Plate Embossing Device Model 30

Before we developed the PED-30 around 1980, the world's Braille printing houses produced plates for Braille presses literally by hand. One error, and the whole plate had to be redone.

The PED-30 revolutionized volume Braille production by making it possible to create zinc master plates from computers. Plates from the PED-30 go onto a specially modified commercial printing press, which stamps the dots into the paper. Today, plates from the PED-30 regularly produce millions of pages of Braille worldwide, including every sheet of Braille produced for the Library of Congress' huge stock of Braille books and periodicals.

PED-30 Technical Specifications

• Weight: 1,525 pounds (692.4 kg).
• Shipping Weight: 1,750 pounds (794.5 kg).
• Cells Per Line: 40 maximum.
• Lines Per Side: 30 maximum.
• Embossing Speed: 40 characters per second.
• Cell Size: Each cell is made up of a 2 by 3 matrix with the following dot spacing: (Horizontal) Dot 1 to Dot 4 - 0.093 inches (2.36 mm); (Vertical) Dot 1 to Dot 2 - 0.092 inches (2.35 mm)
• Cell Spacing: (Horizontal) Dot 1 to Dot 1 - 0.245 inches (6.22 mm); (Vertical) Dot 1 to Dot 1 - 0.400 (10.17 mm).
• Interface: Asynchronous Serial. EIA RS-232D, DTE.
• Options: European standards (cell size and cell spacing).