgy instead.  Now, however, while I will still cancel my subscription for BYO, I’m having second thoughts about buying Zymurgy .

I see this is not the only thread about Zymurgy and it’s graphics and print styles.  Is this a common occurrence for this publication?

[Mr_Beer]

I will move a skosh beyond just complaining and offer some observations...

• All magazines want their digital editions to contain copies of the ads in their printed editions -- that is their bargain with the advertisers to deliver eyeballs.
• There ave various ways to do this -- Zinio, PDF document with ads contained there in, etc.
• Zymurgy seems to have selected a method that is lower cost and focused on the phone user to the exclusion of the PC or workstation user.  Reading an article on a phone that has technical data is almost impossible in my personal view. 
• The results are poor for the reader but probably contractually compliant for their advertisers.  More importantly, they have completely failed on ADA compliance. 
• Apparently Zymurgy was delivered in a .PDF document previously but that system has changed.  My guess is that it was because of cost issues. 

 
I am certain that the market and customers will eventually 'help' the publisher understand what the customer expects.

At some time it would be useful to have AHA management or publication personnel weigh in on this thread. 

[Robert]

I find this thread very interesting.  I currently subscribe to the print version of BYO.  However, I’m disappointed with BYO because, as of late, much of their on-line content is off limits to me even though I pay for my subscription.  So, as such, I have decided to allow my subscription to expire at the end of this year and move toward Zymurgy instead.  Now, however, while I will still cancel my subscription for BYO, I’m having second thoughts about buying Zymurgy .

I see this is not the only thread about Zymurgy and it’s graphics and print styles.  Is this a common occurrence for this publication?

For comparison:  I have an online only subscription to Zymurgy,  and (luckily) print and online access for Craft Beer & Brewing.   CB&B online is utterly useless.  Can't size pages, even.  Without the print edition I'd be screwed.  Zymurgy online, while flawed, is at least usable.   The design problems here are not entirely due to the platform, they're just bad design choices.   And mostly of recent origin with the general redesign of the magazine,  so let's give the staff the benefit of the doubt and assume a learning curve.   Meanwhile the online platform could still be improved.

[Mr_Beer]

Thank you Robert for commenting.   I agree that there were some poor design choices -- most likely because management had not thought through the online magazine component of their offering and the developer did what he/she thought best.  No fault, just different design choices.

Based on your status as a 'Brewmaster General' and the number of posts I assume you have some creds with the AHA folks.  It would be helpful if you would point their nose to this thread.

It would be even better if an AHA person weighed in on this topic.

Let's not forget that at this time Zymurgy is not ADA compliant.  That is the central issue that will need to be addressed eventually

[ethinson]

I see this is not the only thread about Zymurgy and it’s graphics and print styles.  Is this a common occurrence for this publication?

They recently changed some of their styling, maybe a couple months ago? Not sure if they got a new editor or just wanted a "refresh" but a lot of the logos and fonts changed.  The white text on the yellow page in the most current issue is the first time I've noticed a difficulty. I turned to that page and couldn't read it at all.

[Wilbur]

Thank you Robert for commenting.   I agree that there were some poor design choices -- most likely because management had not thought through the online magazine component of their offering and the developer did what he/she thought best.  No fault, just different design choices.

Based on your status as a 'Brewmaster General' and the number of posts I assume you have some creds with the AHA folks.  It would be helpful if you would point their nose to this thread.

It would be even better if an AHA person weighed in on this topic.

Let's not forget that at this time Zymurgy is not ADA compliant.  That is the central issue that will need to be addressed eventually

Here's something you might try-at the top of the page, click the "Menu" icon in the upper left corner. Then select the second option down, "Content view". When you're in content view, you can select and article and adjust the text size through the Text button on the upper right hand of the screen. Unfortunately, you can't see any of the pictures in this mode. You can also print the article, or save it as a PDF in this mode.

[Dave Carpenter]

Hey Mr. Beer-

Thanks for the feedback. I can think of a couple of solutions that might help.

For zooming, there are two ways to accomplish this when using the eZymurgy digital edition interface on a desktop or laptop. In the default view (a.k.a Page View), you can do what Bucknut suggested and double click a page. This will bring up a '+' and "-" button in the lower right hand corner. You can click the plus sign 2 more times to further zoom.

The better option for bigger text is to hit the "Menu" option on the top left corner and select "Contents View." This will give you plain text version of the articles. Select the article you want to read by clicking on it and then you can adjust the font size by clicking the "Size" option on the top right corner. It has two levels of zoom.

In Contents View, you can even go bigger than the maximum font size of the viewer by using Safari's or Chrome's native zoom feature. I don't know the shortcut to do this in Safari (maybe a Mac person can chime in), but in Chrome, you can use Ctrl+ ("control plus") to zoom in and Ctrl- ("control minus") to zoom out. Alternatively, hold control and use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

For mobile access, we recommend downloading the Zymurgy App (in Apple and Google app stores) since eZymurgy (the browser-based digital edition) was not designed specifically for smart phone or tablet.

I will also check with our Creative department to see if any adjustments can be made at the printer, which is who hosts the digital editions.

Thanks again for the feedback and I hope this helps!
Prost,
Dave

[Dave Carpenter]

They recently changed some of their styling, maybe a couple months ago? Not sure if they got a new editor or just wanted a "refresh" but a lot of the logos and fonts changed.  The white text on the yellow page in the most current issue is the first time I've noticed a difficulty. I turned to that page and couldn't read it at all.

Nope, same editor. We did refresh the look and feel of the magazine starting with Nov/Dec 2018 (the previous refresh was in 2005). I have received a number of emails about the white text on yellow background, and yes, contrast is something we are paying close attention to for upcoming issues. The page in question was actually quite readable in pre-production, but that obviously didn't translate well once it was printed on glossy magazine stock and mailed out to tens of thousands of members.

[denny]

Thank you Robert for commenting.   I agree that there were some poor design choices -- most likely because management had not thought through the online magazine component of their offering and the developer did what he/she thought best.  No fault, just different design choices.

Based on your status as a 'Brewmaster General' and the number of posts I assume you have some creds with the AHA folks.  It would be helpful if you would point their nose to this thread.

It would be even better if an AHA person weighed in on this topic.

Let's not forget that at this time Zymurgy is not ADA compliant.  That is the central issue that will need to be addressed eventually

I have contacted the appropriate people from the AHA.

[Mr_Beer]

Thank you Dave Carpenter for your response to my concerns.

Now that I understand that your hard copy magazine printer does your digital publication that would explain a number of observations and quirks.  To be fair your printer was most likely selected based on cost and response time metrics, not based on their ability to do great digital publications.

My testing has involved PC workstations (desktop and Surface) with Firefox and Chrome browsers.  Additionally it has involved an Android device using the Zymurgy app on a tablet and a phone. 

There are several issues and an obvious bug.  Let me address them one at a time.
•   The usage documentation barely gets a D+ in my view.  It needs to be more fulsome and platform specific. 
•   Using Firefox with an ad blocker (Ad Block Plus) the side ad on the left side of the screen is not displayed.  Additionally there is no ability to see the Menu when clicking on an article.  Nothing works relative to text size or other features. 
Since this is a digital publication, I do not expect to see additional ads on the left (blocked by Ad Blocker) and my notions are that blocking them should not interfere with my ability to see an ADA compliant version of the publication in a Firefox browser. 
•   Using a Chrome browser without any ad blocking plugin the ads on the left display and the Menu and sizing options work as you have discussed. 
•   Obviously, the ad blocker plugin needs to be accounted for and handled appropriately regardless of browser used. 
•   My expectation is that when I view the magazine title in a browser I can read the text.  Enlarging the screen with the “Contents View” is truly a PITA – the reader looses context and the sense of the article.  Worse for the advertiser, the entire ad has been eliminated. 
•   Finally, when switching between “Contents View” and normal view there is a complete browse on the Internet to get the information.  That information takes a long time to get and display – a true disruption to the reader. 

My expectation was that the PC version would download for off-line reading on an airplane or some other time.  This implementation has failed my expectation.

Is Zymurgy ADA compliant?  By current standards the answer is no.  Eventually that will become a requirement. 

[Dave Carpenter]

OK, update to the concern about screen legibility. Our printer changed a setting on the hosting side so that double clicking in Page View increases the zoom more than it did before, and then the +/- buttons that pop up can be used to adjust that as per usual. I hope this helps with screen readability.

Also, at the risk of stating something I suspect is painfully obvious to those more computer-savvy than I, you can change the operating system settings to make everything on the screen bigger. If you google "accessibility options" and the OS you use, there are lots of tips on how to do that for Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux, whatever. So it's possible to take the zoom level even further than the limitations of the browser reader if needed.

The digital version of the magazine can be downloaded for offline reading in the Zymurgy app for iOS and Android, but there is currently no way to do that with the browser-based digital edition.

[KellerBrauer]

OK, update to the concern about screen legibility. Our printer changed a setting on the hosting side so that double clicking in Page View increases the zoom more than it did before, and then the +/- buttons that pop up can be used to adjust that as per usual. I hope this helps with screen readability.

Also, at the risk of stating something I suspect is painfully obvious to those more computer-savvy than I, you can change the operating system settings to make everything on the screen bigger. If you google "accessibility options" and the OS you use, there are lots of tips on how to do that for Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux, whatever. So it's possible to take the zoom level even further than the limitations of the browser reader if needed.

The digital version of the magazine can be downloaded for offline reading in the Zymurgy app for iOS and Android, but there is currently no way to do that with the browser-based digital edition.

It seems to me like the simple solution is to use colors that aren’t the same or close to the same.  A person should NOT have to download an app or magnify their screen image to read an article.  My eyes aren’t nearly as good as they once were and they’re certainly not getting any better.  Perhaps I need to rethink buying a subscription to Zymurgy after I let my subscription to BYO expire.