ElPicsPrint — the software for embossing tactile graphics on Braille embossers

ElPicsPrint software is specifically designed to prepare and emboss tactile images on Braille embossers manufactured by Index Braille, ViewPlus, and Enabling Technologies. The app also allows to create tactile images for printing on microcapsule paper, taking into account its characteristics, and using the heaters, such as Swell Form and PIAF.
A tactile image is a source of information about the object drawn on the image for those who explore it with fingertips, just like a usual image in full color is such a source for a sighted user. With ElPicsPrint you will be able to prepare and emboss an image that will be clear and comfortable for using by blind customers. ElPicsPrint allows you to make a tactile illustration to any section of a textbook, to create your own illustrated books for kids of preschool and school age, to emboss an outline of a university campus and much more.

ElPicsPrint main features

• Converting images to tactile (dotted) view for further embossing them in Braille;
• A graphics editor that allows creating, editing and embossing tactile graphics without using any third-party software to process vector and bitmap images;
• Interface languages: Russian, English, Ukrainian;
• Measurement units selection (inches and millimeters are available);
• Tool tips for drawing tools;
• Several ready-to-emboss tactile images are included with the app for testing purposes;
• Fully functional demo mode for 14 days.

Drawing and editing images features

• Drawing and editing different outlines and shapes, including Bezier curves;
• Adding bitmap images to a document and editing them;
• Objects processing: scaling, rotating, vertical and horizontal flip, objects grouping and ungrouping, vertical and horizontal alignment to top, bottom, left or right and centering, applying the Eraser and Magic Wand tools;
• Ability to change contours properties, such as a presence or absence of a stroke, its thickness, color, line type (solid and dotted), fill color, tactile texture type, as well as texture dot height;
• Ability to create complex shapes by adding, subtracting or intersecting two or more contours;
• Possibility of automatic filling with dots of colored objects - internal fillings of contours and parts of bitmap images;
• Ability to set tactile textures for the structural parts of the contours, as well as adjust texture dot height, provided that the embossing type and embosser that support this feature are selected;
• Ability to overlay objects on top of each other and change the overlay order (Z-index);
• Possibility to display and adjust a helping grid when drawing and moving objects, including
• snapping to grid;
• Ability to add borders around the image, as well as around the text fields when embossing;
• Possibility to adjust upper and lower thresholds for image detection (applicable for images in full color).

Text features

• Creating and editing text fields to easily add Braille labels. The text that entered is automatically converted into Braille using the Liblouis library and selected translation table;
• Possibility of six-key Braille input from the keyboard, as well as inserting Braille text when creating and editing text fields;
• Braille labels recognition to separate Braille text from the image itself.

Printing

• Embossing a prepared tactile image on supported embossers (please see below);
• Support for printing on devices with thermal technology (supported devices please see below). The application allows to create tactile images for printing on microcapsule paper, taking into account its characteristics;
• Using floating head embossing if supported by the embosser and firmware version;
• Ability to select the method of generating and embossing of a tactile image. 3 methods are supported: "ElPicsPrint Braille embossing", in which the tactile image is generated according to the ElPicsPrint dots algorithm; "Printing on Microcapsule paper", and using the printer driver, in which the software sends the document for embossing using standard operating system tools, if the device supports such a feature. This means that the tactile image will be generated by the printer driver.
• Availability of the option "Corner detection", which in some cases allows to significantly improve the quality of the tactile image when embossing Braille, by setting priority points in the corners of the contours;
• Supported paper sizes: A4, A3, Letter 8.5 x 11, Legal 8.5 x 14, Ledger 17 x 11, 11.5 x 11;
• Ability to change document margins;
• Possibility to rotate the image by 90 degrees in order to emboss it in portrait orientation.

Supported embossers and devices with thermal technology

• The following Index Braille embossers are supported: Everest-D, BrailleBox, Basic-D and FanFold-D (version 4 or higher); the following ViewPlus embossers are supported: VP Delta, VP Columbia, VP Roque, VP EmBraille, VP Max, VP SpotDot, VP Elite, VP Premier; the following embossers from Enabling Technologies are supported: Romeo and Juliet.
• The devices with thermal technology: Swell Form и PIAF

Save and supported formats

• Ability to save prepared tactile image as elpp file. The elpp format contains information in the form of dots, ready to be embossed. It's not intended for editing in any way. This format is convenient to use for people who are blind or have low vision. For ViewPlus embossers you can save a print-ready file in prn format;
• Supported image files for import: jpg, png, bmp;
• Opening and saving scalar vector graphic (SVG) files (contours only).

Assets

• Download ElPicsPrint 2.5.0.0
• Read ElPicsPrint User Guide