01 400 10 Mo-Do: 9-12 13-15Uhr - Fr: 9-12 13-15Uhr we sell products + services for venues and performancesAlong with the technical evolution of light sources, the requirements for black stage displays have changed over the years. Until 1945, only light sources with filaments and with or without halogen were in use. HMI light sources first came onto the market in the 1950s. Since the 2010s, theatre fixtures based on LED technology are being used more and more on the world’s theatre stages. Most theatres use different light sources in parallel.
With the technical evolution of light sources, the requirements for black stage displays changed over the decades. Until 1945, only light sources with filaments with or without halogen were used, but from the 1950s HMI light sources came onto the market for the first time. Since the 2010s, theatre spotlights based on LED technology have been taking up more and more space on the world's theatre stages. In most theatres, different light sources are used in parallel.
Depending on the technology, light is emitted with a typical spectrum – from the red-heavy light of old tungsten lamps to the spectra of HMI/HQI technology, with a comparatively high proportion of blue, to modern LED technology, where the red colour spectrum is almost completely missing. All this is a huge challenge for the colour black.
In order to make your entire stage display – soffits, aisle scarves, theatre horizons, backdrops – appear deep black, they must absorb as much luminous flux as possible in every wave length of the light spectrum. Of course, shine is counterproductive and must also be avoided.
We set off on our quest for solutions and found them in new colours and new velvet structures – the highTex stage velvets of the lightSORBER class were born!
Several stages are already testing lightSORBER stage velvet DD25 and D18: Photos of the tests show that lightSORBER velvets
Black should visually enlarge the depth of your stage and your stage design. The blacker the background, the deeper the overall effect. Start by using the new lightSORBER velvets at the very back of your stage: Begin with a backdrop and follow by replacing soffits and aisle scarves symmetrically, from the back towards the auditorium. Step by step, your stage becomes deep black.
TÜCHLER achieves state of the art exact colour rendition on velvet through high-precision controlled dyeing processes, meticulous inspection and colour measurements. Thus, you can combine freshly produced and older products in your house. Please take note that velvet curtains in your house may be completely regenerated and therefore can appear darker than recently delivered velvet. This effect is far less noticeable in lightSORBER velvets, but still exists. Your experienced lighting team can easily illuminate this difference away.
Due to decades of experience, it was clear to us, at TUCHLER, that it was only a matter of time before a theatre or opera house would need a deep black echo curtain to match the lightSORBER theatre stage curtain. Therefore, we developed an acoustically effective backing that transforms lightSORBER D18 and lightSORBER DD25 into perfectly matching echo curtains.
Velvets have the property of developing so-called reflection stripes on the original roll. The reason for this are micro-movements of the material, that start straight after rolling up and reduce tension produced during the production of the material. The fibres on the velvet surface get slightly tangled and prevent homogeneous tension equalisation. The result are light and dark stripes on velvet fresh off the roll. These stripes disappear over time – but we often don’t have time!
With lightSORBER DD25, we were able to reduce this effect – even after months of storage – by about 90 %. lightSORBER D18 is also a benchmark for long shelf life in its weight class of 600g/m². If reflection stripes occur, both velvets reduce these far more quickly than comparable velvets. The same applies to folds that occur when theatre curtains are folded and stored.
The quality of the selvedges has a decisive influence on how the velvet curtain hangs. Tension and fibres bulging at the selvedge produce wavy or rippling seams and have to be removed before sewing, which is tedious. lightSORBER velvets have flat and tension-free selvedges, that stay on the velvet and keep the finished curtain seam smooth.
Our modern rail-guided sewing machines set seams completely straight over the whole height of the curtain. This is ideal for stage curtains, that need to fall extremely flat without adding pleats.
lightSORBER: The modern hybrid motor for various “light fuels”
The basic colour of your stage drapes corresponds figuratively to an engine and your light to the fuel of your colour perception.
To work perfectly, motor and fuel must go together.
This applies particularly to curtains on stages, as black is a special “load case” for the human eye. In recent years, light has changed significantly due to LED technology. Some black surfaces don’t work well and seem light, silvery, greyish, creased – at least not as black as they used to.
The TÜCHLER lightSORBER velvets are hybrid motors for black: They take the blue-heavy spectral properties of LED lights and the red-heavy spectrum of classical tungsten light sources into account. They appear black, even if different light sources are used simultaneously.
A combustion engine requires fossil fuel, an electric motor requires electricity to function. Only a hybrid motor can handle both.
In short: TÜCHLER lightSORBER velvets produce the most colour neutral black for all lighting types on the market.
The perceived colour can be produced by the surface structure and also through chemical dyes. Usually, a random combination of both is the case.
For the first time, the lightSORBER velvet development team has specifically developed textile constructions that absorb a particularly large amount of energy, due to their surface structure. Additionally, new colour combinations have been developed that absorb a maximum amount of energy across the entire spectrum of visible light.
The result is the unique strong hybrid effect of the lightSORBER velvets and the deepest black on velvet.
Up to now, the following rule applied: The higher the weight per unit, the blacker the velvet.
The development of TÜCHLER’s lightSORBER velvet shows that the structure of the velvet surface is a decisive factor for light absorption.
The weight is only the result and not the reason for a high colour depth. The velvet with the deepest black is TÜCHLER’s lightSORBER velvet DD25 with practical and light 450g/m².
Therefore, velvet weight doesn’t play a decisive role in regard to the depth of black.
However, there are other reasons why stages like using heavy velvets. In particular, these include heavy drapery for moving curtains or acoustic requirements.
Therefore, we also offer lightSORBER as a velvet weighing 600g/m² D18, with only a slightly lower black colour depth.
lightSORBER velvets convince with reflection values, which are 35 % lower in the range from 400-500Nm (blue) and notably 70 % lower in the range from 500-700Nm (yellow to red), compared with high-quality velvets from competitors.
If a convex lens captures a yellow and a blue beam of light, it produces white light. Two colours, that produce white light together, form complementary colours. Even a mixture of red, green and blue light produces white light.
The spectral distribution of light from spotlights with the same colour temperature can differ noticeably. These are referred to as metameric light sources. Metameric light can have a continuous spectrum like a lightbulb or be reduced to a narrow spectral band like an energy saving lamp or a flat screen monitor.
Even through the spectral distribution of light from spotlights with the same colour temperature can differ, practice shows that black is perceived as deeper at colour temperatures below 4700K. Thanks to their special woven structure and the employment of special dyes and dyeing processes, TÜCHLER lightSORBER velvets are more light-absorbent across the entire visible light spectrum than any other textile known to us. Nevertheless, in most cases your perception of black will be deeper if the light temperature is below 4700 Kelvin.
There is no black in the colour rendering index CRI
The colour of an object depends on the light you view it in, more exactly from the colours (spectrum) that form white light. Whilst the spectrum of a lightbulb only depends on its wattage, the colour rendition for LED light sources and other replacements for lightbulbs must be specified. This occurs by specifying the CRI- or the Ra value as the colour rendering index.
In compliance with DIN 6169, 14 test colours are defined. For these, the secondary spectra are measured with the reference- and test light source. The deviations produce 14 reference values (Ri).
LEDs can be set to a particular spectrum, by a certain degree. A light source equipped with LEDs in different colours can produce a spectrum completely different to daylight and still achieve a rendering index of 90 or more.
The number of reference colours included in the colour rendering index has been increased to 15. Including more colours in the index calculation makes the description of the light quality more accurate. As the average is calculated from the various Ri-values, even a high-quality light source can have weaknesses in the reproduction of individual colours.
The common perception of black is achieved with the new fabrication and dyeing technique used for TÜCHLER lightSORBER velvets.
If your velvet is used in sunlight, it can get sun-bleached. A combination with new velvets is not recommended in this case.
