The Access Circle – April 2026

Welcome

Dear Round Table members and supporters,

Welcome to the second edition of The Access Circle, which we hope will become a valuable resource for our members to keep in touch and stay up to date with the latest innovations in the field of information access for people with print disabilities. Please accept this as your standing invitation to send us feedback on the newsletter or content for inclusion in future editions. Feedback and contributions should be sent to [email protected].

In this issue:

• News Roundup
• Tech Talk
• Upcoming Events
• Member Matters

Happy reading!

Francois Jacobs

Consumer Representative

News Roundup

This month we bring you news of a very timely campaign around accessible, or rather “inaccessible”, appliances. If you become aware of something newsworthy for our community, please do get in touch so we can consider for inclusion in the next edition of The Access Circle. We kick off this month’s news section with some excellent news on the sponsorship front.

Bronze Sponsor – VisAbility

If you are following the Round Table on LinkedIn, you may already know that VisAbility has come on board supporting this year’s conference and contributing to our shared focus on innovation, collaboration and empowerment. The conference wouldn’t be possible without the financial support that we receive from conference sponsors, and our appreciation for your contribution can’t be over-stated.

Accessibility Starts at Home – Vision Australia

You might have seen our recent April Fools’ social media post about an invisible button washing machine.

While it was a bit of fun, it points to a very real issue. Many home appliances today are designed in ways that make them difficult or even impossible to use for people who are blind or have low vision.

Buttons, touchscreens, and controls that rely on sight can turn everyday tasks like cooking or doing the laundry into frustrating or unsafe experiences.

In fact, 85% of people we surveyed don’t believe manufacturers are even making accessible products.*

That’s why we’re launching our Accessibility starts at home campaign.

This campaign puts accessibility front and centre, and calling on manufacturers to design appliances that everyone can use independently.

Coming soon, you’ll be able to explore a full series of articles, videos, and resources, see how brands measure up, and find ways to take action.

Take a sneak peek

But here’s the thing – people shouldn’t have to rely on workarounds in the first place. Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be standard.

Stay tuned because we’re just getting started.

Warmly,

Vision Australia.

*Vision Australia Home Appliance Accessibility Survey, 2025.

Tech Talk

3D Printing: What to Know and How Blind Users Can Make Their Own Objects

By Judy Dixon

Braille (1 volume), BRF, or Word: $18.00 USD

Although 3D printing has evolved from being a niche technology to a more common hobby, it can still be intimidating. How do you create a model? What does it mean to slice a model? How can you print a 3D object without spending loads of money on a 3D printer? What is filament? How can a blind or visually impaired person even navigate the software to start the process in the first place? This book from technology writer Judy Dixon answers all of these questions and more. Judy includes a glossary of useful terms, describes how she has created an accessible workflow, and goes through the process of printing a button from start to finish. She also lists several books, websites, keyboard shortcuts, and other 3D-printing resources to help anyone wanting to get started with 3D printing! Read the table of contents and buy the book here!

**We’re sharing this piece for informational purposes. Featuring it here doesn’t imply endorsement by the Round Table.

Upcoming Events

While our speakers are no doubt making the final tweaks to their presentations, our Conference Coordinator Jane Wegener and her team have been hard at work ensuring the 2026 conference will be a memorable one with lots of opportunities to engage and learn.

Registrations are still open and even if you have already registered your own attendance, we ask that you consider sharing it with your networks to ensure that organisations and individuals who might want to attend are aware of the opportunity. Our dedicated conference website lists ways for you to share the conference information on various platforms under the heading called “Share this”. The closing date for registrations is the 15^th of May.

It will also be remiss of me not to point out that the coveted Gold conference sponsorship opportunity is still unclaimed, along with some other slots. Among the many other benefits of being the Gold sponsor your organisation has the opportunity to address delegates at the conference dinner and make a direct impact. In addition to the valuable exposure, your organisation would also contribute towards making our conference sustainable and affordable to consumers who would otherwise not be able to attend. Please visit our Conference Sponsorship page and get in touch with Jane Wegener if you have any questions.

Member Matters

Thank you to David Davenport from Blind Low Vision New Zealand for kicking off our member contributions, and this gives me the perfect segway for inviting all of you to please consider submitting an article which showcases your work for distribution to the Round Table community. Collaboration and knowledge sharing starts with each one of us.

Braille Business Cards: A Simple Accessibility Win

By David Davenport

Blind Low Vision NZ has placed a strong emphasis on promoting Braille and encouraging its use in everyday accessibility. One of the simplest and most practical ways to bring that to life in a workplace is also one of the lowest barriers to entry: the business card.

Embossed Braille business cards are “low-hanging fruit” because they fit naturally into how organisations already operate. Cards are exchanged at receptions, meetings, interviews, and community events. When a card includes Braille, it becomes usable by touch immediately, without needing a second step or assistance. That small change can make a big difference for people who read Braille, and it also normalises accessibility in everyday professional settings.

They are also a cost-effective way to promote Braille. With streamlined production, embossed cards can be produced at a very low unit cost while still delivering real impact. The result is a tangible, repeatable accessibility improvement that can be adopted by almost any organisation, regardless of size.

There is also a cultural benefit. Small, visible actions like this can build pride and momentum, helping teams feel part of a wider solution rather than treating accessibility as a compliance exercise. Done well, accessible cards become trend-setting: they prompt conversation, spark curiosity, and encourage other organisations to follow suit.

From a production perspective, the best results come from keeping the Braille content clear and purposeful, ensuring paper feel, placement and stroke is consistent, and proofing tactile output carefully by touch. At BLVNZ, embossing is produced using an Index Braille Everest V5, supporting crisp, durable dots suited to everyday use.

That’s it for this edition, if you have any news items such as new technology making a difference, or events you think readers would be interested in attending, then please submit items of maximum 400 words by the end of the month to [email protected] for consideration for the next newsletter.