Q: What exactly is "Full Spectrum Lighting"?

Full Spectrum Lighting is the attempt to produce lamps and fixtures that emit the full spectrum of visible daylight. Most traditional fixtures emit a limited range of visible light, which is why they have color casts. But Full Spectrum Lighting is more than just getting the right color temperature to match daylight - it is the attempt to produce light that matches the wavelengths of daylight through the entire range, including UV.

Q: What is the advantage of Full Spectrum Lighting?

The advantages are numerous. For graphic artists and digital photographers, it allows for critical color proofing without the need to run outside to check color. For artists and painters, it allows them to mix colors and work under natural light conditions at any time (rather than just during the daylight hours in well lit studios). Most importantly, our eyes work best and most comfortably under natural daylight conditions. Because Full Spectrum Lights create light that matches daylight, people work more comfortably under them and have significantly reduced eye-strain. As a result, anyone can benefit from the use of Full Spectrum Lighting.

Q: What is CRI and why is it so important?

The CRI, or Color Rendition Index, is a measurement of how the light from a given fixture or bulb compares to natural daylight. It is a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being natural daylight. Most traditional bulbs and fixtures have relatively low CRI's, generally in the range of 60-80. Even the latest "daylight balanced" bulbs now sold at many national retailers are not exceptional performers, with CRI's in the range of 85 or so.

With a CRI of 93, Digalite is the closest fixture to true daylight on the market today. A few others have claimed to have higher CRI's, but these claims are unsubstantiated and, in most cases, false. Digalite not only has the highest true CRI on the market today of standard lighting fixtures, but will gladly provide documentation and spectrum analysis to prove how closely our product matches daylight. This documentation will be added to the website in the near future, along with a more complete explanation of the Color Rendition Index.

Q: What is the 5600 degrees Kelvin temperature, and how does it compare to daylight?

The "color" of light is measured on the Kelvin temperature scale, and daylight varies from 4000 degrees Kelvin during sunrise or sunset, up to 10,500 degrees Kelvin in direct sun in the afternoon. However, what most people consider "daylight" is the color temperature on a sunny day, but not in direct light. This range is generally 5000-6500 degrees Kelvin, and for photographic purposes, daylight is considered 5000-5600 degrees Kelvin (most electronic flashes, for example, are designed to fire at 5600 degrees Kelvin). With a 5600 degree Kelvin color temperature, Digalite lights closely matches natural daylight conditions and exceeds all other standard bulbs on the market today.

Q: You mention that Full Spectrum Lights emit UV; isn't UV bad?

Because Digalite products do emit UV, you should not use them to illuminate artwork for extended periods. Extended exposure can cause fading, just like exposure to sunlight. This is the only major limitation of DigaLite bulbs.

However, it should be pointed out that the light output of Digalite products is significantly below that of natural daylight. Our 30w bulb, for example, has a light output equivalent to a 150w standard incandescent bulb. While a bright interior light, the light output of the bulb is dwarfed by the amount of light outdoors on the most overcast day. As a result, the UV emitted by Digalite products is exceptionally low and is not a concern. In fact, some medical research suggests that full spectrum lights that emit a small amount of UV, such as DigaLite, are more comfortable for people to work under (the human eye is, after all, tuned to see in natural light, which includes UV). As such, Digalite products make exceptional work lights and reading lights, and their color balance makes them exceptional performers for photographic use.

Q: Do you make Digalite tubes in the standard 8 foot length?

No. It is not technically possible to produce 8 foot tubes that have the CRI and color temperature matching our smaller products. We have 8 foot tubes, but the color temperature is only 5000 degrees Kelvin and the CRI is noticeably lower as well. The largest tube that can be produced and still have a CRI of 93 is the standard 4 foot length.

Q: Digalite products are great, and I'm interested in becoming a dealer. How can I join the Digalite team?

We are actively seeking to build a Digalite dealer network. We are particularly looking for qualified businesses in the photographic and arts supply fields. If you are interested, please contact us at the following address: