PAR Can

Also written as "parcan" and "PARcan". A luminaire using a PAR lamp as its light source. Can be made of steel (Altman P64), spun aluminum (James Thomas Engineering, Tomcat, many others), or plastic (Unipar).

May also apply to the ETC Source Four PAR, and Altman StarPar (and other copies), even though these fixtures don't use PAR lamps.

For the lighting historian:
From http://www.controlbooth.com/wiki/PAR :
Most often in theatre PAR lamps are used in conjunction with PAR Cans. A PAR Can is literally just a housing to hold the PAR lamp, attach it to a lighting position, and hold accessories like color or barn doors. According to James Moody's book Concert Lighting, in the early days of Rock & Roll lighting, technicians adapted the film/studio ColorTran CineQueen PAR fixture; and then in 1966 Bill McManus convinced Altman Lighting to manufacture a fixture that moved the color media away from the lamp to extend the color's life. Recently discovered evidence shows that Ariel Davis Manufacturing Company sold a PAR Can as early as 1960--see the thread http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...invention.html. Ariel Davis also used the PAR64-NSP as the source in a framing spotlight, the ARIELITE® PAR FRAMER; see http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...-3214-ers.html. In the UK, James Thomas Engineering made lighter and less-expensive cans from spun aluminum, and affixed them six to a IWB on 15" centers, creating the PAR-Bar. From http://www.pixelpar.com/pixelrange/company.htm :
James Thomas Engineering Ltd began February 1977 in a small garage located in Bishampton, England. James Thomas and John Walters engineered and built the first spun aluminum Par Lantern which became the industry standard.

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