Information

Documentation provided by Will on setting up Duxbury DBT and Index embossers.

Index embosser setup outline

• Install/activate Duxbury.
• Install the Index drivers.
• Set the paper size on the embosser.
• Set up the embosser in Duxbury:
• Select the embosser model, version, and printer driver.
• Set the paper size
• Set the lines per page, characters per line, and margin settings.

Paper size embosser set up

Set the paper size on the embosser
Index embossers have their own settings for the paper size etc. When using the embosser on its own using Index Direct Braille, all these settings need to be set correctly on the embosser.
When using the embosser in conjunction with Duxbury, the paper size needs to be set at the least. The paper size setting on the embosser is the maximum page size that Duxbury can print to. If Duxbury tries to emboss outside the embosser’s maximum page size, you will get a vocalised error message from the embosser. Other settings, such as the number of characters per line, lines per page, and single/double sided, are usually overridden by Duxbury. The method to set the paper size on the embosser differs depending on the embosser version you are using.

Setting paper size on Index V5

Firstly press the Help key and listen to the details to find out what the paper size is currently.
The v5 embosser has a menu system. In the Index v5 manual, there is a “Menu option v5” table which shows the layout of the menus. I find that quite useful as long as you know which buttons to press. A description of the buttons is also in the manual.

Basic step by step to set up paper size:

1. Press Menu. This will open the menus at the top level.
2. Press the down arrow until you get to Braille Layout. Press Right arrow to open the sub menu.
3. Select Edit Active Layout (it should be the first item), and press the right arrow again.
4. Select Standard Wizard (should be the first item), and press OK.
5. The wizard opens up. This is a step-by-step setup of the embosser which you navigate through using the left/right arrows. Press the right arrow until you get to Paper size.
6. Press OK on Paper Size, then OK on Set Paper Size.
7. Use the up/down arrows until you locate the correct paper size. Press OK.
8. Press the right arrow key until you get to Wizard Completed, then press OK.
    
   ### Set up the embosser in Duxbury

To add the embosser in Duxbury:

1. Open DBT.
2. Go to the Global menu, then select Embosser Setup.
3. Click New.
4. Select the correct model in the Embosser Model list.
5. In the Output Options area, select “Send to Printer” then choose the correct printer from the list. This list will match the printers set up in Control Panel.
   

6. Go to the Device Settings tab. Choose the correct embosser version from the list (e.g. Version 4/Version 5).
   

Paper sizing in Duxbury

In the Embosser Setup screen, look at the lower half of this dialog:

Firstly, ensure that the “Form” matches the paper size as closely as possible. Different versions of Duxbury have different options.
Older versions of DBT may not have exact measurements; they may say “Wide width” or “Narrow Width”. I believe wide width is around 12” and narrow width is 8.5”.
It doesn’t matter if the paper size is half an inch or so out, as long as it is not much larger than the option you selected on the Index.
The number of characters per line and lines per page is really where you need to fine-tune it, and it may mean a bit of trial-and-error depending on the user’s needs.
Characters per line is literally the maximum number of braille cells which will fit on the width of the page.

Lines per page is exactly that: the maximum lines of braille which will fit on each page.
Top margin is the top margin measured in lines of braille.
Binding margin is the left margin on the page, measured in number of characters. It’s called the Binding Margin because if you’re binding with a hole-punch for example, you’d be punching holes on the left of the page. Because the Index embossers are double-sided, the binding margin is the right margin on the reverse page.
There are no settings for the right and bottom margins. You can adjust these by increasing/decreasing the number of lines/characters.

Duxbury has its own maximum values depending on which paper size you selected. To find the maximum possible values, enter something really high such as “100” as the chars and lines, then click OK. You’ll then be told the maximum values.

Then you could run a test page at this point.
See what it turns out like. The user might have a preference for less characters on each line of text on the page, or a larger margin, in which case it can be adjusted.

Most things that can go wrong at this point can be generally resolved by reducing the number of lines per page or characters per line.
For example, the embosser might say an error like “document max value”, or the text might wrap onto the next page. If this happens. reduce the number of lines per page and characters per line by, say, 5 each. Then if the issue is resolved, you can add a few back until you have an acceptable page layout.