American Printing House PixBlaster 1-08070-00 User Manual

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PixBlaster

User Guide

Catalog No. 1-08070-00

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Summary of Contents for American Printing House PixBlaster 1-08070-00

Page 3: Table Of Contents
Table of Contents Introduction Safety Instructions System Compatibility Getting PixBlaster Ready for Use In the Box Unpacking the Box Setting Up Embosser for Initial Use Powering on the Embosser Connecting to USB, LAN, and Audio Ports Installing the Software Removing the Printer Driver and Devices Setting Printer Properties and Preferences Making Use of the PixBlaster Properties Window Device Settings Tab...
Page 4 Loading Paper Into the Embosser Inserting Paper into Tractor Mechanism Resolving Paper Jams Utilizing Braille Transcription Software BrailleBlaster Setting up PixBlaster in BrailleBlaster ® ViewPlus Tiger Software Suite (TSS) Printing Graphics and Braille Selecting Braille Fonts Creating Braille Math Documents Printing Documents Accessing Training, Maintenance, Support, and Warranty Information...
Page 5: Introduction
Introduction Welcome to the APH's PixBlaster™ embosser (Catalog No. 1-08070-00) that provides double-sided embossing for braille text with capabilities to include single-sided high-quality tactile graphics. The PixBlaster embosser uses the standard Windows printer driver to mix text and graphics in mainstream Windows ®...
Page 6: System Compatibility
• Do not place the embosser on an unstable surface. • Do not place the embosser near a radiator or heat source. • Do not block or cover slots and openings in the embosser’s cabinet; do not insert objects through slots. •...
Page 7: Getting Pixblaster Ready For Use
allows printing to PixBlaster from virtually any program in the Windows operating system. Read more about the Windows printer driver installation in the section Installing the Software. A macOS 10.9 printer driver is also available for the ® PixBlaster embosser. Getting PixBlaster Ready for Use In the Box •...
Page 8 NOTE: Save the packing material and box. The packing material must be used to ship the PixBlaster for warranty maintenance service and to settle any insurance claim. 3. Remove the shipping bolt by opening the top lid of the embosser and removing the shipping bolt as indicated in Image 1.
Page 9: Setting Up Embosser For Initial Use
IMPORTANT: Before packing up the PixBlaster embosser for shipping, please make sure to reinstall the shipping bolt. You may need to tilt the embosser gently to the side with the buttons until you hear a sliding sound to allow complete insertion of the shipping bolt. Screw and tighten the shipping bolt securely.
Page 10: Connecting To Usb, Lan, And Audio Ports
Insert the power cable plug into the PixBlaster power socket and the other end into a grounded outlet or a surge protector (recommended). The Power switch is labeled with a circle () for Off and a horizontal bar (—) for On. Press the Power switch to the On position, which is to the left when facing the embosser from the front.
Page 11: Installing The Software
LAN: To connect the embosser to your network, you need a LAN cable (not included in box). Attach one end of a LAN cable to the (LAN) port furthest to the right and the other end to a network data port. AUDIO: For audio, connect your powered speaker to embosser using the audio jack on the far left of the three ports.
Page 12 Image 5: Shows printer driver installation welcome screen If network installation of the PixBlaster embosser IS desired, please pause at the screen with the Run the Network Installation Utility checkbox. DO NOT click Finish until the printer is connected and switched On (see Image 6). If network installation IS NOT desired, click Finish to complete the driver installation (see Image 6).
Page 13 Image 6: Shows printer driver network installation screen At this point, (in both cases) connect the PixBlaster embosser to the computer using the USB printer cable and turn it On. The system automatically detects the embosser and adds it to the system control panel under Devices and Printers.
Page 14: Removing The Printer Driver And Devices
To continue network installation: 1. Connect a LAN local network cable to the PixBlaster embosser after the printer has been locally detected via the USB flash drive. 2. Make sure the Run the Network Printer Installation Utility checkbox is checked. 3.
Page 15: Setting Printer Properties And Preferences
your print jobs to the correct printer device name, do the following: 1. Unplug the PixBlaster embosser. 2. Remove all PixBlaster printer devices under Devices and Printers in the system control panel. 3. Plug the PixBlaster embosser back in. Windows automatically adds one instance of the printer again, which is assigned to the correct port.
Page 16: Making Use Of The Pixblaster Properties Window
Making Use of the PixBlaster Properties Window Device Settings Tab The device settings are properties that are stored within the internal memory of the embosser. To activate any changes, the embosser needs to be connected and turned On. Always click on the Apply button when finished making changes to the settings.
Page 17 Image 7: Shows Device Settings Tab in the PixBlaster Printer Properties window Form To Tray Assignment Tractor Feed: The first section of the Device Settings tab shows the PixBlaster’s Tray Assignment. This is a Windows default item that cannot be hidden and does not have any relevance for your printing.
Page 18 Legacy Settings Form Size: Select a standard page size, or select Custom to set the page size manually. Form Width: Shows the page width. For standard page sizes, this field is informational only. If the Form Size is set to Custom, this field is editable. Form Length: Shows the page length.
Page 19 Dots Per Character: Select 6 or 8 dots per character. Braille Standard: Select a Standard for braille dot spacing. The drop-down list contains Marburg, American Library of Congress, American National Library of the Blind, Japanese Standard (Microbraille), Korean Standard, and Jumbo. Dot spacing of the embossed output follows named Standards, or in case of Jumbo it is 1.5 times the size of Marburg.
Page 20 Custom Media Highest Force: Enter the hammer force value to be used for the highest dots on a custom media type. See also Media Types in the section Utilizing the Advanced Printer Configuration on how to determine the correct value. Braille Table…: The PixBlaster has some braille tables stored onboard, and a custom braille table can be loaded additionally.
Page 21 Image 8b: Shows Braille Table Properties in Device Settings The dialog offers two basic functions. The lower section offers a display for onboard braille tables that the APH PixBlaster provides, including the current custom table. Choose the braille table name from the drop-down list to display the associated table as illustrated in Image 8b.
Page 22 Image 9: Shows Custom Braille Table file selection Braille Table: From the drop-down list, select which braille table to use when printing. If the previously loaded Custom table should be used for text-to-braille conversion, select Custom Table here (see Image 10). PixBlaster User Guide...
Page 23: Service Tab
Image 10: Shows selection of active Braille Table Braille Dot Height: Select Low, Normal, or High to control how tall the braille dots emboss. Duplex: Choose whether to print single-sided or double- sided (interpoint). Service Tab The Service tab of the Printer Properties dialog window provides information about the connected APH PixBlaster at the bottom left.
Page 24 Image 11: Shows Printer Properties Service Tab Open Printer Extension… A separate program opens to provide extended access to onboard device settings. Print Test Page This action initiates the printing of an onboard test page from the embosser. Make sure the embosser is properly connected to your computer and paper is loaded when trying to print a test page.
Page 25: Utilizing The Advanced Printer Configuration
Enable Status Monitoring Status messages of the embosser are displayed and updated permanently as long as the checkbox is checked and the embosser is properly communicating with the computer. Utilizing the Advanced Printer Configuration As implied, Advanced Printer Configuration is not typically used for day-to-day print jobs.
Page 26: Network Tab
Selecting Media Types In addition to preset media types, you have the opportunity to select media type Custom within the Printer Properties Device settings. The hammer punch forces applied when embossing media type Custom is determined from the Min and Max settings. These are the same values as the custom media lowest and highest force settings described in the Printer Properties Device Settings Tab...
Page 27: Usage Tab
Image 13: Shows Network tab of PixBlaster Toolbox window The MAC address of your embosser is also displayed, as well as given on the bar code sticker on the back of the embosser. Usage Tab This tab displays embosser usage information. It includes the average lifetime remaining for each of the two carriages in the embosser, as well as the number of pages that have been printed, and the number of hours of use, as shown in Image...
Page 28: Utilizing Printing Preferences Window
Image 14: Shows Usage Tab of PixBlaster Toolbox window Utilizing Printing Preferences Window The Printing Preferences contain settings for printing from Windows programs to your APH PixBlaster, which affects the output of individual print jobs. To open the printing preferences dialog, choose the Preferences… button on the General tab of the Printer Properties dialog.
Page 29: Layout Tab
Image 15: Use the context menu options for APH PixBlaster embosser to access Printing Preferences In addition, the printing preferences are accessible next to the printer selection box on the standard Windows print dialog when printing from most programs. Layout Tab The printing preferences options are organized into three tabs.
Page 30 Image 16: Shows Layout Tab of Printing Preferences window Output Single-sided: Select this option if you only want to print on one side of the page. Double-sided (Interpoint): Select this option if you want to print on both the front and the back of the page. If Double-sided (Interpoint) is selected, the following option also becomes available: •...
Page 31: Paper/Media Tab
Print Collate: When the collate box is checked and multiple copies of a document are printed, one complete document is embossed at a time. If the collate box is not checked, all copies of each page are embossed before embossing all copies of the next page of the document. Preview: If this option is checked, a preview of how the document prints and embosses is shown in Tiger Print Preview.
Page 32 Image 17: Shows Paper/Media Tab of Printing Preferences window Selecting Paper and Media Paper size: Select the paper size you are using from the list, or leave the setting at Automatic Select to allow the paper size setting from the application you are printing from to be applied.
Page 33 • Default 1-5: The type of media indicated in parentheses for default setting 1 through 5 is an example of the correctly embossed media when applying this setting. If none of the default settings yield satisfactory results, refer to the Advanced… option to find out about custom media type setting.
Page 34 Defining Media Type Add: Allows you to define a new custom media type within the Add Form dialog box, shown in Image 19. Edit the name of your new custom media type if desired. Then choose a hammer force value for the highest dots to be embossed, and the lowest dots to be embossed on your outputs.
Page 35: Tiger Tab
Add Custom Form…: This button opens a new dialog where you have the opportunity to enter a new custom form name and define width and height for that form in either metric or English units of measure. NOTE: Paper sizes wider than 12 inches may not be added. Delete Form: If the selected form from the list is a custom size, the Delete Form button removes the selected form.
Page 36 Adjusting Aspects of Braille Text Dot Quality: Select Draft, Standard, or Best. Printing with draft dot quality is the faster option. Standard or best dot quality produces rounder, smoother dots, but slows down the printing process. Braille Height: Select Low, Normal, or High braille dot height.
Page 37 Image 21: Shows the More Options dialog box Adjusting Aspects of Embossed Images Invert Colors: Check this option if you want colors to emboss inverted, meaning lighter colors emboss in higher dots, and darker colors emboss in lower dots. Contrast: The default setting is 0. The range is -100– 100.
Page 38: Utilizing The Operator Panel
Brightness: The default setting is 0. The range is -100– 100. Increasing the brightness can be useful to increase the intensity of all the colors. This option is most often used with images in which lines are thin and light. Thin Line Intensity: In general, line thickness should be at least 1.5 pt.
Page 39: Button Functions
For more information about the LED lights, please see the section Receiving Machine Status and Alerts. LED 1 LED 2 LED 3 LED 4 Image 22: Shows the Operator panel with LED lights Button Functions Menu: In offline state, press this button to enter the onboard Settings menu to adjust settings for printing in Legacy mode, such as when printing from a notetaker instead of a Windows PC.
Page 40: Operator Panel Menu
Operator Panel Menu for further information on the onboard Settings menu. Up: Outside the onboard Settings menu, tapping this button backs up the paper for a certain distance, attempting to bring the paper back to the loading position. Holding the button continuously moves paper back for as long as the button is held.
Page 41 Windows computer. This is useful for adjusting settings prior to printing in Legacy mode such as from a notetaker device. To enter the onboard Settings menu: 1. Make sure the embosser is in Offline mode. This is indicated by the red LED light. 2.
Page 42 A value is saved when confirmed with the Menu button, and the confirmed message appears accompanied by a beep of the embosser. The Cancel button backs up one menu level at any state. If the message No Change appears, the current menu item in focus was not changed prior to exiting the menu, but all changes that were confirmed are saved.
Page 43 Menu Description Values item Word Wrap Truncate lines if word On, Off wrap is Off, or set to On to have words wrap to next line if too long for the current line Extra Line Extra line spacing 0–1 inch, 0.05 inch Spacing is added to normal increments...
Page 44: Receiving Machine Status And Alerts
Receiving Machine Status and Alerts As long as the embosser is online and connected properly to the computer, you are able to receive status messages and codes through the Printer Properties Service tab, as well as status indications through audio alerts and LED lights. Table 2 shows machine status and corresponding alerts from the embosser.
Page 45 Troubleshooting: If one of the following events should occur, please follow these instructions: Paper load error: This error message could have several meanings: • There is not paper present when the embosser is trying to start printing. • Paper ran out before the print job was completed. •...
Page 46: Loading Paper Into The Embosser
Loading Paper Into the Embosser Inserting Paper into Tractor Mechanism Your APH PixBlaster comes with a tractor mechanism, feeding paper from the back of the embosser. To load tractor-feed paper, complete the following steps: 1. Open the paper cover by lifting the back edge of the housing top and rotating it towards the front of the printer.
Page 47 Images 23 and 24: Shows paper input and output 2. Open the tractor feeder lid and release paper from the tractor pins if still engaged, shown in Image 25. PixBlaster User Guide...
Page 48 Image 25: Shows the paper release mechanisms 3. Pull on visible paper on the output (front) side of the machine; take care to distribute pulling force evenly across the paper to prevent tearing, shown in Image 26. Image 26: Shows where to pull the paper from the front PixBlaster User Guide...
Page 49 4. If the paper does not completely pull out the front, remove any remaining paper from the rear of the embosser; take care to distribute pulling force evenly across the paper to prevent tearing, shown in Image 27. Image 27: Shows where to pull the paper from the back 5.
Page 50: Utilizing Braille Transcription Software
Image 28: Shows how to free additional paper remnants Once the paper jam is clear, insert paper again, engage tractors, close the lid, and reprint the document. Utilizing Braille Transcription Software The PixBlaster embosser is compatible with APH’s BrailleBlaster , Tiger Software Suite, and third party products ®...
Page 51: Setting Up Pixblaster In Brailleblaster
BrailleBlaster supports the following: • Braille in grade 1 (literary) and 2 (contracted) • EBAE, UEB, UEB with Nemeth, Spanish US, Cherokee • Uncontracted versions of UEB and EBAE tables • Word (*.doc) files • Word XML (*.docx) files • PDF (*.pdf) files •...
Page 52: Viewplus Tiger Software Suite (Tss)
Image 29: BrailleBlaster embosser configuration dialog ViewPlus Tiger Software Suite (TSS) Within Microsoft Word and Excel the ViewPlus Tiger Software Suite (TSS) provides direct tools for text-to-braille translation in numerous languages and contraction grades. TSS includes easy translation of charts and graphs in Microsoft Excel and provides further tools to easily create and edit tactile graphics originating from other Windows applications.
Page 53: Selecting Braille Fonts
true text and not embedded as an image, a non-contracted braille output can be created by simply formatting the text to a braille font as further described in the section Selecting Braille Fonts. Selecting Braille Fonts Braille and Tiger screen fonts are braille fonts that install with the installation of the APH PixBlaster embosser driver.
Page 54: Creating Braille Math Documents
Creating Braille Math Documents Create braille math documents using Tiger Software Suite (TSS) with MathType from Design Science. Insert text, graphics, and math equations directly into a Microsoft Word document and translate to braille in one easy step. Equations appear in both braille and print allowing sighted readers to follow along.
Page 55: Accessing Training, Maintenance, Support, And Warranty Information
In general, PixBlaster follows the WYSWIG principle: What you see is what you get. The screen image is converted to tactile resolution and colors are converted to different dot heights on the embossed output, where darker colors are embossed with higher dots (black = highest dot), and lighter colors are embossed with lower dots (white = no dot).
Page 56: Contacting Aph Customer Service
Dot quality should be monitored; poor alignment of the hammer tips to the receiving dies can cause permanent damage to the PixBlaster embosser. Updates can be downloaded from the PixBlaster webpage https://www.aph.org/product/pixblaster/. Please check the webpage occasionally for our latest developments. Contacting APH Customer Service In addition to support material available on the PixBlaster...
Page 57: Appendices
Appendices Appendix A: Compliance Statements FCC Compliance Statement (USA) This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired...
Page 58 This unit is also intended for connection to IT distribution systems. Compliance Statement (Canada) This digital apparatus is in conformity with standard ICES-003 of Canada. Cet appareil numérique est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada. Compliance Statement (Germany) Bescheinigung des Herstellers/Importeurs: Hiermit wird bescheinigt, dass der Drucker der Maschinenlärminformationsverordnung 3.
Page 59 Rule Number Component EN 55032:2012 Class B Emissions series EN 55024:2010 Immunity characteristics EN 61000-3-2:2014 Power line harmonics EN 61000-3-3:2013 Power line flicker EN 55024:2010 Electrostatic discharge EN 55024:2010 Radiated immunity EN 55024:2010 Electrical fast transient/burst EN 55024:2010 Surge EN 55024:2010 Conducted immunity EN 55024:2010 Magnetic Field Immunity...
Page 60: Appendix B: Embosser Specifications
Appendix B: Embosser Specifications Component APH PixBlaster Embosser Print Speed Up to 120 CPS, double-sided 400 pph (A4 paper size) Tactile Resolution 100 DPI Embossed Dot Density Up to 17 DPI Braille Dot Spacing Selectable from 5 international Standards Tactile Graphic Dot 7 steps for color representation Heights Braille Dot Heights...
Page 61 Component APH PixBlaster Embosser Embosser Dimensions: Width 21.9 (557 mm) Depth 10.8 (275 mm) Height 6.2 (158 mm) Weight 19.8 lbs (9 kg) Connectivity USB and Ethernet Operating Conditions: Operating Temperature 59 to 95 °F (15 to 35 °C) Storage Temperature -4 to 158 °F (-40 to 70 °C) Relative Humidity 20 to 80% RH (non-condensing)
Page 62: Appendix C: Tigerplus Technology
Appendix C: TigerPlus Technology The TigerPlus Braille system, which is implemented with APH's PixBlaster, places dots on tactile prints with an accuracy of up to 100 DPI. The physical size of each dot allows placing dots as close to each other as 17 DPI. However, the resolution of actual dot placement may vary to yield the best possible representation of shapes in tactile print.
Page 63: Appendix D: Proper Trademark Notice And Attributions
Appendix D: Proper Trademark Notice and Attributions BrailleBlaster is a registered trademark of American Printing House for the Blind; PixBlaster is a trademark of American Printing House for the Blind. CorelDRAW is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation. macOS is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. Tiger is a registered trademark of ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.