I have a pair of ~5x jeweler's lenses on a band that fits around your head, a lot like an optivisor (the lenses can be flipped up out of the way), which I find very useful for doing drawings with fine detail (I wear heavy duty prescription glasses and would find it really tough to switch between two sets of glasses). I find that having something I can add to my glasses works better than something I have to substitute for my glasses. The big-magnifier-on-a-stand approach is a lot less flexible, and as Bruce says it can get in the way. Another option is to buy a set of inexpensive (though not too cheap!) drugstore reading glasses and wear them over your prescription lenses -- great for close work; I use them all the time for sewing, etc. Hope this helps -- Margy N. Margaret C. Nelson, Ph.D. Rumford Graphics Scientific Illustration <[log in to unmask]> http://www.margynelson.com 124 1/2 Judd Falls Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607-257-7144 Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the instructions at http://citnews.unl.edu/presentmethods_lana/listserv/index.html