Meiji Microscopes

Meiji Techno Co., Ltd. is the third-largest manufacturer of optical microscopes in Japan. In 1964, Azuma Optics Co., Ltd. was founded as a contract manufacturer of microscopes and quickly established a reputation for high quality and fast delivery. In 1975, the company reformed into Meiji Techno Co., Ltd. and began selling microscopes directly to the public under the name Meiji Techno.

Originally a manufacturer of educational microscopes, Meiji Techno has since extended product lines into the industrial, laboratory, and higher education markets. Meiji products are sold throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas by agents or distributors authorized by Meiji Techno Co., Ltd., or the American subsidiary Meiji Techno America.

Some of Meiji’s product line includes stereo, compound, inverted, metallurgical gemological and video microscopes. It also offers an accessory selection that includes 35mm, video and digital cameras, filters, illuminators and many more options.

For many applications the ability to capture, display, and preserve specimen images is of equal or greater importance than actually viewing the specimen through the eyepieces. Photomicrography (35mm and other chemical formats) has been a common option on microscopes for decades, but the recent development of relatively inexpensive CCD (charged couple device) video and digital cameras has greatly increased both the popularity and flexibility of microscope imaging. Instead of clicking through slides during a lecture, university professors can now display real-time video images on projection televisions; petroleum geologists can e-mail images of core samples to their laboratories from remote locations around the world; oncologists can refer to CD or on-line catalogues of cell images to help them make faster and more accurate diagnoses. Whether your application calls for 35mm, large-format Polaroid, video, or digital imaging, Meiji Techno can provide you with the appropriate microscope and accessories.

Meiji Techno America was incorporated as a subsidiary of Meiji Techno Co., Ltd. in 1986, distributing Meiji Techno products and offering technical assistance to customers throughout the United States, Canada, and South and Central America. Originally located in Woburn, Massachusetts, Meiji Techno America moved to San Jose, California in December of 1991 and more recently expanded to a larger facility in Santa Clara, California as of January 2006.
Over the years, Meiji Techno America has developed a diverse network of over 240 knowledgeable dealers with expertise in many specialized applications.

No matter where you are located or what your requirements are, Meiji Techno has the products and expertise to help you attain your microscopy goals

Author Name: Rowland Brasch: Nationalmicroscope.com

Meiji Microscopes

Cleaning your microscope

Customer often ask what they can do to keep their microscopes clean and in good working condition. Listed below are some questions raised along with our suggestions:

Question: What can I use to clean the lens on my microscope?

Answer: Lens cleaning fluids are the best. Use lens paper if available - the type for reading glasses works well. We suggest not using kleenex-type tissue as it is very "dusty" and will leave a lot of lint on the lens. Make sure the first tissue is wet with lens cleaner in case there are bits of glass from the slides on the lens that scratch it.

2. Question: What do I use to clean the body of the microscope?

Answer: We have tried many products over the years but have found that 409 cleaner seems to do the best job and does not damage the finish. Try not to get it into the bearings on the stage or focus assembly as it will dilute the lubrication.

3. Question: Lint seems to be a real problem on the eyepieces. How do I remove it without always having to use lens cleaner and papers?

Answer: Get some canned air from a computer or office supply store. Spray the compressed air at the eyepieces and that should remove most of the dust. Do not shake the can as you spray because you will cause the propellant in the can to come out of the nozzle and coat the lens. If you do, you will have to use the lens cleaner to remove this coating. Just hold the can still and spray. Remember that a lot of the particles you see on the eyepieces are from your eyes. They are flakes of dead skin that drop off your eyelids every time you blink.

4. Question: It is hard to see through the 40X or the 100X objectives. What could be the problem?

Answer: On most microscopes the 40X and 100X objective's front lens is slightly concave in design. This causes problems when users go to clean the objective. If you only use lens paper and cleaner you will not get to the contamination that has built up in the concave portion of the objective. Our recommendation is to use a soft cotton swab (Q-tip) to clean the objective. First, wet it with lens cleaner and make a soft drilling motion into the concave portion of the front lens. Next, use a dry swab and make the same motion to dry the lens. You may have to perform several repetitions of this procedure to truly clean the lens.

If this does not help then you may have oil inside of the objective itself, and it will either need to be sent to the manufacture for repair or you might have to replace the objective with a new one. The reason the oil penetrates the objective is due to either not cleaning off the oil after usage or leaving the objective in oil on the slide after reading it. Always clean the oil off the objective after each use.

Cleaning your microscope