D50 Color Viewing * D65 Color Matching * Overhead Luminaires * Daylight Cabins * Neural Grey Paint * Simultaneous ColorViewing * D50 D65 Relamp Kits * ISO 3664 * ISO 3668
The Status of Fluorescent Lamps in Critical Color Matching and Viewing Applications
Update October 14, 2022
GTI is the leading provider of lighting systems for critical color viewing. Since the beginning, in 1975, we have operated with the highest amount of integrity. We do not release products without a thorough testing and beta process, all of our products conform to industry standards, and we don’t overhype the performance of our products – we let their performance speak for itself. In other words, we are not just another supplier of lighting booths; we are a company that you want to partner with to help make your business successful. Recently there has been a lot of noise about banning fluorescent lamps for use in color viewing booths. GTI would like to try to clear up this confusion.
There is not a plan in place by the US federal government or Department of Energy to ban fluorescent lamps.
In conjunction with our manufacturing partner GTI controls the production and inventory of our lamps. We are confident that there will be an adequate supply of fluorescent lamps for many years to come.
The European Union has published a Restriction of Hazard Substances (RoHS) directive that states that lamps that contain mercury and are to be used for general purpose lighting may not be put in use after August 24, 2023. This does not apply to lights used in color viewing booths.
There is an exemption until February 24, 2025 for lamps manufactured for critical color viewing applications. This includes the graphic arts (D50) and industrial color (D65) markets.
GTI believes that this exemption will be further extended due to the specialized nature of the lamps and the niche market that they serve.
The decision on exemptions and on the duration of possible exemptions should take into account the availability of substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of substitution. While there are numerous LED light sources on the market, nearly all of them do not comply with the relevant lighting standards, and therefore, are not legitimate substitutions for fluorescent daylight color viewing systems.
Directive 2011/65/EU dated June 8, 2011 is the primary EU regulation relating to restricting hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment sold in the European market.
Article 4(1) states that EEE (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) placed on the market does not contain the restricted substances contained in Annex II.
– Mercury greater than 0.1% concentration is listed in Annex II as a restricted substance.
– As stated in the Safety Data Sheet, GTI’s fluorescent lamps contain <0.1% of mercury concentration.
– In conclusion, one can assume that GTI’s lamps will not be restricted in the EU.
Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 dated October 1, 2019 specifies ecodesign requirements for light sources used in the EU. This regulation specifically exempts ”…light sources … for laboratory use or quality control applications for the evaluation of coloured surfaces and materials under standard viewing conditions (e.g. standard illuminants)…”
GTI’s LED solutions currently include our complete line of D50 CVX viewing systems and any Graphiclite luminaire that uses 48” lamps. We also offer 3000K, 3500K, and 4000K LED lamps for multi-source viewers to assist with metamerism testing and the viewing of products in their end user environments. Obviously, GTI is excited about the potential of LED technology and looks forward to further implementing it into our product portfolio as it matures and stabilizes. You can be sure that when we release a new product it is 100% ready and will meet industry viewing standards.
We encourage you to learn about the benefits of LED lamps (longer life, less energy usage, and quicker warm up time), conduct an ROI analysis, and then implement LED in your workflow when you are ready to. There is plenty of time to make an informed decision. If you have any questions about GTI’s LED products, please contact us.
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D50 and D65 ColorViewing Products
Used Products
Clearence Products
Trade Show products
D50 ColorViewing Systems
D50 Color Viewing systems from GTI are compliant with the D50 ISO 3664:2009 standard. GTI´s standardized lighting products provide high quality artificial daylight to make visual color judgements with accuracy and reliability to the graphic, packaging and photographic industry.
D65 ColorMatching Systems
D65 lighting products from GTI are compliant with the international standards ISO 3668, ASTM D1729 und SAE J361. All D65 standardized artificial daylighting systems from GTI enable aesthetic color evaluation, color inspection and color matching especially for the entire producing industry.
Simultaneous-Color-Viewing
The Color-Rendering-Demonstrator (CRD-1) is an educational light box to demonstrate the different appearance of color from identical colored samples under different light sources. For testing visual color harmony under four different light sources side by side the Simultaneous-Color-Viewer (SCV) is the perfect tool.
Why GTI ColorViewing products?
GTI (Graphic Technology Inc.) is one of the leadest manufacturers of standardized D50 and D65 color viewing systems and lamps. High light quality D50 lamps for the graphic industry (artificial daylight with 5000 Kelvin color temperature) and D65 lamps for the producing industry (artificial daylight with 6500 Kelvin color temperature).
What provides GTI?
GTI provide ColorViewing products, mobile color matching boxes, overhead luminaires for large color viewing solutions and wall viewing systems for aesthetic, perfect color viewing conditions. All color viewing systems and lamps are compliant to the ISO 3664:2009, ISO 3668:2001 and ASTM D1729 standards.
About GTI D50
and D65 lamps.
A properly designed ColourViewing system / ColorMatching system takes into account the performance and colour quality of the lamps. To ensure excellent colour rendering and close visual tolerance, all GTI colour viewing systems use our D50 Graphiclite 100 lamps and all our color matching systems use the D65 ColorMatcher lamps. GTI D50 Graphiclite 100 lamps and the D65 ColorMatcher lamps are manufactured with a unique blend of fluorescent phosphors that no other 5000/6500 Kelvin lamp in the industry can match. GTI lamps produce true full spectrum white light that reproduces colors with the highest accuracy and efficiency.
GTI´s Graphiclite 100 ColorViewing lamp produces an color rendering index (CRI) of approximately 95.
GTI´s D65 ColorMatcher lamps produces an CRI of 98 rating of B/C based on CIE Standard 15.2 and Publication 51, one of the highest in the industry.
GTI viewing systems include a reflector, diffuser, cabin structure, lighting geometry and D50 Graphiclite 100 lamps / D65 ColorMatcher lamps. A change in the formulation of this system may result in a slight color cast that affects the color evaluation, resulting in a viewing environment that is not ISO compliant. To maintain an ISO 3664:2009 (D50) respective ASTM D1729 (D65) compliant ColorViewing system, use only GTI D50 Graphiclite 100 / D65 ColorMatcher lamps and change lamps regularly.
Why is neutral gray specified and
important when color viewing?
It eliminates the “simultaneous color contrast”. For example, a red pattern on a blue background has an orange tinge. For the eye to see the color accurately, the environment must be chromatically neutral. It minimizes the “color contamination” of the viewing areas caused by reflections from chromatic surfaces. When the D50 or D65 standard illumination is refelected from colored walls, etc., the color quality changes to no longer “standard”. Applying neutral gray tone to chromatic surfaces eliminates such color contamination by providing spectrally neutral surfaces around the viewing area.
Three shades of grey!
Neutral grey Munsell N5 N7 N8
Not all shades of gray are neutral! A “neutral” gray is not simply a black and white mixture, but an equal mixture of all spectral colors (r-o-y-g-b-i-v). A spectrophotometric measure of such a gray tone shows that it contains approximately equal amounts of these spectral colors. Non-neutral shades of gray, however, have unequal amounts of spectral colors, causing a cold or warm color shift in different lighting conditions. Graphiclite® Standard Gray Neutral is in neutral environmental conditions specified in the color standards.