Black lights in the game room - black light white or blue?

tta583

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Black lights in the game room - black light white or blue?

So I have a local lighting company I am working with to get my fixtures and lamps. Of course there is the black or white black light questions. The lighting guys tell me you want to use bl white if its some place directly viewable. These bulbs look almost white, like standard fluorescents when off. They say use bl blue, looks deep purple when off, if its not directly viewable. The blues can be bad on the eyes due to the wavelength of light emitted.
What are you guys using? Seems like anywhere I have been, ever, with a 'black light' its been a bl blue. Even the cheap 18" fixtures and bulbs I got on clearance at Walmart are blb.
I'm getting pricing across the board but may have to just order 2 of each, hang a fixture, and test it on some carpet samples to make sure I like the result....assuming its not dangerous as I'm being told.
 
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I've always been told the EXACT opposite of what you were told.

BLB lights for direct viewing
BL lights are bad to stare directly at.

Side note....I'm no lighting expect....I just repeat what I've heard.

Edward
 
I'm no specialist either. To make it worse the terms are all a jumble. The lighting guy I'm using refers to bl blues as blb and whites are just 'black lights'. It took a bit for me to figure even that much out..
 
WBL's are bad on the eyes. Spencer's only sells the BLB's and I am sure there is a reason for that.

Yup, I'm going with Phet, here........Anyplace that sells black lights, only sells the BLB's (Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, etc). To get a "white" BL....you have to go to a "lighting" store.

Edward
 
Yeah, I've always underwood that BLB's were safe to look at. Think about Tron, they have a blb pointing right at the players face. As opposed to the white blacklight that lights up the lower control panel plastic and shines on the players shoes.
 
I'm kind of the same opinion, which is what I want looking for..BLB. I am thinking I am dealing with a guy that can get me what I "want", its just a matter of knowing what I want...combined with some bad info that he has and a general confusion relating to just saying "black light".
 
BLB's light up stuff by means of the coating on them filtering out almost all light but UV, most of the light generated by them is blocked. They're okay to look at directly though I wouldn't exactly recommend doing so for long periods of time. The white ones have a significantly higher amount of their light that's straight up UV. Being that UV is not a wavelength our eyes can focus at, exposure to high doses of UV on the low end can cause headaches, and at greater levels/time gets downright nasty. If your application results in your light going directly onto/into the player's eyes, use a blb. Won't give you quite as much reactance with the UV sensitive material, but saves on doctor visits.
 
I think we are in agreement. BLB is what's needed. When I got back to my lighting guy he had followed back up with someone in their shop with experience in entertainment lighting. Looks like there was a misunderstanding the first time through. I'm just glad I made sure to verify.
 
When I got back to my lighting guy he had followed back up with someone in their shop with experience in entertainment lighting. Looks like there was a misunderstanding the first time through.

Nice to see he followed up on it since there was some confusion. A lot of guys would just say 'I'm right, this is how it'll be done.' Sounds like a decent guy.
 
Yeah, and the pricing on 4 foot t8 blbs and fixtures seems good. He also has a good price on 18" blw. I'm going to wait and see how the order works out first but I planned on posting the contact info. He has been nothing but helpful, esp considering what's prob a small order compared to some of their customers, and they do mail order based on looking at shopping cart support on their site.
If it all works out his shop may be a good alternative for folks doing full game room lighting or looking for odd bulbs.
 
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