Big Island woman finds success printing
documents for people with disabilities

By TERRI HENDERSON Hawaii Tribune-Herald Staff Writer

Since she was 6 years old, Braille has helped Betsy Whitney learn about and experience the world. Now, the 58-year-old upper Kaumana woman, who is blind, runs a successful business from her home. She's helping others from around the world who cannot see or have limited sight by providing materials they can read.

For the past 12 years, Dolphin Press has produced print-to-Braille, large print and audio file formatted documents to clients.

Braille uses raised dots to represent words. When text is formatted into Braille, a one-page print document may be as long as three Braille pages, with raised bumps, both front and back.

In an average month, Whitney may format 1,200 print pages of text into Braille, which can create about 4,000 pages of final product. She charges by the hour.

"It's not a different language. Braille is shorthand." Whitney said.

In the late '70's, Whitney worked for AT&T as a long distance telephone operator in Sacramento, Calif. Whitney said she helped the company integrate Braille into a push button system at the time.

"That's when I figured out I really liked making Braille." she said.

In the early '90's, the Americans with Disabilities Act was established, and employers were prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. Shortly after the act passed, Whitney was injured in a vehicle accident. She began looking into working from home because her injuries made outside work difficult.

Whitney found there was a great need for materials in Braille, large print and audio, especially because various companies and agencies around the country were seeking these materials for their employees.

She made a business plan, went to small business workshops and sought out various government agencies, seeking information and assistance on how to start up Dolphin Press.

She also attended mainland conferences and networked with those who might have a need for her services. Many of those clients are still with her. She now relies on word of mouth to bring in new clients.

Special equipment is used to format text to Braille. Whitney uses BrailleNote, or a computer that reads and translates Braille, to format the documents. She uses an e-mail program called Eudora, which is more user-friendly than other e-mail programs for people who are visually impaired. The Braille translation software she uses is called Duxbury.

Once properly formatted, she sends the document to a Braille embosser, or an impact printer, which puts bumps in thick paper. She then binds the materials and sends them to the customer.

Betsy Whitney uses a BrailleNote unit and a computer speaker,
which plays back an audible version of the text,
during the process of creating Braille documents.

 

She doesn't do it alone. Dolphin Press employs five people, whom Whitney stressed "work with me, not for me."

One Braille transcriber works from Oahu, there's a Hilo-based audio file production worker, a Hilo based office assistant and Braille formatter, and a Florida-based Braille formatter.

Whitney's husband, Tom Whitney, a retired graphic designer who produces the large print materials, also helps with the business.

All employees of Dolphin Press either have disabilities or are elderly, and all of them are best served by being able to work in their own living environment, said Tom Whitney, adding, "They don't have to worry about the weather, fluctuating gas prices, and they can work at any hour of the day or night as long as they meet the deadlines set by the customers."

Betsy Whitney said Dolphin Press formats meeting agendas, minutes and financial reports, research reports, books and brochures. Customers include the State of Hawaii, the Center for Disability Studies, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the state of California, the University of Montana and the University of Kansas. Many smaller businesses and individuals are also clients, she said.

Betsy Whitney said they've even shipped Braille documents as far away as Africa.

Whitney said January was National Braille Literacy Month, and Jan. 4 marked the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille.

Betsy Whitney also has some satisfied customers.

In a Dolphin Press informational brochure, Brian Jahnke, owner of the Waioli Tea Room in Honolulu writes, "Mahalo for all your hard work on the menus for the Waioli Tea Room. They look fabulous and every day I get very favorable comments."

Martha Guinan, with the Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities, sponsored by the University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies, wrote, "Dolphin Press has been able to translate our program into Braille with a short turn around time. No other company in Hawaii has been able to do this. They make every effort to meet our deadlines and haven't missed one yet."

Tom Whitney said his wife is wonderful at running the business.

"She is the most organized person I've ever met. She knows where every penny in her business gets spent," he said. "She is a very determined woman. She's a thoughtful person. She's a good friend."

Whitney said watching his wife's business flourish has been a great joy.

"She is definitely an advocate for independent living. To me, she is like a champion of independent living," Whitney said. "She is showing the way for employing people who have disabilities. I'm impressed with that. It's a constant barrage going on, where people are underestimating people with disabilities. The whole point is, people are people first."

-End of article.

For More Information & Quotes call Betsy Whitney
Dolphin Press Voice/Fax/Relay: 808-933-1198
Voice/Fax/Relay (Toll Free): 1-888-868-4717

 

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Updated 05/13/2009