Anthony S. Ferraro is blind, but he doesn’t let that stop him from doing anything. You might recognize his familiar face from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X. He posts various videos about being blind and doing stuff like skateboarding (he’s an avid boarder) and raising his new daughter. His resume includes motivational speaking, athletics, being a musician, and advocating for disabled youth. He recently toured a factory to show us how Braille is made.
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Braille is an innovative system of raised dots that allows blind people to “read” with their fingertips. Raised signs help blind people navigate in a sighted world. Louis Braille, a French educator, invented Braille in 1824. After suffering an eye injury early in his life, he was completely blind by age 5. The raised, six-dot coding of Braille is in use worldwide.
When Anthony toured the printing factory, he was excited to learn that they print 30 million pages of Braille yearly and hire blind people to proofread all the published material. His tour begins at the zinc plate press with a man who has been working at the factory for 30 years. He goes through the process, showing Anthony each step and allowing him to feel the machinery, the zinc plate, and the finished product. He even let Anthony push the start button to get the machine rolling.
The factory uses “impact” printers or embossing machines. Machines create raised dots by imprinting them on thick-grade paper. One of the larger presses is a Heidelberg Braille press. The factory produces written material such as novels, magazines, and menus. If you can print it in a book, you can print it in Braille.
Anthony’s enthusiasm can be infectious.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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