New Technologies of Convex Printing of Maps for the Blind and Weak-sighted People

摘要

For the blind and weak-sighted people is very important to be able to move around independently. They use of white sticks, dogs and other aids are useful, but prior knowledge of an area can further aid mobility. Convex (tactile) maps are potentially very helpful in knowing the layout of a city, plans of public transport, the type of terrain to be encountered and so on. In the last few years, two new technologies for convex printing have been developed: microcapsule paper and convex inkjet printing. With these technologies it is easy to produce convex graphics, be they maps, charts, diagrams, graphs or even artworks.