Author: Rich Dale
Date: Friday, November 09, 2007

Why is it every time you go to put a gobo in you can never remember? I still have to stop and remind myself which one is the correct side. I think everyone at one time or another has said "what the heck does it matter, just put it in and hang the light". Well, unfortunately it does matter. The production process results in a gobo having a coated side and an uncoated side. All you have to remember is the coated side goes towards the lamp. The best way to tell which side is coated is to take a pencil and lightly touch both sides of the glass gobo. On one side the pencil tip will touch itself, which is the coated side. On the other side you will see a small gap between the pencil tips. In other words if the tip does not touch, that's the un-coated side. It's really important to take a few seconds and follow this procedure. It will prevent the glass from cracking and prolong the life of the gobo along with the image. To make it even easier Apollo is now attaching a static sticker that states "This side towards lamp." We're always trying to come up with new methods and procedures to make it easier for our clients. Customer satisfaction is very important to Apollo and a key to our success, so if you by chance have one without a sticker, take a few moments with your finest No. 2 pencil and determine which one is the coated side. You'll be happy you did.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rich Dale, Lighting Designer Representative at rdale@internetapollo.com.