CEN/TC 293

Date: 2025-01-30

prEN 18156:2025

Secretariat: SIS

Tactile lettering — Requirements on the presentation and application of Braille and raised characters

Taktile Schriften und Beschriftungen — Anforderungen an die Darstellung und Anbringung von Braille- und erhabener Profilschrift

Écriture tactile — Demander à la présentation et fixation de Braille et écriture haute

CCMC will prepare and attach the official title page.

Contents Page

European foreword 4

1 Scope 5

2 Normative references 5

3 Terms and definitions 5

4 General considerations 6

5 Design 7

5.1 General requirements 7

5.2 Layout 8

5.3 Material and finishes 8

5.4 Braille 8

5.4.1 Braille translation 8

5.4.2 Dimensions 9

5.4.3 Arrangement and presentation of Braille information 10

5.5 Raised characters 10

5.5.1 Characters usable by vision and optimized for detection with fingertips 10

5.5.2 Large characters primarily used as visual information usable also by touch 11

5.6 Tactile symbols and tactile pictograms 12

5.6.1 Tactile symbols 12

5.6.2 Tactile pictograms 12

5.7 QR codes 13

6 Placement and implementation 13

6.1 Principles 13

6.1.1 General 13

6.1.2 Concept and design 14

6.2 Application areas 14

6.2.1 Handrails 14

6.2.2 Room signage 16

6.2.3 Information on walls 16

6.2.4 Operating elements 16

6.2.5 Lifts 17

6.2.6 Explanatory information of objects 17

6.2.7 Identification of labelled items 18

6.2.8 Sanitary areas 18

6.2.9 Public transportation 18

6.2.10 Evacuation routes 18

Annex A (informative) Examples for tactile symbols and pictograms 19

Annex B (informative) Functional requirements for application of tactile signage in buildings 22

Annex C (normative) Alphabetical character index of the Braille for guidance information and numbers 23

Annex D (informative) Special font given in DIN 32986 26

Bibliography 28

European foreword

This document (prEN 18156:2024) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 293 “Assistive products and accessibility”, the secretariat of which is held by Sweden (SIS).

This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.

This document specifies requirements and technical specifications for information in tactile lettering in the built environment.

It sets out rules for content, design, arrangement and application of information elements so that blind and partially sighted people are able to locate, identify, fluently read and interpret this information.

This document does not describe technical methods for producing tactile lettering.

This document only applies to permanently installed tactile lettering.

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

EN 17210:2021, Accessibility and usability of the built environment - Functional requirements

ISO 21542, Building construction — Accessibility and usability of the built environment

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp/

— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/

3.1

blind

people, who primary rely on audible and tactile input, although they might also have a certain amount of visual perception

3.2

braille

writing system consisting of tactile dot combinations to be used by people with a visual impairment

[SOURCE: ISO 24183:2024, 3.9.1.7]

3.3

Marburg spacing convention

defined system of dimensions within and between the Braille cells

Note 1 to entry: The Marburg Medium spacing convention for Braille is recommended in the European Commission Guidance for use for medicinal product labelling.

Note 2 to entry: There are two different Marburg spacing conventions, Marburg Medium and Marburg Large.

[SOURCE: EN ISO 17351:2014, modified – reference to Marburg Medium in term was deleted and the two different options are mentioned in a new Note 2 to entry.]

3.4

multiple senses

principle of multiple senses

principle of considering various sensory abilities in design decisions to support and enable users to perceive information

Note 1 to entry: Sensory abilities e.g. seeing, hearing, touch.

[SOURCE: EN 17210:2021, definition 3.38 – modified: brackets have been moved to a Note 1 to entry.]

3.5

partially sighted

people, who primarily use their residual sight

3.6

raised characters

specially designed raised/embossed characters composing letters and numbers readable by touch

[SOURCE: ISO 19028:2016, definition 3.10]

3.7

tactile lettering

information provided both in Braille and raised characters

3.8

tactile pictogram

graphical composition that may include a symbol plus other graphic elements, such as a border, background pattern that is intended to convey specific information recognizable by touch

[SOURCE: ISO 17840‑1:2022, 3.15, modified, “tactile“ and “recognizable by touch” added, “or colour” removed.]

3.9

tactile symbol

sign identifiable and recognizable by touch

[SOURCE: ISO 24503:2011, definition 2.4]

3.10

tactile walking surface indicator

TWSI

standardized walking surface used for information by blind or partially sighted persons

[SOURCE: ISO 23599:2019, definition 3.16 – modified and partially sighted persons was used instead of vision-impaired.]

3.11

visually impaired

blind and partially sighted people

Accessible and usable information via multiple senses is one of the key areas for accessibility and usability of the built environment according to EN 17210. In relation to signage, this means, that written information shall be perceptible by vision and touch in order to be accessible for the widest range of users. Tactile lettering is an element of tactile guidance systems, which also consist of other elements such as tactile walking surface indicators (TWSI).

EN 17210 contains functional requirements and recommendations regarding the areas of application and design principles for tactile information in the built environment, see Annex B for further information. This document provides requirements and technical specifications to comply with these functional requirements. For dimensions and shape of Braille, raised characters, tactile symbols and tactile pictograms see Clause 5. For placement and implementation of tactile information see Clause 6.

Tactile information shall be raised, shall not be engraved.

NOTE 1 People experience great difficulties identifying engraved characters, symbols and pictograms by touch.

Tactile information shall be presented in tactile lettering. It can be complemented by tactile symbols and certain tactile pictograms, which are easily identified and understood.

For the purpose of this document the six dot Braille shall be used, for details see 5.4.

NOTE 2 Braille is a system of six or eight dot patterns.

Raised characters and tactile symbols or pictograms shall be easily detectable by touch and provide a visual contrast in order to be perceptible also by vision. Raised characters and symbols made of lines shall consist of raised triangular shaped relief profiles with slightly rounded upper edges. For details see 5.5 and 5.6.

Tactile lettering used for tactile information shall be short with a limited amount of characters. If more extensive information is to be offered according to the principle of multiple senses, this can be achieved with alternative technologies.

To identify the appropriate information content, it is recommended to consult specialists for accessible design.

Written information for use in the public area shall be provided to blind and partially sighted people by tactile lettering. This consists of Braille lettering (5.4) and raised characters (5.5).

Characters or numbers used for visual identification of rooms, building parts, building elements can be read by blind and partially sighted people if they meet the requirements according to 5.5.2 and do not require additional tactile lettering.

For guiding purposes directional arrows should complement tactile lettering (5.6.1).

The use of pictograms should be avoided since most blind people have enormous difficulties to identify them (5.6.2).

A free space shall be provided around any tactile lettering, symbol and pictogram. A distance of at least 5 mm shall be provided to:

— the edge of a base plate;

— a frame or raised line;

— any other object.

The distance between Braille, raised characters and associated symbols and pictograms shall be 5 mm to 10 mm.

Tactile lettering should not be placed in a recess. If located in a recess, the depth of the recess shall be maximum 2 mm and a free space of at least 10 mm shall be provided around the tactile lettering.

Tactile information shall be designed to withstand the environmental stresses to which they are exposed (indoor/outdoor, temperature, weather, corrosion, frequency of use, danger of vandalism etc.) without losing accuracy.

Material of tactile lettering, symbols and pictograms and if provided their base plate shall be:

— durable;

— colour permanent;

— UV resistant;

— easy to clean;

— non allergic (not triggering allergies).

For detection and readability the finishes shall be:

— smooth and pleasant to touch, so as not to hinder reading;

— without sharp edges on characters and/or base plate to prevent injuries;

— base plate/background without high-gloss surface;

— with luminance contrast according to the relevant standards complying at least with the minimum requirements in ISO 21542 to achieve optimal readability for partially sighted people.

NOTE 1 On glossy surfaces unfavourable reflections can reduce luminance contrast between symbols and their background.

NOTE 2 Partially sighted people use tactile information, such as on handrails, also by vision.

If the item no longer meets the above requirements, it shall be replaced.

For guidance information and numbers, the six dot Braille code according to Annex C shall be used.

For additional information and longer text, national braille should be applied.

The capital letter indicator should be dropped unless it is absolutely necessary.

Some Braille codes include a contracted variant. This shall not be used for braille in a public environment.

For short guiding information (not longer than 25 characters) the “Marburg Large” according to Table 1 should preferably be used.

For operational elements and longer explanatory text the “Marburg Medium” according to Table 1 shall be used.

For dimensions see Figure 1 and Table 1.

Dimensions in millimetres

Key

Figure 1— Measurement system

Table 1 — Dimensions of Braille dots and characters

WARNING — Any deviation from the arrangement of dots and the before mentioned distances and dimensions (e.g. by increasing or decreasing the print size) will make Braille writing lose its legibility.

The single Braille dot caps shall be hemispherical or close to hemispherical and shall be free from sharp edges.

Braille characters shall not be arranged vertically nor in a nonlinear form.

Single letters, digits or numbers should be aligned to a reference edge.

Raised characters optimized for detection with fingertips apply to information within reach of the arms according to the principle of multiple senses and shall meet the following requirements:

— written in capital letters (avoid decorative fonts);

— have a font-size (height of uppercase or versal height) between 13 mm and 25 mm measured at the base, preferably between 15 mm and 18 mm;

— have a minimum profile height of 1,2 mm;

— have a pyramidal shape of the relief profile with an angle on the top of (see Figure 2);

NOTE The profile getting smaller on top provides good detection while the width at the base provides a stroke easily detectable by vision.

— to avoid sharp edges the top of the profile rounded with a radius of 0,2 mm;

— have a font weight at the minimum regular preferably bold;

— fonts (types) having distinguished letters easy to differentiate between round, straight, open or closed shapes e.g. for letters such as E, G, S or numbers such as 6 or 5;

— fonts (types) supporting easy differentiation by tactile reading of characters and numbers, e.g. 1 and 7, l and 1, A and 4, S and 5, B and 8;

— large spacing shall be used; the minimum distance between two characters shall be 4 mm, measured on the top edge (see a) in Figure 2). The horizontal distance between two characters shall proportionally increase with the font-size.

— have a line space of minimum 120 % of the font-size measured on the base line.

For optimized reading the special font given in DIN 32986 should be used, see Annex D.

Key

Figure 2 — Example of the pyramidal shape of the relief profile

Characters larger than 25 mm used for identification such as room or floor numbers positioned within the reach of the arms are usable by touch if they have a raised profile. They shall meet the following requirements:

— have a font size depending on the reading distance for visual detection;

— have a minimum relief height of 1,2 mm, preferable 2,5 mm;

— have a font weight which is bold or at the minimum regular;

— fonts having distinguished letters easy to differentiate between round, straight, open or closed shapes e.g. for letters such as E, G, S or numbers such as 6 or 5;

— have a profile with rounded edges with a radius of minimum 0,2 mm.

Comprehensible tactile symbols include:

a) open arrows including bent arrows (see Figure A.2);

b) isosceles triangles (see Figure A.3);

c) “open door” (see Figure A.8);

d) “close door” (see Figure A.9);

e) “a bell” (see Figure A.7).

For directional information tactile symbols should be used in combination with tactile lettering.

Tactile symbols shall meet the following requirements:

— greatest expansion having a minimum of 15 mm and a maximum of 25 mm;

— minimum profile height of 1,2 mm;

— symbols made of lines having a pyramidal shape of the relief profile with an angle on the top (see Figure 2);

NOTE The profile getting smaller on top provides good detection while the width at the base provides a stroke easily detectable by vision.

— have rounded edges with a radius of 0,2 mm;

— distance between the tactile symbol and associated tactile characters of 5 mm to 10 mm;

— for visual readability of tactile symbols, see 5.3.

Examples for tactile symbols can be found in Annex A.

Pictograms are often outside the tactile and visual experience of blind and partially sighted people and can only be recognized and identified with difficulty. Therefore, pictograms should be avoided in tactile information. If they are used, they shall have a clearly perceptible contour and have a distinct design. Perspective representations shall not be used.

To ensure that the tactile pictograms can be found and recognized by touch, their dimensions shall be of a minimum height of 75 mm and shall not exceed 200 mm. Spaces between elements within the tactile pictograms should be 5 mm to 10 mm.

The profile height of tactile pictograms shall be at least 1,2 mm.

For visual readability of tactile pictograms, see 5.3 on material and finishes.

More complex tactile pictograms such as “Emergency Exit”, “toilette” should be complemented by tactile lettering.

Where QR codes are provided they shall meet the following requirements:

— be placed consistently in a corner of the information panel preferably in the bottom right corner with a free space of at least 5 mm to the edges of the information panel;

— have a minimum size of 20 mm × 20 mm;

— have a maximum size of 100 mm × 100 mm;

— be surrounded by a continuous tactile border with a profile height of at least 0,6 mm and a distance to the QR code of at least 2 mm.

The letters “qr” should be placed in Braille, see Figure 3, next to the border with a distance according to 5.2.

Figure 3 — Letters “qr” in braille

Tactile information shall support orientation and provide guidance for blind and partially sighted people in the built environment, as part of a logic overall system including visual and acoustic information, tactile walking surface indicators (TWSI), tactile maps and electronic guiding elements. The overall system shall comply with the principle of multiple senses. The placement and extent of tactile lettering shall be determined according to the context.

Tactile information for orientation should be provided at decision points within the built environment and at the entrance to buildings and facilities, taking into account the overall system. In the entrance area, general orientation information about the building should be offered at a reception desk or be located at a place that can easily be detected and accessed.

The following information is required, if applicable:

— (central) contact point;

— location of stairs and lifts;

— public toilets;

— entrances and exits;

— emergency exits.

In order to be easily detectable, tactile information should be provided on handrails and/or on the wall or a separate desk opposite or next to stairs and lifts. In large or complex buildings and facilities, on each floor, an overview and directions to all relevant facilities should be provided.

Tactile lettering shall be used for identification of rooms, controls, building functions, etc.

For tactile lettering to be effectively usable, the following requirements apply:

a) Detectability and localization

Tactile lettering shall be consistently positioned in predictable places (e.g. at equal distance to recognizable building elements, on handrails, next to doors, on or near push buttons). Localization can be supported by guiding elements or TWSI (see ISO 23599).

Localization shall be supported by providing visual contrast, between characters, base plate and their surrounding area (see ISO 21542).

b) Consistent design

For fluent reading and good interpretability, type size, typeface and arrangement shall be consistent within a system.

c) Limited length of information

The amount of tactile lettering shall be limited to relevant information. The number of characters should be limited to a maximum of 25, if more information is needed it shall be provided in an alternative format such as a QR code according to 5.7.

Directional information should be given by means of arrows.

d) Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be used sparingly. Abbreviations that can be misunderstood shall be avoided.

Only common abbreviations shall be used, such as “Info”, “WC”, “SOS”.

e) Consistent designations

Designations used for buildings or facilities should be consistent with those used in all other formats of information (e.g. acoustic information and visual signage).

f) Consistency between Braille and raised characters

Information provided in Braille and raised characters shall be identical.

Information to be provided on handrails

Information provided on handrails shall be in accordance with the visual information provided by signage at decision points.

Directional information should be given by means of arrows.

On handrails of stairs and ramps:

— The actual position of the user shall be indicated in Braille and raised characters, e.g. number of current floor or platform.

— Where leading to specific parts of a building or facility, destination information should be given at the beginning of the stairway or ramp. Examples of destination information include the number of a railway platform, the name of a street, restaurant, reception, sanitary facilities.

— Directional information to specific destinations to be found on the respective floor such as room numbers, toilets, exits should be given on the landing, at the arrival of stairs or ramps.

Arrangement of information on the handrail

The reading direction for both raised characters and Braille is from left to right when standing in front of the handrail.

Tactile lettering shall be applied to handrails in such a way that it can be located, allows for an ergonomic hand position, and can be easily read by touch and sight.

Tactile lettering shall be positioned as follows:

— Raised characters shall be positioned on top of the handrail.

— Braille shall be positioned on the opposite side to the reader (wall-side).

On handrails of stairs and ramps:

— Tactile lettering should be positioned on the horizontal section of the handrail at the landing at a max. 300 mm from the bent.

— Current position shall be indicated on both handrails, left and right (see Figure 4).

— When leaving the landing, information for destinations to be reached via the stairway or ramp can be positioned on the right handrail.

— When arriving on the landing, information to destinations on the respective floor can be provided on the right handrail.

Key

Figure 4 — Example of floor numbers and directional information on handrails at stairs

Room signs shall provide room identification (e.g. room number, function) and shall consist of Braille and raised characters.

Braille should be positioned below raised characters.

Room signs should be located on the wall next to the respective door on the side of the door handle. The horizontal distance between the room signs and the door frame should be between 50 mm and 100 mm. Room signs should be applied horizontally centred to a height of 1 400 mm, not exceeding the area between 1 200 mm and 1 600 mm.

Where doors are generally closed and opening to the interior (e.g. hotel room doors, toilet doors) room signs can also be located on the door leaf, horizontally centred to a height of 1 400 mm, not exceeding the area between 1 200 mm and 1 600 mm.

Information provided on walls, panels, columns such as directional information, floor number, floor overview, opening hours should consist of braille and raised characters. It should be located at a height between 1 200 mm and 1 600 mm. If the information needs more space, it can be lower. In this case it should be tilted or additionally be provided in an alternative format (e.g. QR-Code, portable information). The bottom line should not be located lower than 800 mm.

Braille should be positioned below raised characters.

If a tilted panel is used the angle to the wall should allow an ergonomic hand position. If the panel protrudes more than 100 mm into the movement space it shall be detectable by cane to avoid accidents (see ISO 21542).

Physical operating elements

The operating element shall protrude by at least 2 mm, preferably 5 mm from the surrounding surface, for detection and localization.

NOTE 2 mm height is suitable for several push-buttons arranged with narrow gaps between them, while 5 mm height is more appropriate for larger individual buttons to be easy to locate.

For the required visual contrast of the operating element to the background, see ISO 21542.

The function of operating elements shall be indicated by Braille and raised characters, with a distance of at least 5 mm between them, or by a tactile symbol (see 5.6.1) with the following exceptions:

— For telephone type key pads, no tactile lettering is required for the 10 digit buttons; the digit “5” shall be indicated with a tactile dot.

— Devices or equipment operated by a single button don't require tactile lettering if the device or equipment can be clearly identified by its position or shape, e.g. a water tap, a hand dryer, a door opening button, etc.

The tactile lettering shall be placed on the operating element or adjacent at a distance of 5 to 10 mm.

If tactile lettering is placed on the element, the operating force shall allow detection without triggering its function.

Where tactile walking surface indicators are provided they shall be guiding to the control devices. The attention pattern should be positioned in the centre line of the operating element.

Operating elements activated by touch

It is impossible to use touch screens for blind and partially sighted people without assistive technologies. Therefore, in the built environment they shall be accompanied by an additional control device providing equal access to its functions.

Touch sensitive buttons are very difficult to operate by blind and partially sighted people since they cannot clearly identify and locate the active surfaces controlling the various functions.

When touch sensitive buttons are used:

a) the activation shall be confirmed by an acoustic signal;

b) for localisation and to reduce accidental triggering the active surface shall be raised by at least 2 mm, preferably 5 mm or shall be provided with a continuous tactile border with a profile height of at least 2 mm;

c) tactile lettering shall not be applied to the active part of the sensor surface; it shall be positioned at a distance of 5 mm to 10 mm adjacent to the raised button or tactile border.

Where tactile walking surface indicators are provided they shall be guiding to the control devices. The attention pattern should be positioned in the centre line of the operating element.

Tactile car and floor identification

Floor designation shall be provided in raised characters and Braille on both jambs of elevator car entrances. Braille shall be placed below the raised characters.

Car designation shall be placed below the floor designation and shall be provided in both, raised characters and Braille.

Floor and car designation shall be placed between 1 200 mm and 1 600 mm above the floor.

Where tactile walking surface indicators are provided they shall be guiding to the control devices. The attention pattern should be positioned in the centre line of the operating element.

Tactile lettering and symbols on lift controls

Tactile lettering and symbols indicate the function of each button. Raised characters and tactile symbols shall be positioned on the active part of the buttons. Braille shall be positioned unmistakably linked to the button.

On extra-large buttons with a dimension of 50 mm according to EN 81‑70 such as used on horizontal lift car operating panels, raised characters or tactile symbols and Braille can be positioned on the button with a minimum distance of 5 mm between the two of them.

Additional information on the floors should be on either side of the buttons and be provided in visually detectable tactile lettering.

Objects can be: works of art, models of art works, historical buildings, special parts of buildings, etc.

Where provided the following requirements apply:

— the information shall be placed close (directly above, below or next) to the corresponding object to help find it and clearly refer to it;

— identification of the objects (e.g. title, number) shall be provided in tactile lettering (see 5.5 and 5.6);

— descriptive text shall be provided visually in Braille and alternative formats such as audio guide or QR code (see 5.7).

For further information on contents, figuration and display methods see ISO 19028.

When items are tactily identical, and only to be distinguished by a number, label or colour, they shall also be identifiable by touch. Examples of such items include numbered seats, numbered lockers, mail boxes, door bells, bins/containers for different types of waste etc.

The labelling shall be provided in tactile lettering. Coloured labels shall have tactile information.

The tactile labelling shall be placed where it is most likely to be touched. E. g. in trains, coaches and airplanes, row and seat numbers should be provided on the side facing the aisle or upper edge of the backrest.

Control devices of water taps, soap dispensers, hand dryers etc. which are not clearly identifiable shall be marked with tactile lettering according to 6.2.4.

If flush buttons are not positioned centrally behind the toilet seat a tactile arrow shall be placed in the centre position to indicate the direction where to find the button.

Alarm buttons shall be identified with tactile lettering.

Localization of sensor based functions shall be supported by tactile lettering and tactile symbols.

For seat and row numbers see 6.2.7.

For operational elements in and on vehicles (such as stop request, door opener, door closer, ventilation, heating, call crew request) see 6.2.4 to know how and where the label should be placed in Tactile lettering.

Emergency brake shall be labelled on or near the respective element with Tactile lettering.

Static information such as train classes, family compartments etc. shall be indicated in Tactile lettering on the handrail, grab rail, on or near door opening controls or in another area that is likely to be touched.

For tactile signage in rail facilities EN 16584‑2 for assessment of the requirements in the TSI (technical specifications for interoperability) applies.

Tactile emergency signage and information shall be provided to find the safest accessible way from the building in accordance with EN 17210:2021 (especially 14.8).

Signage of evacuation routes and emergency exits shall comply with the requirements in Clause 5 and Clause 6.

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Examples for tactile symbols and pictograms

This Annex shows examples of tactile pictograms, that comply with the requirements of this document.

Figure A.1 — Toilet pictograms with clear differentiation

Figure A.2 — Open arrows

Figure A.3 — Isosceles triangle

Where several directions should be indicated on a handrail, the symbol according to Figure A.4 may be used to give the local position and the different directions.

a) Symbol for “current position” (circle with dot in the middle and short lines branching off from it at right angles at the top, bottom, right and left for arrows to be attached)

b) Symbol for “exit” (outline of the left half of a square with an arrow pointing to the right from its centre)

c) Symbol for “emergency exit” (exit symbol with a second line on the left side parallel to the left frame line of the half square)

d) Symbol to indicate supplementary tactile information on the wall next to/above a handrail (“I” with an arrow pointing to the wall on the right and left)

Figure A.4 — Symbols

Figure A.5 — symbol “i” for information

Figure A.6 — Loud speaker

Figure A.7 — Bell to set a call as for alarm button in lifts, interconnection devices or a door bell

Figure A.8 — Open door

Figure A.9 — Close door

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Functional requirements for application of tactile signage in buildings

EN 17210 provides further information on the application of tactile signage in buildings and on building elements according to Table B.1.

Table B.1 — Relevant clauses and subclauses of EN 17210 for tactile signage

1. 
   (normative)
   
   Alphabetical character index of the Braille for guidance information and numbers

Order of the data:

— the character name;

— the corresponding Braille character;

— within brackets, the corresponding Braille dots as numbered in the Braille matrix from dot 1 to dot 6:

— top-left dot 1;

— left-middle dot 2;

— bottom-left dot 3;

— top-right dot 4;

— right-middle dot 5;

— bottom-right dot 6.

Figure C.1 — The Braille cell

Alphabetical character index

— a ⠁ (1)

— b ⠃ (12)

— c ⠉ (14)

— d ⠙ (145)

— e ⠑ (15)

— f ⠋ (124)

— g ⠛ (1245)

— h ⠓ (125)

— i ⠊ (24)

— j ⠚ (245)

— k ⠅ (13)

— l ⠇ (123)

— m ⠍ (134)

— n ⠝ (1345)

— o ⠕ (135)

— p ⠏ (1234)

— q ⠟ (12345)

— r ⠗ (1235)

— s ⠎ (234)

— t ⠞ (2345)

— u ⠥ (136)

— v ⠧ (1236)

— w ⠺ (2456)

— x ⠭ (1346)

— y ⠽ (13456)

— z ⠵ (1356)

Numeral character index

— number sign ⠼ (3456)

— 1 ⠼⠁ (3456-1)

— 2 ⠼⠃ (3456-12)

— 3 ⠼⠉ (3456-14)

— 4 ⠼⠙ (3456-145)

— 5 ⠼⠑ (3456-15)

— 6 ⠼⠋ (3456-124)

— 7 ⠼⠛ (3456-1245)

— 8 ⠼⠓ (3456-125)

— 9 ⠼⠊ (3456-24)

— 0 ⠼⠚ (3456-245)

— hyphen or dash [-] ⠤ (36)

EXAMPLE  

— 14 ⠼⠁⠙ (3456-1-145)

— 3A ⠼⠉ ⠁ (3456-14 1) (Always insert a space when a letter follows a number)

— A3 ⠁⠼⠉ (1-3456-14) (no space is needed when a number follows a letter)

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Special font given in DIN 32986

The character set of the triangular-shaped raised lettering shown in Figure D.1 a) and D:1 b), which has been particularly developed and tested to be haptically identified and to be distinguished from normal print characters by blind and partially sighted people, can be downloaded as “True Type Font” from the website of the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted at www.profilschrift.dbsv.org under the designation “DBSV_Profilschrift_pos” and “DBSV_Profilschrift_neg”.

The distances between the letter “I” and adjacent letters shall be increased by 10 % for better tactile readability. Equally, the distance between “M, N” as well as the distance between the vertical edges of “B, E, K, L, R” and the digit “1” should be increased by 10 %. The distance between the letters “O” and “A” and “V, W and Y” respectively may be reduced for a better optical readability (kerning).

a) Shapes of characters

b) Construction view of the prism‐shaped characters

Figure D.1 — Character set of raised lettering

Bibliography

EN 81‑70, Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts — Particular applications for passenger and goods passenger lift — Part 70: Accessibility to lifts for persons including persons with disability

EN 16864‑2, Railway applications — Design for PRM use — General requirements — Part 2: Information

EN ISO 24503:2011, Ergonomics — Accessible design - Tactile dots and bars on consumer products (ISO 24503:2011)

EN ISO 17351:2014, Packaging — Braille on packaging for medicinal products (ISO 17351:2013)

ISO 7001, Graphical symbols — Registered public information symbols

ISO 17049, Accessible design — Application of braille on signage, equipment and appliances

ISO 19028, Accessible design — Information contents, figuration and display methods of tactile guide maps

ISO 24183:2024, Technical communication — Vocabulary

ISO 19028:2016, Accessible design — Information contents, figuration and display methods of tactile guide maps

ISO 17840-1:2022, Road vehicles — Information for first and second responders

ISO 23599:2019, Assistive products for blind and vision-impaired persons — Tactile walking surface indicators

DIN 32986, Tactile lettering and labelling — Requirements on the presentation and application of Braille and raised lettering