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April 1999
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April 1999
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Tiger
March 1, 1999
ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.
For immediate release
CORVALLIS (Oregon) - ViewPlus Technologies will unveil the first tactile graphics embosser, the TIGER Advantage, at the 14th International Conference "Technologies and Persons with Disabilities" in Los Angeles, March 17-20, 1999. TIGER is a computer printer that produces a combination of Braille and tactile graphics from Windows 95/98/NT computer applications.
The TIGER tactile graphics embosser is a revolutionary step forward in making graphical information available to visually impaired readers. TIGER is the first embosser that can print directly from standard Windows applications, permitting easy one-step production of braille text and tactile graphics.
With the rapid expansion of information in graphical form, visually impaired people have been victims of an information gap that has been growing rapidly. Bridging this gap has been a high priority for educational and government agencies concerned with the welfare of people having print disabilities. ViewPlus Technologies recognized this need and developed TIGER with the support of a US Department of Education's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant. TIGER prints both text and graphics. The printer driver recognizes the text characters and translates them into Braille while reproducing graphics in tactile form.
TIGER technology has received much recognition including the B.F. Goodrich Award, finalist for the 1998 SAP/Stevie Wonder Award, and nomination for a 1999 Smithsonian Computerworld Award.
The TIGER Advantage is geared towards both institutional and personal use. TIGER is perfect for custom tactile graphics printouts. TIGER is the ideal tool for personal use and for schools, colleges, and centers that prepare tactile materials for clients who are blind.
In the past, visually-impaired end-users have had very restricted access to tactile graphics, because custom tactile graphics have been prohibitively expensive. Such materials have almost invariably been hand-made. The TIGER Advantage can reduce that cost dramatically. Now any person who knows how to use a computer can create tactile graphics.
TIGER provides blind computer users unparalleled direct access to electronic information. World wide web pages on everything from bus schedules to university lecture notes can be printed and used without assistance of sighted helpers. The range of TIGER features can facilitate remote learning by visually impaired students who can access world wide web text and graphical information (flow charts, graphs, diagrams).
TIGER embosses with a higher resolution than can be achieved by common braille embosser technology. But it is the Windows printing capability that sets TIGER apart as a full featured printer for blind people. "The simple concept of having a Windows driver has never been used by any embosser manufacturers up to now. The functionality of the operating system makes standard applications accessible and also provides additional features to the printer such as network support. Connecting the printer to the network enables simultaneous access to the embosser by multiple remote users. This can significantly reduce the cost of the hardware per user," said Mr. Peter Langner, the inventor of the technology and Vice President of ViewPlus Technologies.
For more information about the company and its products you can visit www.viewplustech.com or contact Goran Karapetrov at vpt@viewplustech.com, tel: (541) 754-4002 or, FAX (541) 753-8286.
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