Artograph Tracer Projector

I bought this not as a toy but as a serious aid for my daughter in her A-level Art studies. The notion of this being a toy had escaped me till I wrote this review, which asked for ratings with reference to this item being a toy. I answered positively on all even though it is not a toy, as far as my daughter is concerned. This is a serious bit of useful kit for her. My daughter loves this tool -it works exactly as it is supposed to, and her results from start onwards have been completely what she wants. It provides very clear enlargements of even quite small pictures, and she is happily working on scaled-up images traced onto paper on which she shone the projected image. The optics are good enough to produce an image that is accurate enough for tracing work, and it is very easy to use and set up. It is reasonably robustly constructed. It should withstand minor knocks and bumps though as with all optical instruments, it's better to avoid the knocks and bumps. A good product which has fulfilled expectations. Highly recommended, AA

Better than expected, i use it for producing large stencils for airbrush artwork, will project an image that has better than expected detail no matter how much you enlarge it, would recommend

I'm not one for complaining unless there really is something to complain about! 1) This item is not fit for purpose 2) The images projected are blurred and can hardly be seen, despite trying to focus and alter the lens and height etc 3) Unless you're planning to paint in pitch darkness this projector will not work for you and even then it is debatable. 4) It's cheap and inferior, basically a box with a light bulb I could make my own up with a better result! 5) It was supposed to arrive yesterday and I wasted an entire day and evening waiting, it arrived this morning! 6) It arrived about 11 am and it will be on its way back by 12.30 noon!

Contrary to other reviews the projector does have a UK plug. Its very simple to use and did the job intended. My artist partner was able to project an image on to a large canvas and trace it to produce large size painting. This device is a sensible choice for the price given the cost of a quality electronic projectors. Focusing a sharp image was a little bit fiddly as the focus mount is not threaded.

This would be great for kids who are into art, or for doing murals on walls - But I wanted something the would make images smaller too - this doesn't. Overall - a waste of money for myself, but maybe it's just what you need if you just want to project an image onto a wall to trace/paint it. It's a cheap and cheerful projector - The focus mechanism is crude at best - basically you just push and pull the lens in and out, there's no thread, and it's not very well made (it feels cheap and flimsy), but it won't break too easily either, if that makes any sense? What I mean to say is, it's been built as cheaply as it could have been without being a piece of junk. For what I paid for it and what I got - well, robbed is how I'd put it. It does what it says I guess, but if I'd have been in a shop and opened the box and taken it out - I certainly wouldn't have paid what I did for it. It should be nearer the ten pound mark in my opinion.

sorry but no good

This item provides a very good service for a reasonable price. Very robust and provides a good projection in a dimly lit room. I have heard it damages photos with extensive use so i have made photo copies of pictures to use instead. I use a piece of wood to protect surfaces as the manual states it will damges surface although i have yet to find that the unit over heats. A very useful item to project work on canvas on a large scale. I reduce the size of the image to allow for smaller canvas. The only complaint was that the bulb was broken on arrival but i was lucky to get a replacement from a local shop.

After trying to get an inexpensive LED projector which was no good,I returned to this,my original choice.I now wish I'd saved myself the time and expense of the LED projector and ordered this at the start. It does what it is designed for very well.The bulb was broken on arrival but a quickly replied to email sorted it out and I got credit as compensation which will come in handy as I shop with Jacksons art anyway. The build quality is good enough and the lens is easy to focus and it didn't fall of as all it takes is moving the unit a little.Even print was easy to read. I have ordered a daylight bulb as a replacement as they are the brightest.All in all, I recommend this projector.

I will use this to draw a mural of The Tree Of Life with mystical dragonflies flying towards this tree and all around it. Dragonflies symbolise transformation and change.

cant Waite to use it

I'm giving this thing 5 stars because it works as expected and is great for hobbyists and small business. I am almost finished with a painting that I started using this thing. It is amazing for drawing accurate images. Don't listen to all the reviews about this thing running hot. Mine came with an energy efficient bulb, and I am soon going to replace it with a super bright LED bulb. Yes, it is dim with old incandescent bulbs, but why even bother with them when you can have 100W brightness with a cool LED or florescent bulb? You will need to work in a dark room to use this, just like any projector. If you're looking for a good deal, this is it. These sell at art stores for $120, and if you're into making backdrops, or murals, or just painting your kids walls, this thing works great. If you aren't willing to spend a few bucks to get a really good LED bulb, this will still work, but you will need to let your eyes adjust, especially if you are drawing or working on a canvas that isn't white. I STRONGLY urge you to buy a super bright LED bulb along with this. The brighter the better, within the wattage limits on this enlarger. The largest image you can copy from is a 5 inch by 5 inch picture. It sounds tiny, but all you have to do is get a picture or image you want to enlarge, and print it out using the computer to reduce it to a 5x5" picture. Grid your work out, and do one section at a time. I just finished an 8ft by 8ft backdrop using this method, and it worked great. I received a ton of compliments on the quality. If you have any questions about this thing, feel free to ask.

I placed it on top my iPad Pro on the brightest setting in a rather dark room and it cast a good enough image image that I was able to outline it with a pencil onto my canvas. I did this without plugging the machine in or turning on the lamp inside, just using the light of my iPad to cast the image. I get pretty good detail using this method. I’m able to get a very detailed image when I print it out on paper and turn on the machine’s lamp in a dark room. It’s not movie projector perfect but it’s certainly good enough for the job. So overall, the Tracer works great! It helps me set up the basic composition on the canvas much more quickly that the grid method!

It does mostly what I need. Glad I got it