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Brailler


Model: VersaPoint Duo (http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/embossers_duo.asp)
Manufacturer: Freedom Scientific (http://www.freedomscientific.com)
Price: $3795
For: Job seekers who are blind
To: Print materials in braille

Description:

Photo of VersaPoint Duo

The VersaPoint Duo is a braille printer, or "embosser", that works very much like a regular computer printer. Instead of placing visible ink on paper, the brailler uses stiff wire pins to press indentations into the paper itself. On the back of the paper, the indentations form raised bumps, which trained readers can read by touch.

The VersaPoint uses large (11.5 inches by 11 inches), heavy-weight (100 pound), tractor-feed paper. It is an "interpoint" brailler, capable of printing Braille on both sides of the page.

By default, the VersaPoint prints in "Grade 1" Braille, where each braille character corresponds to a single letter. To print "Grade 2" Braille, which uses "contractions" to condense Braille documents, a program such as Duxbury Braille Translator must be used.

The brailler itself is a large, heavy, and noisy device. To muffle the noise of brailling, a sound proof enclosure has been provided.

Installation Notes:

  1. Use the included parallel printer cable to attach the brailler to the computer's parallel printer (LPT1) port. (If you already have a printer attached to your computer's parallel port, check whether it can be attached to a USB port instead.)
  2. From the Start menu, select Settings, Printers, Add a Printer. Choose to install a Local printer on LPT1. For Manufacturer, select "Generic"; for Printer, select "Generic / Text Only". (Don't print a test page.)

Operation:

To load paper:

  1. Turn the brailler off (switch is on the back, near the power cord)
  2. Insert paper (under the metal guide, through the tractor feeds, out through the back of the brailler)
  3. Turn the brailler on
  4. Press "Top of Page" (upper right)

To remove printed page(s):

  1. Press "On-line / Off-line" (lower left)
  2. Press "Form Feed" (top left, next to impact dial)
  3. Tear page at perforation
  4. Press "Top of Page" (upper right)

To print double/single-sided:

Use the Double/Single Side Mode switch (second from the bottom on the left) to select:

  • Double side mode (left side down)
  • Single side mode (right side down)

When printing double sided, it is best to "burst" the pages (tear them apart at the perforations) and staple in the upper left when finished. Be careful to keep the pages right side up and facing forward.

To control the impact level:

Depending on the thickness of the paper being used, the Impact Level knob (upper left corner) may need to be adjusted:

  • Turn counterclockwise (lower number) to reduce impact
  • Turn clockwise (higher number) to increase impact

A middle setting (3) is usually fine.

Reference:

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