"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
Mark:My understanding is once you are at or above a 5k metal halide bulb, then you start to get better imaging/stencil development/stencil durability than LED. What are you doing to compare the two different units that gives you better screens? What units did you compare?You cant just drop a comment like that and not give details Farmer: The current comments on the LED bulbs are about them dying. As for LED being used to expose film, no one here who has one has made any complaints...
Andy:Again, prob best in a new thread, but I don't remember reading about issues. Do you remember something I don't?
All due respect, Danny Grunniger's printing is beating the competition and his screens are imaged with an M&R STE, which has a small strip of led's. So I don't see too much argument past that. If a starlight has even more juice, ummmmm, correct me if I'm wrong buuuut, wouldn't that be even more accuracy. The guys I know with Starlights do amazing work, won't have to buy bulbs and, none of them seem to be lacking detail. What am I missing?
Bottom line is that the olec olite metal halide light source will give a much higher quality than the starlight and we are happy to prove it. we have compared side by side at screen shops. We and our customers have seen the difference. MarkDouthitt Corporation
I feel there are a couple of things that need to be brought into the conversation about comparing LED to MH as a light source for exposing screens. Having worked with MH light sources since the 70's, I can tell you that not all MH lamps are equal. There are MH lamps that are designed to light up a warehouse or a parking lot and others designed for exposing screen print emulsions, these should not be compared to each other. I remember when NuArc introduced instant start MH technology to augment our shuttered MH units, and others said it was not a good idea and would not work well. Thousands of instant start MH units are in shops across the world, and we also continued to mfg shuttered MH units as well. There still remains the fact that there is a place for both types of units. Just like the past where many have lumped all MH light sources into one category, the same is happening with LED exposure units. There are a lot of differences between the different models and to lump them all into one category is wrong. Like many things you can purchase, there are different types and qualities of LED's and there are different ways in which they can be powered, and positioned in an exposure unit. We have many customers that have been using our Starlight units very successfully for almost any application you can think of. In fact I have been travelling around the country doing live demos in shops where those owners can do their own tests by exposing their screens with their emulsions on our Starlight.I think we all know the benefits of LED's from the standpoint of longevity, lower power usage, less heat output, and in many cases faster exposure. I know that our LED units are working great in many shops, but we are not saying that it is the only way to go. We still manufacture our MH units for those that prefer it or for feel it is a better fit for their application. Ron HopkinsNuArc Sales MgrM&R Sales and Service Co.