Gobos
Architectural gobos
The steel and glass images a projector throws — logos, patterns, breakup, foliage, full-colour artwork. Rosco makes its own, in every standard size and to your own design. Here is the size chart, the materials and how to order.
An image, cut for light
A gobo is a template placed in a projector's optical path to shape its light into an image — a crest on a floor, a breakup pattern on a wall, a leaf canopy across a lobby. Rosco cuts steel gobos and coats its own dichroic glass gobos, from stock patterns to your own artwork.
Choosing one is mostly two decisions: the material — steel for crisp mono line-work and heat, glass for greyscale, photographic detail and full colour — and the size to fit your fixture. Both are below.
Standard gobo sizes
Rosco's standard sizes and the fixtures they fit. Outside diameter is the disc; image area is the usable aperture.
| Size | Outside dia. | Image area | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100 mm | 75 mm | Most conventional ellipsoidals |
| S | 92 mm | 79 mm | ETC Source Four (steel only) |
| B | 86 mm | 64.5 mm | Industry-standard ellipsoidals |
| M | 66 mm | 48 mm | Junior ellipsoidals |
| E | 37.5 mm | 28 mm | Mini ellipsoidals (specify fixture) |
Moving-light and architectural-projector sizes are fixture-specific — give us the make and model. Glass for the ETC Source Four uses the 79 mm BG holder. Rosco will manufacture to any size needed.
Steel or glass
The material sets what the image can do — line-work and durability, or greyscale and full colour.
Steel gobos
Wet-etched stainless — crisp mono line-work, very durable, cheapest and fastest (next-day). Silhouette and breakup, no greyscale.
B/W glass
Borofloat glass for greyscale and photographic detail steel cannot hold — for fine imagery and modern moving lights.
Colour glass
Dichroic-coated glass in one, two, three or multi-colour — full-colour and photographic gobos that survive fixture heat.
Materials, sizes & ordering
Rosco's published figures. Moving-light and projector-specific sizes are confirmed at specification against your fixture.
Wet-etched stainless; crisp mono line-work; next-day standard
Rosco dichroic-coated Borofloat; greyscale, photographic & colour
1-, 2-, 3- & multi-colour dichroic layers
10 mm up to 280 × 280 mm; artwork from 150 dpi
8–110 mm (B/W) · 10–110 mm (colour); artwork 600–800 dpi
Substrate to ~450 °C short-term; coating to ~250 °C short-term
Steel next-day · glass 2–5 working days by type
SimpleSpin & RevoPRO dual rotators for movement
Sandwich & glass holders for A / S / B / BG sizes
Custom plastic (Cool Ink) for affordable full colour
Holders & movement
Holders
- A / S sandwich holder
- B glass holder (86 mm)
- BG glass holder (79 mm)
- ETC & Altman variants
Rotation
- SimpleSpin dual rotator
- RevoPRO programmable rotator
- DMX-controlled effects
Formats
- Steel
- B/W glass
- Colour glass
- Custom plastic (Cool Ink)
A foliage canopy, in light
At the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne, projected leaf-break gobos throw a soft foliage pattern across a hospitality setting — depth and texture on a surface that would otherwise read flat.
It is the quiet power of a gobo: a single image, well chosen, that changes how a whole space feels.
See the projected image, at size
A gobo's impact depends on the fixture, the throw and the surface. We can supply sample gobos — and pair them with an Image Spot demo — so you can see your pattern or logo projected at real size before committing to a custom cut.
We put the gobos and projector in your hands to trial in your space; we don't run the tests on your fixtures for you. Once it reads right, we produce the custom artwork and supply it in Australia.
Need a logo, pattern or custom image?
You have the sizes, the materials and the ordering detail. Send us the artwork and fixture, and we'll confirm the gobo and supply it in Australia.