Shedding light on photoluminescence

Fluorescence, phosphorescence and black light are terms that are often confused.

These three different names have all different effects and are all members of the photoluminescence family.

Photoluminescent paints refer to all types of paints which molecules are excited by light and which re-emit the energy absorbed as visible light.

StardustColors manufactures a wide range of photoluminescent paints.

· Fluorescent paints

They are well known for their « flashy » colours and are used in many fields.

Main characteristic: Display intense colour during the day.
Located in a visibility area, they have the unique ability to catch the public eye thanks to their bright intensity.

What are fluorescent paints ?
They absorb the light and reflect it immediately.

The most seen colours of the light spectrum to the human eye:

– during the day the human eye is sensitive to colours from yellow to orange

– while during the night, or at nightfall, green is best perceived

StardustColors manufactures 7 fluorescent colours: white, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, green and blue !

Note : Fluorescent paints react very strongly under black light.
Note : They are semi transparent.

They work in much the same way as fluorescent ones, except that they release slowly the light.
The phosphorescent molecules, made out of natural materials, are excited by any source of light, and slowly release the energy in the form of phosphorescence.

Main characteristics: Invisible during the day, but clearly visible in total darkness

StardustColors produces by far the largest range of colours in Europe with 7 colours available : purple, blue, blue-green, green, orange, red, white.

StardustColors can help you through your project, to produce all kind of phosphorescent materials such as plastics, fabrics, adhesives and various objects.

Note: Some colours such as purple seem less strong, as their wavelength emission make them difficult to detect by the human eye. They are the shortest wavelength of visible light.

· Blacklight paint

They are also called ultraviolet or Blacklight.

These products have the particularity of reacting to waves ranges between 365 and 395nm (ultra violet light).
When exposed to UV blacklight, the paints, that were invisible, suddenly display bright colours.
Lamps, neon lighting or blacklight LED are usually used.
Used mainly in some recreational activities or in scientific fields or for security purpose (bank notes) they are quite recent.

Main characteristics: Invisible during the day, they become visible in total darkness

StardustColors creates 6 colours: yellow, pink, red, purple, blue and green (all invisible when exposed to blacklight).

Advantage: They don’t fade and their glow stays up through the entire night.
Disadvantage: They don’t resist to daylight.

· Infrared ink

Latest innovation from StardustColors, this special invisible technology, applied to scientific and medical use, glows very brightly (green) under a source of infrared light (980nm)