Four cost lines, not one
Buyers compare the hardware price and then discover the artwork, the mounting hardware and the access costs. A remote control gobo projector is a system: light source, optics, a piece of custom glass, a bracket and somebody's time on a ladder. Quoting only the first of those produces budgets that do not survive the first year.
- Hardware — the fixture, lens and bracket
- Custom artwork — the gobo, and every re-cut after it
- Installation — access, power and making good
- Running cost — cleaning, power and replacement cycles
Hardware
Two things move the hardware price: watts and ingress rating. Output costs money because it needs a bigger LED, a better driver and more heatsink; IP65 costs money because it needs sealing, gaskets and a design that survives being opened. Neither is worth skimping on if the site demands it, and neither is worth paying for if it does not.
- Output, which sets the LED, driver and heatsink size
- Ingress rating, which sets the sealing and housing design
- Lens quality, which sets how much output reaches the wall
- Finish and hardware, which set how it survives the site
| Specification | Lower cost | Higher cost |
|---|---|---|
| Output | 20 W class | 150 W and above |
| Ingress rating | Indoor rated | IP65 for exposed positions |
| Optics | Fixed lens | Zoom with lockable focus |
| Artwork | Metal gobo | glass gobo with fine detail |
Custom artwork and gobos
The artwork cost hides in the reorders. Engraving a glass gobo is not expensive per unit, but minimum quantities, shipping and the time spent re-approving artwork add up. Keep the original vector file, record the gobo reference, and every future reorder is a formality rather than a redesign.
Installation, power and access
The surprise lines are access and power. A remote control gobo projector that needs a cherry picker, or a new switched spur run across a finished ceiling, can cost more to install than to buy. Both are visible in a ten-minute survey, which is why the survey is the cheapest part of the job.
- Access equipment — ladder, scaffold or powered platform
- Power run and any making good afterwards
- Out-of-hours or trading-hours working
- Fixings, bracket and cable management
Running cost over three years
Over three years the honest ranking usually changes. Add the hardware, the artwork reorders, the cleaning and the electricity, and the cheapest remote control gobo projector on the unit price is rarely the cheapest to own. The two variables that dominate are servicing access and gobo replacement frequency.
- Hardware, once
- Artwork reorders, every rebrand or new site
- Cleaning, twice a year
- Power, continuously
| Cost line | Frequency | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Once | Output and ingress rating |
| Artwork | Every rebrand or new site | Number of sites and change frequency |
| Cleaning | Twice a year | Access method, mostly |
| Power | Continuously | Wattage and daily run hours |
Cuts that cost you later
The false economies are the rating, the bracket and the artwork. A remote control gobo projector with an under-specified IP65 rating fails in the first winter; a lightweight bracket drifts and needs re-aiming; a low-resolution artwork file produces an image you will not accept. Save elsewhere.
- Reduce the image size before increasing the output
- Standardise the gobo size across every site
- Choose a surface with lower ambient light
- Keep the original vector artwork file
