Those of you with tactile embossers would know how difficult it is to produce tactile images that are usable. Even if you have something like the tiger that supports variable dot height, you simply can’t take any ordinary image and send it to the printer. Yes, the image will be printed but what you will see is tactile mush.
You can get usable output but most approaches require human intervention. Automated methods are still under development.
I was trying to find a solution to this problem this afternoon. Most of my work is based on Prof Richard G Baldwin’s work in this area. I was trying to see if I could create usable tactile images without having to write any additional code. Yes, I am lazy. Thus far, what I have found is that you can use the sharpening affect in image editing programs such as irfan view to create quick and dirty tactile images. All you do is to open the image in an editor like irfan view, apply the sharpening filter or effect and then print the image.
I have tested this with a few samples and it has worked. I am not saying that this is the way create tactile images but it is one possible approach.
As a sighted person I think this will only work well if the image is a fairly straightforward one. A more complicated image will end up being “tactile mush” as you put it particularly if you don’t have a fairly good description of what the image is.
I know it sounds obvious but it will help when you are printing off the image to be sure to mark top and bottom of it..
Hi Helen,
Many thanks for the tip. Indeed, sharpening will work with relatively simple images. Complex images are not the best candidate for tactile printing due to its low resolution.