A braille printer is an impact device that creates tactile dots on heavy paper, making written documents accessible to blind individuals. While there are several manufacturers of small desktop braille printers, Braillo focuses its efforts entirely on producing the highest quality production braille printers available on the market.When considering the purchase of a braille printer, it is important to consider the following points:
Driver, Firmware, System Patch and User Manual. ( Through 'Color Management Profile', the users of HiTi Photo Printers can get the best color performance to fit in. Index Braille embossers are now compatible with trendy braille display. After popular customer demand for compatibility between the two world leading blind products, Index Braille embossers and HIMS notetakers, Index Braille has now developed a Windows CE driver to support such compatibility for the V4 embosser line. Search here for all the latest Drivers and Utilities for your OKI Color Multifunction Printers.
How to install Index direct Braille, idB and latest Index printer driver. 2020 Introduction Similar to ink printers, braille embossers emboss braille characters onto paper for tactile reading by a blind reader. They can be for personal use at home, the office, or mass production. This publication provides an alphabetical listing of braille embossers currently available for sale. It also lists the vendors who sell braille embossing.
What is the braille printer being used for?
If the braille printer’s primary use is for limited personal use or short-run light production, then a lightweight desktop braille printer is probably more than sufficient for your needs. This type of braille printer can easily accommodate a duty cycle of an hour or two per day. However, if you require a printer to run multiple hours per day, five days per week, or even two shifts five days per week, then a Braillo production rated braille embosser is required to provide adequate service.
Quality of the braille printer:
Braillo braille printers are precision made, using state of the art manufacturing techniques. The finest grade metal is hand-machined to exact tolerances and then assembled at our facility in Stjordal, Norway. Component parts that are either manufactured in-house, or custom made by CE approved suppliers, further guarantee the quality of the finished product.
Braillo also manufactures its braille printers with such reliable mechanical parts that even older models can be upgraded with current electronics, features and speed levels—no other braille printer manufacturer can offer such reliability and longevity in its products. Braillo printers are built to last.
Braillo braille printers are capable of around-the-clock braille production, and it is not uncommon to have a Braillo printer still in service after 20 years and millions of braille pages produced.
We would be pleased to provide you with a list of references.
Quality of the braille:
Braillo braille is known as the “benchmark” for which all braille printers are measured against. It consistently produces the highest quality braille available. Consistent height and precise alignment allows for a perfectly formed braille dot and braille cell, facilitating easier reading.
The European Commission, National Library Service (U.S. Library of Congress), BANA and other governing agencies across the world have strict guidelines regarding braille quality and printed braille dot height of .48mm or above. Many braille printers do not meet these specifications – be sure to request samples of the printed braille output of any printer which you are considering to purchase, to ensure it meets your requirements. The dots should all be the same height, with equal spacing, and in the correct position. See how important braille formatting and dot height standards are here
We are happy to provide printed braille samples that are produced on the specific Braillo embosser you are interested in purchasing.
True production braille – what is it?
When braille is required to be produced in large quantities, day-after-day and week-after-week – that is production braille. Braillo was established in 1980 with the development of the world’s first high-speed interpoint braille printer. Since then, it has focused its efforts entirely on true production braille printers. Braillo is the true innovator and leader in the braille printer category.
Braillo printers are found in the largest braille print houses, as well as in educational and government facilities throughout the world. Its newest printer, the revolutionary 650SF, is a printer that uses paper rolls to produce complete braille magazine and book formats that are covered and bound in one hands-free procedure.
All Braillo production braille printer models feature tractor feed or roll format braille paper options – the most reliable forms of paper handling. Tractor feed boxes generally contain 1000 sheets, and paper rolls equate to approximately 15,000 sheets. Compare this with cut sheet (sheet fed) braille printers, of which the largest has a capacity of 100 sheets (count sheets and not pages – in magazine/book format, 1 sheet = 4 pages, so this is a misleading specification). While they may be fast CPS-wise, it is difficult to call a cut sheet printer “production” when you have to stop every 10-15 minutes to load paper and/or remove paper jams. The actual page per hour or CPS rating falls dramatically when this reality is taken into account. There is simply no number of cut sheet printers or small desktop printers that can cumulatively compare to the efficiency, quality and output of a single Braillo braille printer of any model.
In addition to reliability and quality, you need your true production braille printer to be fast. Check with the National Federation of the Blind and other agencies across the world, who offer true, real-world speed test results of all braille printers on the market.
What kind of braille paper (format and weight):
Initially, braille printers used only tractor feed/continuous braille paper. In an effort to lower production costs for Braillo’s customers, it was the first company to introduce roll feed printers. There is no question that using tractor feed paper is still the most reliable method for production printing, and it is still the most widely used format today. Tractor fed braille printing ensures that the paper is correctly fed into the printer and that the user doesn’t have jamming-related errors.
Using braille paper rolls is also an extremely reliable way of producing. It is less expensive than using tractor-feed and you don’t have to change paper frequently.
In a braille production environment, cut sheet paper is not recommended, nor efficient. These embossers only allow for a maximum of 50-100 single sheets to be loaded at a time, and the paper can more easily get jammed in the braille embosser.
The recommended paper weight is 140/150 GSM or 100 LB – anything less than that won’t withstand the heavy demands of braille production or repeated reading by a blind user. Be cautious of using traditional copy paper or paper from a local office supply store. This paper is too thin and as soon as it goes through the embosser, the braille pin will poke right through the paper or after the first time a finger slides over the dot, it flattens out. Basic office supply paper is too weak for embossed braille and thus, a disservice to the blind reader.
Ask to see a sample of standard Braille paper vs traditional copy paper – Braillo will be happy to provide you with both so you can feel the comparison.
Translation software for braille printers:
Transcribers and proofreaders work extremely hard to ensure that the file they’re sending to the braille printer comes out correctly. The only way to properly ensure braille translation, comes from using a professional translation software. Braillo includes a copy of Duxbury for free with every Braillo braille printer purchase, Duxbury is the most trusted braille translation software. Braillo will also gladly provide a list of additional recommended software programs.
Printing directly from your computer, phone or tablet without such software simply is not productive if the braille output is incorrect, as there are too many variables (Grade 1 vs. Grade 2 vs. Grade 3, 6 dot vs. 8 dot, languages, punctuation, etc). Additionally, most braille embossing production centers will be sending files from their computer, not a tablet or phone.
Setting up the braille printer with a computer:
There are numerous ways in which braille printers can be connected to a computer: serial/parallel ports, usb, ethernet and WiFi. While the days of serial/parallel ports are gone, there are still adapters available that ensure that this method is still an option, albeit not as reliable. Braillo currently offers WiFi, USB, as well as Ethernet connections. USB is a direct connection between the Braille printer and local computer, which is a very reliable and practical way of embossing braille. Ethernet and WiFi connections are other reliable methods which allow the printer to easily be set up to a local area network and accessible by many computer stations.
Braille printer support:
Braillo offers printer support via telephone, email, YouTube videos and on-site repair by either Braillo staff, or our network of factory-trained braille printer technicians world-wide. Braillo offers training sessions across the world throughout the year, in addition to other Braille workshops. While some manufacturer’s offer remote support, this is typically an online chat session that doesn’t resolve actual hardware issues. Instead, Braillo offers a real technician over the phone or internet that will spend the time with the customer in order to properly diagnose and resolve the issue, whether it’s hardware or software related.
The investment in a Braillo braille printer (or any braille printer) is a big one, so please rest assured that it is Braillo’s highest priority to ensure that your embosser is running properly and that you are satisfied with your investment.
Supported Version
The latest version of odt2braille can be downloaded here:
In order to install odt2braille, OpenOffice.org version 3.2 or later is required. Before installing, first remove any older versions.
NEW! Mac users can try out this Mac OS beta version. It does not have the print functionality yet, currently it is only possible to save as Braille. This version is only tested on Mac OS Leopard (run on an Intel processor). Please let us know if it works on your system too!.
WARNING!: Because in version 0.1.1 preferences are stored in a different place, templates and documents created with older versions will loose their saved preferenced when you open them with this new version of odt2braille.
NOTE: Internet Explorer has the annoying habit to save an OpenOffice.org extension as a .zip file, instead of an .oxt file. After downloading, just rename the .zip back to .oxt.
TIP: If you get an error saying 'Could not create Java implementation loader', try LibreOfficePortable.
Other Downloads
- It is strongly recommended that you also download and install the odt2braille 6 dot and odt2braille 8 dot fonts.
- This CSS stylesheets enables you to view PEF files in an internet browser. Just place the .css and .pef files in the same folder and open the .pef file in your browser.
- AccessODF is a really useful complement to odt2braille. The tool enables users to evaluate and repair accessibility issues. It is available as an extension for Writer.
All Releases
| Version | Status | Date | Platform | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1.1 | Beta | 08/11/2011 | Windows | |
| Mac OS (32 bit) | ||||
| 28/07/2012 | Mac OS (64 bit) | |||
| 31/07/2012 | Linux | |||
| 0.1.0 | Beta | 25/02/2011 | Windows | |
| 0.0.3 | Alpha | 02/12/2010 | Windows | |
| 0.0.2 | Alpha | 30/08/2010 | Windows | |
| 0.0.1 | Alpha | 02/07/2010 | Windows |
Snapshots
You want to try out new features but you can't wait for a new release? Then download the latest new snapshots here. Attention, some of these new features are not tested thoroughly and may therefore contain bugs.
| Version | Status | Date | Platform | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1.1-p1-SNAPSHOT | Beta | 11/10/2013 | Windows | |
| Mac OS (32 bit) | ||||
| Mac OS (64 bit) | ||||
| Linux (32 bit) | ||||
| Linux (64 bit) |
Release Notes
Version 0.1.1
Changes/Updates:
- Free naming of sections (preliminary pages, volumes, ...)
- Headings upto level 10
- Mathematical formulas are placed inline instead of in block
- Braille settings are now available from Format menu
- Braille settings are not stored in custom properties like before
- Default printer setting is saved
New features:
- New embossers:
- Braillo (270, 440SW, 440SWSF)
- Cidat (Impacto 600, Impacto Texto, Portathiel Blue)
- Enabling Technologies (Bookmaker, Braille Express 100, Braille Express 150, BraillePlace, ET, Juliet Classic, Juliet Pro, Juliet Pro 60, Marathon, Romeo 25, Romeo Attache, Romeo Attache Pro, Romeo Pro 50, Romeo Pro LE Narrow, Romeo Pro LE Wide, Thomas, Thomas Pro)
- Index (Basic-D V4, Everest-D V4, Braille Box)
- Mountbatten (LS, Pro, Writer+)
- ViewPlus (Cub, Cub Jr., Elite 150, Elite 200, EmFuse, Emprint SpotDot, Max)
- Generic embosser
- New user preferences:
- Automatic splitting into volumes
- Extended document structure & volume management settings
- Borders on headings, tables & textboxes
- Tables: invert reading order, repeat headings, ...
- Footnotes & endnotes
- Pictures
- Hyphenation: minimum length of splitted parts
- Page numbers in Roman capitals
- Ignore hard page breaks in paragraphs or follow print
Translation tables:
- New: Serbian, Kurdish, Ethiopic, Swedish (8 dot), Icelandic (8 dot), Farsi
- Improved: Czech, French, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, ...
A lot of bug fixes
Localisation:
- Czech
- Arabic
- Polish
Version 0.1.0
Changes/Updates:
- Improved handling of notes (note references with special number formats)
- odt2braille fonts: updated (version 1.2)
New features:
- New embossers:
- Index Basic-S V2
- Index 4X4 Pro V2
- Index 4X4 Pro V3
- Index 4Waves Pro V3
- New user preferences:
- Volume info / transcription info:
- Use paragraph style
- Paragraphs / headings:
- Keep with next
- Don't split
- Orphan control
- Lists:
- Don't split list
- Don't split items
- Tables:
- Don't split rows
- Volume info / transcription info:
- New embossing options:
- Number of copies
- Magazine style
- Z-Folding
Translation tables:
- Woluwe math improved
Fixed bugs:
- Some list numbering bugs
- Page numbering bug
- Custom paper format
Localisation:
- Swedish
Version 0.0.3
Changes/Updates:
- The Braille preview window has been improved. You can now switch view between dots and text.
New features:
- Support for 8-dot Braille
- Dedicated odt2braille fonts (6-dot and 8-dot)
- Split exported Braille (BRF/PEF/BRA) into multiple files (one for each volume)
- New embosser: Index Basic 'Blue-Bar'
- Speed optimalisations
- New user preferences:
- Paragraph styles
- Character styles
- Right justification
- More table of contents settings
- Begin headings on a new Braille page
- Left/right margin for centered headings
- Keep empty paragraphs
Translation tables:
- New: Indian languages (Assamese, Bengali, Khasi, Manipuri, Munda, Old Newari, Santali, Awadhi, Bihari, Braj Bashha, Gondi, Konkani, Kurukh, Marathi, Marwari, Nepali, Pali, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Gujarati, Panjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Dravidian, Tamil, Telugu)
- New: Greek within Spanish/Catalan text
- Improved: Icelandic, Polish, Slovene, Dutch, French, Woluwe math
Fixed bugs:
- Footnotes in lists were not rendered
- A paragraph that was split over a print page was split in braille, even if no separator line was rendered
- PEF output is now validated after export
- Table of contents bug fixes
- Some other small bug fixes
Localisation:
- Italian
Version 0.0.2
Changes/Updates:
- The single 'Braille' menu is replaced with items in the 'File' menu and the 'Insert' menu.
New features:
- The document can contain every unicode character.
- The list of special symbols can be fully customized.
- Hyphenation dictionaries for automatic breaking of words (supported languages are: German, Dutch, US-English, UK-English, Spanish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Irish, Hungarian, Croatian, Czech and Icelandic)
- Export to BRA file format (.bra). Choose between old and new Spanish Braille.
- Preview the Braille output before embossing.
- Print page range information on the title page.
Translation tables:
- New: Catalan, Danish (grade 2), Portuguese (grade 2)
- Improved: Spanish, ...
Fixed bugs:
- Hyperlink bug fix (hyperlinks were sometimes not rendered)
- Bug 3043068: error when trying to install the extension on Windows XP
- Other small bug fixes
Localisation:
- French
- Catalan
- Spanish
- Portuguese (Portugal)
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Slovenian
- German
- Norwegian (Bokmål)
Version 0.0.1
Features:
- Translate OpenOffice.org Writer documents in various languages to Braille. Supported languages are: Arabic, Bulgarian, Tibetan, Welsh, Czech, Danish, Esperanto, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Modern Hebrew, Hindi, Croatian, Hungarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Italian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portugese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, German, Greek, Koine Greek, English, French, Dutch and Chinese.
- Contracted or uncontracted Braille.
- Support for multi-language documents.
- Export the Braille document to a computer file (.brf or .pef) or emboss the document on a variety of Braille printers. Supported printers are: the Interpoint 55 from Interpoint NV, the Everest V2, Basic V2, Everest V3 and Basic-D V3 from Index Braille, and the Braillo 200, 400S and 400SR from Braillo Norway AS.
- The Braille-output is highly configurable through user preferences.
- Adjust the Braille layout of most common document units: paragraphs, headings, lists, tables, table of contents.
- Other units are processed as well, but are not configurable: textboxes, captions, image (descriptions), footnotes, endnoted, bibliographies, ...
- Determine how pages are numbered.
- Translate formula's into Braille math (Nemeth, UK maths, Marburg or Woluwe math).
- Automatic generation of some preliminary pages: a title page, a list of special symbols, a transcriber's notes page and a table of contents.
- Split Braille documents into multiple volumes.
- Transcribe according to formal Braille rules (BANA, ...).
- Save Braille settings.
- Insert Braille characters directly with the 6 key entry mode (keys S, D, F, J, K and L).
- Users are notified in time of structure problems that could lead to unwanted artifacts in the Braille output.
Localization:
Index Braille Ab Printers Driver Downloads
- English
- Dutch