10-58 I E S LIGHTING HANDBOOK

difficult seeing task in a modern office. The paper often is of poor quality
and the characters nearly illegible, especially on sixth or seventh carbon
copies, which are not uncommon. Contrast is likely to be very poor.
Higher illumination is necessary if acceptable visibility is to be obtained.
One hundred footcandles is recommended for this type of seeing task.
In order to provide this illumination on the work the use of supplementary
lighting is recommended.
The luminaires should have low brightness so as to avoid specular re-
flections. The light sources should be shielded from the direct view of the
operator and others in the room. Where the operation requires rapid
switching of visual attention between the machine and the work, it is
desirable to have the brightness of the machine approximate that of the
work.
Reading results on dials. The reading of the dials of business machines
may be difficult, particularly when the dials become worn. Often the best
way to solve this problem is by building a light source into the structure of
the machine.
Machine finishes. Though most office machines such as typewriters,
addressographs, billing machines, and so forth have some glossy external
parts that reflect incident light in such a manner as to annoy an operator,
some recent models may be obtained with a higher-reflectance mat finish
than has previously been considered standard. Glaring reflections from
flat specular surfaces can be overcome by proper orientation of the lumi-
naires, but convex specular surfaces such as rods, buttons, and bands may
cause trouble regardless of the luminaire orientation. Dark finishes have
been almost universal, yet, between white papers in or about the machine
and the dark machine surfaces, undesirable contrasts result that may be
very fatiguing to an operator. Dark desk tops also can be a source of visual
discomfort. It is recommended that all polished specular surfaces be
eliminated from machines. It is recommended also that the machines
themselves, as well as the desk tops on which they are installed, be finished
in "light" colors (reflectance of the order of 30 to 35 per cent).
Files
General correspondence files often are arranged in a rectangle around a
file clerk's sorting desk. This permits easy access to the files and allows a
general overhead lighting system to illuminate the desk, the vertical faces
of the files, and the opened drawers. The general lighting system should
provide not less than 30 footcandles on the work plane. (See Fig. 10-38.)
The seeing problem for ordinary correspondence and card files is concerned
with inclined and vertical surfaces, and the seeing is by means of brightness
and color contrasts. Though much file material is white, colored stock
often is used. Such surfaces may be satisfactorily illuminated by a well-
diffused, general-lighting system of the indirect or semi-indirect type, or by
a direct large-area, low-brightness source. This type of illumination results