Free Stuff from Kelite!

[Hughesie]

well today it arrived, hand delivered by a guy from australia post. it came with 2 boxes of gum which have 2 pieces each in them, and all the stuff everyone else has detailed, including 2 full size gels and one what has been preferated into little squares

so for those down under or just outside of the US here is how to do it

go to the site

and enter your name and the put in all the details it will allow, for me it didn't list a country so i entered my address, post code and city and as you can see from the photo it got here

 

[gafftaper]

including 2 full size gels and one what has been preferated into little squares:

The little squares are a sample of "Perf Gel" imagine getting a whole sheet of gel that tears apart that easy into your chosen size. Sweet!

 

[tomed101]

Mine arrived today as well, but did not come with the grease pencil....

 

[gafftaper]

Mine arrived today as well, but did not come with the grease pencil....

Well you know all the U.S. rules about exporting the latest technology overseas.

 

[Hughesie]

i didn't think i would get the gum because in another thing i ordered it stated that our customs removed it because it was plant material

 

[DarSax]

Got mine today. Thanks a lot, Apollo!

Oh, and having never experienced perfgel firsthand, that stuff is un-believable.

 

[Kelite]

Perhaps Kelite has been away because Apollo locked him in the backroom to send out all these packages?

Phew!

Sorry for the delayed replies gang, I've been putting together multitudes of Apollo Gel Kits morning, noon and night! Now I know how the elves feel this month!

(Actually took two weeks off for vacation following LDI, so I've just returned to Mission Control.... )

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments. We greatly appreciate your time and attention to the Swatchbooks, as the info on the back of each page is intended to assist those just wading into 'LD Creek'.
By the way, PERFGel won expendable product of the year at LDI in 2002, and has been assisting theatricians and live event producers since.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback, and we'll keep 'em coming!

 

[DarSax]

Hey so just on a related note, Kelite, something I just thought of but probably not all that original.

Perfgel is great, and really convenient, but I'd imagine not always the easiest for a supplier to stock a ton of, as it's less versatile than just standard sheets of gel that fit any instrument. But what about a sheet of gel that had lines already printed on it in standard sizes? Different hash marked lines would mean different sizes, no more time-consuming measurements necessary. The lines wouldn't show up in the beam, and as long as the ink (or whatever) didn't make the gel weaker it'd be fine. It'd allow people to just need to carry pair of scissors around, rather than a paper cutter.

Just a thought :shock:

 

[icewolf08]

Along the lines of DarSax's question. In seeing PerfGel in person it is pretty cool, but it must take a couple extra steps to get it out of your factory. In that you need to take an order from a customer saying he needs XYZ colors in 3 different perf patterns. Now, I don't know if you keep a stock of each color in every perf pattern or if you perf to order. If you perf to order, why not just punch the pattern and ship precut squares? It probably takes the same amount of time and machine power to do. Since the perf gel practically falls apart into squares as you handle it, and it must have to be shipped flat, which requires more packaging than a roll (wasn't there just a post about Apollo goign green?), wouldn't it make more sense to cut the pieces as small as possible to save on shipping materials? Also, if the gel was just pre-cut the end user would only have to drop the color into the fixtures. And of course if you (Apollo) saved the scrap to cut whatever fit in it, but still only sold cuts "by the sheet" for the same price as a sheet, you would end up winning!

 

[Kelite]

<Now, I don't know if you keep a stock of each color in every perf pattern or if you perf to order. If you perf to order, why not just punch the pattern and ship precut squares? It probably takes the same amount of time and machine power to do. Since the perf gel practically falls apart into squares as you handle it, and it must have to be shipped flat, which requires more packaging than a roll (wasn't there just a post about Apollo goign green?), wouldn't it make more sense to cut the pieces as small as possible to save on shipping materials? Also, if the gel was just pre-cut the end user would only have to drop the color into the fixtures. And of course if you (Apollo) saved the scrap to cut whatever fit in it, but still only sold cuts "by the sheet" for the same price as a sheet, you would end up winning!>


<Perfgel is great, and really convenient, but I'd imagine not always the easiest for a supplier to stock a ton of, as it's less versatile than just standard sheets of gel that fit any instrument. But what about a sheet of gel that had lines already printed on it in standard sizes? Different hash marked lines would mean different sizes, no more time-consuming measurements necessary. The lines wouldn't show up in the beam, and as long as the ink (or whatever) didn't make the gel weaker it'd be fine. It'd allow people to just need to carry pair of scissors around, rather than a paper cutter.>





Very good points made, indeed!

We perf the gel by color, per order. Since so many variations of 144 colors with different sized perforations exist, we perf that day, shipping the following day to either the dealer or the theatrical venue.

Oftentimes the schoolchurch/theater may want to save the smaller cuts for other uses, so we will roll the sheets and ship in a tube- thus saving shipping costs. In the event the technician must use the gel for another sized fixture, you may still cut the desired size from the PerfGel sheet of gel- ignoring the perforations. And yes, these perforations aren't seen during the projection as they are so small.

We do have dealers that stock a number of sheets of their best selling colors in several sizes, but since we ship so quickly- most order PerfGel the day before, allowing us time to perf and ship.

It is an option to ask for PerfGel in 1 or 2 inch squares, allowing the user to determine at gel time which size is needed.


Keep the comments coming!

 

[avkid]

Actually took two weeks off for vacation following LDI

I hope you went somewhere warm!
Winter is here with a vengeance.

 

[Kelite]

I hope you went somewhere warm!
Winter is here with a vengeance.

Actually, I spent the entire two weeks on our property in NE Indiana. Much was spent either in the tree stand or in the log cabin back in the woods, warming up with a pot o' coffee and a hot lunch!

The fall is a rather beautiful time of year here, and it's great to spend some time at home for a change- especially following LDI.

 

[thebikingtechie]

Well, the kit finally came today, I hate living on an island (a large one) in Canada, everything takes so long to get here.

Everything looks great. I just wish they made Red, Green, Blue, and Amber cyc diffusions. I guess you can just stick in linear diffusion over another color, but it would be nice if they were combined.

I will also say that if there is a dealer near me, I will request to order my school's gel from Apollo. The customer relations aspect helps a lot.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

They do make colored diffusion. AP 1800, 1900 and 1950. These are more of the "frost diffusions", they don't have the colored linear diffusions like Rosco...yet.

 

[Footer]

<Now, I don't know if you keep a stock of each color in every perf pattern or if you perf to order. If you perf to order, why not just punch the pattern and ship precut squares? It probably takes the same amount of time and machine power to do. Since the perf gel practically falls apart into squares as you handle it, and it must have to be shipped flat, which requires more packaging than a roll (wasn't there just a post about Apollo goign green?), wouldn't it make more sense to cut the pieces as small as possible to save on shipping materials? Also, if the gel was just pre-cut the end user would only have to drop the color into the fixtures. And of course if you (Apollo) saved the scrap to cut whatever fit in it, but still only sold cuts "by the sheet" for the same price as a sheet, you would end up winning!>
<Perfgel is great, and really convenient, but I'd imagine not always the easiest for a supplier to stock a ton of, as it's less versatile than just standard sheets of gel that fit any instrument. But what about a sheet of gel that had lines already printed on it in standard sizes? Different hash marked lines would mean different sizes, no more time-consuming measurements necessary. The lines wouldn't show up in the beam, and as long as the ink (or whatever) didn't make the gel weaker it'd be fine. It'd allow people to just need to carry pair of scissors around, rather than a paper cutter.>
Very good points made, indeed!
We perf the gel by color, per order. Since so many variations of 144 colors with different sized perforations exist, we perf that day, shipping the following day to either the dealer or the theatrical venue.
Oftentimes the schoolchurch/theater may want to save the smaller cuts for other uses, so we will roll the sheets and ship in a tube- thus saving shipping costs. In the event the technician must use the gel for another sized fixture, you may still cut the desired size from the PerfGel sheet of gel- ignoring the perforations. And yes, these perforations aren't seen during the projection as they are so small.
We do have dealers that stock a number of sheets of their best selling colors in several sizes, but since we ship so quickly- most order PerfGel the day before, allowing us time to perf and ship.
It is an option to ask for PerfGel in 1 or 2 inch squares, allowing the user to determine at gel time which size is needed.
Keep the comments coming!

I remember hearing this at USITT a few years back, never conformed... so here we go... I heard the burnout rate was extremely high on the perf-gel, so much so in the range of a few hours, anything true in the rumor?

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Hmmm...that rumor doesn't seem to make much sense, as perfgel is made from the exact same material as all other Apollo Gel...so, the only way there would be a high burnout is if all Apollo gel had high burn out. Also, it's already perf'd, which was an old trick to make saturated gels last longer. So I doubt the rumor has truth.

 

[Kelite]

Firstly-
Ben, we have a great Apollo dealer in Victoria BC, Pacific Audio Works (888-27-SOUND), that purchases a fair bit of products for use on your beautiful island. I enjoyed a visit there a number of years ago when dropping in to say hello to our dealers in the great NorthWest.

Secondly-
The Apollo gel selections are very similar in transmission qualities to the other known providers, using similar materials. Having said this, the industry knows deep saturated blues and reds (name your darkest favorite) will not last as long as lighter hues. This is the stark reality of absorbtion filtering, as opposed to reflective filtering that dichroics are known for. But that is another story for another snowy evening by the fire. Darker gels require replacement often, just because of their low trasmission nature. This is the reason the new Apollo Gel Miser was developed, winning the ESTA Widget Award at LDI this year.

Thirdly-
The 'pouncing' of gel has been a practice used by many theater technicians over the years, often to the point of achieving a 'voodoo, black magic' result. The perfing of Apollo PerfGel does not weaken the material, but predisposes a specific tear route. I can't honestly say it aids in the cooling of the product without running the risk of selling snake oil.

Now then, please let me know your thoughts regarding these claims. (And please play nicely- I'm a sensitive individual....)

 

[thebikingtechie]

They do make colored diffusion. AP 1800, 1900 and 1950. These are more of the "frost diffusions", they don't have the colored linear diffusions like Rosco...yet.

I meant linear.

Thanks for the info Keith. I like buying on the island because you don't have to worry about ferries etc. I also know about Pacific Audio, and know they're a good company and can get stuff up same day.

 

[pacman]

I've been using PerfGel for three years or so. It does not burn out any quicker than non-perfed Apollo gel. I use Apollo gel almost exclusively because it takes longer to burn through than gel from our friends at the "R" company (lasts about twice as long for me). I use Roscolux when Apollo has no corresponding color (such as the previously mentioned cyc silks).

There are some noticable differences in transmission rates between some "matching" Apollo/Roscolux colors, so take a look at the transmission data on the swatch book when you are making color decisions.

 

[Lightingguy32]

Odd, never thought that Apollo gel would out last an Equally tinted and cut sized Roscolux color. I thought apollo was deep died and Rosco was sealed color which is supposed to last longer than deep died normally, I gues not. Time for me to switch to apollo gel I guess.