The IADD working in conjunction with the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) officially released the Can-Am Braille standard on Friday, May 8, at the 2009 IADD•FSEA Odyssey in Atlanta, GA, USA. An informative technical workshop, “Let Your Fingers Do The Talking: Braille on Folding Cartons” reviewed the “North American standard in detail. All participants received a copy of the North American Braille on folded cartons standard.
“The use of braille in packaging will continue to increase over the next several years,” predicts Stephen Brighton, IADD Braille Task Force Chair, “following European pharmaceutical and food product packaging trends in Europe.”
We would like to know what is EU requirement for a Braille dot height?
FRANC BARBIČ · Sep 9, 07:49 PM
There is currently no agreed standard for Pharmaceutical Braille height. However, the proposed CEN European standard states:
In order to ensure that Braille readers can identify the name of the medicinal product, the Braille cell dot height measured on production samples prior to leaving the packaging (e. g. carton or label) manufacturer in accordance with Annex A.1 shall be:
a) For embossed materials the target Braille cell dot height shall be: 0.2 mm, with a minimum of 0.1 mm. The standard deviation shall be no higher than 0.025 mm.
b) For other Braille production methods, e. g. screen-printed labels, the target Braille cell dot height shall be: 0.2 mm, with a minimum of 0.16 mm. The standard deviation shall be no higher than 0.010 mm.
NOTE 1 The MAH is encouraged to aim for a higher cell dot height in line with the packaging manufacturer’s processes. Cardboard is not an engineering material; this should be considered.
NOTE 2 Burst-through can occur when the substrate or any surface coating fractures causing damage to print and/or surface finish. Burst-through is not recommended, but might be accepted by certain markets.
NOTE 3 It is essential that Braille dots do not compromise any printed text whether the dots are intact or are formed with a burst-through.
NOTE 4 The Braille cell dot height limits included above reflect technical issues associated with the production of pharmaceutical packaging – they do not necessarily represent a Braille cell dot height that can be achieved with other media.
Gary Steel · Sep 9, 08:04 PM