What Are Opaque Projectors?
The opaque projector was actually the first projector used as a presentation device, before the overhead projector. The opaque projector displays non-transparent materials (unlike the overhead projector, which uses transparencies) by shining a bright lamp onto the object from above. A system of mirrors, prisms and/or lenses is used to focus the image of the object onto a viewing screen. Opaque projectors require brighter lamps and larger lenses than overhead projectors. Moreover, care must be taken that the materials are not damaged by the heat generated from the light source. Early opaque projectors were produced as low cost novelties for children. They were – and are – also marketed to artists, to project enlarged images onto canvases for tracing. Eventually they came into widespread use for lectures and presentations. Opaque projectors are great for projecting notes, pages from books, photos and artwork, or even thin three-dimensional objects. They come in especially handy for art a
