New digital Braille printing machine from Sweden

Convertec AB, the Swedish label and flexo printing and converting specialists, have launched a new machine to digitally print Braille on labels, leaflets and booklets. The new machine, named Braillemaker One, can print Braille dots from a single text line up to five text lanes simultaneously. Developed with the assistance of suppliers and customers, Braillemaker One produces crisp and clear Braille dots with an adjustable height from 0.2 to 0.4mm, depending on customers’ requirements.

Braillemaker One complements or replaces conventional rotary or flat screen printing applications. A unique development is its special software that converts regular text to Braille dots in the different ‘languages’ required. For high quality environments, a vision inspection system is available to detect and verify each Braille dot’s position and size.

Other options include a secondary rewinder, integrated slitting, and brackets to print multiple webs across. The specially developed Braille varnish, supplied by Xsys, adheres to the self-adhesive paper and top coated label stocks available in the market today.

‘The demand for low cost, uncomplicated, high quality and variable Braille printing has increased since the EU-directive, demanding Braille marking of pharmaceutical products, was implemented two years ago. The difficulty has been to develop a unit that is productive, simple and cost effective at the same time.  From initial market reactions, we believe we have solved these problems with Braillemaker One,’ said Peter Nobelius, technical sales manager at Convertec AB.

Convertec has appointed ABG International as agents for Braillemaker One in the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Germany, Spain, USA and Canada. Mike Burton, managing director of ABG, added: ‘The initial reaction from large pharmaceutical label printing companies has been very positive, and we expect to secure sales on our stand (6F70) during the upcoming Labelexpo Europe exhibition in Brussels.’