An color image reader according to the present invention includes a holding
glass for holding an object, the holding glass being a rectangular,
plate-like, flat member having a pair of long sides and a pair of short
sides perpendicular to each other at right angles, an illuminating unit
having an xenon lamp and a reflector both for illuminating the object
placed closely on one side of the holding glass, the xenon lamp emitting
light toward an irradiation range to irradiate the object, and the
reflector having a first reflection plane and a second reflection plane to
irradiate the irradiation range in a direction along the planes of the
holding glass from a direction opposite to a direction of the light
emitted from the xenon lamp, a reduction lens for providing an
image-forming characteristic to light reflected by the object on the
holding member illuminated by the illuminating unit, and a CCD sensor for
receiving the reflected light to which the reduction lens provides the
image-forming characteristic, and outputting an electrical signal
corresponding to the reflected light. Even though a document to be read is
formed by pasting two sheets and thus has a step, a shade can be prevented
from occurring in the step.
