Dots for Families
If you were to print this web page, you would probably click on the “print” icon in your web browser, and the page would be sent to your printer. An embosser does the same thing but, rather than producing print, it produces (or embosses) braille.
Embossers are generally used when large quantities of braille need to be produced. Many schools for the blind and public school programs have an embosser. Individuals rarely have their own embosser as they use a Perkins braille writer, slate and stylus, or portable note taking device to produce their own braille.
In order to get the embosser to produce the braille, a braille translation computer program is needed. The two most common ones are Duxbury and Megadots. With these programs one can either use the computer keyboard to directly input braille as you can do with Perky Duck or one can take a word processing file and import it into the braille translation program and then translate it into braille for embossing. An individual does not need to know braille to use a braille translation program and embosser. Thus, many schools employ teaching assistants or braille transcriptionists who prepare much of the braille used in educational settings.
The text books your child will use in school as well as tests and worksheets may be produced with an embosser.
