Accessibility Solutions can be your one stop shop for accessible products, and Braille conversion of your printed materials is a perfect supplement to your audio components or as a stand-alone accommodation.
Whether it is stapled, or spiral bound pages, basic brailled labels, or even braille tactiles for diagrams or maps, Accessibility Solutions can help construct a braille solution for your needs.
Braille production is a complicated process involving many different steps.
First, client provides approved textual document to Accessibility Solutions Team. The team reviews documents to determine if additional steps need to be performed before passing off to the transcription department. For example how will the non-text elements contained within the document be treated? All of the non-text elements are described using Accessibility Solutions’ reading conventions and standards. Once all the additional questions are answered, the document is passed off to the Transcription Team.
The braille production process begins in the transcription department where special transcription software helps staff transcribe the written word into braille code. The transcriber then reviews the document to ensure all code is correct. The braille transcribers’ extensive training enables them to transcribe literary, math and music braille; to transcribe in multiple languages; and to earn certification by the Library of Congress.
To find any errors in the transcription process, blind proofreaders will proofread braille pages, sometimes against audio versions of the same document, and note mistakes on either a Braillewriter (braille typewriter) or a braille notetaker (a portable electronic braille device). The proofreaders share the same extensive and ongoing training as our transcribers, enabling them to proofread a variety of braille formats. The proofreaders are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of our braille.
Once the document has been proofread it is ready to be embossed. The electronic version of the document directs one of two Plate Embossing Devices (PED) to emboss braille dots onto zinc plates, using the transcribed braille code. The PED is capable of embossing on both sides of a plate, which is referred to as interpoint braille. It takes 35 seconds for the PED to emboss one side of the plate, and a full page of interpoint braille can be embossed in under two minutes. A second check from our proofreading department is required to ensure the PED machinery has embossed accurately, as these plates serve as our template for producing multiple copies of the same page. After being used to create many copies of paper braille, the zinc plates are recycled.
Once the braille plates have been made and any errors corrected, the plates are then used to produce braille copies in high-volume on one of three Heidelberg sheet-fed presses modified for braille production. For fewer copies, documents are embossed on braille embossers, which are similar in operation to a computer printer. The pressing services also include offset printing, mainly for large-print documents and paper book covers.
The first step, after carefully planning the graphic design, is to construct a master or “template” using ordinary materials like heavy gauge aluminum foil, tracing wheels, carbon paper, string, and so forth. Braille labels to identify key components of a diagram or drawing are embossed onto heavy paper and glued to the master. Copies are made by placing the master in a heated vacuum press, called a Thermoform machine, which melts the plastic Thermoform pages around the template to form the image.
Finishing staff will collate and fold documents by hand. All work is checked for quality then bound with a stitch or ring binding. Some projects consist of thousands of copies of a soft cover, magazine-style document, while others might consist of hundreds of hardcover editions with stamped print or printed graphics.