ConvertingMagazine.com
Can-Am Braille standard set for packaging
PRESS RELEASE -- Converting Magazine, 3/19/2009 9:15:00 AM
To better satisfy the needs of the visually impaired in North America, the
International
Association
of Diecutting and Diemaking (IADD), located in Crystal Lake, IL, has
created
“Can-Am
Braille,” a set
of guidelines and recommendations for the use of braille on packaging.
The IADD worked in conjunction with the Braille Authority of North America
(BANA)
over the past 18
months to develop the standard, whose official release is set for 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” will review the North American
standard
in detail.
All
participants will receive a copy; further distribution will take place
postworkshop
through the IADD
and BANA websites to reach out and bring together the printing, paperboard
packaging
and
pharmaceutical industries. The standard has been reviewed and received its
final
approval by the
IADD Executive Committee and Board of Directors in January 2009.
"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.”
Brighton explains that in October 2005, a previous directive of the
European
Commission
regarding
the use of braille for pharmaceutical packaging was implemented as law for
newly
approved medicinal
products. To address these requirements, the European Carton Manufacturers
Association
worked
closely with national carton associations from Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
France,
Germany, Italy,
Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom to
develop
a standard that is
being used as a set of guidelines and recommendations for the use of
braille
on packaging.
Can-Am
Braille is derived from this standard.
Already the Canadian and U.S. packaging markets are experiencing the
effects
of the
European
requirements, with some larger pharmaceutical companies incorporating
braille on
their packaging for
the last few years. It is essential that a common standard be in place to
ensure
that blind and
visually impaired individuals will be able to benefit from its use. When
asked why
the IADD chose to
base its standard on a European one, Brighton elaborates, “There is
nothing
about
braille that we
can hold autonomous. We have had the opportunity to collaborate with BANA
to
marry
their knowledge
of braille with our knowledge of what’s practically possible when applying
braille
to paperboard
substrates. What we are really dealing with is the independence of the
visually impaired.
Our
responsibility is to ensure that their independence is respected and that
we, as
an industry, do the
best that we can to produce pharmaceutical, fast food or other types of
paperboard
packaging with
the best quality braille for readability and continuity through the use of
the standard.
Otherwise
the purpose of producing the braille and the resources it takes in these
economic
times ends up
being an exercise in futility for everyone involved."
"We are looking forward to the implementation of this standard.” said Judy
Dixon,
chair of the
Braille Authority of North America, “It will have the effect of making
more
braille
labels to help
blind people identify the packages in their everyday lives and this will
be
a very
positive step
forward.” Interestingly, no government legislation similar to that of
Europe
is currently
proposed
in the U.S. or Canada that would require pharmaceutical packaging to have
braille
on it. The
original concept of creating a North American standard stemmed from a
braille workshop
and
discussions at an IADD Can-Am Chapter meeting. Some members had
participated
in a
braille workshop
at the IADD Annual Meeting in Switzerland in November 2006. It was felt
that
a proactive
approach on
the part of industry to develop and implement its own standard would be a
way of
reducing or even
eliminating legislative intervention. This has allowed the standard to be
developed
in a time frame
that fosters continuity, making it more of an international standard, and
that ensures
it will work
from a practical standpoint.
The IADD Board approved the Can-Am Braille standard in January 2009. The
BANA Board
reviewed and has
approved the IADD Can-Am Braille standard in November 2008.
Contact: Jill May, IADD Chapter Relations Coordinator,
International Association of Diecutting and Diemaking.
Phone 1-815-455-7519; Fax 1-815-455-7510; Email
jmay@xxxxxxxx
.
For more information about the IADD, visit
www.iadd.org
.
For more information about BANA, visit
www.brailleauthority.org
SOURCE
http://www.convertingmagazine.com/article/CA6645238.html
www.vipconduit.com
and
www.accessible-devices.com
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