The purpose of this blog post is to introduce our beginners or individuals foreign to the braille system and also for our readers to be introduced to the core of our products; and that is Braille.
What is braille?
Braille is a tactile writing system of touch used by the blind and visually impaired for reading and writing.
Braille Characters
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| 6-dot braille format |
A series of embossed dots are evenly arranged in quadrangular letter spaces called cells. A full cell is three dots high and two dots wide, and each cell may contain up to six dots.
Standard braille is made up of 6 dots and Unicode renders 8 dot braille. The number and arrangement of these dots distinguish one character from another. You can build 63 different characters, and by combining these characters you may build on diversity and word and sentence building from there.
Braille characters are much larger than their printed equivalents. For braille to be read by a blind person, the dots of each cell must be discernible by touch and the height of the dots must be sufficient to be easily distinguished from the background (ie. embosser paper) used.
Blind people read Braille by moving their fingers over these cells and feel the letters and numbers. Different braille codes are used to show letters in different languages as well as sets of codes that are used for mathematics and music use.
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| picture of braille in color |
If you are curious about how Index Braille's braille dots look or feel please request a braille sample and we are happy to provide this from the Index embosser of your choice.
The Braille Standard
Following are a few points included in the typical international braille standard:- The dot height is about 0,5 mm
- The space between dots for standard braille is 2.5 mm, Japanese braille 2.2 mm, and Jumbo braille 3.2 mm.
- Interpoint braille: interpoint refers to braille printing that is offset, allowing braille to be embossed on both sides of the paper, or also known as double sided braille. Furthermore, automatic magazine/book format printing is a function coined by Index Braille sorting a braille document for book style printing. This is done using, for example, an A3 size paper in which embosses 4, A4 size pages. This would include a center line fold and double-sided embossing.
What is needed to make Braille
... and braille producing products.
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| Index Braille V4 embossers |
Today's technology makes Braille even more accessible and portable to its users in the form of , braille notetakers, transcription software, braille displays, braille typewriters and braille embossers.
Traditionally, braille is written with embossed paper.
For a look at Index Braille Embosser technical specifications and braille capabilities click here and choose the two embossers of your choice from the drop down boxes. And to take a look at Index embosser capabilities against competitors click here.
The Braille Debate & why it's so important
Braille is important because it enables the blind and visually impaired to maintain life with in mainstream society. Similarly to sighted persons, the blind or visually impaired also need to acquire information and allow streams of communication with others and with the use of braille blind individuals are able to read in which supplies independence in everyday life. Braille allows users to learn spelling, punctuation, and gain an understanding of how text is formatted on the page.
In the living society being able to read and write is important and the basis of prosperity on both a personal level and for society as a whole. Though the digital era has begun to take many individuals in a direction without learning to read and write, literacy in our opinion still serves as important, no matter where this digital era may take us. Audio can offer additional resources for reading comprehension but listening is not synonymous with reading. Studies show that students who can read Braille tend to acquire higher literacy rates on average and more likely to enter the work force.
In addition, the palpable experience that is involved in reading and using Braille has been endured for almost 200 years and could never be replaced by any kind of other assistive technology.
In the living society being able to read and write is important and the basis of prosperity on both a personal level and for society as a whole. Though the digital era has begun to take many individuals in a direction without learning to read and write, literacy in our opinion still serves as important, no matter where this digital era may take us. Audio can offer additional resources for reading comprehension but listening is not synonymous with reading. Studies show that students who can read Braille tend to acquire higher literacy rates on average and more likely to enter the work force.
In addition, the palpable experience that is involved in reading and using Braille has been endured for almost 200 years and could never be replaced by any kind of other assistive technology.
