Elżbieta Róża Czacka, the initiator and co-establisher of The Society for the Care of the Blind in Laski (SCB), was very convinced to the role of the Braille system and books as essential education tools for the blind. She run a project concerning adaptation of the Braille system to the Polish language, and started many other works aiming at definition of formal and publishing characteristics of the Polish Braille book. From its beginning the Society run the Book Copying Office, based on the volunteers’ work. As time passed, the Braille Department enlarged and included also offices of: a second copy, the Braille printing, and book-bindery. The Book Copying Office (today: The Publishing Department) products feed the Braille Library, offering a unique Polish collection. New technologies have significantly changed and speeded production of Braille books production, although it is still partially manual(like book binding). Dictating book’s contents to a copist is now eliminated, and the first proofreading before printing introduced. The latter improve elimination of mistakes, which is very difficult when text is already printed.
The Communists started to take control of the typographical industry already in 1944. Printing presses were taken over by various institutions, administrative units, and political parties. Some companies were included in the group run by the Central Administration of State Typographical Plants, which was reorganised several times, and subsequently placed under supervision of various ministries. During the years 1951-1956, typographical plants were administered by the Central Office for Publications, Typographical Industry and Bookselling. The war losses, estimated at 85% of the pre-war potential, combined with the difficulties constructing the presses and related machinery, lack of trained personnel quality of the printing materials (paper, ink, glue, cardboard), and with introduction of central planned economy into the typographical production processes, all resulted in poor quality of the printed books and other publications.
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