VILLINGENDORF, Germany –  Labelling in Braille on outer packaging of medical products has been made mandatory by an EU directive (Directive 2004/27/EU) to assist the blind and partially sighted. Embossing Braille onto folding cartons can be done as part of the die cutting and scoring process; this can be economical for long print runs. On short and medium production runs, after die cutting, packaging printers can gain cost efficiency by using KÖRA-PACKMAT’s new rotary Braille embosser to emboss Braille on printed carton blanks. Embossing carton blanks gives more flexibility in positioning of Braille text.

Braille characters require significant space, they are 6.6 mm high, therefore Braille text is limited to product name and, if applicable, product strength. It is possible to position Braille text anywhere on a folding carton, but areas with bar codes should be avoided. Embossed Braille does not detract from the quality of a printed image as seen by customers with unimpaired vision.

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Die cutting, scoring and simultaneously embossing cartons limit the cost of embossing Braille, provided one master tool can be used for one type of folding carton blank. A universal female matrix is positioned in an A-panel of a product neutral folding carton; product specific text is then embossed by a male die. This approach restricts the positioning of Braille text because a Braille character cannot be placed closer than 8 mm to an edge of a carton.

Placing Braille text in individual positions for different graphic designs on product neutral folding cartons incurs substantial tooling costs.

Says Joachim Kraus, KÖRA-PACKMAT’s Sales-Director-Feeder, “We were approached by a packaging printer who was looking for flexibility in positioning Braille text and cost efficiency in embossing Braille text for small and medium production batches. During the design of our new rotary Braille embosser, the printer’s practical experience in embossing complemented our expertise in mechanical design and handling of flat products such as carton blanks. This resulted in a design that provides flexibility, cost efficiency, and process checking to ensure enhanced process security.”

A servo driven feeder feeds single carton blanks onto a flighted conveyor; the speed of the feeder is synchronised with the speed of the rotary embosser. A scanner reads a printed code on each blank to ensure that the printed text is identical to the Braille text on the die; a blank with a wrong code is routed through a reject gate. A check station detects and removes any double feeds to ensure that only single blanks reach the rotary embossing station. After embossing, each blank is marked with another code to confirm embossing; this code can be checked when the blanks are fed into a folding-gluing or packaging machine.

The space between the Braille text and the leading edge of a blank is set by the operator at the operator station. The machine detects the leading edge of a blank. A motion control system

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with servo drive ensures correct spacing from the leading edge to the first Braille character, and synchronises the surface speed of the rotary embosser with the speed of the conveyor. The lateral position of the Braille text is determined by the position of the embossing dies on the transverse rollers. Text with a maximum of 4 lines, each line with up to 20 Braille characters, can be embossed.

Joachim Kraus concludes, “Our rotary Braille embosser can handle up to 20,000 carton blanks per hour, it is designed to be loaded and unloaded by one person, it offers flexibility in text positioning and cost efficiency in production.”