Two new modern Braille printing units have reached the press of the Red Cross School for the Blind in Berhampur, the only such press in Odisha.

It is hoped that the new printing units would meet the textbook needs of the visually impaired schoolchildren of the State. The new ‘Interprint 55 high speed embossers’ have been imported from Belgium as they are not produced in India. Manager of the Prakash Narayan Rath says the units cost Rs.1.70 crore.

Ganjam district collector Krishen Kumar, who is also chairman of the school, visited the press to take stock of the arrangements being made to install the two printing units.

Upon installation, the Braille press would become one of the major printing units in the country. Presently, there are 16 Braille printing units in the country. Out of them, six are bigger ones. The high speed computerised printing machines such as the ones being installed in Berhampur are available only in two Braille printing units. These units have only single Braille printing units. The Berhampur unit would have two units.

The government had provided financial assistance for purchasing the two modern printing units. The district administration provided assistance for procurement of a large generator and UPS for running the new units. The existing printing press was established in 1986. At that time, it was the 5th such facility in the country. The printing unit had been procured from a West German firm.

It had become difficult to operate the old machine due to dearth of spare parts, as the company that manufactured it had closed down. In spite of it, the press continued to print textbooks.

Initially, it was printing books for classes I to X. But now, due to technical problems, it is printing books for Classes I to VI. This year, it has supplied 2,200 sets of Braille books for these classes. Mr. Rath said with the installation of the new units, all visually challenged students from Classes I to X would be able to get textbooks from the next academic year.

Production would be cost-effective because there was no need to have metal plates for printing purpose. Braille script would be directly embossed on paper. “Maps, drawings, and geometrical figures can be easily added to the text,” he said. As data entry and page making would be done on computers, making changes and corrections would be easier, he said.

“Once we cater to the textbook needs of the students, we will try to print some Odia literary classics too. We are hopeful of obtaining contracts from other States as modern Braille printing units are a scarcity in our country,” Mr. Rath added.

Tech advantage

• Two new modern Braille printing units reach the press of Red Cross School for the Blind
• The new units to meet the textbook needs of the visually impaired schoolchildren of the State
• They have been procured at a cost of Rs. 1.70 crore, says press manager Prakash Narayan Rath
• The press is contemplating printing Odia literary classics too for the benefit to visually challenged students

Source: The Hindu