[Athen] Braille embosser recommendations

[John Gardner]

Hello all, As founder of ViewPlus and Athen member, I try to be ethical about talking about ViewPlus. But I am happy to be a resource for information if needed. Two points:

  *   Paul is correct that the Delta v2 sheet feeder is improved, and ViewPlus’ comparisons indicate that it is the best of any embosser. However, the full truth is that no embosser manufacturer can afford to develop or license a sheet feeder that is completely reliable in all circumstances. That said, if you are careful and use the Delta thickness adjustor, you can get very reliable sheet feed behavior.
  *   Paul is also correct that Delta tactile graphics are not the same as those made by the Pro, Premier, Elite… and other Tiger embossers. The dots are larger, and the dot to dot separation consequently a bit larger than Tiger Dots. However, Columbia/Delta dots can be placed with near arbitrary positioning, so some things such as curved lines are smoother than those made with Tiger technology. The new Rogue of course combines the Tiger resolution with ability of arbitrary placement, (but of course unlike Columbia/Delta it does not emboss braille with the larger dots.).
I hope these comments are helpful.
John

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Paul Linh Nguyen
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2022 10:53 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Braille embosser recommendations

Hello Justin and list,

We too do our tactile graphics production primarily using Adobe Illustrator and with a dab of Tiger Design Suite.

We are fortunate to have the support of space and funding to have more than one embosser for our needs. Currently our set-up is as follows:

  *   Tactile Graphics: ViewPlus Elite<https://viewplus.com/product/vp-elite/>
  *   Text and simple in-line tactile graphics: Index Basic-D v5<https://www.indexbraille.com/en-us/braille-embossers/basic-d-v5>
  *   Standby/Back-up: ViewPlus Delta v1
We used to have a ViewPlus Tiger Pro for tactile graphics alongside an Index Basic-D embosser for documents that were text only.

When we finally replaced our Tiger Pro, we went with the ViewPlus Premier<https://viewplus.com/product/vp-premier/>. The Premier felt like a modern upgrade to the Tiger Pro sans the ability to handle roll paper when it came to producing tactile graphics.

Our Index Basic-D had been tried and true when embossing text. Especially as the dots were rounder and firmer than what the Tiger Pro or Premiere would produce (which were more like crosses/plus punches).

We eventually acquired a ViewPlus Delta v1 in hopes that it could be a combination of the dots delivered by the Index Basic-D but still allow us to create tactile graphics. As the Delta punches Braille dots more like the Index, we found it less flexible in finer details of tactile graphics than we would have liked. Additionally we've had a number of issues with the sheet feeding mechanism but have heard that was improved in the ViewPlus Delta v2<https://viewplus.com/product/vp-delta-2/>. And there's the new Rogue that they've been showcasing though I'm not sure as to the nuances. As it stands, our Delta is relegated to back-up in case either of our other embossers misbehaves and we have to limp by.

As the ViewPlus Delta could not produce tactile graphics that we felt were similar to the Tiger Pro / Premier, we were able to get by and eventually get the ViewPlus Elite to replace our aging Premier, especially given our increased volume. The Elite, for all intents and purposes, is just a faster version of the Premier.

While most of our tactile graphics went through our ViewPlus Premier / Elite embossers via the Adobe Illustrator route, occasionally our Braillist was able to embed very simple tactile graphics and we would emboss it through our Index Basic-D v5<https://www.indexbraille.com/en-us/braille-embossers/basic-d-v5> via TactileView embedded in a Duxbury file.

Hope this helps give you some insights.

-Paul

On Tue, Jun 21, 2022 at 7:36 AM Romack, Justin <justinr at disability.tamu.edu<mailto:justinr at disability.tamu.edu>> wrote:
Howdy y’all!

I’ve spoken with a couple of colleagues as we’re researching and preparing to upgrade our Braille embosser (a Viewplus Tiger Pro from the early 2000s).

I’d love any feedback from folks who have done similar research on embossers within the past couple of years.

Our list of requirements aren’t too lengthy: (1) The ability to produce tactile graphics is imperative. (2) We have produced larger volumes of Braille, so a characters-per-second of 100+ is important. WE have a couple of blind students now, with tactile graphics production possibly needed for math and economics classes in the next two semesters. We have managed to do several tactile graphics projects with Illustrator and Tiger Design Suite in the past, but I’m also open to exploring any other products, solutions, or workflows if we move away from the Viewplus family of embossers.

I’ve looked at the Delta 2 by Viewplus and the Everest by Index. These seem to be efficient solutions that meet our requirements and also stay around $5-$6K with an extended warranty. The next tier of embossers jump into the $10-$15K+ and seem to do more than what we may need.

Curious if anyone else has recommendations or other thoughts I may not be considering right now.

Grateful for y’all!

Thanks,
J






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Justin Romack  | Assistive Technology Coordinator
Disability Resources | Texas A&M University
1224 TAMU | College Station, TX 77843-1224

ph: 979.845.1637 | justinr at disability.tamu.edu<mailto:justinr at disability.tamu.edu> | disability.tamu.edu<http://disability.tamu.edu>
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DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS | One Division. One Mission.





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