Phantom Lighting System

What is the most popular use for xenon linear lights?
The most popular use for these high-end fixtures is under cabinet lighting. Xenon’s ability to render both cool and warm colors equally well makes it ideal for lighting surfaces with more than complex color patterns. Incandescent lighting also has a high CRI (color rendering index) when it comes to lighting cool colors such as white or off white counter tops. However, for the deep blues and reds commonly seen in today’s marble and granite counter tops, a more robust source of lighting like that produced by xenon festoons is preferable. Both granite and marble are hard composite stones with multiple layers of vibrantly colored minerals embedded in their substance. Xenon linear strip lights produce light bright enough to clearly illuminate the many subtle shades and colors in the stone while at the same time adding something of a three-dimensional look to the counter top. By extending the “depth” of the stone’s surface, reflective glare is minimized, creating a more refined look appropriate to today’s larger, more elaborate custom kitchen and bathroom decor.

What do I need to look for when selecting fixtures?
It is important to keep certain considerations in mind when choosing xenon linear light fixtures. For one, find a fixture that offers not only advanced metal glare shielding, but also operates on low voltage with user-friendly dimmer controls. Especially when it comes to display cabinet lighting, dimmers are essential to adjusting the lighting levels in congruent balance with overhead kitchen lighting. Different occasions may call for different levels of light, and it will be necessary to turn the lights up and down to set the mood for different events and maintain to maintain symmetry and a sense of balanced aesthetic in the room.

But aren’t xenon linear light strips more expensive than fluorescent and incandescent lights?
Only in terms of front-end purchase cost. The return on investment they offer far outweighs the initial expenditure.

Are xenon linear lights only used for cabinet and under cabinet lighting?
Not necessarily.

While many manufacturers design xenon linear lights specifically for in cabinet and under cabinet lighting, Phantom strip lights are design for a multiplicity of applications and are capable of producing equally superior results in both commercial and residential applications. Phantom low voltage festoon lamps feature a special, patented design that conserves wattage and maximizes lumens output. This means they produce more light and consume less power, making them particularly cost effective for any commercial client on a budget.

The golden, ambient quality of xenon lighting works well to accentuate the rich colors of specialty fabric, fine jewelry, and even antique artifacts and rare documents in museum and public library displays.

On the home front, Phantom linear xenon festoons are a favorite choice among antique collectors with custom curio cabinets and ornate wooden display cases. They also make excellent bookshelf lights for the collector of special edition hardbacks and out of print books.

Phantom strip lights are designed as low-profile fixtures that blend so well into their surroundings that they are nearly invisible. For decorative and functional lighting needs, their unobtrusive presence allows for greater freedom of design, and their patented system of metal glare shields, wireless power transmission, and their fully dimmable power sourcing allow for any setting to be quickly made without risk of shock or damage to equipment.

Click here to request product literature, or click here to locate a sales representative in your area to choose which model will best meet your design requirements. We also invite you to visit our informative lighting blog. Contact us toll free at 800-863-1184.

In order to be effective, art museum lighting must correspond to the type of art being exhibited. Natural lighting is generally not preferred as a source of art museum lighting. It emits harmful infrared heat and ultraviolet light waves that will damage a wide variety of paint types and canvases. Natural light is also very difficult to control. It is much better to use art museum lighting fixtures specifically designed for the task of illuminating and properly showcasing fine art and statuary. In most cases, a combination of fixture types by most curators, who tend to design the fine art lighting system around the interior architecture of the room and the exhibits on display.

Accent Lights
Accent lighting fixtures often use low voltage halogen lamps that have been specifically engineered for the purposes of art lighting. Ultraviolet light has to be filtered out of the light beam in order to make the light safe for the art, and the fixture must also provide a means of adjusting lighting levels.

Some accent lighting fixtures look like over the picture lights, although many have a base that attaches to the wall above the frame, not to the frame itself. The arms are generally longer and more flexible than generic equivalents. This allows the picture lights to be positioned at just the right distance from the art in order to make the light fit the frame.

Exhibition lighting in art museums is also done with low voltage, filtered spotlights that reside on or near the ceiling. These fixtures create a less intense luminance that is highly effective for special effects or ambient lighting. This type of accent lighting is often found in art museums that exhibit sculpture and three-dimensional abstract art.

Track Lights
Track lights hang suspended from rails that run parallel to the wall. The greatest advantage that they offer is the ability to match the number of lighting fixtures to the exact number of works of art. Because each low voltage light fixture can be moved individually along the rail, each light can be aimed precisely at its chosen object for pinpoint lighting effect. We often see track lighting in art museums showcasing photography exhibits. Because such exhibits normally feature a number of works in a series, track light installations allow for each photograph to be placed in its own individual light.

Recessed Lights
Lighting designers use recessed picture lights in art museums use halogen lights that produce a very bright, white light with superb color rendering. This light is filtered to remove ultraviolet radiation, and the use of dimmer switches to control lighting levels is generally recommended both as an aesthetic factor and a power saving feature.

One of the greatest advantages recessed accent lighting fixtures offer in art museum lighting is concealment. Unlike track lights, which hang suspended from the ceiling, recessed lights reside on or within the ceiling itself. They are difficult for the casual viewer to see, and they can be used to light both art and sculpture from virtually any angle.

Art Projectors
Art projectors are the most high-end of art museum lighting fixtures. Because art projectors can fit the light to the precise dimensions of a painting, and because they produce the safest form of UV and Infrared-free lighting, art museums frequently rely on them to light their most important and rare works of art on display.

Like recessed lights, projectors such as the Phantom Contour mount above the line of site in the ceiling. Almost all have some sort of lens adjustment mechanisms, sophisticated light filters that strip the beam of harmful ultraviolet light, and built in dimmer controls that allow lighting levels to be adjusted appropriately to genre, style, and individual characteristics of a work of art.

The Phantom Contour Projector offers a number of advantages over competing projector models. It is smaller and therefore easier to conceal in more eclectic, formal art museums. Lighting controls on the Contour Projector are exceptionally user friendly and do not require a technician to adjust. A number of models are available specific to interior architecture, including retrofit models that do not require cutting into a ceiling.

Click here to read more about Phantom Contour Projectors and Phantom Linear Strip lights that can be used in art museum display lighting.

Our lighting manufacturing facility is located in Houston, Texas with professional lighting sales agents located throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including Washington DC, Nashville Tennessee, Las Vegas Nevada. Portland Oregon, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Tucson Arizona, Long Beach California, Atlanta Georgia, and Los Angeles California.

What makes art lighting fixtures different from other types of lighting?
Art lighting fixtures come in a variety of design types, each of which offers scores of individual models and lighting controls from which you can choose. Art lighting fixtures have to matched to both the type and genre of artwork they illuminate, and they have to aesthetically compliment the interior design of the home, office, or gallery surrounding the art. Some are made to be visible, yet attractive; others are made to minimize or conceal their appearance altogether so that you see the light and not the fixture.

What are the least expensive art lighting fixtures I can use?
Picture lights attach to the top of the frame and cast direct lighting downward across the surface of the image. These convenient art lighting fixtures evenly distribute illumination across the surface of the image, bringing out the details of texture, color, and subtle interplays of light and shadow. Due to their close proximity to the image, however, they can damage sensitive oils and canvases common in rare originals and extremely fine art. In such instances, it may be to choose a different fixture type altogether for your art, or to substitute over the picture lights fitted with LED lamps. These lamps use less electricity and emit wavelengths of light that are minimal in forward throw heat and completely free of ultraviolet radiation.

What lighting fixtures are good for illuminating multiple works of art?
Track lights are ideal for arenas where a large number of works in a collection are on display. A track lighting installation consists art lighting fixtures that hang suspended from a rail, or “track” as it is called, that runs near the ceiling parallel to the wall.

Track lights are often the preferred art lighting fixtures of high-end art gallery lighting. Most photography showings consist of a series of images displayed as a thematically representative group. A single track light can be pointed toward a single photograph, placing each piece in its own individual light. They also work very well in contemporary or ultra-modern interior lighting design.

Track lights sometimes lack the ability to pin spot exceptionally small canvases and sculptures, and even though they can be controlled with dimmer switches to create different levels of light, they are nonetheless limited in their capacity to achieve highly customized lighting effects.

Are their art lighting fixtures that you can conceal from normal viewing angles?
Yes. You can use recessed art lighting fixtures, accent lighting fixtures or framing projectors if you need a concealed source. This is also known as “sourceless” lighting and represents the most sophisticated form of illumination possible.

Recessed picture lights mount in the ceiling and direct light from an angle onto a piece. Recessed art light fixtures are commonly fitted with halogen bulbs renowned for their optimal color rendering capabilities and extremely bright light. For less sensitive works of art, such as black and white photography or lithographic prints, halogen recessed lights can be an ideal source of illumination. They work exceptionally well for lighting a small grouping of thematically connected photographs or prints.

For more sensitive oils and acrylics, recessed picture lighting fixtures must be fitted with special ultraviolet filters to prevent the light from degrading the materials and paints. This can be problematic even with the best of equipment, however, as some UV light may still reach the canvas and cause deterioration over time.

If you are in doubt and can afford to take no risks with the finest art you possess, consider the very wise investment in a framing projector. Give the artwork lighting experts at Phantom Lighting at call toll free at 800-863-1184 or click here to find a lighting agent in your part of the world.

Please visit our lighting blog to learn more about Phantom Contour Projectors and Phantom Linear Strip Lights.