I'm looking to write my girlfriend cute little letters and poems. Need them transcribed into braille. Any idea on how much that would cost and where I could do it?
dmazzoni6 points6y ago
Oooh, I can help with this one!
Free option: visit one of a dozen websites that convert text to braille. Print the braille onto thick paper, then hold it up to a light and poke holes from the back to the front. Kind of ghetto but totally works.
Better: order a braille slate and stylus. I just found one on Amazon Prime for $15. Now use the computer again to convert, but use the slate and stylus to make the braille instead of a pin.
There are definitely services but they tend to be pricey, like $20 per page. If you find someone with a braille embosser, though, they might be able to make you a deal. The reason the prices are so high is because it's a niche specialty and hard to make a living doing braille otherwise, and also a lot of work comes from businesses who need things in braille to comply with the law so they will pay whatever it costs.
Good luck!
KingFluffeh1 [OP]1 points6y ago
Thank you guys so much! She's looking forward to getting these :D
-shacklebolt-1 points6y ago
You can learn how to use a [braille slate and stylus] (https://ecommerce.nfb.org/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=131&ph=&keywords=&recor=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=) and [braille paper] (https://ecommerce.nfb.org/asp/product.asp?product=1049&cat=129&ph=&keywords=&recor=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=) pretty easily. You do have to write the text "backwards" on the slate which can take a bit to get the hang of, but you can use an online image of the braille alphabet to help you or one of the many online translators.
There are also a lot of [professional braille transcription services,] (https://nfb.org/braille-transcription-resource-list) some which are way less expensive than you might think (several in the $0.25-$1 per braille page range.) Many transcribers have a very reasonable minimum order ($5 to $10) so you could pre-write a series of notes to fill that amount or something.
fastfinge1 points6y ago
What country are you in? Shipping Braille can be expensive, so you'll want something as close to local as you can get.
-shacklebolt-3 points6y ago
At least in the US, Braille is free to ship via free matter for the blind. For that matter, I've had one package from Canada and I believe some from England come free matter.
KingFluffeh1 [OP]2 points6y ago
I live in the states. This is all pretty new to me, actually.
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