Printed pattern projection through LED SRC4

[Mistermon]

Hello CB,
I have an odd question which I think will require some trial and error, but wanted to ask the group if anyone had any experience in what I'm considering.

Background: Years ago I was able to rent some lekos (Selecon Acclaim, I think) that had the light source 90degrees from the lens tube, so the output was much cooler on the gels/gobos. At that time, the marketed the fixture as being able to project custom printed (on an inkjet or laser printer) gobos. I tried this with that fixture for a show, and it was pretty effective.

Question: Given that most new fixtures are LEDs, will this same set up work? I have an entire rig of Source4LEDS in our space and am thinking of trying it out. I know I'll have to remove the diffusion filter. Does anyone have any tips? Has anyone tried this? We don't have the budget for digital lighting or LED screens, so I'm trying to approximate something similar, just for a single cue.

Thank you,
Rob

 

[JAC]

If you only need one, it's almost not worth the hassle of doing it yourself. Both Apollo and Rosco now will make you a full-color custom plastic gobo for less than the cost of a custom metal gobo.

 

[jtweigandt]

I have done some printed.. inkjet onto transparency.. I the old days, I got some IR filtering glass from American Science and surplus to protect it in the slot of our follow spot for wizard of oz..
Transformed one spot with Miss Gulch... met and faded in the middle to the Witch in the other spot. Would get about 2 performances out of a print.
In our phoenix LED units, they are still hot enough that the transparency ink will outgas (smoke) first use but then they stabilize after that. .. They don't have long life, but can of course be replaced easily at will.

 

[seanandkate]

I have used transparencies through a laser printer in an S4 Lustre 2 and it worked great. Used one in a 90 deg to fill a stage with daffodils at the end of Big Fish and it worked like a charm. I actually printed one transparency for each night expecting burnout, and I didn't have to use a single one. (When I was first demo-ing the fixture, the dealer dropped a Canadian $20 bill in a gobo holder (Canadian money is colourful and made of plastic) and it projected the bill perfectly. I. Was. Impressed.)

 

[Malabaristo]

Depending on your printer/medium you may need more than one layer to get completely opaque blacks. That's one of the big advantages of the Apollo PrintScenic and similar products: blacker blacks, and quality color pigments design for transparency. The DIY method is better for experimenting, though. I've done a few keystone corrected gobos that way and it was really nice to be able to quickly print and experiment to confirm my rough trigonometry.

I've seen some softening & slight deformation with extended use in a Series 2 S4LED, but not enough to need replacement through a weekend run of a show.

 

[seanandkate]

Found a pic from the archives. The floor was the transparency. Single fixture.

 

[Mistermon]

Found a pic from the archives. The floor was the transparency. Single fixture.
View attachment 22437

That looks great!
I might start printing all my breakups....

 

[Mistermon]

Thank you all for the great responses (as usual)!