On the use of hand-held magnifiers during reading

Little is known about the actual use of magnifiers (or loupes) during reading. In studying the influence of the use of magnifiers on the reading process the reading field is a relevant factor. Four reading fields are distinguished: three horizontal reading fields and the vertical reading field. We examined the influence of a variation in the widths of these fields on the reading behavior of subjects. This was done by measuring two-dimensional loupe movements while subjects read text under conditions that provided a variety of reading field widths. It was found that individual subjects use different reading- field widths depending on loupe dimensions. Most difficulties in reading with a magnifier, especially finding the beginning of a new line, appear to result from the need to move the loupes horizontally in order to read the complete line of text.