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Page 1 of 3 Opinion of the Polish Association of the Blind on Braille labels on packaginf of pharmaceutical productsIntroductionAfter 30 October 2005, the 2004/27/EC Directive of the european Parliament and Council) concerning braille labelling on packaging of pharmaceutical products entered into force. We would like to inform that PAB can offer consulting services as regards braille labels on pharmaceutical packagings and their readability. Our organisation and The Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products share the opinion that braile information on medicinal packaging should be helpful for persons with the visual impairment and it should not be only limited to a mechanic compliance with legal regulations. Therefore, each packaging or medicine producer can ask the Polish Association of the Blind for consultations. In fact, it shall be born in mind that full responsibility regarding labels’ readability lays on the producer. You can find further information by contacting Elżbieta Oleksiak, head of the PAB Rehabilitation Centre. Phone: +48 22 635 52 84 E-mail rehab.zg@pzn.org.pl To facilitate pharmaceutical companies or trade and marketing agencies to comply with the European Directive concerning braile labels on medicinal packaging, Polish Association of the blind has drafted the following guidelines. Its main goal is to agree upon the parameters of braille font used on single and collective packaging of medicinal products registered in Poland. General RemarksWhile working out the following guidelines, Polish Association of the Blind has considered a range of criteria to be fulfilled: readability of braille font, ability of embossing the most of contents, coherence with European standards. Therefore, similarly as other European countries, we recommend the “Marburg Medium” font. In the case of small packaging, on which such font cannot be used due to space limits, we suggest using Poland Braill`e Fonts (TTF.) In comparison with the “Marburg Medium,” parameters of the Polish Braille font save space on packaging from 10 to 12%. Braille font on each packaging cannot be smaller than that presented below. A system of six dots presented in two vertical columns is the basis of Braille code. Figure 1 below presents the numerical order of these dots. A system of six dots is the base of the braillle code. Characters are formed by subtracting dots from one to five in various combinations. Numbers are formed by adding the number sign preceding a letter (from A to J.) Appropriate printing parameters are crucial in preparing readable braille dots. Figure two presents the minimum criteria of acceptance in producing braille font. These criteria concern the Polish Braille font system (TTF) prepared for Corel software. Dots’ height 0,5 mm Base of dot’s diameter: 1,3 mm Horizontal spacing between dots in a character: 2,3 mm Vertical spacing between dots in a character: 2,3 mm Spacing between braille characters: 5,6 mm Spacing between words: 9,7 mm Spacing between lines and identical dots: 9,2 mm Each measurement should be done between medium point of braille dots. The font includes all Polish diacritic letters as well as all braille signs to mark: capital letters, numbers, per cents, etc. This font should be applied after switching off capital letters in the Corel software and comply with the following parameters: Font size: 23,7 Sign: 16% of space’s width Word: 45% of space’s width Line: 125% of character’s size. |
