Tactile alphabet

As Braille is called a font that can be read by the blind. The reading is done with the touch of your fingers. There are different writing systems, such as the Moon alphabet. The most widely used today is the Braille Braille, which was developed in 1825 by Louis Braille. Many writing systems for the blind were well thought out, but had the major disadvantage that they were developed by the seeing without regard to the blind. Not so with the Braille. Louis Braille himself was blind and was able to identify a workable font for blind people.

In order to delineate Blind Headings are often uses the term Black font for the font of the sighted. Postal administrations carry the blind to a reduced fee or free of charge.

General remarks

There are two basic directions of Braille:

• Relief Scripture, in which the normal Latin characters or simplified graphic patterns are made ​​palpable (eg, the Moon alphabet), and the
• Point font that mimics the letters in a grid - points or translated into a code.

Braille

Point fonts are fonts that consist of raised, emerging from the material and thus sensible points. The first point font was developed by Charles Barbier - but not for the blind. It was used for military purposes and should in dark legible ( so-called night letters).

The term is used synonymously point font for the normal Braille, which uses six points used. Although this is by far the most widely used and best known point font, and there are still other Braille systems. Before Braille generally prevailed, in North America was developed by William Bell Wait New York Point ( also abbreviated to Wait ) is widely. Furthermore, computer Braille, which uses an 8 -point system to represent lighter capital letters and special characters, or obtained the 7 -point and 8-point Blindenstenographie distribution. "Computer Braille" is mainly used by Braille displays with which the blind can read the contents of a computer screen.

Braille is made with special Braille printers and Braille machines to paper. The space requirement of the braille systems is enormous, because the characters are larger than in the black font. Also, the paper must be much thicker to be permanently embossed can. So in braille includes the Duden 18 volumes. It is after all possible to emboss the pages on both sides for machine production, where the fingers just feel the bumps, but not the wells. Therefore the character of the front and back must be offset by a trifle against each other to impress not already apparent depressed points of one side of the other side again. To compensate for the disadvantages of the high weight of braille printed matters in correspondence, the German Post AG transported shipments in Braille free of postage ( identification: the blind / Cécogramme ).

The distribution of Braille continues to increase. So all pharmaceutical packaging must also be provided with Braille according to the 12th Amendment ( Drugs Act) since 2004.

Creating braille

Analogous to the black font that is permanently displayed, for example, handwriting or printing on paper or on temporary displays and screens, can also be displayed temporarily braille embossed with Braille or permanently in paper / cardboard.

The permanent display is usually on cardboard or something thicker paper. Other possibilities are metal plates with braille signs in elevators or plastic films for labeling. There are different types, braille (especially Braille ) to write permanent:

• Braille panel: Using a stylus is pressed, the Braille letters from the back of the paper. These are also still widespread today because they offer many advantages ( handy for traveling, very durable, etc ). Presumably, the braille panel of braille relative to the relief writing has made ​​to prevail, because so very easy documents could be created. In writing this relief is much more complex.
• Braille machine: Each key is associated with a point of the Braille letter. The keys that are necessary for the production of a letter to be pressed simultaneously.
• Braille displays: Enter the letters either via six or computer Braille eight buttons similar to the Braille machine or directly through a connected computer keyboard ( each letter is assigned to a button ). The issue of the Braille characters is done dynamically on the Braille display.