Braille typesetting
Due to its nature, braille can be typeset in several ways:
by hand, using tools such as a table and a stylus — in this activity, the user pushes out the individual dots into the paper, in a negative way, so it is necessary to work with the inverted form of the character in the head
manually using a typewriter (e.g. Picht's, Perkins')
for small labels, also with the use of the DYMO label maker
automatically using computer-controlled braille embossers (e.g. Index Everest, Index BrailleBox, SpotDot, Puma etc.)
Note: The operation of these printers is quite noisy, so it is highly recommended to provide them with noise enclosures or to place them in a room that is soundproofed from other operations.
1. Digital typesetting of braille texts
Since the manual typesetting of Braille documents is extremely time-consuming and inefficient — it does not, for example, allow easy production of tactile copies of documents — the future is, of course, in digital resources. These allow efficient work during the initial editing of the source, then during typesetting and printing, and subsequently when updating documents, etc.
In order to avoid the need to manually add composition signs during digital typesetting, or to take into account other specifics of e.g. thematic standards, there are typesetting systems that do this part of the work automatically if set up correctly.
The system with probably the most language support is currently Duxbury Translation Software. Locally, it is possible to find other systems, e.g. BUF (Braille Universal Format, with support for more than a dozen languages, but now localized only in Czech) — it allows both the typesetting of the tactile layer and at the same time the typesetting of the visual text that accompanies braille and serves as a support for those who do not know braille encoding (e.g. teachers, student's family, friends, etc.).
2. What to keep in mind when braille typesetting
Correct source files must be prepared for the correct appearance of the final print on braille embossers — respectfully:
to the standards used (see chapter Standards),
to the principles of a well arranged final print. Tactile typesetting follows similar principles as visual typography — it uses indents, dividers, wrapping (e.g. of verses), etc.
