Projector Bulbs: Why are they so Expensive?

Many things contribute to the high cost of projector bulbs; some companies like Philips have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of the mercury vapor bulbs or ultra high pressure bulbs and like any other company want their return.

Some projector bulbs are made of borosilicate glass and fused quartz. Quartz will become as hard as a rock when it reaches the melting point of iron which happens at 1535 degrees Celsius. Steel tools will melt before quartz gets hot enough to be workable. You would need torches using oxygen to get hot enough. Once you have the heat and the tools, there is still another dilemma. Quartz has a very narrow "plastic" range of workable temperature. The temperature needed to get quartz barely as soft as fresh taffy in only a few dozen degrees short of making quartz liquid enough to be able to pour it.

Though mass produced many steps of the projector bulb manufacturing process still are hand-made by a skilled craftsmen and will cost many times the cost of a mass-produced light bulb this is because the quartz is trickier to work than glass and glassblowers that can work quartz work at a much higher wage

The production machinery that can mass-produce quartz bulbs is so expensive that only bulbs that will sell in large quantities can be made cost-effectively by such machinery. Otherwise it will cost even more to get the machines made and set up than it would be to hire those highly skilled glassblowers.

Remember your projector bulb is a very complicated piece of engineering and just like any light bulb, projector bulbs have an expected operating time, called lamp life. This value is expressed in hours and it represents the approximate number of hours before the lamp will shine at half its original brightness.Â This also is also a factor that contributes to the high price of the projector bulb.

A lot of the pieces that go into the production of projector bulbs are often made overseas in other markets and transported to US manufacturing hubs for assembly and distribution. Every time a bulb, part of a bulb, or assembly is made, fuel is used as energy to run the production machines. Once the parts for the projector blubs have been manufactured, they are then shipped cross-country, often within the borders of China, to various port cities where they are then forwarded to different US sea ports for sale and distribution.

Further, the projector bulb parts are then shipped to regional manufacturing plants for final assembly and distribution to US Distributors. By understanding that each part of the process requires time and of course money to be able to deliver the projector bulbs to you, the customer, you will then be able to understand why projector bulbs are so expensive. With the rising costs involved to transport these products hence the smaller the profit margin for the exporter.

Smaller profit margins mean fewer projector bulbs are produced which in turn decreases the supply of projector bulbs and increases the price for those that are available for sale.

Projector Bulbs: Why are they so Expensive?

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