Braille embosser

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A braille embosser showing some pages created on it.

A braille embosser is an

impact printer that renders text as tactile braille cells. Using braille translation software, a document or digital text can be embossed with relative ease. This makes braille production efficient and cost-effective. Braille translation software may be free and open-sourced or paid.[1] Braille embossers can emboss single-sided or double-sided (called interpoint) and can produce 6- or 8-dot braille.[1]

Blind users tend to call other printers "ink printers," to distinguish them from their braille counterparts. This is often the case regardless of the type of printer being discussed (e.g., thermal printers being called "ink printers" even though they use no ink).[citation needed]

As with ink printers and presses, embossers range from those intended for consumers to those used by large publishers. The price of embossers increase with the volume of braille it produces .[2]

Types

The fastest industrial braille embosser is probably the $92,000 Belgian-made

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.[3] As of 2008, there are more than 60 in use across the world.[4]

Smaller desktop braille embossers are more common and can be found in libraries, universities, and specialist education centers, as well as being privately owned by blind individuals. It may be necessary to use an acoustic cabinet or hood to dampen the noise level.[5]

Braille embossers usually need special braille paper which is thicker and more expensive than normal paper. Some high-end embossers are capable of printing on normal paper. Embossers can be either one-sided or two-sided. Two-sided embossing requires lining up the dots so they do not overlap (called "interpoint" because the points on the other side are placed in between the points on the first side). Two-sided embossing uses less paper and reduces the size of the output.[5]

Once one copy of a document has been produced, printing further copies is often quicker by means of a device called a

photocopy
is not as readable as the original. Hence large publishers do not generally use thermoforms.

Some embossers can produce "dotty Moon", i.e., Moon type shapes formed by dots.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Braille Embossers". National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  2. ^ "Braille Printers". The American Foundation for the Blind. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  3. ^ "Braille Monitor, May '00". nfb.org. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2008-11-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^
    OCLC 713026668
    .
  6. Royal National Institute for the Blind
    .
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