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Shed Some Light on the Subject: Daylight Lamps

by Cathy Ellsaesser, posted on

Ah, light! Eleanor Roosevelt said, “It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.” So, if you are struggling with having enough light for all your sewing, crafting and reading needs, check out our line of Daylight lamps — they’re so much better than a candle!

Daylight’s range of lamps have been designed to meet the needs of different types of individual users. With models that offer a wide spread of light, long reach as well as more compact, focused lamps, they can light up just about anything. They also have a set of lamps designed for people on the move. Lightweight, foldable and portable, their USB rechargeable lamps are as bright as plug-in lamps.

Daylight lamps use high quality, daylight LEDs to ensure a bright light with high levels of contrast and perfect color matching. Most are dimmable. Designed with the needs of the user in mind these lights are easily positioned exactly where the light is needed.

Cathy’s Favorite Daylight Lamps

I have three of the Daylight lamps and just love them.

Daylight Smart Clip-on Lamp

Portable and lightweight, this rechargeable lamp easily clips onto your book, embroidery, or cross stitch frame, enabling you to see colors and details clearly while on the go. I use it on my desk to light my keyboard in the evening, rather than having to turn on the overhead light.

I also use this Clip-on Daylight lamp when I travel — as a passenger, of course! Since it is rechargable, it’s easy to use for anything that needs extra light. It works so much better than the dome light in the car, and doesn’t bother the driver as the light is much more focused on the task at hand. It’s perfect if you’re reading a book, doing a little hand sewing, working a crossword puzzle, etc. as you travel.

Slimline 3 Led Table Lamp

The third generation of the Daylight Slimline is ideal for seeing intricate work clearly and in detail. The aluminium shade emits a brighter light with a better diffusion. A four step dimmer allows brightness control. The slim clamp is non-obtrusive and comes in brushed steel for a sleek finish.

I have the Daylight Slimline clamped to my cutting/work table. I also have a window by that table, and LED can lights in the ceiling. However, I still use that additional lighting all the time. It still amazes me the difference that it makes!

Halo Magnifier 8D Lamp

Often just adding light is sufficient, but sometimes we also need magnification.

The Halo 8D is part of the Daylight Company’s range of magnifying lamps. It is a modern and compact, all-purpose, lightweight table magnifier providing 8 diopters (3.0X) magnification with a 20 diopters (6.0X) inset lens. Taking up a small place on your desk but powerful enough for working on projects that need close attention to detail. The daylight LEDs provide high contrast and accurate color matching. It is also foldable so it is ideal for travelling.

I use this Daylight lamp when I need to see some stitches up close — usually with a seam ripper in hand!

Seam ripper under magnification

I have a needle organizer that I should use to keep track of what needle is in my machine, but I’m often not disciplied enough to use it. So, I use the Halo 8D to verify the size of a sewing machine needle. The needle size is usually engraved on the needle in text so small you have to have a magnifier to see it. This Daylight lamp is perfect for that.

Daylight Wafer Light Boxes

Ultra bright, ultra slim, ultra light, the Daylight Wafer lightboxes are your must have tool for tracing, on paper or fabric. They are ideal for:

  • Tracing
  • Sketching
  • Stencilling
  • Calligraphy
  • Drawing
  • Embossing
  • Scrapbooking

The LED lightboxes are just 0.3″ thick (0.8cm). They provide even brightness from edge to edge with LED light that provides true color matching. In addition, the light is dimmable to suit paper weight and fabric thickness. The light box has handy marking guides on the sides in both inches and centimeters.

The light boxes come in three sizes (illuminated area shown):

  • 23.6″ x 18″ Daylight Wafer 3 Light Box
  • 12.6″ x 17″ Daylight Wafer 2 Light Box
  • 9″ x 12.5″ Daylight Wafer 1 Light Box

Specifications

  • Light source: LED
  • Lumens: 450
  • Colour temperature: 6,000° K
  • Energy consumption: 13.6W
  • Color: white / grey
  • LED rated life (hours): 50,000
  • Touch dimmer: continuous with memory function

I find my Wafer 3 Light Box indispensible for tracing patterns. It is so bright and lets sufficient light through so that you can see the pattern under most materials you are using to create your pattern, including most cotton fabric.

Another use that I have for it is to see exactly where my ScanNCut made the holes in the rhinestone template. Those cutouts are often hard to see once you’ve cut them with the ScanNCut. The Daylight Wafer box really helps you see those circles.

Rhinestone template on light box

Daylight Wafer Cutting Mats

Want to use a template to cut your fabric with a rotary cutter? Then just place the Wafer Cutting Mat on top of the light box with your template under the mat and your fabric on top and cut away.

Each light box has a corresponding self-healing cutting mat as an optional, additional purchase. The full size of the mat covers the lightbox from edge to edge. The grid and ruler along the two edges ensure accuracy.

But Wait, There’s So Many More

This blog just scratches the surface of the available Daylight lamps we carry. To see our full line of these lamps and our sale prices, please check out our product page for Daylight lighting. We do stock these lights, so come see us at any of our 4 locations and see what a difference good lighting makes!

So do your eyes a favor and be sure to work in good lighting. as Aaron Rose said, “In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”

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