Digitization Of The Book: A Report On Present Trends

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• The New Publishing Paradigm
  • 7.1 Overview
  • 7.2 Publishers' Source Files

The New Publishing Paradigm

7.1 Overview

The loss of literacy skills either as a result of blindness or visual impairment or for other reasons impacts the ability to function effectively. Braille for blind persons is equivalent to print for the sighted. Some advocates of technology believe that computers and digital information will displace the need for braille, and that blind people need only use talking books and talking computers. However, talking books and computers do not provide the easy facility for recording or accessing information which braille or print provide to the literate. Note taking and record keeping are only one aspect of the inconveniences of not being literate, but the ability to reference information, read signs and perform on the job are tied to the ability to quickly read and decipher information. Neither talking books nor computers offer the comparable convenience and speed of access that the ability to read and write braille or print offer both sighted and blind people.

Until the mid 1970's braille was produced by hand, using Perkins braillers to create masters, and thermoform machines to produce copies. While Perkins braillers produce excellent braille, they are a very labour intensive, time consuming method of braille production. New technologies have altered these processes for the better. Today, the key technological components of an efficient braille production system are:

• braille translation software;
• scanning equipment;
• access to publishers' source files (preferably in Standard Generalized Markup Language) with a means to convert them to a useable format as required;
• and electronic embossers for printing digital braille files.

In recent years the focus in braille production technology has been on braille translators. The most recent developments in braille translation software have made them more user friendly, such as the capability to convert WordPerfect files directly to braille, spell checks, and the release in 1995 of Windows versions. Anyone having a limited knowledge of braille can now convert simple documents into good quality braille.

The blending of translation software (which converts print text to braille) with transcription software (which allows the user to key in braille characters) has given braille producers a very powerful tool for creating and editing braille files. The two major braille translation programs in the world, the Duxbury Braille Translator, and Megadots are now refined to the extent that in the foreseeable future it is unlikely that there will be any significant changes to either program.

Braille translators work on the basis of converting text files to braille, but the process of digitizing the document in order to translate it has always been labour intensive. When the first translators were released, manual data entry was the most common method of file preparation, but today there are better technological alternatives. One option is using optical scanners that "read" print pages and convert them to a digital format. However, long and/or complex documents, such as student text books, may take twenty hours to scan, and require extensive proofreading of the scanned file, because of the errors that occur during scanning. Good scanning results are very much dependent on the print quality of the original document. In spite of its drawbacks, scanning is still preferable to manual data entry, however publishers' source files have reduced the need for data entry and scanning.

7.2 Publishers' Source Files

Over the last decade, many publishers have replaced manual typesetting with electronic publishing methods. As the publishing community increases its use of electronic methods, the availability of digital source files will increase. With access to source files for braille production the data entry process, whether by scanning or by manual data entry, is eliminated. If a publisher uses software compatible with the braille producer's braille and text editing systems, then producing braille from source files is a simple process. However, incompatible file formats are a significant obstacle, particularly where publishers use proprietary publishing systems. If the publisher's format is incompatible, extensive file conversion may be required. While some conversions are simple, and can be performed by the publisher or braille producer, others are complex, and may require computer programming. A worst case scenario occurs when the file conversion is so complex that it is faster and more cost effective to scan the book. A partnership between publishers and alternate format producers to develop compatible production methods would eliminate unnecessary and labour intensive processes, and deliver information faster in print and alternate format.