Perkins APH Next Generation Braille Writer Brailler - Blue - Opened Never Used

Opened Never Used - Immaculate - Complete With Manual And CD

Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, the first director of Perkins, believed it wasn't enough for people who are blind to be read to by others. He devoted his life's work to making sure that blind and visually impaired people throughout the world could read and enjoy books.

As he embarked upon his challenge as director of the first school for the blind in the United States, Howe took a three-week tour to see how European countries taught people who were blind. He realized there was a critical shortage of embossed books, due to the high cost of producing them. Howe bought four of these specialized books for Perkins, but the large raised letters made the books as bulky as they were expensive. Howe began to dream of establishing a separate printing department on the Perkins campus, an enterprise that would be later become Howe Press.

By 1835, Howe opened the Perkins Printing Department, providing books to his students and others who were visually impaired. He created the Boston Line Type, his own more narrow, slender typeface. Although this system was easier for people with sight to read and was less costly and cumbersome to produce, users still had difficulty writing. The school continued to use this system for 50 years until the creation of the Perkins Brailler® at Perkins revolutionized communication for the blind.

In the 1930's the director at the time, Dr. Gabriel Farrell, asked David Abraham, a woodworking teacher at Perkins to create a machine that would make braille more accessible for the blind. Abraham, who had experience working with machines at his father's factory in England, worked for years before coming up with the prototype. First produced in 1951, the Perkins Brailler® is a durable, inexpensive alternative to conventional brailling machines. Today, the Perkins Brailler® is the standard model worldwide and Perkins Products/Howe Press has manufactured more than 300,000 machines.


Mr. Abraham and Dr. Waterhouse had created a list of specifications that would make the Perkins Brailler the best machine available. Mr. Abraham managed to incorporate all of these features, plus a few more, into his design.

The Perkins Brailler is easy to use. The touch is so light that very young people and those with little strength can use it without strain. The machine is tough and hard to break, and much quieter than other braillers available at the time. Paper can be quickly and easily inserted, and the spacing mechanisms are swift and simple to operate. When the operator reaches the bottom of the page, the mechanism prevents the paper from falling out. It is so accurate in its spacing that previously embossed paper can be reinserted and a single dot can be added to a specific cell, without damaging any of the existing work. The brailler has no projecting carriages or parts because the embossing head is inside the case and moves across the paper. These features made the Perkins Brailler reliable and easy to use, and it remains unsurpassed to this day

Perkins re-engineered the classic brailler into the Next Generation model, retaining all the attributes that make it the most widely used braillewriter in the world. The Next Generation Brailler is quieter, lighter, and more comfortable for brailling. It includes a built-in eraser, a way to read the page easily while writing, a shorter keystroke requiring less force, and margin guides on the front. It has a sleek design with tactile elements, environmentally-friendly materials, and an APH Blue color.
Features

Lighter and smaller: Easier to hold and carry 25% lighter
Quieter: The keystroke noise is reduced, end-of-line bell is audible but muted
Gentle Touch Keys: Less force required, keys are lower and easier to reach
Easy-Erase Button: Push to erase an entire braille cell
Easy-Grip Handle: The Brailler base is also a handle
Reading Rest: The back panel can be raised to provide a flat surface for reading the page
Front Panel Margin Guides: Easily accessible; no more reaching around the back
Highly durable: Metal inner frame and parts, and high-impact polycarbonate outer shell
Paper-Feed Knobs: Easier to hold and turn
High contrast colors between keys and Brailler body for low vision users
Environmentally friendly: Uses less oil and recyclable plastic
Sleek design with tactile-friendly materials