1-3. Formats (Mina Search Help)

Format(Lv.1)	Format(Lv.2)	Explanation
DAISY	DAISY audio	The DAISY audio format is for persons who have difficulty reading printed matter due to a visual disability or other impairment. Daisy audio contains audio data as well as text data of headings and offers the following features. ・One CD-ROM can store more than 50 hours of audio data. ・Users can jump freely from page to page or heading to heading, just like when reading printed matter. ・Users can change the playback speed.
	DAISY text	The DAISY text format contains digital text (characters) to which headings, pages, and other structural information is added. Some works have images and are similar to reflow e-books. Users can jump freely from page to page or heading to heading using a navigation function.
	DAISY audio & text	The DAISY audio & text format is for persons who have difficulty reading printed matter due to a visual disability or other impairment. Daisy audio & text displays audio, texts, and images simultaneously and offers the following features. ・Users can jump freely from page to page or headings to heading, just like when reading printed matter. ・Users can change the size of the text as well as turn the read-aloud function on or off.
Audio materials	Sound files	Sound files contain digital audio data, saved in either MP3 or WAVE format.
	Audiobooks	Audiobooks are voice recordings of the text of a book. Some are read by narrators, voice actor, and sometimes even the authors themselves. Many audiobooks omit explanations of any images, graphs, or tables.
	Historical recordings (Rekion)	Rekion is an archive of historical recordings of music and speeches that were recorded on 78 rpm or metal discs and were produced in Japan between 1900 and 1950.
	Cassette tape	Cassette tapes are analog audio materials produced before the spread of the DAISY format. They are rarely produced today, because neither cassette tapes nor their playback devices are still being manufactured.
Braille materials	Braille books	Braille books are usually written only in braille, but some include printed text and some have a book printed in braille bound together with one with printed text. There are also materials containing braille diagrams.
	Braille data	Braille data is data that has been translated into braille using a braille editor installed on a computer. The most common braille data format in Japan is BES format, but other formats include the edel format used for braille diagrams and the bmt format used for Chinese characters.
	Uncontracted braille	Uncontracted braille, also called grade 1 English braille, translates each individual letter, number, or punctuation mark into a braille sign.
	Contracted braille	Contracted braille, also called grade 2 English braille, abbreviates frequently appearing words and character strings into special signs, similar to shorthand.
	Braille kanji (hatten)	Braille kanji is a braille format that translates Chinese characters into 1-3 cells and 8 dot positions.
	Braille kanji (rokuten)	Braille kanji (rokuten) is a braille format that translates Chinese characters into 3-4 cells and 6 dot positions.
Text data	Electronic books with text-to-speech functionality	Electronic books with text-to-speech functionality can be used by persons with visual disabilities who have technical support.
	Plain text	Plain text omits information on layout or font design and is limited to what can be saved in a text file (.txt).
	Epub text	Epub text is an electronic book format intended to succeed the DAISY format. The data is structured in the same format as the original publication, which allows the user to jump to any chapter, section, heading, or page.
	Epub audio & text	Epub audio & text formant adds sound recording to epub text. Overall functionality is the same as epub text but with the addition of audio.
	PDF files with transparent text	This format comprises PDF files containing digitized images to which transparent text has been added. The text is invisible, but users can read it using the text-to-speech function of a screen reader.
	MS Word	MS Word data is created in the Microsoft Word application.
Visual materials	Videos with closed captions	Videos with closed captions include the display of text that can be read by persons with hearing impairments. Often, captions include the name of the speaker at the head of the text, and the text is color coded by speaker, as well. Audio clues such as knocking on doors and footsteps are also displayed to facilitate understanding of the story.
	Videos with audio description	Videos with audio description include additional audio information for persons with visual impairment. Audio description provides explanations about things that take place on screen but are not made clear in the dialog, such as the background to a scene or the actions and expressions of the characters.
Printed materials	Large print books・Enlarged manuscripts	Large print books are printed with larger-than-normal typefaces for elderly readers or those with low vision. Japanese books for readers with low vision are often printed in 22-point Gothic font, while those for elderly readers are printed in 14-point Mincho font. Enlarged manuscripts were originally custom-made for an individual reader by volunteers who hand copied a book using felt pens. More recently, they are being produced using personal computers.
	Easy-to-read books	Easy-to-read books, often called “LL books” in Japan from the Swedish lättlästa böcker, are produced for readers with who have difficulty reading regular books due to an intellectual disability, a learning disability, or other reason. These books include numerous illustrations and photographs to facilitate understanding.
	Cloth picture books and tactile picture books	Cloth picture books combine the functions a picture book, a toy, and a teaching tool. Made with cloth, felt, string, snaps, fasteners, velcro tape, and buttons, these books help the reader to learn actions like attaching and detaching, pushing and pulling, separating and joining, or tying and untying. Tactile picture books are fashioned so that children with visual impairments are able to read them tactually. They are based on picture books and made with cloth, leather, yarn, and other materials, to create pictures that are partially three-dimensional. They also include both braille and printed text.

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