UV and Safety
From Lumenlab
The lamps we use emit UV and UV is harmful - to eyes, skin, plastics and other stuff too.
UV breaks molecular bonds resulting in a gradual and irreversible alteration and degradation in material properties and characteristics (discoloration, embrittlement, etc.).
Various lamps put out differing amounts of UV.
Ones that are clearly labelled for enclosed luminaires only (or some similar statement) should be assumed to be putting out a goodly amount of harmful wavelengths.
Member elken says most of the UV or mostly pure UV is emitted during lamp startup and burn-in; however, there is always a UV component in the lamp emission spectrum.
That said, it's very unlikely enough UV gets through all the optics in our projectors to do anyone significant physical harm or any harm at all when everything is being used properly and as intended.
Do not look at your unshielded lamp without protection. (Very short duration exposure shouldn't hurt you much but is to be avoided anyway.)
Do not stare into the triplet while the PJ is running.
Just as you wouldn't stare at the sun or into a laser or into any very bright light you should treat your projector lamp with the same respect.
So long as you're not looking directly at the unshielded lamp from a very close distance and not exposing yourself for long periods of time to high fluence rates of direct lamp emissions you should be just fine.
Wear protective gear whenever running the risk of direct and close exposure to your lamp's emissions.
It is advisable to use some type of UV blocker between your lamp and all other projector components. Opinions vary on what is best but there are many viable alternatives including Lexan XL10, Perspex VA, glass with a UV blocking coating, a hot mirror, and others. All of these materials block UV to a varying extent and may prove more or less suitable to any given projector design.
If you experience discomfort or suspect you are being adversely affected by your projector in any way post in the forums to obtain assistance in making a determination of what the problem may be.
