A step-by-step guide for teachers, transcribers and schools preparing accessible braille materials from printed or digital textbooks.
Get the text content from your textbook — type it, copy from a digital version, or extract from a document file.
Use the text-to-braille converter to translate the content to UEB Grade 1 or Grade 2 braille.
Use the back-translation feature to verify the braille reads back correctly. Check with the homework checker if needed.
Prepare the braille text for embossing with proper page breaks, headers and formatting for your embosser.
For digital textbooks (PDF, DOCX, EPUB): Copy the text directly from the document. Most digital textbooks allow text selection and copying.
For printed textbooks: Type the text manually, or use OCR software to scan and convert printed text to digital format.
For structured content: Separate headings, body text, tables and captions. Braille formatting requires different treatment for each element.
Remove page numbers, headers and footers that are not part of the content. These will be added back in braille format.
Fix any OCR errors or formatting issues. Check that special characters, math notation and abbreviations are correct.
Break the text into manageable sections. Long textbooks should be processed chapter by chapter for easier review.
Use the text-to-braille converter at braille.tools/text-to-braille. Select Grade 1 for beginners or Grade 2 for fluent readers.
For each section, paste the English text and copy the Unicode braille output. The converter handles capitalization, numbers and punctuation automatically.
For large volumes, the Pro plan offers document processing that converts TXT files to BRF format directly.
Use the back-translation feature to check that the braille reads back to the original English text correctly.
Pay special attention to Grade 2 contractions — some may be context-dependent. The homework checker can highlight differences.
Have a qualified braille transcriber review the output before producing final materials, especially for educational use.
Add braille page numbers, headers and section markers according to your braille formatting guidelines.
Set appropriate line lengths (typically 40 characters per line) and page lengths (typically 25 lines per page) for your embosser.
Export as BRF (Braille Ready Format) for embossing, or as Unicode braille for digital distribution.
For small texts, use the free online translator. For full textbooks, the Pro plan offers document processing that handles larger files. Processing chapter by chapter is recommended for review.
Grade 2 is standard for textbooks because it is more compact and efficient for fluent readers. Grade 1 is used for beginners or when every letter must be explicit.
For physical braille copies, yes. For digital distribution, Unicode braille can be read on braille displays without embossing.
It depends on length and complexity. A short chapter can be converted in minutes. A full textbook with tables, images and math may take days with professional formatting.
Braille.tools translates the text portions. Mathematical notation requires Nemeth code, which is not yet supported. For math-heavy textbooks, use specialized tools like Duxbury DBT.
Type each menu item and description into the text-to-braille converter, select Grade 2 for compact reading, copy the Unicode braille output and format it for embossing. Use consistent spacing and clear section headers for easy navigation.