Suggestions for lamps for draftsman?

December 10, 2010 5:36 PM

My son is a draftsman and just started a new job. He likes this company better, but the lighting isn't as good. He doesn't have a lot of money to spend, but doesn't want to waste money on lamps that aren't worth it. I've looked for reviews on the web and here, and I didn't find specific information or personal suggestions. Recommendations for types of lamps/lighting, specific lamps, and the least he should expect to spend? What he shouldn't waste money on? I saw Ott lamps at Hobby Lobby tonight, but he said he saw an Ott lamp at Office Depot that wasn't very bright.
posted by onemorething to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

To be honest, I was always happiest with a big extendable arm lamp. I had an incandescent bulb for just overhead kind of work and a 5000k fluorescent bulb for close up work. I'd just change bulbs to the fluorescent when I was working close so it wasn't so hot. You might also look on photography sites for high CRI (90+ CRI) bulbs. They render color better, but really I liked the look of 5000k white bulbs better.

Is this for hand drafting? That's what I based the above on. They still do that?
posted by sanka at 6:00 PM on December 10, 2010

Response by poster: No, this is CAD, or CADD? Anyway, he's working on a computer, working from drawings of engineers.
posted by onemorething at 7:13 PM on December 10, 2010

Oh, then he cares more about his monitor for his eyes I guess, and I didn't really understand the question. I mean, I guess fluorescent lighting in those cube farms can be hell, but it's never bothered me much.

A lady I work with has this super bright daylight lamp thing that looks like an X-ray panel to help combat SAD. She points it off to her side, but it lights up her whole office like daylight. If he lives in a long winter place like I do (Minneapolis) then he might like that. If he has his own office that is, but if he's in a cube farm that would really annoy any cubemates.

I would probably focus on something incandescent, or with a high CRI (90+). That kind of light is just better to work around. Hard to say about a fixture, not knowing if it's an office or cube or whatnot.
posted by sanka at 7:26 PM on December 10, 2010

Like Sanka, I think you need to clarify what it is you need to light. Ott lights are task lights, meant to be directed at whatever you're working on. Computer monitors make their own light, and actually look worse if you shine an external light directly on them. Does he want to illuminate a work surface, i.e. a desktop full of blueprints and correspondence, or is it ambient light he's wanting?
posted by jon1270 at 1:11 AM on December 11, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for the replies. I'm going to show them to my son and see what he says. I hadn't thought about the SAD light possibility; it's something to think about, especially because his office doesn't have windows and he doesn't get to spend much time outdoors.
posted by onemorething at 9:13 AM on December 12, 2010