The Season for Giving

For the past few years ViewPlus has adopted a family for the holidays. This year we have gone through the Vina Moses Organization (http://www.vinamoses.org/). Founded in 1917, it is a local non-profit organization that strives to provide families in need with food, clothing, and other necessities. They collect donations as well as put on specific events such as a back to school fundraiser and adopt a family for the holidays.

This year we have adopted a family consisting of a single mother and her 2 children. We are working to raise money to provide this family with the gifts they have listed on their wish list, and any extra money raised will go towards providing the family with a food basket. We have found that adopting a family is a great way to help out those in need and it is more personal than donating money.

Last year we rose a little over $400 towards our family. This year we have raised about $350 so far. With the harsh economy and increased need for food and gifts this holiday season, we have found this year a crucial year to be involved.

If you are interested in adopting a family or donating money for the holidays most counties have organizations that collect money or food for families in need.

ATIA Chicago 2009

The last week in October several of our employees flew to Chicago for ATIA's assistive technology conference.

When: October 29-31

Where: Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center, Schaumburg (Chicago), IL

The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) is a non-profit organization that’s mission is "to serve as the collective voice of the assistive technology industry so that the best products and services are delivered to people with disabilities." For this reason, their shows have exhibitors demonstrating all sorts of assistive technologies, not just those dealing with blindness.

Overall the show was a great success. In our booth we had an Elite and Emprint embosser on display, as well as one of our desktop units. We also had drawings to give away a Tiger stuffed animal and an AGC as a part of our social media promotions.

At the show we had a chance to meet with several of our distributors and speak with many teachers and school districts interested in our products. There was also an opportunity for us to give a presentation about bringing IVEO and Daisy Books together and to demonstrate a potential new pen input device that would allow for IVEO to be easily portable. Daisy Books are unique digital audio books that allow the user to easily navigate pages. Combining IVEO with this technology would allow for tactile graphics to be added to Daisy Books, creating a more interactive experience.

This was ATIA's first year ever doing a show in Chicago. We had a great time and are planning on attending their Chicago show again next year. ATIA's next event is ATIA Orlando on January 28-30. Hope to see you there!

Win an Audio Graphing Calculator

As an incentive for all of you that follow ViewPlus on our social media outlets, we would like to give you the opportunity to win an Audio Graphing Calculator (AGC)! All you have to do is click on the following link, fill out the form, print it out, and bring it with you to the ATIA Chicago 2009 conference. To enter make sure you drop it off at the ViewPlus booth (#129). We hope to see you in Chicago!

AGC ENTRY FORM!

For details about the show visit the ATIA Chicago website.

Get a FREE exhibit hall pass!

Editing and Printing Graphics as a Blind User

Mike Sivill is a blind employee here at ViewPlus Technologies. This is what he had to say about how he used a Tiger embosser to see the coloration of his new dog guide! Read along to see how easy it is for a blind person to emboss a graphic!

"I just got my new dog guide about a month ago. The training school sent me her picture so I could show my friends and family what she looks like. I wanted to emboss a copy for myself on my Tiger embosser, so I brought up a new Word document and brought the picture into it via the Insert menu. I checked the dimensions of the picture first to be sure it would fill up the page. I hit shift + left arrow to select it, pressed the key to open the context menu, and arrowed down to "format picture." Next, I arrowed left to the "size" tab and noticed that the dimensions were only 3.35 by 3.99. I didn't want a tiny 4 by 4 inch picture because I wanted it to be as large as possible to feel as much as I could, but I didn't want to warp the dimensions of the picture in the process. To do this, I tabbed down to the edit boxes where height and width are adjustable by percentage and I upped it to 200%. When I shift tabbed back to the dimension they were 6.71" and 7.98", pretty good, for 8-1/2 by 11 paper. Since this was fine I hit OK and went back into the main Word document. When I printed it came out like a giant black square. It felt like a napkin pattern rather than a German Shepherd dog. To solve this issue, I went back to the "format picture" dialog and I changed the contrast on the Format tab to 85%. That was so much better! When I printed it out that time I could feel her big pointy ears, her legs and even the coloration of her head, which, of course, I can't feel on the actual dog. It was exciting to be able to see this part of her with my fingers after hearing about it from other people. Awesome!"

– Mike Sivill

October is National Disability Employment Month!

October has been designated National Disability Employment Awareness month. It works to provide the public with information about the accomplishments made by American workers with disabilities. It also addresses issues in the workplace that still need to be overcome.

Here at ViewPlus, we work to overcome issues in the workplace for those with visual impairments. Our line of embossers provides an easy solution for braille production. With our software's capability to work within Microsoft Word and Excel, braille translation is simple for both blind and sighted users. These tools make it easy to produce accessible meeting notes, graphs, and other documents so blind workers can fully participate and understand company goals.

Next, we provide an accessible scientific calculator, the Audio Graphing Calculator. Similar to a TI-83, AGC's functionality allows disabled users to work in a variety of jobs that may otherwise be more difficult, such as engineering and physics.

We have put together several packages, called Everyday Braille Solutions, to help students and employees make their environment accessible. They provide everything needed to get you started. Our packages all include:
Tiger braille embosser
All required software and upgrades
Warranty, repair, and support services
Customized on site and online trainings
Braille paper, tutorials, and ink cartridges

At ViewPlus we are always working to make it easier to integrate the blind into the work environment. With products that can be easily utilized by sighted and blind users, employers may be more inclined to hire blind workers. The simplicity of our products reduces stress for both the employer and employee, making it a smooth transition for a new blind employee to join the work team.

To find out more about National Disability Employment Awareness month visit http://www.dol.gov/odep/

Funding Your Tiger Embosser

Finding funding for assistive technology can be difficult. For this reason we have put together a little information on ways that you can find funding for your needs. Getting a Tiger embosser may be easier than you thought after all!

To begin, we would like to mention that visionaware.com is a great online resource for those with vision loss. Their site includes a state by state list of resources, national organizations that serve the visually impaired, and international resources for those who live outside of the U.S.

In the U.S. the three primary funding sources for people with disabilities are Medicaid, special education, and vocational rehabilitation programs. Medicaid programs differ by state which can make it difficult to understand what they might cover. To know more about your local program, connect with a Medicaid representative in your area. Special education and Section 504 are programs open to children with disabilities usually up to the age of 21. It is good to acquire equipment when a child is young so that they know what assistive technology will work best for them in adulthood. Vocational rehabilitation programs are designed to help adults with disabilities become employed and offer funding for resources necessary in the work environment. For further information about these three programs please read this article.

Once you've narrowed down who in your area to contact, then you can begin the process of figuring out what the best funding source will be.

We wish you luck on your funding search and hope this post pointed you in the right direction!

The Fun Times at Sight Village 2009

Each year, QAC hosts Sight Village in Birmingham, England. This is one of the premier events in Europe for the blind, visually impaired, and the people who work with them. The event features vendors from around the world showcasing products and services important to this population. This year's new venue at the New Bingley Hall provided more space for exhibitors and brought in a larger group of attendees.

This year's ViewPlus team included Kayleen Hagen, Jeff Gardner, Emily Axelsson, Alex Axelsson, and Dorine in 't Veld. Some highlights for the team this year included: showing teachers and other professionals how easy it is to use IVEO Hands-on-Learning System, showing how high-resolution tactile graphics can be brought to life for the blind with the Tiger embossers, reconnecting with customers, and handing out our signature stuffed baby tigers.

As a co-sponsor of the conference, ViewPlus helps vendors have fun. The exhibitor reception and infamous Sight Village party are great ways for members of the assistive technology industry to get to know each other and spend time together. This year the party was Hawaiian themed, complete with leis, island decorations, and of course plenty of stickers!

To see photos and participate in the discussion about Sight Village, please visit our Facebook
What was your favorite experience at Sight Village?

NFB Convention 2009

The July 4th holiday marked this year's National Federation of the Blind's (NFB) convention. Almost 3,000 people attended this year, which was a great turnout. Mike Sivill, one of our marketing representatives attended the conference and also represented us at our booth in the exhibit hall. I had a chance to sit down with him and ask him about what his experience was like.

Mike worked long and hard for us at the booth, nearly 4 days of exhibiting. According to him, there was never a dull moment. The people who visited our booth were really interested in our products and how they worked. Parents in particular were really happy about how easy it is to use the Tiger Software Suite (TSS), and braille transcribers were impressed with how easy it is to make tactile graphics with the Tiger Embossers. Mike said that he really enjoyed talking with visitors about the different ways to make tactile graphics and how our technology is different and easier to use.

Mike is one of our blind employees. He really enjoyed representing us at the conference because he feels that going to NFB is very valuable for our company. The NFB conference in particular brings out more parents and students who are often the end users of our embossers and translation software. He hopes that by representing our company at the conference that he was able to connect with our end users on a more personal level.

Some of the highlights of his experience included making braille examples for visitors, showing off the Emprint SpotDot (our ink and braille printer), connecting with old friends and new people, and talking with a Doctor of Linguistics since that was his major in college.

If you attended NFB, what was your favorite part? If you visited our booth, what did you learn?

Entering the World of Social Media

Here at ViewPlus we are embarking on a new journey. As many of you know, in the digital age that we're living in, people are connecting in ways that were never thought to be possible. No longer are we limited by where we live or where we can go. We now have the chance to meet people throughout the world by focusing on our passions. This is what social media is all about, and that's why we want to join in. We feel that our products and our commitment to accessibility can bring together a community of people who are passionate about braille, tactile graphics, and learning.

One of the things that we want to be sure of is that we're reaching out to all generations. Social media started off being popular amongst the younger generation, but it is now spreading to all generations. Since we are aware that the web can be an unfriendly place to those with disabilities, our community will have access to information and the ability to connect with others in multiple places.

You can already find us on Twitter, where you can read our tweets and join in the discussion. We also plan to make our blog posts more frequent, informative, and engaging. We even want you to get involved in the blog since you are who we care about.

As ViewPlus continues it’s journey into social media we hope that you’ll come along for the ride. What social media sites would you like to see ViewPlus on? Who do you hope to be able to connect with in our community?

Announcing Everyday Braille Solutions

We have recently introduced our Everyday Braille Solutions. These braille packages include everything from the printer, paper, translation software, and even customized on-site training! The on-site trainings are perfect for any organization because a ViewPlus expert visits your site and custom-tailors the workshop to teach your organization how to make braille graphics and documents fast and easy.

There are four different packages. The first is the "Beginning Braille Aid," and is specific for teachers or employers who have a new blind employee or student. The next package, "Math Made Simple," is for math teachers who need to produce materials in an accessible format. The third package, "Inclusive Tactile Learning," includes the IVEO Hands-on Learning System to make any tactile graphic accessible through touch, sound, and sight. Finally, "Office Production Assistant," provides options for any production job - whether you need double-sided braille, ink and braille only, or both!

The variety of packages offered by ViewPlus will ensure that every braille need is met. To find out everything that is included in each package visit the ViewPlus website!

CSUN 2009

We recently attended CSUN at the LAX Marriot this March. Crowds swarmed the booth to see what new and exciting products we had this year. Our "Make it a Double" campaign continued to promote the new line of Elite and Premier embossers capable of double-sided printing in one pass.
In addition we were showing the prototype for the re-designed desktop series. With a new sleek design, USB connection, and new braille dot, the new model was a huge hit! While this new design has not been officially released yet, it will be in the very near future.

Lastly, the prominent Emprint SpotDot was on display. This embosser, capable of both ink and braille, makes using the IVEO Hands on Learning System a breeze! If you attended CSUN and were not able to stop by the booth, check out the ViewPlus website for all the latest information; you did however miss out on our great new tradeshow bags – they are reusable.

Ziezo 2009

We recently attended Ziezo in Houten, Netherlands February 5th – 7th. Jeff Gardner and Kayleen Hagan, from the US office, as well as Dorine in 't Veld and Christian Herden, from the EU office, represented the company. This year the show was a combined effort between ViewPlus and our Dutch dealers Babbage and Thinkable.


In attendance were many end-users of low vision or blindness equipment, as well as educators and other professionals. The show was a great success for ViewPlus as the Dutch market continues to be very fond of the ink and braille technology made possible with Tiger embossers.

ATIA 2009: Make It A Double

We recently attended the 2009 ATIA conference at the Caribe Royal All Suites Hotel and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The Accessible Technology Industry Association's goal is to serve as the collective voice of the assistive technology industry so that the best products and services are delivered to people with disabilities. ViewPlus was a proud sponsor and delighted to assist in working toward a common goal. This year we featured the new Elite and Premier braille embossers with our "Make It A Double" campaign and party. These embossers produce perfectly spaced interpoint (double-sided) braille on one page and are great for high-volume production style jobs. To find out more about this product line visit theViewPlus products webpage.

Not only did we show the new Elite and Premier embossers, we made our first public appearance with our new sleek and appealing logo. We have a different look, but still the same great products to go along with it! Overall, ATIA was a huge success and we look forward to attending next year!

Announcing Our New Logo

We recently unveiled our new logo. The logo made its first appearance early 2009 and will be seen sprouting up in more places very soon. There is a preview of it below. Even though we have changed the logo, we are still offering the same great products and braille translation software, all Powered by Tiger®. Check the ViewPlus website for a list of up-coming shows where you can check it out in person.