Read articles from our lighting experts & engineers
The Future of Light Guides: Our Team Shares Emerging Applications, Trends & Technologies
Explore light guide applications that will continue to shape how OEMs design and manufacture devices and solutions.
Our Most Complex Automotive Lighting Solutions: Engineer Insights
Learn the difference between standard and complex automotive lighting solutions. Our Sales Project Manager weighs in!
Case Study: A Revolutionary Medical Device Light Guide for the World’s Smallest AED
Read how a medical device light guide can save lives. OOONO Medical A/S partnered with our team to create the world’s smallest AED.
Light Guide Manufacturer Case Study: Precision in Automotive Applications
See how our engineers illuminated areas of car door fabric and created a gradient lighting effect with a map pocket downlight.
Innovations in Light Guide Technology: Driving Progress Across Industries
Our engineers and light guide experts are on the cutting edge of illumination innovation. See what drives innovation at GLT.
Light Guide Prototype Outputs and Lessons Learned
A light guide prototype can save you time and money. See prototyping outputs and lessons learned from our engineers.
Automotive Plastic Overlay Applications Drive Illumination Innovation
See how plastic overlays integrate innovative LED lighting technology to enhance interior and exterior automotive applications.
Advanced Light Guide Material Drives Innovation
Illumination challenges exist across industries and applications. See how next-gen light guide material overcomes them.
Leading Industrial Instrumentation Illumination Solutions: Customer Success Stories
Custom light guides solve complex industrial instrumentation illumination challenges. Read real customer success stories.
LED Brightness: Reduce Power Without Compromising Requirements
Meet your device or application’s LED brightness goals with the added benefit of reducing power. Read four insights from our engineers.
The Approach & Materials for Light Guide Efficiency Advancements
Light guide efficiency contributes to less power consumption and smaller devices and application housings. Read more insights from our engineers.
Case Study: Watch Backlight Light Guide Design Innovation
A major consumer electronics company relied on our team for a custom light guide design to illuminate a next-gen smartwatch. See the results.
Four Ways to Control LCD Backlight Brightness
Engineers from Global Lighting Technologies weigh in on how we control LCD backlight brightness with four key approaches.
How a Medical Device Light Guide Solves Illumination Challenges
A custom medical device light guide is often the strongest solution to meet complex healthcare illumination requirements.
Custom Consumer Electronic Light Guide Technology Taps into Market Trends
Keep up with shifting market trends with a custom consumer electronic light guide design in your next product.
Light Guide Design for Human Machine Interface Display Trends
Elevate user experiences with striking and efficient human-machine interface display illumination. See the trends to watch.
How We Create Uniform LED Lighting in Our Light Guides
Our expert engineers share the top five ways Global Lighting Technologies achieves uniform LED lighting using our light guide technology.
Thin Film Embossing: What this Manufacturing Process Means for You
Thin film embossing is a production method we use to achieve brightness uniformity.
Our Custom Optical Patterns: How OEMs Achieve Illumination Goals
Explore how our cutting-edge microstructures redefine light guide design & performance for OEMs across industries and applications.
Our Light Guide Manufacturing Processes: Crafting Brilliance with Precision
Make light guide manufacturing simple with a proven process, expert engineers and global production capabilities.
Explore Large Scale Extrusion Embossing in Tongluo, Taiwan
Discover how we use large scale extrusion embossing to craft large, custom light guides at our Tongluo, Taiwan facility.
Injection Molding for Light Guides at Our Suzhou Facility
Gain the advantage of US engineers and global manufacturing excellence. Learn more about injection molding for light guides at our Suzhou, China facility.
Elevating Excellence: Continuing Education for Light Guide Engineers
Continuing education for light guide engineers isn't just a checkbox for us. Read on to see how we encourage inspiration and opportunity.
Unlocking Brilliance: The Role of Optical Film
Optical film, or light management film, plays a key role in creating the desired output of light guides. Gain more insight from our engineers.
What is a Light Guide? A Primer on Light Guides and Light Guide Components
Our engineers answer the question, “What is a light guide?” Read on to learn more about custom light guides and how they’re made.
How to Reduce the Component Count in Your Light Guide Design
Light guide design is rooted in the pursuit of efficiency. Learn how our engineers reduce and consolidate components in final assemblies.
Global Capabilities: Explore the Global Lighting Technologies Production Facilities
Explore the advantages of our fully-integrated US engineering/Asian manufacturing light guide business.
In the Spotlight: How Light Guides Achieve Directional Illumination
Leverage directional illumination to make your product more impactful to consumers. Learn how our engineers can support.
Startup Companies: How to Work With Lighting Manufacturers
Not all light guide manufacturers understand your vision. Learn how our team brings startup ideas to life with custom light guides.
Case Study: LED Lighting Technology for a Medical Device
Explore how our LED lighting technology and custom light guide design helped one medical device company achieve selective illumination in their defibrillator.
Our Proven Prototype Methodology Process
Our prototype methodology helps customers gain internal feedback and trial light guide designs before production. Learn more.
Vehicle Displays and Interfaces: Our Approach to Innovation
Learn from our experts how quality light guide design makes a major impact on vehicle displays and interfaces.
How Our Custom Light Guides Solve Backlight Bleed
Our engineers solve complex backlight bleed issues with revolutionary light guide technology. See how we do it!
Our Complete Design Process for LED Lighting Technology Projects
Discover our process for bringing revolutionary, custom LED lighting technology to life for our customers.
How We Customize Your LED Light Guide Assemblies
Learn how our revolutionary LED light guide assemblies can be modified to fit your product’s unique needs and specifications.
Set Up Your Illumination Project for Success: Tips for Working with a Light Guide Design Manufacturer
A strong light guide design manufacturer brings your illumination project to life. Read our experts’ top 7 tips for how to vet & manage one.
Egress Lighting and Sign Solutions: Ensuring Safe, Easy Exit and Entryways
Egress lighting is essential for emergencies & low-light situations. Enhance your egress lighting with expertly engineered custom light guide designs.
Custom Automotive Lighting Solutions: Selective Illumination Innovations
Our custom automotive lighting solutions provide selective illumination across many vehicle applications for optimal performance & safety.
Case Study: Built-In Local Area Illumination in Products Guides User Experiences
Local area illumination lets users know an action has taken place. Global Lighting Technologies crafts solutions that exceed end user goals.
How to Accelerate Capacitive Touch Design in Cars
As more and more automakers implement capacitive touch screens, Global Lighting Technologies has enhanced our light guide technology to feature improved sensory feedback.
Get Ultra-Thin with Tapered Light Guides
Tapered light guides are particularly fitting for applications with limited mechanical space. Define what this new technology is, how to use it, and why it's better than the other options on the market.
5 Reasons to Create a Lighting Prototype
As you consider new ideas and approaches for your products, prototyping gives you a way to test a physical model against your lighting goals and requirements.
Key Steps of An Illumination Project Process
Whether you need to enhance an existing lighting application or build a new one from scratch, it’s important to work with an illumination partner that offers strong project management capabilities.
How to Fix Backlight Bleed on Overlays
Backlight bleed interferes with the quality of graphic overlays. Here's how we've enhanced our light guide technology to reduce the negative effects.
How to Design a Uniform LCD Backlight
Our experts share their top 5 rules to achieve uniform LED lighting during your next LCD backlight project.
Light Guide, Light Pipe, Light Diffuser: How Are They Different?
Learn the important differences between a light pipe, light guide and light diffuser from our illumination experts.
7 Capabilities to Look for in a Lightguide Manufacturer
Our experts review the most essential characteristics of a backlight and lightguide manufacturer.
Product Design Engineer’s Guide to Customized Lightguide Solutions
We describe the Space, Power, Brightness, and Assembly of customized lightguide solutions.
Global Lighting Technologies Awarded Gentex Supplier of the Year
Global Lighting Technologies recognized as Supplier of the Year by Gentex Corporation
Medical Device Illumination
Global Lighting Technologies has the experience necessary to provide illumination solutions for your medical products.
Confocal Microscope
GLT US Engineering team expands capabilities with new Confocal Microscope
Taking your Project from Concept to Production
All you need to know on taking a project from concept to production with GLT.
3D Printer
GLT US Engineering team expands capabilities with new 3D printer
Total Internal Reflection
Review of total internal reflection as the physics law which allows lightguides to function.
Injection Molding vs. Embossing
GLT Manufacturing Processes and Their Uses.
The History of Lasers
Review how lightguides have changed in performance as well as manufacturing by the innovations within the laser industry.
Selective Illumination Light Guide Solutions
What are the different types of selective illumination light guide solutions?
Conserving Power Through Segmented Lighting
What is segmented lighting and how can it support key requirements for electronics products?
The Definitive Guide to Illumination Vocabulary
The lighting industry is full of terms, phrases and lingo that isn't easy to understand, even for seasoned professionals. Here's our guide to help you understand and translate lighting terminology.
Global Lighting, a Design Partner for Your LED Lightguide Projects
Knowing when to utilize a design partner in a development project allows you to get the product to market quickly with superior performance.
Reducing Time-to-Market
Reducing Time-to-Market is a critical step in your success. Learn what you can do to help reduce the time between concept to market and start profiting sooner.
The Top Trends at Display Week 2019
Display technology isn’t slowing down anytime soon. In fact, SID Display Week 2019 proved that display design remains at the very top of the priority list for a variety of markets.
Four Things You Need to Know About Ring Light Guides
An introduction to illuminating circular applications.
Selective Illumination in Action
Discover the power of selective illumination.
The Connection Between Color and Light
Our team shares fun facts about the relationship between color and light.
Light Guide Vs. Light Pipe: What’s the Difference?
Discover the important differences between light guides and light pipes.
Lighting Success: How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Illumination System
Several factors influence the success or failure of an illumination system, but there are three common metrics that help project engineers determine its impact.
The Case for Selective Illumination
Through selective illumination, GLT leverages special light-blocking properties to reduce light bleed and improve user feedback.
The Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Light
Brett Shriver, vice president of sales, shares his thoughts on the top five things you need to know about light.
Special Effects: Customizing Your Light Guide for Optimal Performance
While light guides seem fairly basic, there’s a lot more optical design and customization that goes into developing the right light guide solution for you.
Moving Light to the Front: Opportunities Ahead for Frontlit Displays
While backlit LCD displays have been the norm for some time, frontlit displays are making their mark on a variety of industries and applications like e-readers. As we look to the future, here are some more opportunities for this technology to shine.
Now Trending: LED Lighting within Automotive Interiors
As LEDs become the new norm outside of vehicles, helping us avoid those dreaded fender benders, several automakers are beginning to see the value for car interiors, too. While the exterior is all about brand image, the interior is all about the ultimate purchasing factor: Brand experience.
How to Expedite Your Lighting Project
Key practices in order to avoid project delays. A step by step guide to improve project efficiency when designing and building a custom LED based edge-lit light guide solution.
3 of the Best Decorative Overlays We Saw in 2016
3 of the Best Decorative Overlays We Saw in 2016 In 2016, we saw many technologies, like hoverboards, virtual reality headsets and drones of every kind emerge. Yet, only a few of the year’s best tapped into the look that decorative overlays provide. The following products are some of our favorite selections. Faraday Future: FF […]
Inside Look: Custom Decorative Overlays
Inside Look: Custom Decorative Overlays No matter the design, custom overlays are a sure way to add more life to a manufactured product. Advertising professionals desire to make a logo or text really “pop.” Technology curators want the most futuristic look. Custom decorative overlays best accomplish this. Yet, there are several types, and knowing the […]
How to Find the Best Custom Lighting Supplier for Your Project
How to Find the Best Custom Lighting Supplier for Your Project Lightguides: The Options It’s crucial to know the difference between kinds of custom lighting. Weighing the options helps you to make the most efficient choice for your project. Here are some considerations for comparing various high-end technologies. Electroluminescent Film Electroluminescent film is the […]
The Top Do’s & Don’ts for Decreasing Lighting Assembly Space
If you're looking to decrease the assembly space required for your illumination system, you're not alone. Many of our customers experience the same dilemma, and there are a variety of ways you can go about achieving your goal.
Weighing Pros & Cons: DIY vs Hiring a Custom Lightguide Designer
Weighing Pros & Cons: DIY vs Hiring a Custom Lighting Designer When starting a new project, deciding if your business will hire a custom lightguide designer or design it in-house is an important (and often daunting) decision. There are potential advantages and drawbacks to either choice, so take the time to investigate which may be the […]
6 Helpful Resources When Building an LED Lightpipe
LED Light Pipe Resources for a Successful Build For anyone looking to construct their own LED lightpipe for a custom application, it’s important to have some helpful information on hand. The right resources can be the difference between a successful project and one that ends in frustration. Here is a collection of some helpful resources […]
How to Purchase Optical Design Software Without Breaking the Bank
How to Purchase Optical Design Software without Breaking the Bank For companies looking to develop a lightguide solution entirely in-house, one of the largest expenses is optical design software. It is something you likely do not already have, and most businesses are often surprised at how pricey these programs are. Is there a way to avoid […]
The 5 Best Things About OLEDs (And 5 of the Worst!)
The Pros and Cons of OLEDs Are OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) the right choice for your custom lightguide solution? As with any consideration, there are both advantages and potential disadvantages. Global Lighting Technologies has a great deal of experience reviewing OLEDs, and here, we’re sharing some of that expertise to showcase the best, and […]
How Much Will A Custom Lightguide Solution Cost?
Factors That Determine Custom Lightguide Builds When developing a custom lightguide solution, there are many different factors to consider along the way, and likely many questions and concerns you’ll want addressed. Beyond the specifics of the product itself, one of the largest concerns is, of course, the cost. Determining the overall cost of a custom […]
What’s Your Process for Developing a Custom Lightguide Solution?
What’s Your Process for Developing a Custom Lightguide Solution? When you’re working with a custom lightguide manufacturer, you’re looking to develop a completely custom lightguide solution for your unique needs and applications. While every project may turn out differently, the overall process will follow a similar track. Let’s take a look at the process we […]
Four Little Known Ways to Improve Illumination of Capacitive Touch Sensors
What is Capacitive Touch & How to Improve Its Illumination As capacitive touch moves into an increasing number of products, it’s essential to understand more about how they work. These sensors aren’t just on smart phones or tablets any longer. They can now be seen on many other types of electronics, automotive instruments, and even […]
4 Key Points to Remember About Custom Overlays for LED illumination
Four Key Points to Remember About Custom Overlays for LED Illumination The brightness, quality, and consistency of visible light displayed via any screen or surface is dependent on a number of variables. These include power and efficiency of the entire LED system, design of the lightguide use, as well as the design of the overlay […]
Why & How to Instantly Minimize LEDs Without Losing Product Quality
Why & How to Instantly Minimize LEDs Without Losing Product Quality There are many ways to keep costs down while designing and manufacturing a product without negatively impacting the final quality. In fact, when done properly, many steps towards efficiency can actually lead to superior end results. Let’s discuss some reasons why minimizing the number […]
What Should I Do If The Cost of a Custom Lightguide Solution is Too High?
How We Help You Manage Costs for Your Light Guide Project There are many factors that affect the final price tag of a custom light guide solution. For some businesses, the initial cost comes as a surprise, as it was more than they initially anticipated or seems like it’s out of reach for their budget. […]
Okay, But Can You Do This?
Okay, But Can You Do This? At Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), we pride ourselves on the versatility of our products and solutions, and the breadth of our capabilities and services. It’s one of the many ways in which we’ve been able to become a worldwide leader over the course of the past almost 20 years. […]
Why Is the Lead Time for My Custom Lightguide Solution So Long?
Project Timeline for Custom Light Guide Designs One question we hear from time to time while developing a custom lightguide solution for a new client is, “why is the lead time so long?” Understandably, all businesses want to move ahead with their projects and plans as quickly as possible to meet their own internal goals […]
What If I’m Looking for an Off-the-Shelf Lightguide Solution?
What If I’m Looking for an Off-the-Shelf Lightguide Solution At Global Lighting Technologies, we often hear from prospective customers who are looking for an off-the-shelf solution. Unfortunately, that’s not what we provide here. We do more for our clients by developing innovative, custom lightguide solutions, carefully designed and manufactured specifically to a client’s needs, and […]
GLT’s Ring Light Brings New Appeal and Functionality to Automotive And Other Lighting Applications
Custom Ring Lights GLT’s Ring Light Brings New Appeal and Functionality to Lighting Applications The new ring light from Global Lighting Technologies is a bright and uniform circle of LED illumination that lends a special look and appeal to lighting applications and more. It uses as few as one LED, can be produced in […]
GLT Offers LED-Based Lightguides For Wearables Applications
Wearable technology includes devices such as glasses, headwear, shoes, wrist-worn devices and any other electronic enabled device that can be worn. The wearables market is expected to grow to over $70 billion by 2025, with large segments in healthcare, fitness, fashion, industrial, commercial and military applications. As this market continues to develop and expand at […]
Global Lighting Technologies Opens New Green, Super-Efficient Manufacturing Facility for Lightguides
In order to support sustained growth, Global Lighting Technologies, a leader in LED based edge-lit lightguide technology, has completed construction on a fifth manufacturing facility. Located within a newly built Science Park in Tongluo, Taiwan, it will open for production in September 2016. The new facility was developed as a Green Building and includes new fully automatic […]
Tongluo Plant
Tongluo Plant This new facility was developed as a Green Building and includes new fully automatic equipment to allow GLT to go from pellet to pallet without operator involvement. These are the most efficient extrusion lines ever employed by GLT for production and are capable of producing light guides up to 80″ diagonal. The additional capacity will […]
Global Lighting Technology opens new manufacturing facility
Global Lighting Technology opens new manufacturing facility In order to support sustained growth, Global Lighting Technologies, a leader in LED based edge-lit lightguide technology, has completed construction on a fifth manufacturing facility. This new facility is located within a newly built Science Park in Tongluo Taiwan. This new facility was developed as a Green Building and […]
Unique LED-Based Edge Lighting for Automotive
Unique LED-Based Edge Lighting for Automotive Global Lighting Technologies (GLT) Inc. offers new and original illumination solutions utilizing its LED-based lightguide technology. GLT’s edge-lighting technology couples the light of LEDs placed along one or more edges of a thin lightguide in order to deliver the light precisely where needed, providing bright, uniform light in a thinner form factor with more efficient light […]
Bi-Directional LED Light Guides
New LED Light Guides From GLT Emit Light From Both Top And Bottom Surface With Custom Distribution Profiles Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), the world leader in edge-lit, LED-based light guides for general illumination, has introduced a new light guide that produces distinct customized emission patterns of light from the top and bottom surface. This enables […]
Non-linear Curved Light Guides
Non-linear Curved Light Guides From GLT Increase Flexibility For More Complex Light Guide Designs Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), the world leader in edge-lit, LED-based light guides, has increased their capabilities to include non-linear curved light extraction technologies, enabling the design of more complex light guides. These non-linear light guides can be integrated into a variety […]
4″ x 4″ LED Light Guide
NEW 4” x 4” LED LIGHT GUIDE FROM GLT OFFERS SUPERIOR SOLUTION TO OLED PANELS FOR RANGE OF APPLICATIONS Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), the world leader in edge-lit, LED-based light guides for general illumination, has introduced a new 4” x 4” LED-based light guide developed to demonstrate its higher efficiency, better durability, longer life, and […]
Global Lighting technologies offering new range of LED-based edge-lit illumination solutions
Brecksville, OH, February 2010 – Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), Inc., developer of the world’s most efficient LED-based display backlights, is continuing its technological progress with a new range of LED-based edge-lit illumination solutions to expand its offerings beyond LCDs, keyboards and keypads and into areas of egress lighting and general illumination. “Edge-lit LED illumination has […]
Ceiling Lighting
GLT’s Light Extraction Technology Ensures Superior Output and UniformityNo Need for Secondary Lenses or Formed Reflectors to Hide Light Source Greater Energy Efficiency Edge-Lighting Enables Thinnest Solution Available Exceptional Lighting Control (Color, Dimming) Longer Life & More Cost Effective “Green Illumination” — no Mercury Superior Color, Dimming No Direct Light Source to Hide High-Efficiency / […]
Global Lighting Technologies Inc. is the world leader in new and innovative solutions for high-efficiency LED-based lightguides.
Custom Backlighting Solutions & Capabilities Global Lighting Technologies Inc. is the world leader in new and innovative solutions for high-efficiency LED edge lit lightguides. Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), Inc. was founded in 2000 to develop LED-based edge lighting technology for the latest generation of flat panel displays. Today, GLT is developing new backlighting solutions and […]