Desk reading lamps
Paperwork after dark? Read every line by daylight.
Go through your statements, forms and letters at any hour, with a desk reading lamp that puts the clarity of daylight across your whole page. It is dimmable, so you can set the brightness to suit your eyes.
Go through your statements, forms and letters at any hour, with a desk reading lamp that puts the clarity of daylight across your whole page.
Alex Pratt OBE | Founder
Or call free on 0800 032 9364, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm
Work late by our desk reading lamps
Figures look sharper from the first time you switch it on.
When paperwork gets harder in the evenings, most people put it down to their eyes, and leave more of it for the morning without ever deciding to. After forty years we can tell you it is usually the light. These are three of the changes owners tell us about.
Small print on forms and statements is easy to read.
You can read every figure on a bank statement or a form, down to the fine print at the bottom. On the HD Original and HD Pro, one turn of the ring shapes the beam from the small print to the whole page, with up to 7,200 lux on your paperwork.
Your whole sheet is lit evenly, from edge to edge.
The light spreads across all of your paperwork, so the figures at the edge of the page are as clear as the ones in the middle.
You stop reading the same line twice.
Dim it to the level that suits your eyes, and it comes back at that level the next time you switch it on. Print stays crisp to the end of the pile, and the arm holds where you put it, guaranteed for life.
The Serious Readers story
I built the first HD Light for my mum.
By 1988 our lights were already on production lines and in laboratories, and then my mum began losing her sight to macular degeneration. I built her the first High Definition home reading light so she could carry on reading, and stay independent, in her own chair.
Every light on this page descends from hers. You do not build a cheap lamp for your mum; you build the best one you can, and then you spend forty years making it better. That is still the rule for every desk light we make, and it is why we take the small print on your paperwork more seriously than anyone.
This is the difference on your page.
The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash…The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home…
The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash…The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home…
An ordinary bulb only looks white. It leaves gaps across the spectrum, and your eyes work to fill them in. We call that junk light. Daylight has no gaps, and Daylight Wavelength Technology™ rebuilds it with 98% colour accuracy, flicker-free. That is what makes a daylight desk lamp different from a brighter bulb.
An ordinary bulb only looks white. It leaves gaps across the spectrum, and your eyes work to fill them in. Daylight has no gaps. Daylight Wavelength Technology™ rebuilds it with 98% colour accuracy, flicker-free.
Customers living with AMD and cataracts tell us print looks sharper and higher in contrast under one. The home trial lets you check that against your own eyes.
See the desk lampsBuilt to be the best, not the cheapest.
We aim to build the best desk reading lamp there is, not the cheapest: a reliable tool for people who want the best light they can have.
Serious lights have been found in operating theatres, at the British Museum and in the Heathrow control tower, where fine detail and true colour matter. A warranty is only worth the company standing behind it, and ours has been building and repairing these lights for forty years. In 2025/26 alone we repaired or upgraded 1,350 of them.
A five-year warranty on the light, with a replaceable light engine inside it.
A lifetime warranty on the arm. The flexible arm holds wherever you bend it, for good.
The HD Original and HD Essential are hand-built in Aylesbury, around fifty a day. When something goes wrong, we repair it or we replace it.
▶ See how the light works
Find the best desk reading light for the way you work.
An ordinary desk lamp pools light in one bright patch, while a Serious Light spreads the full daylight spectrum evenly across your whole page. If you sit down to paperwork most days, study in the evenings, or live with AMD or cataracts, we built this for you. Most people choose the HD Original, as a floor light or a table light.
If you sit down to paperwork most days, or live with AMD or cataracts, we built this for you. Most people choose the HD Original, as a floor or a table light.
HD Original
It has the same daylight as the HD Pro, and it is the light most people choose. Shape the beam to fit your page, dim it to the level that suits your eyes, and both are just as you left them at your next switch-on, so the light is already right when you sit down.
It has the same daylight as the HD Pro. Shape the beam, set your level, and both are just as you left them at your next switch-on.
Perfect for the desk you work at every day.
From about 19p a night over the five-year warranty.
Start my 90-day home trialAbout 16p a night over the five-year warranty.
Start my 90-day home trialTry it at home for 90 days
5-year warranty, lifetime on the arm, and a replaceable light engine
Free delivery, and it arrives fully built
Arrives fully built, ready to use
UK delivery by DHL, £12.95
Hand-built in Great Britain
Quote at checkout or on the phone
Learn more about this light
Floor light specifications
Heavyweight (most popular): 152cm, 6kg, 23cm base.
Lightweight: 144cm, 3kg, 20cm base.
3,600 to 7,200 lux at 50cm depending on beam width. 98% CRI, 4,000K, 630 lumens. Flicker-free.
Replaceable light engine, 5-year guarantee, lifetime guarantee on the arm. 7.2 watts, pennies a week to run.
See our other models, or let us help you choose.
HD Pro
It is the only one of the three you can run from a remote or make fully cordless with its rechargeable battery, and you can add either when you order or at any time later. You shape the beam and dim it just as you do on the HD Original.
It is the only one of the three you can run from a remote or make fully cordless, when you order or at any time later.
Perfect for a desk with no spare socket, once you add the battery that runs it fully cordless.
From about 22p a night over the five-year warranty.
Start my 90-day home trialFrom about 19p a night over the five-year warranty.
Start my 90-day home trial90-day home trial
5-year warranty, lifetime on the arm, and a replaceable light engine
Free delivery
UK delivery by DHL, £12.95
Quote at checkout or on the phone
Click to view specifications
152cm, 4.8kg. Quick-change cordless battery in the base, arm slots out for servicing. Optional carpet feet.
Replaceable light engine, 5-year guarantee, lifetime guarantee on the arm. 7 watts, pennies a week to run.
HD Essential
Small print is easy again, in our simplest light: full Serious daylight with a fixed wide beam and a press-and-hold dimmer.
Our simplest light, with a fixed wide beam and a press-and-hold dimmer. You switch it on, you sit down, and you read.
Perfect for everyday reading and paperwork at your desk.
From about 16p a night over the five-year warranty.
Start my 30-day home trialFrom about 14p a night over the five-year warranty.
Start my 30-day home trial30-day home trial
5-year warranty, lifetime on the arm
Free delivery
UK delivery by DHL, £12.95
Hand-built in Great Britain
Quote at checkout or on the phone
Click to view specifications
Heavyweight (most popular): 152cm, 6kg, 23cm base.
Lightweight: 144cm, 3kg, 20cm base.
Replaceable LED bulb rated for three years of life, under a 5-year warranty on the light and a lifetime warranty on the arm. 6 watts, pennies a week to run.
Not sure which one? Answer five quick questions.
Tell us how you read, and we will point you at the right light.
What will you use your light for?
Choose all that apply
How do your eyes feel right now?
Choose one
What frustrates you about your current light?
Choose all that apply
Will it stay put, or move around the house?
Choose one
Once you are settled, do you mind reaching up to adjust it?
Choose one
For the way you read, we recommend
Not what you expected? Call free on 0800 032 9364 and an adviser will help you choose.
Not all light is the same.
We fuss over mattresses, diet and exercise, yet light rarely gets a thought. We have spent forty years on nothing else.
We have spent forty years on nothing but the light you work by.
An ordinary desk lamp can be bright and still leave print looking flat.
It is not only about brightness. An ordinary bulb gives out only part of the daylight spectrum, so print looks flat, colours look wrong and your eyes work harder to fill the gaps. That is junk light.
Read how the light works
Every word looks sharp under true daylight, indoors.
Daylight Wavelength Technology™ rebuilds the full spectrum of noon daylight with 98% colour accuracy, so black print turns crisp on white, down to the smallest type. See the independent research.
Aim the light exactly where you want it.
The head swivels through 350 degrees to bring the beam over your shoulder, slow-start technology fades it up gently, and every adjustment holds exactly where you set it.
Opticians say the right light matters as much as the right glasses.
More than 500 UK opticians recommend a Serious Light to their patients. These five say why.
Lighting has a huge impact on our ability to see. Serious Readers lights are well designed, simple to use, and provide accurate colour and detail representation.
Serious Reader Lights simulate strong natural daylight, relieving eye fatigue and improving reading. The range of styles, warranty and customer care means I recommend with confidence.
The clarity a Serious Readers lamp provides is second to none. Patients are amazed at the difference. Just like correct prescription glasses, the right lighting is so important.
Serious Lights are among the best I have come across. They provide natural, high quality light that improves comfort and clarity, easily adjusted to direct light exactly where needed.
The right light is as important as the right glasses. It reduces strain for close work, vital for anyone with cataracts or macular degeneration. Patients really appreciate the difference.
▶ Watch optometrist Tracey Taylor explain why.Watch an optometrist explain why.
Owners tell us what changed for them.
From more than 10,000 five-star reviews.
We now have 4. Once you've tried them, you can't revert to ordinary lamps.Mrs Fisher, Devon
▶ Hear what owners have to say.
“I have AMD and have not read a book for over 2 years. Now I have.”
Mrs Simmonds, Guildford
“It's like being given a new set of eyes.”
Mr Hurford, Lincolnshire
“Worth every penny. I wish I'd bought one years ago.”
Mr Ross, Bridlington
Household names and professionals read and work by Serious lights.
Household names read their scripts and manuscripts by it. Lifeboat crews, air traffic controllers and telescope engineers work under it.
The Serious Light that arrives at your door carries the same engineering.
Get the answers you need before you order.
Here are the questions people ask us most.
Which is the best desk lamp for reading?
For most people the best desk reading lamp here is the HD Original, and it is the one most of our customers choose. It shapes the beam, dims without steps and keeps both settings for next time, which covers almost every kind of reading. If you want one rule, the best reading light is the one that rebuilds daylight.
Pick the HD Pro instead if you want the remote or the cordless battery, and the HD Essential if you want our simplest light, with a fixed wide beam. All three are true daylight lamps carrying the same spectrum; what changes is how much control you get over it.
What makes these different from an ordinary lamp?
Two things set them apart. The first is the light itself: Daylight Wavelength Technology™ rebuilds natural daylight to 98% colour accuracy, which an ordinary bulb cannot manage at any brightness.
And the engineering that delivers it: a beam built to land on your page at reading distance, and dimmed to suit your eyes. Print stays sharp and colours stay true, however small the type. With the home trial, you can work by the light you use now and by ours in turn, and decide which you prefer.
Will it help with macular degeneration or cataracts?
Our lights are not medical devices. What they do is put far more usable light on your page.
Customers living with AMD, cataracts and poor eyesight tell us print looks sharper and higher in contrast under one. The home trial lets you find out with your own eyes.
Will it work in a home office?
Yes. It is built as a reading light for desk work: you aim the beam, so the daylight lands on your paperwork rather than bouncing off your screen.
For long stretches of reading at a desk, the difference shows at the end of the session rather than the start: the print is still sharp when you finish.
How bright is it, in numbers?
Measured at 50cm, the HD Original puts between 3,600 and 7,200 lux on your page, which makes it a powerful reading light. Narrow the beam for the smallest print and the light concentrates to 7,200 lux; spread it wide across your newspaper and it holds 3,600. Colour accuracy is 98% CRI, which is why print stays black and colours stay true.
The light engine is dimmable all the way down, so a bright desk reading lamp gives you the full amount for the smallest print and turns down for the rest.
The only real test is to try one at home, at your desk with your own paperwork. You have up to 90 days, and if it is not for you, we collect it free from any UK mainland address and refund you.
Start my 90-day home trialMore questions
Should I choose the floor light or the table light?
It depends on your desk. A table light stands on the desk itself and reaches over your paperwork, which is what most desk readers choose. A floor light stands beside the desk and does the same job without taking any desk space.
Both carry the same daylight, so choose by how much room you have on your desk.
How do the lights compare?
Every light here carries the same Daylight Wavelength Technology™ and the same 5-year warranty. What changes is the control you get over the beam: how you shape it, dim it and direct it. Here are the three side by side.
 Most popular HD Original Our most popular reading light
|
HD Pro Our most advanced light
|
HD Essential Daylight made simple
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | All-round reading | Cordless and remote | Plain and simple |
| Finishes | Black or Heritage White | Black only | Black or Heritage White |
| Beam | Adjustable, shapeable | Adjustable, shapeable | Wide, even, fixed |
| Dimming | Stepless with memory | Stepless with memory | Press-and-hold, with memory |
| Remote & cordless | ✕No. | ✓Yes, optional | ✕No. |
| Home trial | 90 days | 90 days | 30 days |
| Warranty | 5 years, lifetime arm | 5 years, lifetime arm | 5 years, lifetime arm |
| Table light price | From £299.99 | From £349.99 | From £249.99 |
| Floor light price | From £349.99 | From £399.99 | From £299.99 |
| Start my 90-day trial | Start my 90-day trial | Start my 30-day trial |
HD Original Our most popular reading light
HD Pro Our most advanced light
HD Essential Daylight made simple
What bulb does it take, and what does it cost to run?
All three reading desk lamps run on LED, which is why a lamp this bright costs pennies a week. The HD Original and HD Pro use a replaceable light engine rather than a bulb, and the HD Essential takes a replaceable LED bulb.
A bright reading lamp built this way runs cool enough to sit beside you all evening, and you are not up a stepladder changing a bulb every year.
Why do they cost more than an ordinary lamp?
You pay for the daylight spectrum, an arm and dimming that hold where you set them, a five-year warranty on the light and a lifetime warranty on the arm, and a forty-year-old company standing behind both. Most lamps are built down to a price, and we build ours to be repaired rather than thrown away. With the home trial, you can judge it at home, and if it is not for you, we collect it and refund you in full.
Is it a good study lamp?
If your studying means long evenings of reading and paperwork, yes: it is a study lamp that puts full daylight on your page, dims to the level that suits your eyes, and holds exactly where you set it.
It is a task lamp built for serious reading rather than decorating a desk, which is what the best lamp for studying has to do.
Is it bright enough for paperwork once it gets dark early?
Yes. It lights the whole sheet evenly with the full daylight spectrum with 98% colour accuracy, so the small print on a bank statement or a form stays sharp from one edge to the other, which matters more once the clocks go back and it is dark by five.
How long does delivery take?
UK delivery is by DHL tracked courier and usually takes two to three working days. It is free with your code.It costs £12.95, and you see that at the checkout before you pay.
The Original and Essential arrive fully built, and the Pro's arm simply slots into its base. Either way, you plug it in and read the same evening.
Sit down to your paperwork whatever the hour.
Judge it at your desk after the clocks go back, when it is dark by five.
Your code is applied for you at the checkout, and if the total does not show your offer, type the code into the discount box or quote it when you call.
Start my 90-day home trialTry it at home for up to 90 days. If it is not for you, we collect it free from any UK mainland address and refund you in full.
Or call free on 0800 032 9364, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm.