A recent amendment to the EU Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment will remove the current exemption for mercury to be used in a number of types of fluorescent lamps for special purposes by 24th of February 2025. These bulbs are defined under clause 2(b)(4)-I of the EU REACH directive. After the expiration date, the sale of new equipment including fluorescent technology under this exemption will not be allowed in Europe.
The bulbs currently contained in the X-Rite SPLQC booth fall under the exemptions in this category and will be supported with service and replacement components past the expiration date, but new light booths with the mercury bulbs will no longer be sold after the 24th of February, 2025 in Europe.
It is expected that other regions will align with the European regulation following this decision, and that the market will become inhospitable to fluorescent bulb sales of all kinds in the near future.Due to these tightening restrictions and subsequently the reduction in manufacturing of fluorescent lamps, supply and sourcing has become more challenging and suppliers have consolidated the production of these lamps.
We are seeing lamp and equipment manufacturers (not X-Rite) selling lamps labeled CWF, which instead are having spectral power distributions like TL84 (F11), which is a narrow band tri-phosphor fluorescent source. Even though store lighting TL84 also offers a color temperature close to 4100K, the spectral power distribution is completely different to former CWF which has the potential to affect color matching consistency across your supply chain if you have been using former F2-F6 CWF Spectral Power Distributions.
X-Rite commits to supply high quality products and consistency across the supply chain to our customers. Therefore, X-Rite will continue to provide the former and standard wide band Cool White Fluorescent (CWF) lamps that match CIE FL2 CWF Spectral Power Distribution (SPD). In case you require FL11 or another Spectral Power Distribution, X-Rite offers TL84 and U30/U35 fluorescent illuminants.
Spectral Power Distributions for CIE CWF (FL2) and CIE TL84 (FL11)
Note: If you want to be sure your labelled CWF are former wide band F2-F6 Cool White Fluorescent (CWF) lamps, measure them with a spectroradiometer and make sure your spectrum for CWF corresponds to either FL2 or FL6 from the CIE. In case the spectrum corresponds to FL11, you are using a new CWF with higher CRI and different SPD or TL84 lamp.
In addition to providing the former CWF, X-Rite SpectraLight QC has been designed to retrofit three different LED types with the advantage of combining those with our filtered-tungsten halogen daylight (Class A), being the most accurate daylight simulation available in the market for optimum visual assessment.
The three LEDs offered by X-Rite have a color temperature of 3500K, 4000K, and 5000K. All LED types offered in X-Rite SpectraLight QC are compliant to CIE standards and their Spectral Power Distributions are matching the recommended LED types in the CIE standard as LED-B2, LED-B3, and LED-B4.
X-Rite is constantly working towards achieving highest possible quality in its products and being compliant with Industry Standards, making sure our customers are well served, as long as possible, when in need of fluorescent technology. However, X-Rite recommends you start thinking ahead and transitioning to LED technology when possible.
If you have any questions or require support, please don’t hesitate to contact X-Rite for assistance.
