Canon has launched a photo exhibition for visually impaired students, saying the bespoke art display will enable young people with impaired sight to experience photography in a “completely new way”.
The private exhibition – which, unfortunately, isn't open to the public – is a collaboration with the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC), taking place at RSBC Dorton College in England.
On display are portraits created by seven of the college’s students during a Canon creative workshop, held at the college last year, which the camera manufacturer has now printed using raised, tactile ink.
Neale Conroy, marketing director at Canon UK & Ireland, said that the elevated-print technology will help visually impaired youngsters to “connect with creativity.”
He added: “It’s wonderful to see how this project has helped students experience photography in a completely new way.”
Canon developed the relief prints using its proprietary Prisma Elevate XL – a software application that uses height maps and multiple layers of UV-curable ink to build raised textures up to 4 mm high, giving images a physical dimension that can be explored by hand.
Prisma Elevate XL only works with compatible flatbed printers, with Canon using one of its own Arizona series models for this series. These printers have built-in UV lights to which the ink is exposed upon printing so that it hardens.
“Seeing students engage with their own work in such a tactile and meaningful way has been incredibly rewarding,” said Sarah Mallion, vice principal at RSBC College Dorton.
“The project has shown how technology can open up new ways for young people to connect with creativity.”
According to the RSBC, there are some 37,000 blind and partially sighted children and young people in England and Wales, and 4 more children are diagnosed with sight loss daily.
Mallion hopes that the Dorton College display, which will remain permanently, “marks the beginning” of more accessible exhibitions and learning experiences for visually impaired people.
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