There are many different laser myths floating about. The easiest way to find all information regarding lasers is to visit our other website www.lasershowsafety.org, this includes hints and tips for audience scanned shows, Explanations on Irradiance and MPE, Scan fail devices discussions, Measuring scanned emissions, Manufacturing requirements and information of our ILDA multi award winning Scanguard Lite software; alternatively the following facts
are the most important to know:
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1.
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Keep it legal |
Using a laser system
that does not comply to the European Safety Standards is illegal to
use within the UK; be aware of low cost laser systems that flout the
rules and therefore are illegal to use - but unfortunately seen in
many stores in the UK for sale. The retailer has a legal duty to know
what the UK laser project safety legislation is and advise the customer
accordingly. Please visit our buyer beware
page for further details of what to look for. |
| 2. |
Output power |
Beware: many laser
retailers will sell lasers at the very maximum output power, and sometimes
even quote a theoretical power to enhance the output possibilities
on paper! A good retailer will always have a calibrated laser power
meter to enable proof of output power quoted. |
| 3. |
Laser operator
licence |
There is NO such thing as a laser
operator licence, but ensure that you adhere to the Health & Safety
Executive guide (HSG95) "Controlling the radiation safety of
display laser installations", information leaflet explaining
how to obtain this guide is given with every Scorpion laser system
sold by us; alternatively visit our health &
safety page of this web site. |
| 4. |
The brightest laser colour |
Green is the brightest colour
that any laser can produce; therefore green will always provide the
most striking effect over any other colour laser. Other colours may
fade or disburse quicker - but this is not what laser displays are
all about! For the record, Green DPSS lasers are up to 4 times brighter
than an Argon blue/green laser for the same given output power; please
see a detailed explanation on our DPSS v Argon
page of this web site. |
| 5. |
Multicolour laser systems |
Systems that "claim"
to be multicoloured may not look as striking as you think ... in order
for a multicolour laser to look any good it must have 100mW of EACH
COLOUR; therefore the laser need to have a total output power of over
500mW. The multicolour laser systems often seen in club venues use
7,000mW (7 Watts) to achieve the true colours. |
| 6. |
Text, Graphics & Logos |
Always ensure that if a company
claims that their systems can project graphics and text that you see
it first hand - some can do text, but can you read it? In order to
produce clear, crisp graphics and text you need to invest in a professional
set of XY galvanometers. If the company does not know what pps (points
per second) of their scanners is or it is less than 8,000 pps chances
are that you will not be able to project clear graphics or text from
your laser system. The ILDA standard test pattern for scan units is
30,000 pps. |
| 7. |
Surplus stock lasers |
Beware of surplus stock
lasers - why are they surplus? |
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