2015.7

IBRA Braillewriter

Centro Nazionale Tiflotecnico

Red plastic chassis with carrying handle attached to back beneath built-in paper table; fixed black plastic diebox with angled front that arches over the paper roller assembly; seven gray plastic braille keys, slightly splayed; space bar extends out in middle and has sliding locking lever on its key-bar; aluminum label mounted above keyboard on diebox, "IBRA Centro Nazionale Tiflotecnico 101 E562"; back space key is mounted to right of keyboard, extending from the cupped keyboard tray; bright aluminum and black plastic carriage; main lower paper roller is black plastic and has a spring loaded bright aluminum paper clamp inset down its length; smaller diameter black rubber paper roller is mounted above and slightly behind the main roller; nickel plated steel carriage release on right side of carriage; toothed aluminum margin set bar on back of carriage with two black plastic sets; brass plated carriage return bell mounted inside chassis under carriage; four foam pads on base.

H-4.75 W-15 D-10.5 inches

ca. 2005

Centro Nazionale Tiflotecnico

Italy

IBRA stood for "Italian Brailler."
The Unione Italiana dei Ciechi e degli Ipovedenti (Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired) was founded in 1920 and created its Centro Nazionale Tiflotecnico (National Center for Blind Technology) in 1982. The Center was originally headquartered in Rome but later decentralized to a series of regional centers. The IBRA braillewriter became available at least as early as 1985, manufactured by a small company run by Carlo Rocchi in Monza, Italy, but by 2015 was not being listed in the Union's catalog. About 11,000 machines were produced.