Vari-Lite, the Signify entertainment lighting brand and originators of the modern moving head light fixture, has announced a new, higher output light engine upgrade for its workhorse VL2600 Series fixtures. The light engine upgrade provides significantly higher output to the popular line of moving head luminaires while aligning with Signify’s commitment to sustainability by promoting circular economy, minimising waste by extending the existing product lifecycle rather than making iterative new versions, for a positive impact on the environment and society.

Originally released in the spring of 2018, the VL2600 Series is, to date, one of the most popular Vari-Lite fixtures ever produced. Boasting a profile, wash and spot version, the VL2600 Series is a full family of fixtures with a broad colour palette, a wide range of features and a consistent light engine across the series. It’s possible to rent a VL2600 Series luminaire on every continent on the globe and the new easily replaceable light engine increases sustainability by extending the life of these highly specified light fixtures with notably higher output and the same great features.

“The VL2600 Series is now entering its seventh year of production and it’s amazing to see how little technology and feature trends have changed in that time,” says Martin Palmer, Vari-Lite product management and marketing leader at Signify. “Although technology in areas such as the efficiency of LEDs may have improved, the core technologies and needs for fixtures like the VL2600 Profile have not shifted that much. That’s why the VL2600 Series still remains competitive, even against new competitor products that are on their third or fourth generation since the VL2600 was first released.”

The VL2600 Series includes a broad range of high-demand features, including CMY colour mixing, variable CTO, fixed and rotating gobo wheels, iris and frost. “The competitive features and distinctive Vari-Lite movement and quality of light make the VL2600 a popular option for designers to this day,” adds Palmer. “The need to constantly swap fixtures with minor, iterative replacements leads to unnecessary cost for rental houses, as well as a large amount of waste that harms the planet we all live in. It’s not an environmentally sustainable business practice.”

Sustainability is core to the strategy at Vari-Lite, which boasts some of the longest lasting moving head luminaires in the industry, with many luminaires remaining in use decades after their original launch. This focus on a circular economy aligns with the corporate strategies at parent company Signify, a world leader in sustainability that has been 100% carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill since 2020.

“When we developed the VL2600 Series, it was always going to be a platform product to build on for our sustainable future, able to be upgraded and enhanced as technology or trends change,” explains Palmer. “As a sustainable business leader, it is never our intention just to release a plethora of new products superseding or making irrelevant our current portfolio. That’s why the new VL2600 Series light engine leverages advancements in LED technology to increase the output of the current family of fixtures, reducing cost and impact to the environment.”

Vari-Lite will be demonstrating the upgraded VL2600 light engine in a side-by-side comparison with a current-generation fixture at Live Design International booth #577 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on 3 – 5 December, 2023.