Dazor introduces a new line of high magnification lighted handheld magnifiers
The new J-series portable lighted magnifiers provide marketplace solutions to address limitations and inconveniences of products commonly available today. Stan Hogrebe, President of Dazor Lighting Solutions, observed that “Handheld lighted magnifiers are used everywhere. They’re used in homes by individuals who have certain vision needs, enjoy hobbies, or just need a boost reading a newspaper or restaurant menu. In industry, lighted magnifiers are used for many inspection tasks to efficiently detect small defects or to see details in small parts more easily and clearly.”
Handheld lighted magnifiers are convenient for the user because they can be carried from place to place. “On a factory floor, an operator may need to perform inspection tasks at different workstations. Or an engineer may need to determine the root cause of a component part failure. Even more critical than the convenience of portability however, is the design of the optics and lighting,” Hogrebe stated.
Certain tasks require different levels of magnification. Common powers of magnification used in both industry and low vision applications are 3.5X, 5X and 10X. Hogrebe explained, “In optical magnification, as magnification power increases the area of an object you can see within the viewing area gets smaller. In other words, the field of view decreases. Additionally, with higher power magnification you generally have to move the very lens close to the object to get it into focus. This can reduce or virtually eliminate any area to work beneath the lens. And, you may have to position your eye very close to the lens. For inspection work performed throughout the day, this can be a very uncomfortable viewing situation resulting in fatigue and possibly even errors.”
Director of Engineering Ann Settlage commented on use of light emitting diodes as an illumination source in handheld magnifiers. “LEDs lend themselves to portable lighted magnifiers because they are a very efficient light source. They can emit a lot of light while consuming low amounts of energy. Readily available batteries provide a perfect power source. But all LEDs are not created equal. Many of us who are particular about the tasks we’re viewing have had bad experiences along the way with poorly designed LED light sources. Sometimes the LEDs appear different shades of white (yellow, blue, pink or green), some LEDs may appear brighter than others, or the light emitted simply creates a lot of distracting shadows. And some high-priced handheld magnifiers use a single LED or hot halogen bulb positioned at point behind the lens! Why even bother…”
Hogrebe expounded, “The combination of optical and lighting design in a lighted magnifier is of parallel and paramount importance. Without proper lighting, no amount of magnification will help you see detail. On the other hand, a great light without quality magnification doesn’t allow you to see the necessary detail. We are very excited to release Dazor’s new J-series portable lighted magnifiers, which provide breakthrough solutions to many of these historic shortcomings.”
All J-Series lighted magnifiers use high quality crown optical glass lenses. The 5X and 10X solutions are designed with a double lens system which allows the magnifiers to be positioned at a comfortable working distance above the object while still achieving maximum magnification power. They can also be positioned at a comfortable distance from the user’s eye.
Additionally, all lighted magnifier systems are designed with bright white LED lighting fully surrounding the optical lenses, properly spaced to prevent distracting shadows, and correctly positioned at the focal length of the lenses to ensure the object being viewed is illuminated completely.
Each magnification power of lighted magnifier is available with a choice of illumination based on the exact needs of the user. The J200-series is designed with 12 white LEDs, producing 400 footcandles of lighting onto the work surface. This compares to 100 footcandles to on widely-used handheld lighted magnifiers using a single point source of light. The J203-series uses 24 white LEDs for maximum viewing brightness, producing 750 footcandles. The unique and functional illumination design of the J201 series incorporates an alternating pattern of white and 390nm UV LEDs. With a simple press of the switch, the user can turn on either the white or UV light. This tool replaces 2 separate fixtures that may be necessary when inspecting conformal coatings or other materials which fluoresce when exposed to certain UV wavelengths.
Dazor Lighting Solutions is an innovator in the design and production of task lighting and magnification solutions used by individuals throughout industries worldwide. Dazor products are designed and manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
