These machines use various approaches to raising and lowering plastic or metal pins through a grid to create braille characters. Some such systems are only for use with a desktop computer while others have the functions of a laptop computer also built in. Some units have but a few braille cells while others actually have […]

This term is a generic term as well as a specific legal concept within the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The search for specifics on what constitutes reasonable accommodation can be confusing. In general, however, common wisdom holds that if it costs only a small portion of the […]

This term most frequently refers to a protocol for digital recording. It generates large files usable by virtually any CD player; however, the size of file limits the amount of information contained on one CD.

This term refers to inserted audio text. Reader’s notes come in two types: Explanations of deletions and explanation of content or layout. See also Transcriber’s Notes. For more information, see our article “An Overview of Audio Narration.”

Quark(tm) is a desktop publishing program used to a great extent in the book publishing industry. Files generated by Quark are incompatible with any of the current Braille Translation Software packages. Such files must be exported into another format before importation into the brailling software. That export process can leave a number of unwanted artifacts […]

Alternate format preparation is governed by many sets of rules and guidelines. Most guidelines are designed to take advantage of the available space most effectively. However, sometimes the print document presents challenges from a spatial arrangement perspective that force the transcriber to make several choices which are intended to make the document more user friendly. […]

Braille translation that is produced by using the keyboard of your computer and special software. This is the term that describes the function of a person who types data into a computer (words or numbers) and uses the power of the computer software to convert that information into braille. Many transcribers use the translation approach […]

Before transcribing or translating many documents, one must get permission of the publisher of the item.

In the United States, a variety of laws have been passed on a state level requiring that publishers provide electronic edition publisher files of texts they wish to sell to that state’s school system. Such files are to be prepared in such a way as to make them easy to use in the preparation of […]

Type of electronic file formats used by textbook publishers. These include, for example, Quark, NISO XML, and DAISY/NISO XML 3.0 Document Type Definition (DTD). Lack of standardization is a problem confronted by those who use the file to convert it to braille.