What's happening
PLASA Show 2026 at Olympia London hosted 375 exhibitors and highlighted laser light sources moving from niche effects to mainstream fixtures. Robe presented the laser-source GigaPointe and five new products; Claypaky debuted the IP66-rated B-EYE family with an RGBL engine and the Arolla Aqua IP66 outdoor series, underscoring the industry push toward high ingress protection and long-throw projection.
Why it matters for buyers
For a retailer, venue or signage buyer, the practical effect is simple: the unit that reads on your wall at your ambient light, with your artwork, beats the one with the bigger number on the box. Specification order — distance, image size, ambient, then brightness — decides the result.
It also changes lead-time risk. Custom gobos and certified outdoor builds need briefing before the date is fixed; the projector is rarely the long pole, the artwork and certification are.
The technical angle
Pattern rotation and switching are firmware features, not brightness features. They let one fixture cover a window, a doorway and a floor sequentially — useful for venues, irrelevant for a fixed logo that should sit still.
What to specify
Before you request a quote, lock these down:
- Certifications required for the market (CE / RoHS / FCC)
- Throw distance from bracket to surface, measured on site — not estimated
- Gobo material: glass for longevity and colour, metal for cheap short runs
- Image size you need at that distance
