Dave,
We can't really eliminate embosser questions from our discussions here on
this list, no matter how frustrating it may be for some of us to go over
ground that we already know, we need to remember that the embosser's setup
contributes to the final transcribed page as does the operation of Duxbury
itself. While I agree that there's a wealth of information in the manuals,
it's not always easy to find the right piece, especially if you can't
figure out exactly what's causing the problem. Instead of railing against
those who didn't read their manuals, why not just answer the question. It
takes just as much time and energy, and is a lot more productive. When I
ask a question on this list, it's because I really don't know where to look
for the answer, and I like to think that someone here will point me in the
right direction, and not just dismiss my question as laziness on my part.
Steve
On Thursday 3/4/04 10:54 Dave Durber wrote:
Hello everyone:
I know that my following comments are probably going to bring a lot of criticism down upon my head. Well! As president Truman said "if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen".
Deep Breath! here goes!
It seems to me, that there are a lot of questions being asked on this user list that are nothing to do with the operation of DBT and more to do with the settings of different braille embossers.
Over the years, I have owned four Enabling Technologies braille embossers and five Index braille embossers. All seven machines came with both print and braille manuals. As manuals go, the manuals from Enabling Technologies are some of the easiest to follow and understand. The manuals from Index, in my opinion, could and should be translated better. Although, I did not have too much difficulty understanding the instructions. If I needed to know how to change the settings for either manufacturers machines, I used to use the appropriate manual in order to find out how to make the necessary changes. Contacting a user list such as this would have been my last resort.
May I suggest that this should be the first place individuals should look or, contact the manufacturer/Supplier of the embosser to obtain this type of information, before contacting the list.
If an individual is intending to be certified as a braille transcriber/proofreader, in their particular country, knowing how to change the settings for different sizes of paper in the embosser or embossers that you use to produce braille and how to change the settings in DBT are some of the most basic and important things you must know and learn if you are even to begin producing high quality braille. If an individual cannot make these kinds of changes for each project as necessary, without referring to other users to help them, then they might want to consider another line of work or, study more of the basics before committing themselves to a business that can have very tight turn-around times and very tight dead-lines, that must be met in order not only to be successful but also to gain a good reputation for producing high quality braille.
The knowledge I have gained in using different braille transcription programs, including using DBT for the past 4 years, to produce my braille projects and products over the past twenty-three years, has been achieved with: a great deal of hard work, lots of reading, lots of experimentation and using Duxbury's excellent Technical Support service.
Now, I not only hope to get answers to some of my DBT questions from some of you but, I would like to be able to help others with some of the techniques and knowledge that I have learned over the past twenty-three years.
I hope that the contributions I have made so far since joining the list have been of help and use to some of you.
Sincerely:
Dave Durber
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