NewView Oklahoma was awarded $69,926 for its NewView Print House during United Way of Central Oklahoma’s (UWCO) 2023 WayFinder Innovation Grant cycle. The Partner Agency had the vision of developing a one-of-a-kind print house to create tactile coloring books for all ages, educational materials, children’s books and other print materials designed specifically for Oklahoma’s low-vision and blind population.

NewView’s vision came to life.

To date, NewView has sold about 350 tactile books and print materials. Institutions like Oklahoma’s and Louisiana’s Schools for the Blind have benefitted from the tactile books, which teachers say are a better alternative to traditional braille machines.

NewView isn’t stopping there.

The agency has future plans to expand printing capabilities to add a training program, creating more jobs. They also plan to locally collaborate to produce a modified thermography powder. Thermography is a form of raised printing that uses a special powder to produce a 3-D effect. Once this powder is produced at the Print House, NewView plans to establish a mentorship program to train individuals in operating the thermography equipment.

UWCO commends NewView on its innovative success.

Interested in learning more about the WayFinder Innovation Grant? Visit UWCO’s WayFinder page.