For years there have been standards for color correctness under fluorescent lighting and the lamp which is known for this is the GE Chroma 50 and the Sylvania Designer 5000K.  Why are these lamps the standard for all kinds of color matching and true color rendition?  It's because they have a very high color rendering index which is 92 and they're the ones that have been used over and over again throughout the years.  Most people trained in recognizing colors rely on these lamps making them the most common for this type of application.  This has been true for many decades and it's the industry standard for matching colors in for the printing and auto industry but also for color proofing of all types. With most fluorescent bulbs, you won't be able to get this kind of high color rendition as you do in the GE Chroma 50, they're made for this special application.  Although they have this special use, they are commonly used as overhead fluorescent lighting because of the clean, white light they put out.  These also fall under the category of full spectrum fluorescents and they're used that way in many business offices.  The only thing to keep in mind is that the light output is lower than other variations of fluorescent lamps, 2200 lumens on the GE Chroma 50 as opposed to around 3100 lumens for other colors.  These typically come in the F40T12 tube which is the standard for the more common colors like cool white or warm white that's been used in offices throughout the world.  So wherever you have those, these GE Chroma 50 lamps will work just fine. 

As with all fluorescent bulbs, they rely on ballasts inside of the fixtures in order to make them work. Ballasts are available from Magnetek, Advance, Osram Sylvania, among others. Almost all fixtures for these bulbs come with ballasts already mounted and wired. The ballast is important because it is specific for each type of lamp.  You can't change from one type of fluorescent to another without changing the ballast in most cases.  On some occasions there may be a ballast that is made for several different types such as in the case of T8 lamps. Most of the time the ballast and the lamp are matched electrically and so it's good to make sure the ballast you have is the right one for the lamp you choose. The F40T12 fluorescent typically operates on a magnetic ballast which is less efficient than it's electronic counterpart.  Look for this lamp commonly used in an office overhead lighting situation in 2x4 fixtures.

With the advent of higher electrical costs, many businesses are looking for ways to save energy with lighting.  There are many choices in this area right now and one of the most popular type of lamps are the FO32T8 fluorescent light bulbs with matching electronic ballasts. This combination has been a standard for saving energy and many times has electric utility rebates associated with it.  What makes them such a natural is that the sockets used for less efficient F40T12 lamps are exactly the same making it an easy retrofit. Now there are T8 versions of the GE Chroma 50 which will give you the ability to use them in all your T8 lighting situations.  This would probably be common for many newer installations, but older fixtures will probably still use the F40T12 Chroma 50.

Because it's still very pervasive in many office environments across the country, we make the F40T12 fluorescent light bulbs and the GE Chroma 50 a substantial part of our offering. There will probably never be a time when these will not be used in applications for color correct lighting and it only seems to be increasing. Remember, there are many types of color correct lighting, we describe some of the most common used in commercial lighting here. Whatever type of fluorescent you choose or have, you will be getting the best color rendering lamp when you choose the GE Chroma 50 or the Sylvania Designer 5000K.  We have a large inventory of fluorescent bulbs for nearly every type of light fixture in the field.  If you need help identifying a light bulb, our customer service representatives can help you determine what you have.