Tipton-based darkroom specialists Paterson Photographic Ltd have added daylight to darkness in their leading studio and theatre lighting equipment, thanks to LED technology support from WMG at the University of Warwick.

Having developed a global reputation for the quality of their darkroom equipment, they wanted to add to their product offering and re-enter the studio lighting market with a comprehensive range of Continuous Lighting units manufactured in their own UK factory.

Creating a studio lighting range that used LEDs with a colour temperature of 6000K (daylight) rather than the most common methods using fluorescent lighting would provide Paterson Photographic with a technological leap in their products.

The SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) support team at WMG at the University of Warwick provided technical and research support allowing the company to launch the first batch of LED-based daylight products with bespoke coloured filters at the 2018 Photography Show at Birmingham’s NEC. The new products are expected to generate sales in six figures for Paterson over the next year.

Dave Norman from WMG said:

“We created a bespoke electronic circuit for Paterson that was designed, built, tested and mounted into their existing lamp housings using 24 high-power 6000K LEDs to achieve daylight brightness with a much more efficient lighting system.We were able to help with solder pad design, component placement, printed circuit structure and the challenges of thermal resistance measurements.

“This means that Paterson products that will not only be attractive to new customers but will also generate sales from customers wanting to retrofit to more efficient, longer lasting LED based studio technology.” “It has also encouraged the company to explore the use of the same technology in new fields, such as theatre lighting.”

Phil Stanley, Managing Director of Paterson Photographic said: “Working with WMG, we have developed an innovative new addition to the photographic market that will boost sales and create jobs.”