Cragside Blog

Software packages such as Braille Maker Professional provide a user-friendly and quick way to produce high quality Braille direct from a word processing package such as Microsoft Word.

From a single document a user can produce standard print, large print, Braille and Moon, and with the addition of a package such as EasyConvertor, DAISY and MP3 format can be produced.

In its most basic mode of operation, Braille Maker is accessed from the FIle Menu in Word (or Ribbon in Office 2007).  The document is then translated into Braille and the user is given the option to either print the file to the Braille embosser, or to edit the Braille.

Other features include European language Braille including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Welsh.  The language can easily be changed within the Word document, so a mixture of langauges can be used.  The same is true for Grade 1 or Grade 2 Braille.

For more information, please email info@cragside.com

Moon was devised by Dr William Moon LLD (1818 - 1894)

Image of Dr William Moon - 1818 to 1894

Dr William Moon LLD (1818 - 1894)

This system of tactile reading was based on simplified alphabetic characters, and is considered to be much easier to learn than Braille.  It is often used by people who lose their sight in later life because of this fact.

The process of producing Moon was not straightforward, and Braille became most popular because of the ease with which it could be produced, either by machine or by hand.

Today, many Braille embossers can produce ‘dotty Moon’, or the Moon characters can be printed onto swell paper and then passed through a Zy-Fuse or similar machine.

This is a sample of Moon