Solux Print Viewing Setups
There are at least three ways to set up a print viewing environment based on Solux bulbs - the best bulbs in the world for colour reproduction.
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Room Lighting
If you have existing halogen downlight fittings in your room, this is a simple matter of replacing your existing globes with Solux globes. Generally, with normal height ceilings, the 50W bulbs are recommended. A typical halogen downlight ceiling fitting is shown in the picture below.
If you do not have existing fittings, you can have an electrician install these lights to replace your older tungsten or fluorescent fittings. They will install a transformer from 240V to 12V and then you can either do the 12V work yourself, or have the electrician do it. If you are installing new lighting, we recommend you have your fittings spaced around 1 to 1.5m apart at the most so that you create a more even lighting than the typical room lighting that is installed.
The Solux bulbs we sell are 36 degree lights - that is they have a fairly wide spread of light from the bulb outwards, similar to the lights installed in most homes. The colour temperature and rendering abilities of the globes are best in the center, so the more even you can get your lighting the better. That said, even if you have 2 or more meters between your fittings, your lighting will still be much better and more accurate with Solux bulbs than with regular halogen downlight bulbs.
Track Lighting
Track lighting is a great way to install task lighting over a specific area, such as a large bench for print viewing. Any lighting store will have a variety of fittings to choose from, just check the actual fittings are MR16 and suitable for the wattage of the bulbs you choose. You can install the tracks and lights yourself, but you will need a qualified electrician to connect the 12V transformer to your 240V wiring.
As track lighting is generally lower than ceiling lighting, we find in most installations that the 35W bulbs are bright enough.
Task Lighting
Unfortunately there is only one MR16 fitting lamp we're aware of in Australia. This lamp is from Ikea, it's called the Jaringe Lamp. Technically this lamp comes with a 20W bulb but we have used a 35W bulb in one for some time now without any issues, and so have a number of our clients.
We'd recommend that you get two of these lamps and two 35W bulbs to create a print viewing area for prints up to about A3+ in size - if you need something bigger, you will be better off installing track lighting.
A single lamp will work fine for smaller prints in the region of A4 size.
Jaringe Lamp at Ikea [opens in a new window]