Matching Color With Selador Classic

History/Manufacturing

Selador classic fixtures do not have any of the calibration data inside them the way other ETC LED fixtures do; ColorSource, Desire or Source Four LED.  Therefore matching color in Selador fixtures is much more difficult.

Manufacture of LED fixtures requires a number of different LEDs.  These LEDs are organized in groups called bins.  LEDs are binned for color, intensity and voltage.  ETC made all decisions only looking at color.  LED technology changes quickly, therefore ETC could not guarantee at any point that we would be able to guarantee the same bin LEDs would be available.  This necessitated a number of bins be acceptable in the fixture specification.  

To solve this problem, ETC began creating fixture bin 'recipes'.  The recipe can be found printed at the bottom center of each LED array.  This recipe is a code designating the exact mix of LEDs in a particular array.  When a particular LED became no longer available, the recipe number would change.  For this reason, ETC strongly recommended that Selador classic fixtures be purchased as a full system rather than piecemeal.  ETC cannot guarantee that a particular bin recipe will be available after shipment.  

Below you see a close up of a Selador array (not installed in a fixture or with optics attached).  You see that this has a recipe of V2221.  The first letter refers to the array type; V= Vivid, L= Lustr, etc.  

Troubleshooting

If you have fixtures on site and have a fixture that does not match.  A good starting place is to check the bin recipe.  This will tell you if the fixtures are all built with the same color LEDs.  Before the recipe as it shows here, the same size label showed the bin numbers of each color; R-2, B-4, A-2, etc for all 7 colors.  ETC moved to the recipe (eg V2221) as it is much easier to read and compare.

If you have existing fixtures and you are looking to add to the inventory with matching fixtures, ETC will work with you, but results vary.  If you can provide the bin recipe, ETC can verify if the LEDs exist in stock to manufacture that recipe again.  This is not a guarantee. 

Other Concerns with Color Match

There is one other issue to be aware of, Perceived Match:  This can happen with two or more fixtures have the same bin LEDs in them, but the intensities of colors may vary.  Once this is multiplied by 7 colors, the color the eye sees may look different.  This is caused by two major factors:

• LED degradation
  • With use, LEDs break down and lose intensity
  • Heat is the major contributor 
  • If used in similar use cases, most fixtures will age similarly
• New LEDs are brighter (put out more lumens)
  • As LED technology advances, LED manufacturers are able to crate the same color LED in a brighter package
  • A new LED of the same color may not match an older, even if it was not heavily used

There are many factors that go into matching Selador classic fixtures that do not come from the same manufacturing batch.  ETC will attempt to assist customers down this path, but results often vary depending upon use, age and availability.