Phantom Lighting System

The website designers at Phantom Lighting System have recently added a very powerful translation tool located at the top of each page and the blogger is a small flag icon provided by Google. This incrediable translation feature allows the web user the ability to convert an entire website into a language of their choice for ease of use and to gain a more enjoyable website experience.

Phantom Lighting is please to offer the following languages at this time:

Spanish
La iluminación fantasma se distingue de el resto de los fabricantes de la iluminación dirigiendo los productos finos de la iluminación del arte y de la exhibición encontrados en ninguna parte otros en el mundo. Hemos ganado una reputación pues los fabricantes que se encendían pioneros desarrollando la tecnología patentada que entrega medidas y variaciones exactas de la luz de fuentes encubiertas.

French
L'éclairage fantôme se différencie de tous autres fabricants d'éclairage en machinant les produits fins d'éclairage d'art et d'affichage trouvés nulle part d'autre dans le monde. Nous avons gagné une réputation car les fabricants s'allumants pionniers en développant la technologie brevetée qui fournit des mesures et des variations précises de lumière des sources cachées.

German
Phantombeleuchtung unterscheidet sich von allen weiteren Beleuchtungherstellern, indem sie die feinen kunst- und Anzeigenbeleuchtungprodukte sonst nirgendwo gefunden in der Welt ausführt. Wir haben ein Renommee da beleuchtende Pionierhersteller erworben, indem wir patentierte Technologie entwickelten, die exakte Maße und Veränderungen des Lichtes von verborgenen Quellen liefert.

Italian
L'illuminazione fantasma si differenzia da tutti i altri fornitori di illuminazione costruendo i prodotti fini di illuminazione dell'esposizione e di arte trovati in nessun posto altri nel mondo. Abbiamo guadagnato una reputazione poichè fornitori illuminanteci pionieristici sviluppando la tecnologia brevettata che trasporta le misure e le variazioni precise di luce dalle fonti celate.

Portuguese
O Lighting Phantom diferencia-se de todos fabricantes restantes do lighting projetando os produtos finos do lighting da arte e da exposição encontrados em nenhuma parte outros no mundo. Nós ganhamos uma reputação porque fabricantes de iluminação pioneiros desenvolvendo a tecnologia patenteada que entrega medidas e variações precisas da luz das fontes escondidas.

In a world of lighting manufacturers who market similar products with cliché claims to fame, Phantom Lighting stands apart as a source of proprietary technology whose adaptability makes it possible to meet each client’s lighting needs on an individual basis. This marriage of aesthetics and science has made Phantom Lighting a leader in lighting creation that enlightens the mind as much as it enlightens the room.

Phantom Lighting is a pioneer, Houston-based art lighting company and low voltage lighting manufacturer established in 1981 to service the lighting and design community. Phantom Contour Projector and Phantom strip lights feature lighting technology that is completely unique, 100% proprietary, and found nowhere else in the world of lighting. Phantom’s revolutionary approach to decorative picture lighting and low voltage display, shelf, and under cabinet lighting has taken it from humble origins to the level of an international leader in lighting manufacturing on two continents.

We have lighting sales associates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America who will answer any questions, provide literature and schematics, and arrange for local product demonstrations. Our team of experienced technicians is always willing to share their knowledge of fine art and display lighting.

We hope that you find these Google language tools helpful. Feel free to contact us online or give Phantom Lighting a call toll free at 800-863-1184. We are here to help and welcome your Inquiry!

The best art should be shown in the best possible art light. While, lighting your artwork may present a challenge at first because there are so many art lighting fixtures and lamps for you to choose from, a basic understanding of the elements essential to high-end artwork and picture lighting will help you quickly narrow down your choices to a select few fixtures that embody several, or even all, of the elements that characterize the best lighting for art.

The Light Must Strike The Art at Exactly The Right Angle.
In order to understand just how critical angles are to lighting art, try the following experiment: Stand in front of any mirror in your home with a small flashlight and shine the flashlight directly into the mirror. You will instantly be struck by a bright, direct reflection, as the mirror actually magnifies the beam by scattering the photons when it reflects them back into your eyes.

Now, move to different angles, moving the flashlight in the process. When you can clearly see your own form without being blinding by the reflection of the flashlight, you have found be best angle for lighting yourself in the mirror.

The same accent lighting tools are used by designers to position fixtures at the best angles for lighting art. Any surface reflects light to some extent, and while it may not be as intense as a reflection in a mirror, it will nonetheless cause discomfort to viewers. This is especially the case when lighting high-end photography. Photographs have glossy surfaces and are often enclosed in glass frames. The best lighting angle for these forms of art is generally from a recessed position or track lighting installation. This causes the majority of reflected light to angle downward to the floor.

Invest in Low Voltage Equipment.
Low voltage fixtures more often than not provide the best lighting for artwork in museums and galleries. This is because of to several reasons. The first is cost. Low voltage lights consume far less power and can be left on for longer periods of time without exorbitant electricity bills. Low voltage lights also produce a less glaring luminance that is more radiant and ambient. It very difficult to achieve soft picture lighting or lighted from within special effects with line voltage equipment simply because there is too much luminance output striking the piece.

Finally, low-voltage lights are lower wattage and operate at lower temperatures than line voltage lights. This is another reason low-voltage fixtures tend typically produce the best lighting for art because they emit little if any forward throw heat that can dry out paints and cause them to crack over time.

Dimmable Fixtures Give You Greater Lighting Control.
Dimmable fixtures are generally the best art light to use in any display or exhibition. Each work of art is unique and conveys its own message through a subtle interplay of colors and the contrast between light and shadow. A fixed beam of bright light will either overemphasize light or dark elements or certain colors, or, even worse, throw reflected light back into the eyes. Dimmable accent lighting fixtures give you ultimate control over luminance levels so you can achieve the best results when lighting your art. Dimmer controls should always be easy to operate and allow you to make quick adjustments.

Make certain you invest in UV-filters or fixtures designed to filter UV light.
UV radiation is even more deadly to artwork than it is to human skin. It must be eliminated from any source of lighting, or your best art will soon deteriorate and be permanently lost to time. Almost all artwork lighting fixtures are equipped with some sort of mechanism to minimize UV output. However, the best art in your collection cannot afford any exposure to UV light and require the most sophisticated filtration technology possible to protect their integrity and beauty.

Phantom Contour Art Projectors Combine All of These Characteristics Into a Single Design.
Phantom projectors embody all the attributes that characterize the world’s best lights for art. They are low profile, low voltage light sources that conserve power, are extremely cost effective, and easy to angle and adjust. A Contour Projector install on the ceiling can be adjusted to fit the dimensions of a painting, photograph, or sculpture and produce illumination that appears to be more like an “aura” around the piece than a beam of light shooting toward it. We call this “the lighted from within” effect.

Phantom optical projector lights are simple to use and allow you to dim or raise lighting levels at will. The proprietary optical lens design also allows you to fit the beam to the dimensions of any work of art on display. Few people who visit your collection will ever see a Phantom projector, however, because it is smaller than competing models and hides itself either in or on the ceiling to angle an invisible beam of light downward onto the artwork which becomes visible only when it strikes the surface.

Most importantly, Phantom Contour projectors feature patented, sophisticated UV filters that completely strip the light of all ultraviolet radiation so it can safely light your best art with no negative effects resulting. Everyone from private collectors, commercial clients, and professional galleries can benefit from a Phantom Contour Projector, and they can also choose from any of six models that are specifically designed for different environments. A Phantom lighting agent can help you determine which model will work best for your art lighting needs.

A Toll-Free call to 1-800-863-1184 will connect you now with customer service to schedule a free consultation. We invite you to view our client image gallery or visit our art lighting blog.

Retail Display Lighting constitutes a very complex science and generally requires the help of a lighting designer or retail display expert who can help you choose the right fixtures, bulb types, voltage settings, and lighting controls for your store. Any online query will quickly produce an endless array of retail display light fixtures that can quickly overwhelm your senses and your pocket book if you are unsure of what you need. While specialty lights will always have their place in the world of design and merchandising, it is normally not necessary to buy a different type of fixture for each separate display in your store. In most cases, custom-built linear lighting strips can be mounted in a variety of environments and provide optimal, safe, efficient, and high quality luminance that will place your products in the best possible light.

Under Cabinet Light
Under cabinet fixtures are often used for retail display lighting anytime a shelf beneath a cabinet offers sufficient room for merchandising. Linear strip lights are usually the best source of illumination in these cases because they tend to blend more with the under belly of the cabinet that do puck lights and fluorescent under cabinet fixtures. Also, they can be fitted with any number of bulb types that are both dimmable and free of ultraviolet light—something fluorescent lights are notorious for producing.

For rich, dark colors, you might want to use retail display lights fitted with energy saving LED light bulbs. Phantom LED lamps have a warm color temperature, that is close to incandescent lamps.

Window Display Light
Retail lighting here has to be cost effective before it is anything else. Some window displays are left on 24 hours a day and can run a light bill straight through the roof if low voltage and cost effective lamping technologies are not utilized to offset power consumption.

Any number of linear strip lights for retail displays can be fitted with low voltage transformers to curb electrical usage. The Phantom Linear Lighting Strip, for example, can be custom manufactured as either a 12V or 24V fixture, and it can operate incandescent or xenon festoon bulbs at much lower costs than line voltage puck lights, flex lights, or even overhead fluorescent panels.

Even better, consider investing a little more on the front end to fit your retail display lighting fixtures with LED festoon lamps. Even on a line voltage system, LED bulbs use only 20% as much power as incandescents and xenon. On a low voltage window lighting strip, there is an exponential multiplication of power savings.

Display Cases
Virtually any type of accessory case can be fitted with linear retail display lighting fixtures. The only exception to this rule is any case with a mirrored back plane. Linear strips contain many small festoon lamps that will appear like white or golden dots along the top of the mirror, ruining the aesthetic of the display. However, if the case is made from clear glass, or even better, has a dark backing or cloth on which the merchandise is laid, linear strips provide some of the very best display lighting for retail display cases you can imagine.

The type of low voltage lighting you choose really should depend on what type of merchandise will be showcased your display. Toys look great under incandescent light because it makes them glimmer slightly with a cheerful, white aura. Ladies clothing accessories such as hats and scarves look better under xenon. The slightly golden aura it casts about the items makes them look well worth the price tag.

LED lights can be fitted to retail display light strips to create a near equivalent effect to either incandescent or xenon. This all depends upon the color of the bulbs used, and it also depends on the sophistication with which the festoon lamps themselves are designed. Phantom linear strips use a patented lamping technology that combines LED bulbs into a radiant output equivalent to that of incandescent lamps.

In cases where very expensive fabrics colored with highly sensitive dyes are showcased, it is best to use LED cabinet lights because any ultraviolet output from other bulb types could cause the color and material to degrade over time.

Jewelry displays can be lit with virtually any type of bulb. The colour temperature and lighting levels, however, should be carefully adjusted to match the types of precious metals and stones that compose your selection. For more information on retail jewelry display lighting, click here to read our full-length article on the subject.

For any other questions, information about Phantom Lighting or to place a custom order call toll-free at 1-800-863-1184. You can also visit our helpful and informative lighting blog "Tips from the Manufacturer" to see first hand hand our low voltage lighting products.

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, Reno Nevada. Portland Oregon, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Phoenix Arizona, Los Angeles California, Atlanta Georgia, and Culver City California.

The first display light fixtures were made using fluorescent bulbs. They were highly valued for their ability to use less power than other forms of lighting, and also for their long, tubular design which gave them the ability to create an evenly distributed down light ideal for showcasing collectibles, merchandise, and various ornaments. However, there were two drawbacks to fluorescent lights. For one thing, they produced a flickering, slightly yellow-colored light that was annoyed one’s eyes and even produced headaches in some people. They also radiated ultraviolet light that damaged sensitive items such as certain dies, paints, and fabrics. Lighting manufacturers began to look into developing alternatives to fluorescent bulbs, and they eventually created a diversity of forms that ultimately produced even better cost effective lighting, minimized or outright eliminated ultraviolet light, and created a multitude of colour temperature options ideal for specialty lighting.

A few of the more popular types of display lighting fixtures are discussed in this article, with special attention paid to linear strip lights.

Puck Lights
Puck lights are often used as under cabinet lights and are not strictly classified as display light fixtures. However, xenon under cabinet lights, like puck lights do tend to be the most preferred light source in curio cabinets with mirrored back planes. Because a puck light occupies a central location at the top of the cabinet, the light radiates downward in an expanding cone. The mirror catches a portion of this light and throws it forward, thus magnifying its intensity and creating a field of light that fills the space inside the display.

Other types of cabinet lighting fixtures do not fare nearly as well in cabinets or showcases with mirrored back planes. This is because mirrors tend to reflect equipment as well as light, and the reflection of a metal or linear fixture can be an eyesore to an otherwise ornate showpiece.

Flex Lights
Flex lights are display lighting fixtures that mount on movable arms that can be positioned over the top of a display. They are frequently used by museums to light large displays that are not contained in a case. In fact, very large museum exhibition displays may have two or more flex lights positioned over the top as either a way of creating a central spotlighting effect using a slightly stronger, central flex light, or an even wash of light by using three identical fixtures in a row.

Flex lights are also used extensively in for trade show booth lighting. They can be attached rather quickly to walls and booths and angled toward banners, marketing materials, and merchandise to create a spotlight on your company brand, products, or services.

Recessed Lights
Recessed lights are used a great deal by museums to paintings and statuary. Recessed lighting fixtures offer the advantage of concealment, residing in the ceiling far above the display and casting a precisely aimed beam at the artwork. Halogen lamps are the favored light source for these unobtrusive display fixtures, provided proper glare shielding and dimmers are wired to the units to control brightness levels and heat.

Linear Lighting Strips
Linear LED strip lights combine almost every advantage of other forms of display lighting fixture, and they offer a few additional advantages found in no other light source. Linear strips are very thin and mount either to the topside of a cabinet, case top, or shelf, concealing themselves in much the same fashion as a recessed light. The tiny festoon lamps that line each strip emit a combined radiant down light reminiscent of yesteryear’s fluorescent bulbs, but with none of their negative effects.

Linear display light fixtures like those made by Phantom feature a high level of precision lighting ability. Sophisticated glare shields, color swatches and dimmer controls allow the Phantom light strip to be adjusted to optimal levels for virtually any type of shelf lighting or display case lighting application. Our patented method of shelf standard current conductance makes the Phantom linear strip even more unobtrusive than its counterpoints because it is a practically wireless device with the smallest magnetic low voltage transformer on the market. A variety of lamp types can be fitted to Phantom display lighting fixtures as well, including LED festoon lamps that use only 20% the electricity as other bulb types and produce no ultraviolet light whatsoever. This makes them ideal for retail display lighting and window display lighting because of the amazing power conservation they offer establishments on tight budgets.

One more thing makes the Phantom LED linear strip lights competitive with puck lights as both a display and under cabinet light fixture, and that is the special way the fixtures angle the light backward away from the eyes rather than into the viewer’s face. This creates a soft, very ambient quality of light more appropriate to both personal antique and bookshelf lighting and appropriate as well to high-end museum lighting for artifact and document display cases.

Phantom custom manufactures six lines of linear display lighting fixtures and distributes them through an international network of Agents that ranges from Canada to Argentina. Call us Toll-Free at 1-800-863-1184 today to be connected to an helpful lighting United States lighting agent free of charge to see which fixture type will work best with your particular display lighting needs.

We invite you to request literature online or visit our lighting blog to learn more about Phantom custom low voltage lighting products.

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, Reno Nevada. Portland Oregon, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Phoenix Arizona, Los Angeles California, Atlanta Georgia, and Culver City 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 photography galleries. 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 light exceptionally large canvases and prints, 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.

Linear strips provide an ideal source of jewelry display lighting. They offer a concealed physical presence combined with evenly distributed illumination that is excellent for showcasing collections of jewelry laid out on pedestals or cloth backings. Using low voltage cabinet lighting strips in jewelry display cases with mirrored back planes is generally not advised, though, because the mirror will reflect an image of the fixture and reflective glare back into the eyes and distract attention away from the merchandise.

Cabinet strip lights also provide jewelry displays with a versatility of lamping options and light levels that can be fine-tuned to fully accent the visual qualities of both the type and substance of jewelry on display. Different bulbs create different types of light, and the choice of which type of lamp to install in your linear strip depends greatly on the size of your showcase, the type of jewelry you are displaying, and the color of the background you use.

Jewelry display lights require heavy glare shielding that will angle the light toward the merchandise and reflect only enough light back into the eyes to make it sparkle. The remainder of the light should evenly “wash” over the surface of metal and gemstones, showcasing contours, cuts, and any engravings over the surface.

The more three-dimensional its appearance is, the more valuable a piece of jewelry appears to the eye. Too much accent lighting will flatten the appearance of gold, diamonds, and silver pieces by casting startling “white” spots on their surfaces. Too little light, on the other hand, will fail to add the necessary sparkle that is essential to high-ticket merchandising.

For these reasons, it is almost always best to use a low-voltage linear lighting strip that has user-friendly dimmer controls that will allow you to adjust your jewelry display lights to the precise level necessary to showcase a given piece or collection of items. One advantage this offers you is the ability to use the same show case for different pieces on a rotating basis and simply turn the lights up or down when you set up a new display.

Low voltage lighting systems are also a great power saver that help will minimize your overhead. Especially if you are own a small, family store, cost effective lighting can make your facility look high-end and one of a kind without the burden of high expenditures.

As for the actual bulb types used in jewelry display lighting, much of your choice depends on the style and colors of the items on display. Fluorescent lights, long-valued for their power saving value, are used much less than they were in the past. Other forms of low voltage lighting have become competitive with fluorescent in terms of reduced power costs, and these other bulb types tend to produce better types of lighting as well. High-ticket merchandise generally requires a light source more appropriate to its dimensions and color than fluorescent is normally able to deliver.

Pearls, silver, and light colored jewelry such as opal look exquisite under incandescent lamps that bring out the whites, off whites, and the glint of 14K gold. For warmer colors like those seen in an emerald or sapphire, a more robust light source makes for an even better source of jewelry display lighting. Either low voltage xenon lighting, which cast something of a “golden” aura around the subject, or specialty LED strip lights available in a multitude of colors will enhance both the darker colors and multi-dimensional appearance of exquisitely cut, rare jewelry.

Phantom display light strips feature all the necessary technical elements required for optimal jewelry display lighting, and they also provide the added benefit of customization. Phantom custom-manufacturers each individual lighting strip precisely to the dimensions of your jewelry display, and your Phantom Lighting Agent works with you to determine which bulb type(s) will be most effective for specific showcases.

Phantom lighting strips are low-voltage and fully dimmable, and they come in six different series models. Each series features patented glare shielding and proprietary lamping designs that creates a bright, yet soft field of light with minimal reflection but just enough shine to precious metals and gemstones sparkle.

Our US lighting agents work with retail managers, distributors and lighting consultants to help them choose both the series type and appropriate bulb types essential tor high-end jewelry display lighting. Agents work throughout North, Central, and South America and offer their consultations as a courtesy to our clients.

Contact us Toll-Free 1-800-863-1184 to speak to an Agent now about your retail, display, and jewelry showcase lighting needs. We invite you to request literature or visit our lighting blog to learn more about Phantom custom low voltage lighting products.