Joyce Loeble Microdensitometer

Year: 198?
Manufacturer: Joyce Loeble – London (UK)
Materials: brass, steel, optical glass
Dimensions: L = 1100 mm, P = 700 mm; H = 500 mm

Produced in the 1980s in London, the Joyce Loeble microdensitometer is an automatic instrument for measuring the degree of blackening of photographic plates. Its operation is based on the comparison between two light beams: one of constant intensity passes through the plate, while the other, of variable intensity, is adjusted to match the transmitted light, precisely determining the blackening.

The instrument allowed two-dimensional measurement of the entire plate and could be used in combination with the graphic isodensitometer, which created maps of isodensity contours based on the collected data. An advanced device, indispensable for detailed analysis of photographic plates.