Toward Practical Spectral Imaging beyond a Laboratory Context

A portable, user-friendly multispectral imaging system assembled almost entirely of common photography equipment and open-source software has been developed. The system serves as an outreach and educational tool for demonstrating and promoting scientific imaging as a more routine practice in the contexts of cultural heritage digitization and photography. These efforts are aimed primarily at institutions where advanced imaging technologies are not already found, and where funding and expertise may limit access to commercial, bespoke multispectral imaging solutions that are currently available. The background and theory that were shared in tutorials given during the system’s initial testing campaign are detailed here. Testing was carried out in one-day on-site visits to six cooperating institutions of different sizes and collection types in the northeast USA. During these visits, the imaging system was presented, and the benefit of collecting spectral data using low barrier-to-entry capture and processing methods relative to conventional imaging methods was discussed. Imaging was conducted on site on selected collections objects to showcase the current capabilities of the system and to inform ongoing improvements to the setup and processing. This paper is a written companion piece to the visits, as a source of further detail and context for the two-light imaging system that was described and demonstrated.