Braille is a tactile letter alphabet used by people with Blindness or vision difficulties that prevent visual reading. It has provided full access and enjoyment of the written word since 1824 when Louis Braille invented it as a student at the National Institute for Blind Children (little known fact, Louis Braille was inspired to develop the alphabet on the basis of a Napoleonic war-time communication system known as Night-Writing).
Since then, Braille has become the standard of print communication for persons who are blind.
This tactile communication system was once limited to print publications with raised tactile components that required specialized paper and printing techniques. Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), however, tactile signage has become much more widely available and can be found in facilities throughout the country.
Development of tactile signage has long been a special-order necessity for businesses, but, with the rise of affordable 3-D Printers, many public and private organizations are experimenting with creating their own in-house tactile signage to increase accessibility to people with vision impairments. This is a welcome development, given that the first tactile printing patent that accurately described the process of 3-D printing was filed 53 years ago today.
Why use tactile signage?
Tactile signage allows people with Blindness or vision disabilities to access the world equitably. People without these impairments may not consider how much they use their vision and reading abilities on a daily basis, but for those with disabilities, having no method available to navigate is a barrier to accessing the world.
Using forms of tactile signage such as Braille is one simple way to eliminate impediments to equal access. It’s easy to include instructional signs in Braille and allows people with vision difficulties to independently navigate the space they are in. Independence is a critical part of most people’s lives, for both those with disabilities and those without.
Why use 3D Printing?
Businesses change the location of goods, services, and store layouts often. It may be simple to have placeholder signs that are handwritten or typed, but that doesn’t provide the same independent access that tactile signs do.
One of the major appeals of the rise of 3D printing is the ability for businesses to create new signage in-house, giving those with vision disabilities the same opportunity to discover changes in the store as those without visual disabilities. Particularly in the case of facility modifications (for example, when an emergency exit is moved), the ability to create on-demand and same-day signs is priceless.
There are also financial benefits in considering 3-D printers for tactile signage. Special-ordering ADA compliant tactile signage can be expensive, even more so if the order must be rushed. If a sign is misprinted or breaks, 3-D printing a new one costs a fraction of a single order of tactile signage and is far easier and quicker to accomplish.
Providing tactile signage through 3-D printing is a quick, simple, and affordable method of ensuring equitable access to a business for those with vision disabilities or Blindness. Creating the ability to navigate a store, library, or other building independently is a crucial part of ensuring a company is not only following ADA requirements but working to improve access to its services for customers with disabilities.
As 3-D printers continue to become more common and less expensive, businesses should consider investing in them in lei of outdated accommodation processes and expensive made-to-order tactile signage.
To learn more about 3-D printing and how its use can improve the lives of persons with visual disabilities, check out the National Federation of the Blind's guide on 3D Printing Tactile Graphics.
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