MF I beg to differ with you. Although many computer enthusiasts
MF envisioned computers as being able to produce good quality Braille
MF under a wide variety of circumstances at the touch of a button, in
MF practice (except for the simplest of materials), id doesn't work
MF that way and will not for quite some time. IMHO it still takes a
MF trained Braillist to know how things should look and make the
MF appropriate adjustments to make the Braille decent.
I agree with you, Mike. As one who has made quite a bit of braille from
source disks, I can say that it's not just a "push the bottom and out
comes braille" operation. I wish it were for it would make my job easy.
Source disks come in all flavors. It's a joy to receive a set of
well-done, logically formatted documents. However, it's a
rarity and the typical disk that crosses my desk contains quite a bit
that must be cleaned up to get semi-decent braille. I braille quite a
bit of administrivia for rehab counselors and teachers so there are lots
of tables and charts that must be dealt with. Fontunetly the work is
becoming easier as I learn to use macros and complex find and replace
features that make cleanup quicker. Years ago, I would plow into a
document and fix everything manually. Now I analyze the word processing
of the document and tackle reformatting as a whole.
What many braille readers don't realize is that the number of volunteer
braillists is decreasing rapidly. Braille production is now a business
like everything else.
Warren
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