I am looking for an Opaque Projector (finally), I am wondering what to look for and what people are using.
Thanks in advance, Doug.
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
I have a vintage Bessler They were used by the Army in WW2..big and clumsy but real accurate
Posted by Murray MacDonald (Member # 3558) on :
We have an old Art-o- graph TH500...picked it up years ago at a yard sale for $5..;works like it cost $10. MUR
Posted by John Lennig (Member # 2455) on :
I'm using an Artograph Show Master, bought used in '83, I also had an overhead projector, not now. The opaque needs almost total darkness, overhead can be used in full light. Overhead needs "clears", if you have easy access to them, the overhead is the best bet, shorter distance(check that out)
remember the Magnejector(sp)?? lol
Artograph, was made in Minneapolis, just up mrom MAZEPPA!!!
John
Posted by timi NC (Member # 576) on :
If you are going to buy a projector,my suggestion would be to buy an overhead type. First reason being it will not cook your artwork,and second you don't have to have the room near as dark as you would with an opaque projector.
Around here you can buy them used from school surplus houses and sales for less than $50.
On another note make sure you can get replacement bulbs locally and or economically,some brands use very expensive bulb,...
Posted by Jon Butterworth (Member # 227) on :
Here's the Rolls Royce of Overhead Projectors.
It's a Fordagraph. Exspensive at over $1g new but worth every penny. This one has paid for itself many times over.
It has an optical 10X motorised zoom lens which not only gives you a larger image from a shorter distance, but you don't have to move it to size your image to fit the frame. Packs down into a laptop size bag.
Rt and I used it on the tanks. Getting a 15 x 30ft image from less than 30ft away!
Anybody, if you ever come across one of these ... grab it!
Posted by Dan White (Member # 5876) on :
I have been thinking of buying a projector hang from the ceiling (12' high) to project line drawings of iron scrolls, grape vines etc. onto our welding table.
The table is 10' square and has a dark metal surface. The opaque projectors I have seen project dark lines which I think will not show up to well. Does anyone think its worth digging up a overhead to use here? If so do they distort the image? In other words is the image reasonably geometrically correct (proportion/squareness)? Thanks for any of your thoughts. Dan
Posted by Jill Marie Welsh (Member # 1912) on :
I use an overhead projector I got from Viking Office Supplies via the mail for $120. Bought an extra light bulb that day too. You do have to fiddle with it some, and sometimes I get distortion. I just say "I meant to paint it that way!" Projecting onto black is fairly tuff, but I have done it....the projector lights it up too, then I fill in with a white Stabilo. Love....Jill Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Dan, square image, round lens = distortion, getting worse as you move away from centre. That occurs with overhead and opaque projectors.
You can do two things, learn to work with it & compensate for it,(or keep your pix small & in the centre of the lens), or I did see a curved frame someone made once to 'precondense' the outer edges of the OHP transparency, so that the distortion from the lens put the edges back where they were supposed to be. This arched frame suited that specific OHP though.
Our opaque projector is a Paxiscope, but we've not used it in years. I prefer to scan & print on inkjet transparencies or laser acetate & use the OHP.
edit to add, bulbs for either one cost $35 or so each, and you always need a spare or two spares, as they're not available when you need one! The opaque projector was good in the 'old' days with a bit of Letraset & a polaroid camera photo of something & a sketched up thumbnail drawing in a dark bedroom at night in the heat- they get HOT! We prepoared lots of banners & pounced patterns with it once! It was about $240 new in 1988 or thereabouts.
[ July 22, 2005, 07:29 AM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
Posted by Gene Golden (Member # 3934) on :
Projector hints:
To reduce some of the distortion AND sharpen your image: Cut a "dime-sized" square hole into a sheet of paper (you can adjust size). Tape that in place over the front lens of the projector (closest to the wall/pattern you are working on.) Yes, you will be projecting through a tiny hole! It acts like an aperture on a camera. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes in clarity. (Thanks Phil Horak). A little hint concerning the bulbs of the overhead projectors. In order to preserve the bulb life, don't move the projector after using it UNTIL the bulb has cooled down thoroughly.
You CAN use an overhead projector as an OPAQUE projector: Place the object on the glass, as you would normally place the transparency. Shine a strong light source onto the object and trace as you normally would. The image is not as bright, and you may have to shield the glow put out by the light source, but it works in a pinch.
You can also use it as a reducing/tracing lens: Shine the light onto the object on the wall. Place a piece of paper on the glass of the projector. Trace image.
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