What Kind of Light for Viewing Prints?

[Ken Alexander]

I live in a basement apartment and receive limited amounts of usable natural, outdoor light.  It didn't take long to notice the great difference between natural and artificial light when evaluating prints.  The thing to do would be to install some sort of full-spectrum light that would allow me to evaluate my prints under the right kind of light.

So, the question is; what do people use for this purpose?  I Googled "full spectrum lighting" and got lots of hits from companies that sell full-spectrum light therapy systems.  Those may work, but maybe full-spectrum for therapeutic purposes isn't the same as for evaluating prints.  I don't know.

Any suggestions on systems, especially if they won't bankrupt an amateur (not a pro), would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Ken

[Tim Gray]

I got a Solux clamp light that works very well, but can't seem to find the exact item on their website now.  

This light was particularly useful in working through the "my prints are too dark" syndrome a couple of years ago.

[Dale_Cotton]

In addition to the Solux, if you live in the US you might want to use some of these 30 Watt - Full Spectrum High Definition - Compact Fluorescent - 30W/SPRING/50K as ambient lighting. I have one in an overhead gooseneck and am extremely happy using it for casual print viewing when the daylight's not there.

[Jack Varney]

I bought an N:Vision 19w, 5500K flourescent (SKU 772-429) at Lowes or Home Depot. It has worked very well and seems to have a consistent spectrum, at least for a flourescent. Light output is in the 60w to 75w incandescent range.

I also have some Solux lamps and sockets but have not had the opportunity to build a fixture to test them yet.

[marcmccalmont]

http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/compa...cent_32_ctg.htm
Marc

[Graham Welland]

You might want to consider using OTT-Lite's too - these work pretty well for close up work. If you're serious, the other alternative is using something like a GTI viewing cabinet/booth.

[chris moody]

I'll second Tim's suggestion of the Solux clip light (available for those in the UK from www.outsidein.co.uk).