Technical Glossary

Conservation Lighting

Focus International offer Museum Curators and Designers the confidence of many years' experience in designing and installing customised museum lighting and display systems. Amongst these are numbered the award-winning schemes at The Imperial War Museum, and the Tiffany Collection at the Haworth Museum.

Most of Focus International's work is based on fibre optics and fibre optic principles. Fibre optic lighting technology in particular has advanced dramatically in recent years, with enhanced fibre and lightsource capacities combining to produce far-reaching opportunities for museums. galleries and historic houses generally. Fibre optic lighting in museum cabinets is becoming increasingly well-established as the only truly curator- friendly lighting alternative. with the obvious benefits of such lighting being manifold:

No heat or UV at output: this is a significant consideration for the Preservation of particularly fragile material in optimum conditions. In general terms also, the absence of heat makes for more comfortable ambient conditions, and reduces the load on (or indeed necessity for) costly air-conditioning or circulation systems both within and outside cabinets.

Remote location of lightsource: with the lightsource itself situated at a remove from the light output points, and the fibres hermetically sealed on entry into the cabinet, relamping is a quick and simple process. The cabinet itself can remain sealed and the exhibits undisturbed; nor does lamp replacement require additional refocussing or redirecting of the lighting display.

Facility to miniaturise: the light outputs can be very small indeed, which enables lighting to be attractively discreet, or even concealed. Lighting in cabinets is, after all, a means to an end, not intended to be a feature in itself.

Flexibility to reuse lighting installation: for cabinets or areas dedicated to temporary displays, a comprehensive fibre optic lighting system can easily be rearranged and reused time and again, with no additional expense incurred, and without further input from external lighting experts or electricians.

Passive light at output: the light emitting fibre terminations can be safely and comfortably handled, directed and focussed while the light is active, making the process of fine-tuning exhibit illumination both quicker and easier.

Controllability of beam size and intensity: this is partly determined by the profile of the lens selected for the purpose (and one fibre optic lighting system can incorporate a variety of interchangeable lens fittings); partly by the size of fibre used; and partly by the process of focussing. In some instances, it may be desirable to combine unlensed but large capacity fibre to provide an overall wash of light, with tightly beamed lensed fibres to provide dramatic impact highlighting of selected individual exhibits.

Controllability of light quality and intensity: not only can the colour temperature and intensity of the light emitted from the fibres be determined by the specification of the originating lamp, but interface tonal filters can be introduced at source (in that all the light outputs from that source convey the same tonal quality), and also at the individual lensed outputs, to vary the light quality or intensity from output to output. Thus exhibits with greater or lesser sensitivity can he illuminated within the same cabinet from the same lighting system to their optimum levels both of presentation and conservation.

Provision of both ambient and cabinet lighting: for displays where a higher light level is appropriate, it is possible to exploit the capacity of the fibre optic lightsource by using certain additional high capacity output fibres to provide general
lighting in the architectural space adjacent to the cabinets. Fibre optic lighting in a general functional sense is far more developed than most people realise.

Economical system price and installation: assuming that a fibre optic lighting system uses a good percentage of the lightsource' s capacity (anything from 15 to 25 halogen lamp equivalent replacement), system prices and installation costs equate favourably with the halogen alternatives. Add to this the savings in lamps and the irksome task of relamping, and the lower power consumption of the fibre optic lighting system, and it is evident that the long-term economic benefits are very substantial.

In addition to their service in lighting, Focus International offer a comprehensive range of facilities and techniques to produce animated and illuminated display systems, which can be interactive, and which are always unusual, innovative - and reliable. The Company's widely experienced members of staff are pleased to assist in any of these areas, and take pride in maintaining Focus International's high standards of personal care and attention to specific detail and requirements.