SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department recently installed a new lighting system as part of the first North American test site for photoluminescent lighting technology in the graphic arts. The system was donated by Longlite US.
 
The new technology illuminates an entire work environment and standardizes the viewing conditions for color printing and publishing applications. The system was first designed for manufacturing and service companies and now includes 5,000K (Kelvin) bulb temperature lighting for commercial and publication printing, package printing, in-plant printing and related graphic arts applications.
 
The Longlite Blue Safety Tube lighting system was installed in Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Bowne Lab. Key elements the Cal Poly faculty and staff will evaluate are color viewing, safety and sustainability.
 
“Safety is particularly relevant to the plant environment,” said Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department, “and particularly to larger plants that face catastrophic consequences if total power is lost due to natural disaster, human error or failure of the electrical grid.” The afterglow of the new photoluminescent technology provides sufficient lighting for evacuation and other emergency procedures. The afterglow lasts for several hours and is renewable through the life of the tube.
 
A leader in environmental solutions on college campuses, Cal Poly is also assessing the lighting for sustainability features. The lighting system met the department’s requirement of being mercury-free. Also, it features an extended lifetime while reducing environmental contamination in industrial and occupational settings.
 
According to Thomas Ebneter, president and general manager of Longlite Technologies AG, tubes with color temperatures from 3,000K to 6,500K are also available. In order to satisfy the printing, publishing and advertising agency standard for viewing, 5,000K Longlite Blue Safety Tubes were introduced. “The Longlite system provides the opportunity to illuminate an entire work environment with efficient and comfortable lighting that also satisfies graphic arts industry color viewing standards,” Ebetner said.
 
“When used as normal room or industrial plant lighting, Longlite Blue Safety Tubes double as emergency lighting in the case of power failure, brownouts, blackouts or electrical grid failure,” said Denis Rizzo, manager of Longlite US. “When the power is turned off or fails, the photoluminescent technology literally glows. So it provides visibility for evacuation or other procedures necessary during power loss.”
 
Rizzo points out that to satisfy the growing sustainability concerns, Longlite Blue Safety Tubes have a longer-than-average lifetime, reducing industrial waste