Disability and Printing: From Braille to Accessible Signage

Standard print has always excluded some readers by default. The history of disability and printing is really the history of people fixing that — and the fix, then and now, comes down to genuinely simple, deliberate design choices.

Louis Braille and the Six-Dot System

Louis Braille began developing his six-dot tactile reading system in 1821, while a student at the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris, building on an earlier raised-point writing system devised by Charles Barbier. RNIB, founded in 1868, published its first Braille book in 1871 and today holds a Braille library of over 25,000 titles. Around 7% of people registered blind or partially sighted use Braille, with an estimated 20,000 Braille readers in the UK.

Beyond Braille: Legible Print for Everyone

Braille solves reading for a specific group of readers. A much larger, everyday accessibility problem is simpler: print that's too small, too low-contrast, or too cluttered for a great many people to read comfortably, whether or not they're registered as visually impaired. RNIB's Clear Print guidance addresses exactly this — a minimum of 12pt type, ideally 14pt or larger, in a clear font with strong contrast between text and background.

Accessible Print Is a Design Choice, Not an Afterthought

The genuinely useful lesson from over two centuries of accessible print is that it works best when built in from the start, not bolted on afterwards. A sign designed with proper contrast and legible type from the outset costs the same to print as one that isn't — the only difference is whether someone thought about it before the file was sent to press.

Where This Shows Up in What We Print

We already build RNIB Clear Print guidance and BS8300 accessible signage standards into our large format & signage work — character size, contrast and spacing for shopfronts, receptions and exhibition stands with public footfall. If accessibility matters for your signage or stationery, tell us when you send your artwork and we'll flag anything that needs adjusting before it prints.

Frequently asked questions

Who invented Braille?

Louis Braille, who began developing his six-dot tactile reading system in 1821 at the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris.

How many people use Braille in the UK?

Around 7% of people registered blind or partially sighted use Braille, an estimated 20,000 readers in total, according to RNIB.

What is RNIB Clear Print guidance?

A recommendation of a minimum 12pt type, ideally 14pt or larger, in a clear font such as Arial, with strong contrast between text and background — aimed at making everyday print legible for the widest possible audience, not just registered Braille readers.