The E-Colour colour filter system from the Rosco company offers a very comprehensive and especially reasonably priced selection of colour filters. They are temperature resistant and flame retardant and can be directly used for colouring powerful floodlights and spotlights in the theatre and film production branches. When so used, the greatest possible distance between the light source and the colour film should be chosen and care taken that enough ventilation is at hand – self-made lighting should be so constructed that the inevitable heat that is produced can escape upwards. The manufacturer´s rough estimate of the film´s temperature resistance is that it is dimensionally stable up to 180 °C and that it will melt at 250 °C. These calculations, it must be said, are very dependent on the surrounding environment, the intended construction of the lighting device and the colour of the film being employed. Another very simple way to make coloured lighting is to wrap a fluorescent bulb with the colour filter sheet. The working temperature of this type of lighting is comparatively low and this allows the colour filter sheet to be directly affixed to the tube by means of adhesive tape.

The films are surprisingly thin and can be cut with a cutter or a scissors. Scotch Magic Tape is a great choice for adhesive attachments because it is heat resistant up to 150 °C. The relative thinness of the film can be disadvantageous if your proposed construction requires a certain amount of inherent stability. Transparent or, alternatively, translucent Polycarbonateor Polypropylene sheets are great for reinforcement purposes but perforated sheet or wire mesh made from various metals can be used for this purpose as well.

The E-Colour filter films are not expensive and come in a large variety of colours which are based on the European Cinemoid system. It should be noted that the films do not correspond to the B1 norm (anti-inflammable per German Industrial Norm) that is very often required for use in public buildings (the above mentioned BS 3944 is a British certificate). For this reason, Rosco offers an alternative film system called “Supergel”. Through another type of film construction, these films are more light resistant and are indeed flame resistant as per the German Industrial Norm B1 – they are also much more expensive.