What is Brightness?

Projector light output is measured in ANSI Lumens, or simply "lumens" - the higher the number, the brighter the light output. In general, when choosing between projectors with similar specifications, the ones with a higher lumen rating will cost more.

The advantage of a bright projector is that it can be used with the room lights on so people can interact with one another and take notes.

Your presentation isn't going anywhere if your projector can't produce enough light to show clear images on a screen across the room. Accordingly, the brightness (measured in ANSI lumens) of your unit is worth investigating. Generally, the brighter the room, the brighter the lamp you will need.

While LCD systems with less than 400-500 ANSI lumens may be sufficient for projecting black and white Excel images in dark room settings, they may not have enough firepower to keep multicolored PowerPoint presentations from appearing washed out. When deciding how much brightness your projector should have, keep in mind how dark the rooms will typically be for your presentations and how far your projector will be from the screen. The more light in the room or the farther away your setup, the brighter the lamp should be.

ANSI lumens for projectors currently range from 400 to 1,000 for ultralights up to as much as 10,000 for fixed machines. For on-the-road presentations, 500 to 1,000 ANSI lumens should be fine. Larger conference rooms will need 1,000 to 2,000 lumens, while fixed installation machines will need to project between 2,500 and 10,000 lumens to handle auditoriums or other large venues. The brightness of a projector can sometimes be misrepresented, so be sure to check the brightness of the individual model and not the published brightness of the model line.

3000 lumens and up - the ultra-bright projectors are in several performance classes unto themselves, ranging from 3000 up to 12000 lumens or more. Prices of these products also cover a wide range depending on other performance characteristics. They are used in a variety of large venue applications, including board rooms, conference rooms, training rooms, auditoriums, churches, concerts, nightclubs, and so forth.

2000 to 3000 lumens - this represents the high-performance range of the portable and semi-portable projectors. Products in this class are suitable for large conference rooms and classrooms. They offer more flexibility in terms of ambient room light, since the image is bright enough that a reasonable amount of room light can be tolerated without washing out the image. They also offer more flexibility in terms of audience size since they can illuminate a larger screen without much loss of image quality.

1000 to 2000 lumens - this lumen range is a step up in performance and price. These machines are suitable for normal business conference room and classroom use. Presentations should be done with the room lighting reduced somewhat for best screen viewing, although a totally dark or dimly lit room is usually not necessary

1000 lumens and less - If you are on a tight budget, there are a number of products in this category that may be perfect for your needs. These are the lowest light-output projectors available today, and they are typically the least expensive. Keep in mind that the low light output means that you will want to make your presentations in a dark or dimly lit room so that the image on the screen is not washed out by ambient room light.

Remember to think of: Your needs - training and workgroups will demand more brightness because of the need to see and read detail. These applications also require more room light for note taking and communication. Applications that use presentation graphics or video are visually less demanding and are more likely to be show in a darkened room. If the projector will be mobile either within a building or traveling, consider your most demanding setting.

Number of people - This determines the size of the projected image that is required for easy viewing by everyone present. As the number of people in the room increases, the image must increase and this diminishes the apparent brightness of the projector as the light is spread over a larger area.