What Makes EL Wire Different From Laser Wire™ Systems

We get the question often, what's the difference between Electroluminescent Wire and Laser Wire™? They're both accent lights, right? Well, that's about where the similarities stop. Let's dig into the differences here. We also created a quick video showing the differences side by side (below).

EL Wire has been around since the early 2000s, and is a thin wire that is powder coated with the element of Phosphor. Specialized voltages and frequencies excite the particles inside, creating a beautiful glow. The inside is made up of a copper core wire, and small angel hair wires which create a positive and negative charge for the electrodes to pass through. EL Wire can be cut to nearly any length and can be bent to nearly any shape.

Laser Wire™ systems on the other hand are using specialized optical fibers which transmit light down an extremely thin tube. The entire diameter of the wire is 0.9mm, and the lighted element inside is less than 0.2mm. That's about the size of a human hair! When specialized lighting elements converge on the tip of the wire,  light is transmitted down the entire line. As opposed to optical fibers which transmit 99% of their light upon the first foot and has a severe drop off of light after, Laser Wire™ has a very even glow over the profile length. Currently, Laser Wire™ cable is made in 3 different profiles; Accent, Pop, and Super Pop. Accent is meant to be evenly diffused up to 10M in length, while Pop is about double the brightness, but meant to diffuse light evenly up to 5M. Super Pop is the brightest profile but only meant to shine up to 1M in length.

The main difference between Laser Wire™ and EL Wire falls in the applications they are able to be used in. EL Wire, because of the relatively fragile nature of the product, is not meant to be used in permanent fixed situations because the wire will go out over time. Excessive UV exposure, heat, moisture, and shelf life all play into the eventual demise of the electroluminescent phosphor. On the other hand, Laser Wire does not degrade in water, sunlight, and can be embedded into nearly anything; woods, metals, and plastics can allow laser wire to be permanently installed for years of use. If the light goes out over time, simply replace the module and it's working again in no time, without having to tear out the existing application. The brightness threshold for EL is around 150cd/m, which can be visible at night, but in lighter environments its difficult to see. Laser Wire™ cable emits a brightness of between 750cd/m and 1500cd/m, which can be visible in normal lighting conditions. Because there is no core wire inside Laser Wire™ cable, the cable does not retain a memory and is far more flexible. 

For more information on Laser Wire™ systems or how to integrate into your next project, please contact info@ellumiglow.com. 

Introducing Auralux RGB LED Strip Lighting

We are excited to announce the beginning of a new era of LED Strip Lighting, including the addition of our Auralux line of high output RGB LEDs. The new Auralux 3535 RGB LED puts out a whopping 1320 Lumens per meter, with a narrow 110° beam angle. This makes it ideal for retail applications, stage performances, and more. Designers love these strip lights due to the rich colors the upgraded chip puts out. We put this video together as a side by side comparison to our already bright Auralux RGBW lights.

For more information on RBG or RGBW lighting, or RGB LED Controllers, please contact info@ellumiglow.com.

Ellumiglow Partners With Lumilor To Distribute EL Paint Across North America

Ellumiglow is proud to announce the partnership to distribute Lumilor EL Paint through its authorized channels. With a proprietary twist on EL Paint, Lumilor manufactures a specialty mixture which allows a multi-stage application process to add light to just about anything.

ABOUT LUMILOR
Lumilor, based out of Medina, Ohio is a company specializing in Electroluminescent coating applications. Back in 2009, founder Andy Zsinko, an aftermarket painter and the mastermind behind Lumilor was sharing a beer with his pals when he came across the realization that there had to be another way behind glow in the dark paint applications. With short lifespans and disappointing brightness, he knew there had to be a way of controlling lighting. Thus the start of Electroluminescent Paint.

ABOUT EL PAINT
Electroluminescent (or EL) Paint is exactly how it sounds. A paint based application that allows you to add light to nearly any material. Helmets, cars, bicycles, buildings... If you can dream it, you can light it. Because of the specialty nature of the product, trained professionals should use this product. But for a limited time, gain access to 45 FREE Training Videos that walk you through each process, with the purchase of any EL Paint Kit.

What To Know About LED Video Walls

LED Video Walls are spectacular when used in retail environments, stage performances, and events, but the knowledge gap between them seems to be extraordinarily complex. From send and receive cards, to the video processor, and that's before you get to the actual videowall led. In this post, we hope to explain some of the working components of them to make understanding the process of LED Video Walls a little easier. 

What To Look For In An LED Video Wall

The main question we get when dealing with digital video displays is what spacing (we call it "Pitch") do you need between LED's? The rule of thumb we like to say is 1:1. 1mm spacing per 1m (~3ft) from your viewing distance. If it's a small retail display, the most common distance from viewing the display is probably 2-3M (6-10ft), or a pixel spacing of 2mm - 3mm. If your spacing is farther apart, the resolution will appear lower. If your spacing is more (closer together), you may not notice the additional spacing and the cost will increase. 

Sending Cards Vs. Receiving Cards?

All video wall panels require both a sending card and receiving card. Some manufacturers will include the send card inside their video processor (explained later), but they will need the both to operate. The Send card operates by sending data to the receiving card, and acts as the brain of the operation. If you have multiple displays, or sections, the send card will tell what content to play on each section. In contrast, the receiving card will decode what the send card tells it to do, and creates a 1:1 pixel location, generally starting in the upper left corner. 

Video Processor

If the send card is the brains of the operation, think of the Video processor as the heart. It is the lifeblood of the video content and required for playback to occur. Some programs simplify the setup, but overall they work in a similar fashion. Add content; either images, video, text, and tell it where to play. 

Triggers

Where it gets complicated is adding triggers, like motion sensors, or other external actions. Generally custom solutions are required when looking for motion activated devices. For more information on LED Video Walls or custom video wall solutions, please contact info@ellumiglow.com or 877.615.6556 for more information.