Braille 200 years old !

[David Banes]

Well not quite - its actually 200 years since the birth of Louis Braille - lots of details at http://www.braille200.ca/

Although Braille is used slightly less now than it once was (the advent of text to speech is a key reason) its still worth knowing how to convert documents into Braille for learners.

There are three key elements that you need to be aware of

1) Design
2) Convert
3) Emboss

The design of documents is very important - you should be thinking that any document could be converted into a range of formats, Braille, MP3, Large Print, Daisy etc. If you design it well then those conversions will be much easier (and cheaper)

You will need software to convert your text into a braille file - my favourite is Dolphins easy converter - its not cheap but it is very easy to use

You can either emboss/print documents yourself or you can send them to an agency to do. If you are going to buy an embosser locally be aware that these machines are NOISY - embossing is an overnight job if you dont have close neighbours - alternatively buy an acoustic hood to muffle the sound

If you want to know more feel free to drop me a line as ever

David Banes
AbilityNet