FAQ about Gobos-Sizes and other related questions regarding the use of gobos.
*What about Beacon DigiGobos.
DVD rom disc with 20 loops in 4 formats.Royaltyfree and cheap.Made for Catalyst,Radlite or Eureka systems (but can be used in any quicktime application).Series 1-4 contains 20 clip each disc and series 3-10 is also dvd-compatible for desktop dvd players.All in PAL format

*What about Beacon Gobos.Beacon supplies several different types of glass gobos. Despite the fact that all gobos can be exposed to conditions of extreme heat they should, never the less, be handled with care.

-Aluminium

Avoid scratching or polishing the side of the gobo with the aluminium coating.
This side consists of a thin layer of metal that has been treated in order to be able to produce fine details at a very high resolution.
If pinholes should appear in the aluminium layer they can be retouched and corrected with a silver pen, which can be purchased from Beacon.

-Black material

We have developed a coating, which eliminates any ghost reflections in the projector.
Please note that the black surface should be placed in the projector facing the lens and the polished surface facing the bulb.

-Colour material

In some projectors that emanate extreme heat, problems can arise with the heat-resistant silicone glue used to mount the colour layer of the gobo. This is caused by the fact that silicone deteriorates at extremely high temperatures.
We recommend that the condenser lens be used and that the projector be adjusted correctly in order to avoid hot spots.
Because every single gobo is individually made and the different layers mounted separately it can sometimes be difficult to make absolute matches in colour when several gobos are made with the same design.
Colours may be reproduced differently in spotlights manufactured by different companies, but we are constantly striving to improve colour quality.
Many different factors affect the end result in the use of gobos.
Some possible examples are: the temperature and intensity of the bulb, environmental lighting and even which surface the image is being projected upon.

-Protective glass

A cover glass is recommended, especially for colour gobos, to ensue better durability against mechanical problems and extreme heat.
The cover glass is a plate of glass that measures 0.5 mm in thickness and is mounted on the rear side of the gobo in order to protect it. This makes it possible to be able to polish both the cover glass and the rear side of the gobo with a soft cotton cloth. Acetone or anything similar can be used in polishing the gobo, but must never be allowed to seep in between the two slides of glass.

-Our standard gobo sizes in mm:
22.5 / 23.5 / 25 / 25.5 / 26.5 / 27.8 / 31.5 / 33.9 / 35.5 / 36.3 / 37.5 / 42 / 42.9 / 44 / 50 / 51.8 / 66

-Converter rings

Some spotlights require that converter rings be used. These rings are made of 0.2mm thick aluminium alternatively 1.5mm thick black anodized aluminium. The inner diameter of the ring is slightly smaller than the gobo enabling it to keep out all light.

-Our standard converter ring sizes in mm:
31.5-37.5 / 33.9-36 / 35.9-48 / 42-49 / 44 - 53.3 / 50-66 / 66-86 / 66-100

*Can all luminaires or spotlights handle a gobo?

-No.It has to be a sharp edge (profile spot) with a slot for a holder and have a adjustment for the sharpness for the gobo

*How do I prepare my picture or artwork?

For more information go to: File Formats

*Can the glass gobos take the heat from all luminaires?

-No! With some 1.2K and 2K profiles with "hot spot" in the output thru the lenses,it can burn the glass gobo.The Metall gobos withstand the heat from most projectors but it is recommended to use a condensor lens this filter outs some of the heat generated by the lamp. Each gobo produced is like an individ and it is difficult to predict the performance in each case

*How should I handle my gobos?

-In general they should be handled with care, Althoug they can withstand tremendous amount of heat it is a quite complex product that is sometimes could cause trouble.
For B/W gobos, you should avoid touching the blank side or avoid scratching it. Becous it is an extremly thin layer of metall. This thin metal is neccesery to be able to produce fine detail and high resolution. When manufactured by a copying process involver wet-etchin with strong azids it is a common problem to avoid pinholes an etching faliure. This is one of the major problem for the semiconductor industry, and it is a well known difficulties. This solved by retouching each picture individualy by a heatresistent metallic ink. To aviod pinholes.

The Metall gobos withstand the heat from most projectors but it is recommendet to use a condensor lens this filter outs some of the heat generated by the lamp. Each gobo produced is like an individ and it is difficult to predict the performance in each case.

Black line gobos is made out of a black light absorbin layer one the glasside. This is dome to prevent backreflection from the lens. These gobos must be put in the projector with the blank side towards the lamp and the black side towards the lens. Therefor it is neccesery to know what type of projector that is should be used in. If used in a mirrorscanner or a joke-spot. If not knowing wich projector type, will cause problem in mirror tuning of the image.

Ordinary Metal gobos is no problem becous they could be flipped if it is a mirror image. They could be placed in the projector in both directions.

If an pinhole occure it is possible to retoch the picture by a silver pen usually most pens that could be find in the paperstor could work, they can differ some depending of the solution used to bind the ink.
Cleaning should be avoided, becous a paper towel ysually could damage the surface.

The B/W gobos can be provided with a 0,5mm thick coverglas wich will protect the surface then a towel of cotton could be used to rubber solution could be done but, It must be avoided to get the liquid between the glass becouse otherwice it is forced in by the capillary force.

The color gobos is more resistant to scratches becous they ar made on top by a hard dicroic coating. Hovever the color components are mecanicly sencitive to force and they could be cracked. They should be handled with care. Avoid usin liquid to clean them there is a high degree of danger for liquid to get suck in between the layers.

The color gobos could also be provided with a protecting 0,5mm glas wich makes it more resistant mechanicly.

In some extremly heat projectors there is sometimes problems with the heatresistent silicone glue jused to mount the colorcomponents. Becous the silicon is detoriating in extremly temperatures. The recommendation is to use condensor lenses and allign the projector correctly to avoid hot spots on the gobo. In most projector used on the market this is no problem but in some cases this could cause problem.

The use of coverglass protection helps the color layer holds together and is reccomended for better mechanical and temperature resistance.

The theory of color reproduction, is a major issue and is also a common problem in the printing industry. Becous we oftend only make one or to gobo of the same image it is extremly difficult to make exact colormaching. When printing a color picture on paper it is ofen used a pre-print test to controll the color. The color gobo technology makes it very expensive to do so becouse ther is no serial production. And each image is treated individually. We are continuasly working on improving the quality of the colors. Also many factor involved in the use of the images makes more difficult to know the end result, this could be the temperature of the lamp used, the enviromental light, what it is projected on and the intensity of the lamp. Different lamptypes produce different colors also.

We are continuasly improvin the quality of the gobo and are workin hard to make it better, therefor response from the use and performance is appreciated.

*What is a "black line" gobo?

-Black line gobos is made out of a black light absorbin layer one the glasside. This is dome to prevent backreflection from the lens. These gobos must be put in the projector with the blank side towards the lamp and the black side towards the lens. Therefor it is neccesery to know what type of projector that is should be used in. If used in a mirrorscanner or a joke-spot. If not knowing wich projector type, will cause problem in mirror tuning of the image.

Ordinary Metal gobos is no problem becouse they could be flipped if it is a mirror image. They could be placed in the projector in both directions.

*What is a "Sandwich gobo"?

-Sandwich gobos is made out of a second glass layer one the etched side. This is dome to prevent scratches or other mechanical damage on the etched side. The gobo will be thicker but can be good when replacing the same gobo several times.