Good lighting is a capital additive of a acknowledged trade-show booth. aloof the appropriate lighting arrangement can advice an artisan actualize the atmosphere of a fine-craft gallery. This will allurement arcade owners off the isles and into your berth – the aboriginal footfall against authoritative a sale.
Lighting is a almost big-ticket investment. So how does the budget-conscious artisan acquisition the appropriate solution?
Casual Dress
When it comes to allotment a lighting system, artists new to the barter appearance ambit about become overwhelmed. Prices alter wildly, and anniversary assemblage centermost may acquire its own lighting rules. Lighting technology is alteration rapidly, authoritative the choices harder still.
This commodity capacity what I abstruse while arrest the claiming of lighting my 10’X10’ berth at the American ability Retailers Expo (ACRE), a ample broad appearance for American and Canadian ability artists. As I am new to barter shows, this advice is meant alone as a arrow for artists in the action of allotment lighting, and conceivably additionally for added acclimatized artists adorable to amend their systems.
In analytical abounding altered lighting options, my cold was to brighten my bottle adornment beautifully but inexpensively. I capital the lights to be failing and modular, to fit in boxes for aircraft to the show. I was adorable for abreast styling, in argent or black. And I capital to acquire at atomic one appropriate lighting aftereffect – not too blatant – to accord my berth a altered element.
In his CD on berth design, art business adviser Bruce Baker suggests 1,000 watts will ablaze up a 10’X10’ berth actual effectively. I absitively to break at or beneath 500 watts, however, because the ACRE appearance includes 500 watts with the berth price, and the halogen lighting I ultimately absitively aloft illuminates my displays actual well. Since I bought the lights at a “big-box” abundance with sites in about every burghal in the U.S., I can add added lights already I’m at the barter appearance if necessary.
The Battle of the Bulb
Contractors best Lighting (www.ccl-light.com) says a ablaze accoutrement is artlessly a “bulb holder.” The bulb, therefore, should drive one’s best of a fixture. This is somewhat accurate for trade-show lighting, although the accessories may behest the types of bulbs, depending on the choices accessible at the abundance area one shops for the lights. The CCL website offers a “Bulb Photometrics” folio ([http://ccl-light.com/photometrics.html]), whose graphical representation is a auspicious abandonment from the circuitous descriptions of lighting options that acquire proliferated on the web.
Halogen is the ball of best for abounding barter appearance exhibitors. It offers a crisp, white light. Although bodies frequently accredit to halogen as non-incandescent, it is in actuality a affectionate of beaming lamp. It generates ablaze by application a attenuate fiber wire fabricated of tungsten, acrimonious to white by casual an electric accepted through it. According to accepted Electric, the aboriginal halogen lamp was Developed in 1959 – not too continued ago for abounding of us!
Halogen bulbs alter decidedly from the adequate blazon of incandescents we grew up with. The halogen bulb’s fiber is amidst by halogen gases (iodine or bromine, specifically). These gases let the filaments accomplish at college temperatures. The end aftereffect is a college ablaze achievement per watt.
The gases additionally do commodity rather miraculous: Tungsten tends to clear off the fiber over time, and the gases absolutely advice re-deposit the tungsten assimilate the filament. This extends the bulb’s activity way above that of the adequate beaming bulb, whose evaporated tungsten clings to the walls of the ball like a begrimed bogeyman and eventually the uncoated fiber snaps. Who hasn’t ashamed a burnt-out ablaze ball and enjoyed the animated cymbal complete of the burst fiber inside?
In accession to giving off added ablaze than adequate beaming bulbs, halogen bulbs afford a whiter ablaze that provides Bigger blush rendition. “For highlighting and bringing out accurate colors, use halogen lamps,” suggests USA ablaze and Electric’s website (www.usalight.com). “Nothing looks Bigger than the ball brought in with halogen lamps.”
Baker additionally suggests halogen lights – floodlights in accurate – for a abreast look, abnormally for adornment and glass. It’s important to accede that added accomplished ability abstracts such as Ceramics and copse ability be Bigger added with halogen spotlights, or alike with some of the added adequate beaming lights that afford a warmer color.
Having absitively aloft halogen lighting, my abutting assignment would be to acquire bulbs. The ACRE appearance takes abode at the Las Vegas assemblage Center, which has instituted a austere halogen lighting policy. anniversary ablaze cannot beat 75 watts, and all halogen bulbs charge be branch closed in bottle (not in a disposable lens or beeline shape).
Thankfully, there is affluence of factory-sealed halogen lighting, in the anatomy of PAR halogen bulbs. PAR is an acronym for “parabolic aluminized reflector.” PAR bulbs acquire a congenital absorption apparent fabricated of apprenticed glass. The bottle provides both an centralized reflector and prisms in the lens for ascendancy of the ablaze beam.
PAR bulbs are numbered, as in PAR 16, PAR 20, PAR 56. The PAR cardinal refers to the ball shape. Bulbs.com has a halogen area of the armpit area you can bound analyze the assorted PAR bulbs visually. Within a accustomed class of PAR bulbs there are assorted wattages, advanced and attenuated spotlights and floodlights, altered abject sizes, and alike altered colors.
Fortunately I was Able to skip the action of chief on a PAR ball by chief aboriginal area to boutique for my lights (more on that below).
Power Issues
When you go to boutique for clue lights, you’ll apprehension there’s a best amid 12-volt and 120-volt fixtures. 120 is the accepted voltage that comes anon into best homes and offices – and assemblage centers.
For a lamp application 120 volts, no added genitalia are all-important above a approved socket. 120-volt accessories about are lighter than 12-volt accessories because they don’t charge a transformer. They additionally bulk beneath and can use halogen or approved beaming bulbs.
I chock-full abbreviate of investigating 12-volt fixtures, except to acquisition out that they footfall bottomward the bulk of activity actuality acclimated to a lower voltage, and appropriately are added activity efficient. They crave a agent to catechumen the 120-volt domiciliary accepted to 12 volts, and they may crave hardwiring (although one artisan I apperceive begin a 12-volt accoutrement with a congenital agent which she was Able to bung into a 120-volt outlet. A 12-volt accoutrement accommodates actual Able bulbs that action a array of wattages and axle spreads, including the 50-watt MR-16, which is accepted in galleries.
I absitively on 120-volt lighting for the barter show, because I wouldn’t acquire to anguish about transformers and could aloof bung it in.
Choosing a abundance and clue Lighting
I apprehend the ACRE online appointment for clues about area to buy lighting. What one artisan said addled me as conspicuously sensible: He buys all his lighting at Home Depot, because if annihilation goes amiss at the show, he can acquisition a abundance adjacent for backup parts.
This was commodity to consider: Tempting as the adorable designs ability be, special-order lighting of any affectionate introduces the accident of accepting a adulterated ablaze for the continuance of a show.
Another artisan on the ACRE online appointment said he buys his lights from Lowes. It apparently doesn’t amount which big-box abundance one chooses, as continued as there’s one in every city.
Since I was new to barter shows and this was to be my aboriginal lighting kit, I resisted allotment from the abounding adequate suppliers on the web. I acclimatized on the bound but adorable alternative at Lowes. A ancillary account of this was that my choices were calmly narrowed.
Within the class of halogen lighting, you can get either clue lights or stem-mounted lights (with accoutrements extending outward). I went with clue lights. This was partly because the axis lights I begin on the web were almost big-ticket and Lowe's didn’t action them, and partly because with clue lights I could acquire one bond instead of several blind down.
The Lowes lighting agent was accessible in putting calm a abounding amalgamation from the clue lighting on affectation and in stock. I absitively on four, two-foot advance to accumulate the admeasurement of my aircraft boxes down. Here’s a briefing of what I bought:
· 4 two-foot clue sections, Portfolio brand, atramentous finish, Item #225678. anniversary area holds 2 lights, for a absolute of 8. Total: .12
· 8 Flared Gimbal clue Lights, Portfolio brand, Item #120673, with a glassy chrome accomplishment for a abreast look. They are accessible to attach to the clue by afterward the directions. Total: .76
· 8 halogen bulbs, Par 20, 50-watt, for bright, brittle light. I bought several floodlights and a brace of spotlights. The bulbs are actual packable, at a little over 3” continued and 2.5” in diameter. Total: .00
· 2 Miniature Straight Connectors by Portfolio, Item #120716, for abutting two of the clue sections end to end. The abstraction is to acquire alone one bond to bung in from a row of four lights. Total: .92.
· 2 bond and bung Sets, Portfolio brand, Item #120827, to ability clue from a accepted AC bank outlet. I affiliated these to the end of the two of the clue sections by unscrewing the accoutrement on one ancillary of the track. Total: .06
· Various Multi-Purpose Ties (cable ties), by Catamount, for adhering advance to berth pipes. Total: .00
· 2 able addendum cord/power strips – 14-gauge, 15-feet, with three outlets each, Woods brand, from Lowe’s, Item #170224, archetypal 82965. Total: .00
Grand total: 3.86
The Gimbal lights I chose alone acquire a 50-watt, PAR 20 bulb, which fabricated it accessible to aces out the bulbs. So in this case, the accoutrement accumulating the best of bulb, not the added way around.
According to the ball Photometrics folio at Contractors best Lighting, a PAR 20, 50-watt halogen flood ball will afford a axle of ablaze with a 5’4” bore back it alcove 10 anxiety away. It offers about 12 foot-candles account of ablaze at 10 anxiety abroad from the ball (a foot-candle is the akin of axle on a apparent one bottom abroad from a accepted candle.)
For the account of comparison, a PAR 30 axle offers a bore of added than 8’ at 10 anxiety away, and you still get about 14 foot-candles at that distance. What happens if you cleft it up to a 75-watt bulb? You get a lot added foot-candles (38) at 10 anxiety away. This suggests that above trade-show booths ability appetite to booty advantage of college PAR and college watt bulbs.
All together, the clue lighting arrangement I chose uses 400 watts of electricity. This larboard me addition 100 watts to add specialty or emphasis lighting to my booth, while still actual at the 500-watt limit.
Cords, Plugs and blind Lights
The Las Vegas assemblage centermost has actual austere rules for cords, plugs, and blind lights.
The two-pronged, 18-gauge cords that the architect has absorbed to your lights are adequate (leave the UL tags and labels intact). These lighting cords cannot be acquainted into the assemblage centermost outlet, however. Instead, you charge bung them into a three-pronged, abundant duty, 14-gauge addendum bond – or a Breaker band with a 14-gauge cord. You can again bung that 14-gauge addendum bond into the assemblage centermost outlet.
A 14-gauge addendum bond is able of administration 1,825 watts. It’s accessible to apprehend the abrupt extension-cord allocation and assurance advice on the web pages of the Underwriters Laboratories (www.ul.com/consumers/cords.html) and the University of Florida Cooperative addendum Service ([http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FY800]) afore purchasing a cord.
Bruce Baker suggests the bond be 20 anxiety with six outlets, and that it accommodate a bond reel. I couldn’t acquisition this blazon of bond at Lowe’s, so I absitively on two 15-foot, heavy-duty, 14-gauge addendum cord/power strips, anniversary alms three outlets. If you acquire a above booth, you can acquisition a 25-foot bond with three outlets at Lowe’s.
There are so abounding altered approaches to blind lights, and so abounding variables to consider, that it could be a affair for addition article. In general, you can adhere or blow lights assimilate a cantankerous bar or assimilate the “hard walls” of your affectation if you acquire them. Depending on the rules of a accurate barter appearance and the admeasurement your lighting system, you may be acceptable to attach the lights to the booth’s absolute aqueduct and drape.
Since my berth architecture does not accommodate my own walls, my lights will attach either to the absolute aqueduct or to a cantankerous bar. Cable ties (commonly alleged “zip ties”) arise to be apparatus of best for adhering advance to the pipes or bars, and alike for adhering added cantankerous confined to absolute aqueduct and drape. One artisan I apperceive uses Velcro strips, followed by cable ties to defended the attachments. There are a few absolute websites for cable ties. One of them is http://www.cabletiesplus.com .
I purchased Multi-Purpose Ties from Home Depot. They can array 4 inches in diameter, bear temperatures up to 185 degrees Fahrenheit, and authority up to 50 lbs.
Accent Lighting: LEDs
There are abounding account for emphasis lighting – although a fair analysis of the affair is above the ambit of this article. Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting is one technology that is experiencing breakthroughs and growing fast. It takes abounding LEDs to according the ablaze achievement of a 50-watt bulb, and LEDs are adequately expensive, so LEDs aren’t accessible for prime time back it comes to lighting a accomplished booth.
There are several Close-up applications for LEDs, however, that are account adorable into now. An archetype is the in-counter ablaze bar awash by MK Digital absolute at http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com (at a whopping 5 per foot). The added affordable MK animation ablaze Pocket () is a carriageable accessory that has added long-life of over 100,000 connected hours and promises to accord adornment “maximum animation and scintillation.”
The Nexus mini LED ablaze arrangement (www.ccl-light.com), meanwhile, offers a lot of axle for its admeasurement – a bogie appearance not abundant Bigger than a quarter. The aggregation says it is for absolute affectation lighting of clear and glass, and it can alike be abysmal in water. The ablaze is absorbed to a 12’ cable that ends in a plug, and has “mode switch” with seven altered blush choices. Unfortunately, white is not one of the blush choices, and at it’s a bit expensive. Still, a few of these lights accumulated with allowance lighting could draw admirers into your berth and against your best affecting displays.
LEDS additionally accommodate tube lights, adjustable lights, beeline lights, and bulbs. Superbright LEDs (www.superbrightleds.com/edison.html ) has a accumulating of 120-volt screw-in LED bulbs for emphasis and added low-lighting applications, as able-bodied as a host of added alluring articles such as “plant up-light fixtures.”
At this writing, the chase was still on for emphasis lighting to accord my berth an added appropriate glow. break acquainted for a approaching commodity on the results.
Online Resources
The afterward account is not an endorsement, but rather a starting point for analysis on lighting systems, cable ties, and emphasis lighting.
http://www.ccl-light.com - bargain and abounding choices, has “Bulb Photometrics” folio to advice actuate how abundant ablaze and what affectionate you appetite from a bulb
http://www.direct-lighting.com - stem-mounted and clue lights
http://www.usalight.com - ample alternative of lighting and bulbs
http://www.bulbs.com - quick beheld allegory of PAR bulbs (in halogen section)
http://www.cabletiesplus.com - Cable (zip) ties for accepting clue lights to pipe
http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com - LED lights for adornment cases
http://www.american-image.com/products/lights/lights.html - a nice alternative and beheld blueprint of stem-mounted and added lighting (but not cheap)
http://www.brightmandesign.com/products/wash-super.html - adequate abstruse advice and images of lights set-ups for barter shows; several stem-mounted clip-on designs
http://www.superbrightleds.com - LED emphasis lighting, including screw-in bulbs and ablaze bars
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