Connecting and Configuring Your Embosser

Setting up a new embosser for your computer consists of, first, connecting and configuring the hardware, and second, configuring your software. If you do not have a braille embosser on-site you can skip this section for now, but read through the "Global: Embosser Setup" section to learn about setting the desired page size for your documents.

Usually DBT interfaces smoothly with recent embosser models that are set to their factory default settings. The following instructions help you work with embossers that are older, or that have been in use for a time and may no longer be set to factory defaults.

Please, resist the urge to simply connect an embosser, turn it on, and see what happens. Instead, we strongly suggest you follow the manufacturer's instructions for connecting and configuring your braille embosser.

As you proceed, we recommend you keep notes on all your embosser settings, and we suggest you favor the following choices when they arise:

1) Select "USA" or "North American" code (perhaps called "language") for braille equivalence (braille encoding).

2) Turn off any "grade 1" or other translation options that do not preserve a strict one-for-one equivalence. On some set-up menus, you might do this by selecting "computer braille."

3) Turn off any "word wrap" or "auto wrap-around" option.

4) Turn off any "auto carriage return" option.

5) Turn off any "auto line feed" option.

6) Set the page depth (in lines per page) and width (in cells per line) at their maximum available values, or at least as great as the size of the largest pages you wish to generate.

7) Select 6 dots per cell.

8) Generally, unless specifically instructed to use a specific driver by the embosser manufacturer or dealer, you should choose the "Generic - Text only" driver provided by your Operating System.

Note: On Windows systems, it is recommended that you set up your embosser as a normal Windows Printer. This is usually done through the "Add a Printer" function in "Devices & Printers" in the Control Panel. When adding a Windows printer, you will be prompted for a name. To avoid confusion with normal ink printers, we suggest you use a descriptive name that includes the term "Embosser".

Braille Embosser Manufacturers

You should contact your embosser supplier or manufacturer if you require a manual, or any specific technical assistance, for your braille embosser. Click here for a list of embosser manufacturers.