Lighting For Press Console

[cheetoh]

What bulbs are recommended for the lighting of the Press Console? I run a 6 color Heidelberg. The Bulbs in Console overhead light are old and not the original bulbs. When comparing a Color proof to the printed sheet, most of the time the Paper looks real Yellow, When I take the Proof and Press sheet to another color booth, The paper looks very White, totally differant. Just wondering what the recommended bulbs are.

[spigot]

Ask Heidelberg, they have a recommended part that accompanies the press. We use "daylight equivalent" bulbs that are white, if not a tiny bit blueieh. I think they measure up to 5000k, which is the standard. Although i could be wrong on that.

[BeauchampT]

There are special types of tapes you can get to check for metamerism. Essentially it is a solid or striped colour, that, under proper lighting (5000k) appears uniform. Under any other lighting, you will get what appears to be two different colours. You can find these with several companies (the ones that I have used were all through Epson).

[QualityPrint]

Check out a company called GTI at GTI Color Viewing Products and Systems. That is where we get ours from.

[tamale]

The standard is GE Chroma 50 or Sylvania 5000K

GE has all the information on there web site, just google GE Chroma 50.

Tamale

[pacart]

the new pantone formula guides have the metamerism guides on the very last page.

[Bob_McC]

Good question.

The recommendation is that all critical color viewing locations (press room, pre-press, client viewing, etc.) comply with ISO 3664:2009 - the international standard that specifies the conditions (lighting & surround) you should be using to make critical color judgments and comparisons under.

While it would be nice if the standard simply said that you should use a specific lamp for viewing color, it would not be able to ensure consistent color appearance without specifying many more parameters (like intensity, uniformity, surround colors, geometry of illumination). I have attached a summary of the viewing standard to this message for your reading pleasure.

We have a range of Graphiclite D50 color viewing lamps available and most likely one will work well in your press luminaire. Best approach would be to see what lamp you are currently using (there should be a listing like "F32T8/GL50" that locks in on the lamp wattage and the lamp length) and see what is available to replace it.

Your timing is quite good as the ISO standard has change recently so many printers and print clients are changing their lamps to comply with the new version of the standard.

Sine this is our favorite subject we have lots more information right here What’s new in the ISO 3664 standard? | GTI Graphic Technology, Inc.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like any more information.

Bob

[cheetoh]

WELL, the CONSOLE cabinet says to use these bulbs: T-26, 36W, G-13, I haven't found any information on bulbs with these numbers...... so I am still lost.

[Bob_McC]

Since the press is from Germany, the 36 watts would indicate a 4' T8 (1" diameter) lamp.

You will get good results with our F32T8/GL50 lamps. These are 32 watt lamps that fit into the 36 watt circuit and provide a very good spectral output - they should correlate much better with your color booth and with the ISO standard.

How many lamps does your console require?

You can get these from your graphic arts supplier however just to give you an idea of pricing, an 8 pack is a model L832 and sells for $200. You may also buy a pack with any number of lamps you need (for example a 4 pack is a model L432 and sells for $110 while a 3 pack is a model L332 and sells for $85).

Hope this helps.

Bob

[cheetoh]

Thank you Bob, This is what I needed!!