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Need lights recommendation for our new shop.

bigben

Not a newbie
So we just moved to our new place. I need recommendation for lights. In the shop, we currently have 8 ft fluorescent tube and we got a 10ft ceiling. In the production/office area, we only have a couple traditional edison bulbs with a 8ft ceiling. Ideally, I would like to have the best lighting possible in the production/office to be able to see the right colors and don't miss imperfection. In the shop, I just want a good light that don't make the buzz sound like the fluorescents.

So, what do you suggest? Thank you.
 

Billct2

Active Member
You should check with your utility/state to see if there are any rebate programs. We upgraded to all new led fixtures and the state/utility picked up half the cost.
The color is way better than the old florescent tubes we had.
 

CanuckSigns

Active Member
You want some D50 led bulbs, I had an electrician buddy install some for me over our work benches, super bright and since they are D50, they are the right colour temperature for printing. I think I paid about $300 each installed for 8 foot lights.
 

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
I just went though this and tried a bunch of different LED lights, 3 different round high bays, 2' and 4' linear, different wattages, different manufacturers and was not impressed by any of them. We ended up putting in Howard 6 bulb 5000k T5 lights with reflectors. At least with those, when they go out, you can buy any T5HO ballast and bulbs and not have to replace the fixture. With the LEDs, you better hope they are still making the same ones when one goes bad or you will have mismatched lights. They lose intensity over time just the same as fluorescents too and the electrical consumption difference is negligible.
These here and they came with the bulbs, cant beat the price either https://www.wholesalecontractorsupply.com/HighBay-Shop-T5-Lighting-Fluorescent-FHB654F-p/fhb654f.htm
 

bigben

Not a newbie
You should check with your utility/state to see if there are any rebate programs. We upgraded to all new led fixtures and the state/utility picked up half the cost.
The color is way better than the old florescent tubes we had.
I will definitely do.
You want some D50 led bulbs, I had an electrician buddy install some for me over our work benches, super bright and since they are D50, they are the right colour temperature for printing. I think I paid about $300 each installed for 8 foot lights.
Do you have a link for a specific model just to give me an idea?
 

johnnysigns

New Member
We have higher ceilings, but we've been adding the UFO round LED lights to phase out our flourescent fixtures.
 

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
Yeah this is what we got, very bright, works great. https://www.viscor.com/en/products/lcom

The CRI is only 80.
For printing, you want at least 90 or higher.

This is more critical for colour matching applications such as hard proofing.
but it helps when trying to hit specific colours by eye.

For most print shops here, it won't make a huge difference. But when we went to D50 tubes (CRI 90-95) it was literally day and night in colour representation.
 

Retro Graphics

New Member
i was just looking this info up. I"m about to frame and wire my garage so I can have plenty of electric and lighting for wraps and other work and was wondering what lights would be good for overall lighting but with a low profile? I keep thinking how I want to be able to see the bottom section of vehicles clearly so maybe putting some tube lights vertical along the walls and corners and something along the ceiling. Unfortunately my ceiling isn't very high so that's where the low profile issues comes into play.

I did just rewire my basement and put new lighting in, I didn't know about what was best for color matching but they are adjustable, and i set them all to 6700k lol, it's like bright white daylight all the time.
 
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