PAR can lights are directional luminaires that project a controlled beam of light for accent, area, back and wash lighting on stage. A PAR can light used to be a lamp-based luminaire and the luminaire derived its name from the lamp that it houses. PAR is an acronym for parabolic aluminized reflector which is the optical part of a sealed beam lamp. The sealed beam lamp which contains the reflector, light source (filament or halogen bulb) and lens in a single unit is thus known as a PAR lamp. The reflector of the lamp is capable of focusing rays in one direction and creating various beam spreads: VNSP (very narrow spot), NSP (narrow spot), MFL (medium flood) and WFL (wide flood). PAR cans are simple stage lighting equipment. A traditional PAR can is essentially a hollow cylinder with a lamp socket that accommodates a PAR lamp. It does not have any sort of zoom or focus option. The most common PAR cans used in the theatre industry were based on PAR64 lamps. The number following the “PAR” indicates the diameter of the bulb in 1/8 inch increments and a PAR64 lamp has a diameter of 64/8 inches.
at the Open Lighting Product Directory (OLPD)
