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High CRI T8 LED Tube Lights for a Print Company
I am working for a print company and I am looking to switch out the old fluorescent T8 bulbs with LEDs. Around the press, it is important to have a light that is as close to daylight as possible so that the pressman can accurately gauge how the colors are coming out and make adjustments as needed. I am wondering what the best bulbs for this application would be. I am assuming that a bulb with a high CRI would be best but any ideas on what would work best would be appreciated.
Our high CRI T8 LED lamps sound like a great fit for the application. You are absolutely right that high color rendering (CRI) would be very important in your installation in order to ensure that color appearances can be judged accurately against a daylight color standard.
Specifically, we find that most of our customers in printing industries strive to adhere to the ISO D50 standards, which defines a very particular color point for natural daylight calibrated to 5000K. Below is some additional information on D50 which you may find useful:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/color-matching/what-is-d50-for-graphic-arts-printing
Below is our T8 LED tube light product which is calibrated to the ISO D50 standard:
These lamps will fit in standard 4-ft fluorescent fixtures, and the fixtures do not require any further modifications as long as the fluorescent ballast is listed as a compatible product here.
Will I be able to double end direct wire these bulbs. We have been replacing the old fluorescent bulbs in the building with LED and have been going the direct wire route. I would prefer to keep these the same as all the others so there is no confusion if anything has to be changed.
The lamps are indeed compatible with double-ended direct wire configurations. Furthermore, they can be used with both shunted and non-shunted tombstones, so we should be covered with whatever wiring configuration you already have in place. (We wholeheartedly agree that maintaining consistency across all of the fixtures is a great idea from a safety and maintenance perspective!)
I've linked to our installation manual below, which includes instructions on permissible wiring configurations:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/datasheets/UM_4024.pdf
The ballast is quite old and is not listed on your compatible ballast list. I've attached a picture of the ballast in hopes that you could let me know if the bulbs will work with our setup. As well the fixture has safety starters for each bulb which I assume should be removed before the LEDs are put in, is that correct?
You are correct that the ballast is not listed on a compatible ballast list, and as such, unfortunately this would not be a permissible installation method and would void the warranty on the product.
You are also correct that the safety starters would need to be removed.
We completely understand the desire to go with a plug-and-play installation, and regret that we are unable to support use with the older fluorescent ballast model.
We would perhaps recommend rewiring a single fixture first to test out our lamps, and if you and your employees are happy with the light color, accuracy and brightness, proceed with the rewiring work for the remaining fixtures.
Question posted under:
T8 LED tube lightsLED tube lights (LED T8 bulbs & lamps)D50 (printing, digitizing)
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