Hello all,
Definitely a lot of very interesting and helpful info in this thread. For many years my business has consisted mainly of printing for professional as well as serious amateur photographers, both "C" printing and B&W(Silver), and for the past 12 years inkjet of course. My light source for viewing/judging my work has always consisted of fluorescent bulbs in the range of 4800 to 5000K with an intensity of approximately 500 to 600 LUX. I am now in the process of moving my business to my home location, and in doing so, also exploring the various lighting possibilities for judging prints. Again I come back to my original comment concerning the wealth of information presented thus far in this thread. However, I have not yet come across any sort of discussion concerning the actual intensity of lighting that should be used for such viewing/judging of the printed work. I guess what I am asking for is a sort of consensus among the group here as to an average intensity number in LUX for such a light source. In my search I did find a rather old reference in the "Kodak Encyclopedia Of Photography" series, volume 3, which is a s follows: "For good viewing, a light source should provide an illuminance of 100 + - 50 foot-candles(= approx 600 to 1200 LUX). 50 foot-candles(approx 600 LUX) should be considered a minimum level. The colour temperature of the light source should be 4000K + - 1000K. A colour temperature of 3800 to 4000K serves well as an average of various viewing conditions". I then found another set of numbers on the x-rite sight as follows:
Light Intensity
Prints and Proofs
Casual Viewing (exhibition)—800 lux
Judging—2000±500 lux (required)
Judging—2000±250 lux (preferred)
Color temp. - D50 = 5000K
These are somewhat higher LUX numbers than I had anticipated, hence my reason for asking your help on this matter before I make a final decision on the light source and intensity I will be using in my new location. Your input would be very much appreciated.
Gary