Printing technology

Technology for producing tiflomaps on puffy paper

The technology developed at the Centre for the Blind in Owińskach, by Marek Jakubowski and spatial orientation teacher Alina Talukder, was based on the so-called swelling paper (also known as swelling paper or microcap paper), which was in operation on the world market. This paper was used to make simple tyflographic representations, diagrams, sketches and so on. Applied with a special marker, with a toner with a high carbon content, the outlines could be easily highlighted, thanks to the specific properties of the paper and the thermal equipment used for this purpose. Another way of making tiffographs that were intended to take on the characteristics of relief graphics was to apply the graphics using a photocopier.

This technology was intended for both blind and partially sighted users. It was developed after almost two years of testing and research by the authors throughout the country and was patented and implemented in 2003.