[Athen] Heard of the Index Braille products?

[Heidi Scher]

Thanks again, to everyone!  I've passed along all the comments so the
inquiring minds can make their own decision.

I do appreciate everyone's input!

Heidi

On Nov 27, 2007 4:42 AM, Pratik Patel <pratikp1 at gmail.com> wrote:


>  Please note that this is a personal opinion from a Braille reader.

>

>

>

> This was a printer we used to recommend when the Index Basic D was first

> released. It is one of the most light-weight, easy to configure devices on

> the market.  Some may find the speech accent for the configuration program a

> bit off-putting. The noise levels are manageable with the acoustic cabinet.

> The embosser definitely has some significant problem with paper feeding.  My

> concern with this particular model is the Braille quality.  Single-sided

> embossing is not a problem.  When moving to double-sided (interpoint)

> embossing, however, I found the quality to be less than stellar.  No matter

> how heavy a paper stock we used, the Braille was never as crisp as it should

> have been.  My opinion on the Braille quality seemed to be shared by quite a

> few of our noncasual Braille readers.  I noticed the same problem on all of

> the models we placed on our campuses.  Because of that problem, we switched

> our recommendation to the Juliet Pro, which has similar features with a

> slightly larger footprint and a similar price.

>

>

>

> Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have any questions.

>

>

>

> Regards,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Pratik Patel

>

> Director, IT Access. Director, PeopleTech.

>

> The City University of New York

>

>

>

> *From:* athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] *On

> Behalf Of *Gaeir Dietrich

> *Sent:* Monday, November 26, 2007 1:46 PM

> *To:* 'Access Technologists in Higher Education Network'

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] Heard of the Index Braille products?

>

>

>

> Hi!

>

>

>

> These are the embossers that we use in the California community colleges.

> They do work with Duxbury. They are good embossers, although if anyone asks

> me for my personal recommendation, I always suggest the Juliet Pro.

>

>

>

> In particular, our campuses use the Index Basic-D. The major problems have

> been with the paper feeding. Some of the campuses have had an issue with

> that, and you sometimes have to tweak the cabinet hardware to resolve the

> issue.

>

>

>

> Here at the HTCTU, we also have the 4x4 Professional, which creates

> booklets. The Braille is embossed on 11x17 inch paper and is folded into an

> 8.5x11 booklet. Braille users love the portability. I wouldn't recommend

> it as the only embosser as it requires far more paper. For embossing small

> things that students need to carry to class, however, it can't be beat!

>

>

>

> Please let the person who is considering the purchase know that s/he can

> contact me directly.

>

> ******************************************************

> Gaeir (rhymes with "fire") Dietrich

> High Tech Center Training Unit of the

> California Community Colleges

> De Anza College, Cupertino, CA

> www.htctu.net

> 408-996-6043

>   ------------------------------

>

> *From:* athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] *On

> Behalf Of *Heidi Scher

> *Sent:* Monday, November 26, 2007 9:24 AM

> *To:* Access Technologists in Higher Education Network

> *Subject:* [Athen] Heard of the Index Braille products?

>

>

>

> One of the other higher ed institutions in Arkansas is asking around about

> this brailler.  Is anyone familiar with it? I figured if anyone around has

> heard of it, it would be someone in our great ATHENites!

>

> Their specific questions:

>

>

> It's very light, fairly small, but very fast for the price compared with

> Enabling Technologies models. Could it be plastic--it's SO much lighter than

> the ET models?  Would it hold up over time? Would it work with Duxbury or

> would the software that comes with it (from Sweden I presume) work? It's

> quite a bit less expensive than the faster ET models, too.

>

>

>

> Embosser

>

> http://www.sighted.com/english/embossers.html

>

>

>

> Manugacturer

>

> http://www.indexbraille.com/

>

>

>

> Thanks for any thoughts you might have.

>

> Heidi

>

> --

>

> Heidi Scher, M.S., CRC

>

> Interim Assistant Director

>

> Center for Educational Access

>

> University of Arkansas

>

> 1 University of Arkansas, ARKU 104

> Fayetteville, AR 72701

> (479) 575-3104 (voice)

> (479) 575-7445 (fax)

> (479) 575-3646 (tdd)

>

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Athen mailing list

> Athen at athenpro.org

> http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org

>

>

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