Equipment Needed For Decoding Tagged Vs. Untagged

Hi all,
I currently dont study tagging, I will in later years when I am fully clued up, one thing I must stress though, please wear personal protective equipment, E.G= tinted glasses as I have known 2 people who have used UV lights for awhile and there eye sights go, not quite sure how it affects the person in question but just wanted to 'remind' all, (sorry, you will probably all know about how it can damage your eyes but im just trying to warn the new tagging enthusiast who might not be as clued up as the pro's), Take care all,
Turbo

Actually, the warning about wearing protective glasses/goggles applies only to the use of shortwave UV. Longwave UV use doesn't require such protection.

Like I said, I dont study tagging currently, and was only passing on vital information that I know from personal experience, thankyou for adding the extra information, to be on the safe side I would prefer to keep the glasses on for both as some UV lighting equipment have a switch to change from long to shortwave, better to be safe than sorry. Take care and all the best,
Turbo

It is true that looking directly at UV lights is bad for your eyes, as the UV light produces high energy photons. Most philatelic UV lights are low power, and we typically only have it on for a few seconds at a time.

But your warning is always good. I was involved in research using high power UV lights at one time. One of my coworkers did not heed the warnings, and actually suffered noticeable vision loss after only a couple of months.

One rule to always follow, even though using low power philatelic UV lamps: do not allow the UV light to hit a metal surface, as it will either reflect efficiently or absorb and re-emit a high energy photon. Also, avoid putting the stamp on reflective/glossy surfaces to examine. I typically put the stamps on a piece of cardboard (non-corrugated).

KHJ,
Very important information also! well spotted my friend, also I personally like the fact you were involved in research about this, so who better to comment on this topic ey?
Turbo

Long term exposure to long-wave UV light is still not good. When using research grade long-wavelength UV lamps, it is still recommended to wear protective eyeware and long sleeves for prolonged research times.

For US stamps, you must use short-wave, so long-wave is not an option.

Again, the philatelic lamps are low power, so the risk is minimal. However, it is better to develop good habits than to practice bad habits. So at least observe my warning about avoiding reflective/re-emitting surfaces.

Also I forgot to mention that time product makers in China made nock-off versions of the universal UV light Lamp, (the one where you can switch to short or long wave by pressing a button), they actually mixed up the switch, once you selected short wave it was actually emitting long wave and vice versa, hence the warning to all,
Turbo

Um, and a good lamp for GB would be?

Hi Jan,
Sorry I dont do tagging at present and so do not feel confident to suggest a lamp for you, I suggest you wait for KHJ to post as I believe he will have more knowledge than myself, hope you understand Jan, Have a great day ahead,
Turbo

Jan,
I have looked into UV lights for you and have found this link, if you click on the link you may find it useful,
http://www.stamp-shop.com/philateli...lies.html#uv

Turbo

I don't know about current or foreign issues, but we just used the black lights above our posters when I was young.

I have read that a "black light" is not sufficient for the detection of tagging on stamps. I suspect such a light would work in many instances, but it could likely fail to detect lightly tagged stamps. I know from experience that detecting tagging sometimes requires a GOOD UV lamp. I have purchased & returned better than 2 dozen stamps that were supposedly untagged ... all of which proved to be tagged, albeit many of them only faintly.

I collect plate number coil stamps, so a short-wave UV light is indispensable for me in finding some varieties. Some U.S. coil stamps are also long-wave reactive, but I do not have a light for those.

My short-wave light is a Lighthouse L85.

what about the old standby "flourescent black light" usually these can be picked up at garage sales for dirt cheap...not swithable, but they should be good for something other than making "WHAM" shirts glow on the dance floor.

The consumer grade "black lights" are broad spectrum, but very weak in the short wavelength spectrum that is needed to make the US tagging glow. They would not be suitable for detecting US tagging as they will make more than your shoelaces/jeans glow -- in many cases the glow of the paper would mask any tagging glow. You really need a filtered UV lamp or a philatelic grade UV lamp.