Blind Bargains

#CSUN14 Audio: Enabling Technologies Ditches Shakespeare, Introduces Sleek Cyclone and Trident Braille Embossers


Enabling Technologies is updating their venerable flagship braille embossers with a sleek new design and more modern capabilities. The Cyclone is a single-sided embosser which updates the Romeo while the Trident, an interpoint embosser, will likely replace the Juliet. Enabling Technologies President Tony Schenk joins us to talk about the features and availability of these embossers in this podcast. Blind Bargains audio coverage of CSUN 2014 is generously sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Transcript

We strive to provide an accurate transcription, though errors may occur.

Hide transcript
Direct from San Diego, it’s BlindBargains.com coverage of CSUN 2014. The biggest names, provocative interviews, and wall-to-wall exhibit hall coverage, brought to you by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Are you a professional working in the vision loss field? AFB’s eLearning center has the tools and resources to support you. Learn about technology, eye conditions, aging, and more, 24/7, wherever you are, through AFB’s webinars and online courses. Earn credits and enhance your knowledge by visiting www.afb.org/elearning.

Now, here’s J.J. Meddaugh.

J.J.: We’re here at CSUN 2014 with Tony Schenk, who is the President of Enabling Technologies, and I am standing in front of two new Braille embossers. Tony, welcome back to the show.

TS: Thank you, J.J. It’s a pleasure to be back.

J.J.: So tell me what I’m standing in front of here.

TS: Well, for years, we’ve produced the Romeo and Juliet product. They’re nice, solid, robust machines, but one of the criticisms we had was that they’re kind of commercial-looking, so we decided to take the same durable embossers and put them in a nice, sleek, modern-looking case. We’ve come out with the Cyclone, which is comparable to our Romeo, but like the Romeo –

J.J.: Is that this one right here?

TS: That’s the one right here on the table.

J.J.: It does feel a lot – the top is kind of rounded. It kind of feels a little bit like a Braille writer, even, kind of – you have the head in the back there? No, that’s a paper – that’s the tractors in the back.

TS: Those are the tractors. These are rear feed. It is a little like the Braille writers in shape. A little larger, of course.

J.J.: Oh, of course, but yeah, you’re right; it doesn’t feel like the Romeo or the Juliet at all. It has a slick, kind of glossy feel to it as I’m touching it.

TS: Yeah, the paint finishes on it actually are automotive clear coat paint finishes, so they have a nice smooth touch to them, and the paints have metallic particles in them that makes them shine. So it does add a nice elegance, particularly in the classroom. It is faster than our traditional Romeos; it’s about 60 characters per second. Wider weight; it only weighs about 21 pounds, and it’s a little quieter, because that cover actually does deaden the sound. It’s not “quiet” quiet, but it’s quieter than a Romeo.

J.J.: All right, you set up – I’m not sure if you set up this one or the other one to print something.

TS: Ah yes, the Trident is actually comparable to our Juliet product line. It’s an interpoint embosser, and same basic characteristics of the Cyclone. Different color, but effectively the same size and shape. It runs at up to 100 characters per second.

J.J.: And there aren’t too many buttons on these.

TS: No, that’s another major change we made in these embossers, compared to our historic product lines. Three simple buttons: on/offline, top of form, and form feed. All the other settings are still available, but with most of the modern Braille translation software, all of those settings are controlled within the software now.

J.J.: There used to always be the confusion of do you set the line length and the margins on the embosser or do you set it on the software, and I know that confused some people. I think it confused myself at times, trying to figure out what to do where and when.

TS: Precisely, and that’s why we’ve been able to do this. Now, we do drive these embossers with our Firebird software, Sweep, which we introduced originally with the Phoenix. These are now compatible with that, so you can use the graphics functions that the Phoenix has. The difference in resolutions, the Cyclone and Trident do 17 dots per inch, where the Phoenix can go up to 25.

J.J.: I think we’ve discussed this a little bit before; what’s the accessibility of the graphics part of that?

TS: The program itself is screen reader accessible, all of the control functions. The graphic Windows, though, unfortunately there’s no way to really effectively do that other than to emboss the contents and see what comes out. But the programs, we’ve made them all accessible.

J.J.: Could you have rudimentary dot patterns or whatever and kind of – I know it would take forever, but to kind of map them out that way?

TS: The Braille Editor function in it does have several fill patterns, so if you’re creating a graphic from scratch and not using say a JPEG or a JIF file or a BMP file, you can draw things using the drawing tools, which are very similar to what you’d find in Paint or a regular graphic editor.

J.J.: Seventeen dots per inch. I’m feeling – I don’t know what this…

TS: That’s the Cyclone logo that you’re seeing there, and that is in 17 dots per inch.

J.J.: What is regular Braille in dots per inch?

TS: Standard Braille is actually about 12.

J.J.: Okay. It ends up being a little bit smaller dots.

TS: The dot size we chose for the Cyclone and the Trident is that of the Juliet, which is slightly smaller than the Romeo, but it does allow us to get that finer 17 dot per inch – true 17 dot.

J.J.: And it’s a lot smoother to the touch as opposed to the regular Braille. You certainly can tell it’s a graphic, and it lets you do a lot more with curves and diagonals and things like that. For sure. Well anyway, let’s go back to the Trident and let’s see if we can have it print something for us.

TS: Okay, let me start it up. I think it’s a little quieter than the Juliet.

J.J.: Of course, it’s a Braille embosser, but you and I are able to talk over this. I don’t think I’d be taking phone calls in the middle of this, but we can still have a conversation. Not like – we don’t have to be yelling at each other.

TS: That’s correct. Some of that is due to the high density cover we put on it. I think it does…

J.J.: The Braille is coming from back to front. It’s tractor only, right?

TS: That’s correct. It’s tractor drive only, and rear feed. The Braille comes out the front, which is also different from some of our traditional models. Most of our traditional models were front feed with the Braille going to the rear. But with the simple control panel, you actually can turn it around, so if you would rather have it go the other way, you just have to reposition the embosser.

J.J.: Okay. So there’s a lot of different – is it mostly done from your software, then?

TS: Predominantly from the software. The only thing you really have to do with the embosser is install the paper and set top of form.

J.J.: Do you still have a lot of the same flexibility if you were to use Duxbury or something else?

TS: Oh yes, it is compatible with all of the major translators on the market. In its basic form, you actually treat it either like a Romeo or a Juliet, and if you need to access the higher functions, then that’s done with the special software that does that, the Firebird graphics.

J.J.: Okay. What is the pricing for the new models?

TS: The Cyclone is $2,995, and the Trident is $3,995.

J.J.: Are these going to replace the Romeo and Juliet, or are they going to be alongside of them?

TS: For the moment, they’re alongside of them. We’ll continue to make the Romeo and Juliet product lines as long as people want them. A lot of people like those models and just want to have another one. But eventually I’m sure it’ll come to a point where these will take over, because these are also Macintosh compatible embossers as well.

J.J.: What is the compatibility as far as the ports? There’s USB on it; what else is there?

TS: Also they have an Ethernet port so you can network them.

J.J.: Okay. Is there wireless as well, or not?

TS: No, they are hardwired Ethernet and USB. We also have the setup utilities as part of Firebird now that will actually go out and search for the device and install the drivers for you.

J.J.: Right, and especially with the Ethernet version, you’ve got to get the right IP address.

TS: Exactly. That’s where it really helps a great deal, is when you’re going to network them, which is a very effective way, particularly if you want to put it down the hall or in another room or share it with several people. The Firebird software that comes with it is free of charge, and there’s no per seat charge, so if you want to use it with several people in an office or a school setting, that’s very easy to do.

J.J.: Okay. That sounds great. If people have any other questions, they want to learn more, what’s the best way to do that?

TS: Well, you can email us at info@brailler.com or visit our website at www.brailler.com.

J.J.: Are these available now?

TS: Yes, these have started shipping last week, actually.

J.J.: All right. Thank you so much.

TS: Oh, it was my pleasure.

For more exclusive CSUN coverage, visit www.blindbargains.com, or download the Blind Bargains app for your iOS or Android device. Blind Bargains CSUN coverage is presented by the A T Guys, www.atguys.com.

This has been another Blind Bargains audio podcast. Visit BlindBargains.com for the latest deals, news, and exclusive content. This podcast may not be retransmitted, sold, or reproduced without the express written permission of A T Guys. © 2014.

Listen to the File


File size: 8.9MB
Length: 09:41

Check out our audio index for more exclusive content
Blind Bargains Audio RSS Feed

This content is the property of Blind Bargains and may not be redistributed without permission. If you wish to link to this content, please do not link to the audio files directly.

Category: Printers/Embossers

No one has commented on this post.

You must be logged in to post comments.

Username or Email:
Password:
Keep me logged in on this computer

Or Forgot username or password?
Register for free

J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.


Copyright 2006-2024, A T Guys, LLC.