A densitometer is a device for measuring the density of a piece of film or a print. Densitometers contain a light source and a light detector, similar to a light meter. Densitometers that measure film density are called transmission densitometers because they measure how much light passes through the film at a particular location.
Densitometers that measure prints are called reflection densitometers because they measure how much light is reflected off the surface of the print at a particular location.
Densitometers that measure prints are called reflection densitometers because they measure how much light is reflected off the surface of the print at a particular location.