Opaque projector – Best for displaying opaque images.
The opaque projector contains a long focus lens and a high aperture with a plane mirror located in the beam to avoid a left-handed reversal of the image. Opaque projectors are also being referred to as episcopes, and those that can be used for slides or opaque object are called epidiascopes. Opaque projectors are also very common amongst artists that do sketches. Artist opaque projectors beam the image onto the work surface for quick and easy scaling, tracing and visualizing. An opaque projector can be used to scale up the originals and save a lot of time. Due to the fact that opaque projectors must project the reflected light, opaque projectors require brighter bulbs and larger lenses than normal overhead projectors. A reasonable amount of heat is generated by the light source, and care must be taken so that the materials are not damaged by the light source. Suitable objects for display and projection include book pages, drawings, mineral specimens, leaves, etc. Opaque projectors are less common than the modern overhead projectors.
The American optical opaque projector was designed and manufactured by a company called the American Optical Company, which started in the early 1960s. The product lines of the opaque and overhead projector were sold to a company called Kalart Victor in the mid 70s and then sold again to Neumade in the 80s. Neumade still manufactures these units until this day, using the same parts that were used in the original American optical units.
Originally these opaque projectors were produced at a low cost for children, and also marketed back then already as an artist’s enlargement tool to allow images to be transferred to a prepared canvas. Eventually they started being used widely by lecturers to do presentations etc. In this modern day these opaque projectors still have a loyal following, however there is a greater demand for overhead projectors than opaque projectors in the modern market.
One of the main advantages of the opaque projectors still remains the fact that it displays information on a large screen for the audience to view. This eliminates the need for making lots of hard copy documents, and it saves time handing them out. In the end, the environment benefits from this, and it’s a very effective way to present information.
The opaque projectors are also very affordable. Because more advance machines have replaced them, you can now but them quite inexpensively.