PUTTING GOOD IDEAS TOGETHER; NORTHRIDGE TRIO PUBLISH BOOKS WITH BOTH LARGE PRINT, BRAILLE.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

Robert Stigile didn't let a little thing like blindness stop him from starting a business.

These days, he's running a home-based company called Megasight Print Enhancement with two sighted friends, Dick and Jacki Martin of Northridge.

They translate regular text into Braille and large-print material. What's different about their business is that both are printed on the same page.

Most books or pamphlets separate the two, thereby doubling the amount of paper required to translate a regular publication.

``It saves a lot of paper,'' said 30-year-old Stigile, who lost his sight at 18 to a degenerative eye disease. ``Also, both sighted and blind people can look at the same page and follow along together.''

Their company is in talks with a major airline, which they declined to name, to translate its safety documents. They've also done work for nonprofit groups.

Stigile is unusual since the percentage of blind entrepreneurs is small, said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore.

``His business is an interesting one,'' he said. ``It's a good idea.''

As America's population ages, there's an increasing need for large-print text and Braille, Maurer said.

About 2.5 million people in America are considered legally blind and visually impaired, with an estimated 300,000 in the Southland, according to the Braille Institute of America in Los Angeles.

Major corporations such as Hallmark and McDonald's already are using Braille: Hallmark in its cards and the fast-food chain in its menus. Major publishers have been releasing books in large print as well, Maurer said.

``The potential market is huge,'' he said.

But seven years ago, things didn't look as rosy for Stigile.

As he was crossing an intersection in Northridge, a driver ran into him and dragged him 10 feet along the road. His guide dog, Zeke, saved his life by jumping on his chest and pushing him back toward the pavement.

Still, he had a smashed left leg. It took him a year to recover.

``He pretty much saved my life,'' Stigile said of Zeke. ``I could have been dragged under the tire instead of the grill.''

Zeke wasn't hurt, but has retired from service because of the trauma.

Stigile didn't let the accident deflate his lifestyle. He learned martial arts, bowling and baseball (the ball beeps). He surfs on the Internet with the help of a voice synthesizer and Braille machine.

``I can cook, I can clean my own house and I can take care of my dog,'' he said, referring to Porsche, the chocolate Labrador who has been his guide dog since 1991.

His cooking techniques include putting a hand above the pan to feel its heat, using utensils to make sure the food is in, timing the cooking and then cutting a piece to taste for doneness. He cleans house by methodically going over every part of it, one square inch at a time.

In January, he became the president of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.

As a teacher of blind children in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, Stigile met Dick Martin, a schoolteacher in the system. After becoming car-pool partners, Stigile told him and his wife about his business idea.

He believes printing both Braille and large-print text on the same page helps the blind read together with their sighted relatives, friends or colleagues.

Sighted parents can read along with their visually impaired children, as their little hands feel the raised, dotted Braille characters.

The Martins were receptive to his idea, since they wanted to start a business too.

``We wanted something that could provide retirement income and be a service to the community,'' said Jacki Martin, a schoolteacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. ``Our goal is to get our business going, hire people who can read Braille and maybe give them some extra income.''

With a $15,000 capital investment a year ago, the three bought a Braille printer, large-text and ink-jet printers, a PC and scanner.

They either type or scan regular text into a computer and print it out in Braille and large-print. Stigile proofreads the Braille.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) From left, Jacki Martin, her husband, Dick, and Robert Stigile, with his dog, Porsche, started a printing business.

(2 -- color) Megasight Print Enhancement puts large-print and Braille text on the same page.

Terri Thuente/Daily News