Operation

Mode Selection

VIS Reflection, VIS Transmission, and UV Transmission modes are switched between by pressing the btn-mode button. The name of the active mode will be shown on the display, as will the last measurement result from that mode.

Taking Measurements

To take a measurement, follow these steps:

  1. Select the desired measurement mode

  2. Center the area to be measured over the target area, emulsion side up

  3. Lower the sensor head and hold it firmly closed

  4. Press the btn-action button and wait for the result

Note

When the sensor head is pressed down partway, a read light for the current mode will turn on at a moderate brightness. This can be used to help better position the material area to be measured.

opto-warning

  • The UV Transmission mode uses a high power UV light source for measurement.

  • When taking UV Transmission measurements, always make sure to fully press down the sensor head and avoid looking at the target area.

  • When the sensor head is pressed down partway in UV Transmission mode, the VIS Transmission light is used to help illuminate the target. The UV Transmission light does not turn on until the btn-action button is actually pressed.

Setting a Zero Offset

It is common to want to take measurements relative to a film or paper base. The Printalyzer UV/VIS Densitometer provides a convenience feature to make it easier to take such relative measurements, without having to do math on the results.

After measuring the base area of a piece of film or paper, long-press the btn-down button. This will set the result to 0.00 and display a icon-zero-set icon near the middle bottom of the display. From this point forward, all displayed measurements will be relative to this zero offset.

To clear the zero offset, long-press the btn-up button. The indicator icon should disappear.

Taking Repeated Measurements

Taking a large number of UV transmission measurements in quick succession causes the light source to heat up, which may lead to a slight temporary shift in readings. This issue is unlikely to appear in casual use, however it may be encountered when measuring large (20+ patch) step wedges. The solution is to wait a few seconds either in-between readings, or after every few readings, or both.

It has also been observed that the UV transmission density of certain photographic films may change with repeated exposure to UV light. In testing, this effect has only been observed on Kodak T-Max 100. Several other tested film stocks, including those used for the included calibration materials, do not appear to have this issue.