Difference in R12 values of NorthLux 5000 bulbs and the Absolute Series 5000 strip

I was interested in purchasing a high CRI solution for a studio and noticed that there is a really big difference in R12 values between the NorthLux 5000 bulbs and the Absolute Series 5000 strip. Why is there such a big difference and what wavelength does R12 correspond to?

Depending on the underlying technology used, the R12 value can vary quite significantly.

​The R12 value corresponds to wavelengths centered at approximately 460 nm. The reason our 95 CRI products (such as our NorthLux lamps) have a lower R12 value is that they utilize a blue diode as its light engine, which creates some distortion at or around the peak blue wavelength around 450-460 nm. On the other hand, our ABSOLUTE SERIES LEDs use a violet diode as its light engine, which does not create as much distortion in the blue wavelength range as it has a peak violet wavelength of approximately 420 nm.

​We generally do not find that R12 is as critical of a color metric as R9 is, but for a color-critical studio application, the added color rendering benefit may be of interest to you.

For further reference, we would recommend the following resources:

• CRI/Ra test color samples (TCS), section titled "TCS 12"
• ABSOLUTE SERIES™ NEW SPECTRUM LED TECHNOLOGY, reference the first spectral diagram next to section titled "What's Different With ABSOLUTE™?"

Are there any issues with UV light from using the violet Diode?

Based on a strict definition of "UV" being wavelengths less than 400 nm, our ABSOLUTE SERIES LEDs do not contain any UV.
​
From a purely technical perspective, however, the violet wavelengths do contain a higher amount of energy, and may present a slightly higher risk. Depending on how sensitive the artwork pieces and materials are, you may want to keep that in mind.

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