Ultralux evaluated by Tailored Lighting 12-4-03.
Ultralux (fullspectrumsolutions) has been very aggressive with its negative advertising against SoLux basing its claims on independent tests by Intertek ETL. Kevin McGuire, President of Tailored Lighting and Inventor of the SoLux bulb, on September 24, 2004 visited Intertek's labs in Cortland, NY and met directly with the person responsible for measuring the SoLux product and authoring the report sponsored by Ultralux. Mr. McGuire identified the cause of the discrepancy between Tailored Lighting's and Intertek's measurements. Intertek was measuring the output of the SoLux lamp in an integrating sphere and was allowing the spill light coming out the back of the SoLux reflector to contaminate the readings. SoLux works by filtering out the unwanted light and allowing it to pass out the back of the reflector. The desired daylight portion is directed out the front (learn more). Mr. McGuire was authorized to take with him the SoLux spectrums measured by Intertek during his visit which can be obtained by clicking on the following links: ETL Letter, 3500K, 4100K, 4700K or writing to Kevin McGuire at kevin@solux.net. The measurements taken at Intertek ETL validate SoLux is true daylight.
Recently, in the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, articles have been published highlighting the environmental dangers associated with fluorescent light sources. The state of Maine has WebPages explaining the involved clean up procedures required for the removal of hazardous mercury found in ALL fluorescent lights.
Below is a graph that shows TLI's measurements compared well with Intertek ETL. As you can see, the data tracks very well with most data points falling right on top of each other.
Further more, Ultralux, on one of its web pages, claims its PARALITE "daylight" fluorescent replacement bulbs replicates the daylight spectrum exactly. We purchased one of these lamps and measured it. The results below clearly show the spectral trace provided by Ultralux's PARALITE is false and misleading.
From an unsolicited email we were copied on dated 2-10-05:
Attention: Full Spectrum Solutions and Paralite
Dear Sirs,
Your Full Spectrum Solutions and Paralite websites claim that SoLux tungsten-halogen bulbs do not meet their stated color temperature specifications by a significant margin. You refer to and include on your website an Intertek ETL SEMKO test report to this effect. You are, I am sure, aware of the fact that Intertek ETL SEMKO retested SoLux bulbs and found them to be well within the stated specification of 3500K, 4100K and 4700K +/-200K as reflected in their report dated October 21, 2004. Intertek's test results agree with my own testing of SoLux 4700K bulbs.
Please be aware that I am not affiliated with Tailored Lighting and my message to you is a request to stop providing misinformation about one of your competitors and implicating an otherwise well-respected testing house. My special area of interest, as a digital photography enthusiast, is to promote the use of high-quality lighting in the digital darkroom. Your misrepresentation of SoLux products negatively impacts the use of a superior solution for photographers.
I await your responses with a great deal of interest.
Sincerely Yours,
Frans Waterlander
frans2001@netzero.net
(360) 687-1552
We strongly believe companies like Ultralux are doing the consumer a great disservice, and apparently so does the FDA. The FDA issued a "Health Fraud Notice", stating claims for a full-spectrum lamp were a "gross deception of the consumer". In addition, on 3-2-05 Dun and Bradstreet issued an alert for Ultralux for "Risk of Late Payment". Since 3-2-05 D&B has issued 11 Risk of Late Payment alerts for Full Spectrum Solutions.
We understand there are millions of people suffering every day from poor lighting. Leading institutions all over the world turn to SoLux to simulate daylight for the most critical and demanding applications. We think you also deserve the best.
To own the best available daylight source under the sun, click here or keep reading further and find out what other independent experts in various disciplines have to say about SoLux:
Andreas Bluhm, Head
of Exhibitions, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
"Artists
and art historians alike do not need to know the physics of light, but both are
deeply affected by it. We were thus very glad and felt privileged to meet
the maker of SoLux, Kevin McGuire, who helped us with our lighting. The
Potato Eaters, one of the most popular works of art in the collection of the Van
Gogh Museum when lit by SoLux went beyond expectations. We could not believe our
eyes when we looked at the Potato Eaters even from a distance. There were
more details to be seen than what we were uses to even from much closer. We were
stunned. The Potato Eaters and the rest of the Van gogh collection can now be
seen with the best museum lighting we know, and the museum is proud to be among
the first European museums to use SoLux."
Chris Murphy from Color Remedies (www.colorremedies.com),
well known color expert for the graphics market, and co-author of Real World
Color Management, recommends SoLux. Chris wrote:
“There is only one bulb that I have come across so far that is the closest to simulating the D50 spectral power distribution (a fancy way of looking at ALL of the grades in all subjects for a light source). SoLux 4700K lamp. Don't be thrown by the 4700K rating. The important thing is the spectral power distribution, even if that sounds like geekspeak. It's a standard size MR-16 halogen bulb with a special filament and reflector. Naturally they've got patents on this thing. The price is right too. (I don't get free product, discount product or kick backs from this company; I just like the product and so far I haven't found a better product.) So with this bulb you could turn an entire room or workstation area into a proofing booth, err proofing ROOM. Far better than fluorescent.”
Steven Johnson a well known photographer wrote...(www.sjphoto.com April 2002).
Finding an artificial light source near daylight has traditionally been no small task. The SoLux bulbs rise to the occasion. These bulbs are particularly useful with pigment prints that overreact to changes in lighting color temperature.”
SoLux is recognized around the world – in Australia Les Walking recommends SoLux in his Color Management Lectures. In a recent (June 2003) email from Les he wrote:
Your Solux lamps have made a significant difference for many people working in the area of critical colour management, especially in relation to metamerism with pigment printer inksets. We use a GretagMacbeth Spectroscan with Profile maker 4.1.1 software and include a custom SoLux lamp viewing light source spectrum in our profile calculations. This produces greater accuracy than with any other continuous spectrum viewing light source I have tested. For example our average LabD50 Delta E profile accuracy is typically better than 0.50, which is quite amazing. Thanks.
Andrew Rodney (“the digital dog” www.digitaldog.net) is another well known color expert who frequently mentions SoLux in his presentations.
Mr. Norman Koren uses SoLux... He is a well known Boulder Colorado based photographer.
The Pakon F-235 Digital Film Scanner exclusively uses a SoLux 4700K lamp.
SoLux is used exclusively by the Van gogh Museum and other well known museums around the world. SoLux is also recommended by the automotive paint industry as the best light source for color matching.
