Next Generation™ Perkins Brailler® Available in New Colors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
January 28, 2010 

For more information contact Marilyn Rea Beyer, 617-972-7478 (office) or 617-513-5569 (cell) or Laura Matz, 617-972-7317 

Watertown, MA – The Next Generation™ Perkins Brailler® is now available in vibrant new colors – raspberry and midnight blue – straight from Perkins Products. Fifty-seven years after the original Perkins Brailler® was introduced by Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, a lighter, brighter version of the most widely-used braille writing machine in the world has been launched by Perkins Products.

The Next Generation Perkins Brailler updates tradition yet retains attributes that make the Perkins Brailler the world’s most widely used braillewriter:

• The Easy-Grip handle, smaller size, and lighter weight make it easier to carry
• Gentle Touch keys require a lighter stroke, making brailling more accessible for young children and people with physical limitations
• The new machine is quieter than the Classic Perkins Brailler
• The Reading Rest positions the page for reading brailled copy more comfortably
• The Easy-Erase Button flattens dots made in error
• The brightly colored polycarbonate shell is tactile-friendly, exceedingly durable
• The durable metal frame and metal inner workings are the same as the time-tested Perkins Brailler

The Next Generation Perkins Brailler saw a limited release in late 2008. Since then its fresh design by Product Development Technologies (PDT), its vastly improved functionality, and the sleek new look has garnered plaudits and prestigious awards. BusinessWeek’s 2009 IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards), the premier international product design competition, conferred a Silver Award. Next Generation earned a bronze Spark Award for its forward-looking changes, and the Chicago Athenaeum of Architecture and Design bestowed its “Good Design” Award on the brailler “for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered ordinary product and consumer design.”

“We are very happy about the awards the Next Generation Perkins Brailler has won,” says Perkins Products General Manager David Morgan, “but we are most proud of the role this re-imagined device will play in helping even more people master braille, the irreplaceable key to learning for people who are blind.” Braille literacy is essential to productive, independent living for people who are blind. In the United States, 70% of citizens who are blind are unemployed or underemployed. However, most who use braille are employed. It follows that people with low or no vision can be more self-sufficient and financially independent with an easier-to-use braillewriter like the Next Generation Perkins Brailler.

Louis Braille published the first braille book in 1829, the same year the first school for the blind in the U.S. – Perkins – was founded. Perkins president Steven Rothstein welcomes the newly designed brailler. “It is rare for a single product to have such an impact. The Next Generation Perkins Brailler is a huge step forward for greater literacy – and, therefore, greater employment possibilities – which will help more people who are blind to live more independently. We hope that the Next Generation Perkins Brailler will be part of a brighter future for so many people. ”

Rob Hair, a former teacher who now heads the Lower School elementary program at Perkins, supervised students testing the Next Generation Perkins Brailler. “Kids are crazy about machines, that’s a given,” Hair comments. “But seeing the surprise and delight on their faces when they picked up a Next Generation Perkins Brailler was way beyond fun. The kids were especially excited about the lighter touch of the keys and the Easy-Erase Button.”

The American Printing House for the Blind (APH), which provides products to the blindness community, helped significantly to fund the re-design and has been selling the brailler in APH blue since October 2008.

Since the its creation in the 1800s, Perkins has promoted advances in reading and writing tools for the blind and visually impaired. Perkins Products and the development of the Perkins Brailler has helped improve the lives of thousands of people worldwide. In addition to the Perkins Brailler, Perkins Products offers adaptive technology for the blind, low vision and learning disabled as well as training on all types of adaptive technology through AT/Perkins Products.