American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is a not-for-profit corporation based in Louisville, Kentucky, Unites States. It promotes independent living among individuals who are blind or visually impaired. For more than 150 years, the corporation has already created unique products and services to support all aspects of its clients and beneficiaries even without sight or limited seeing abilities. 

In the 1830s, the first of the schools for blind children opened in the United States. Back then, there were very few books and educational materials for the students. Teachers had to make their own tactile teaching aids and acquired embossed books from Europe. In 1858, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) was established to cater to the growing need for educational aids and books for blind students.

It was Dempsey Sherrod, a blind man from Mississippi, who promoted the idea of having a central printing house that will produce books for blind people. He worked to raise funds for the business. In 1857, Sherrod acquired a charter in Mississippi to develop a publishing house to print books in embossed letters. He also proposed Louisville as the location because of its central location. In 1858, An Act To Establish The American Printing House For The Blind was passed by the General Assembly of Kentucky.

In 1860, APH received its initial operating funds which came from the private citizens of Mississippi and Kentucky. APH was then set up in the basement of the Kentucky School for the Blind and a press was purchased.

The first book that the APH has produced was Fables and Tales for Children. It was embossed in 1866 with a raised Roman letter type called Boston line letter. The Braille was not yet developed until many years later. After a few years, federal funding was sought to assure the permanent flow of funding.