Four men worked on braille versions of the Quran at a braille printing house belonging to the Penyantun Wyata Guna Foundation in Bandung, West Java. The printing house is the only place that prints the Quran in braille using a conventional braille machine.
The printing machine, which has been in use for 64 years, was a donation from US-based nonprofit organization Helen Keller International in 1952. Of the six braille printers around the world donated by the organization, the one in Bandung is the only still running.
There are several steps in printing the Quran in braille. First, copy the script of the regular Quran in braille using a stereotype machine. Second, proofread the copy and then duplicate it using the braille press machine. After going through that step, the braille Quran is bound per juz [chapter].
While the regular Quran is read from right to left, the braille Quran is read from left to right.
One set of braille Quran weighs up to 25 kilograms and sells for Rp 1.5 million [US$107] to Rp 1.8 million. Copies are sold not only in Indonesia but are also exported to Malaysia, Thailand, Kuwait and Iran. [evi]