LED Ribbon

LED Tape Light

Be sure to see the LED Tape Light Ribbon cabinet lighting example.

LED Ribbon is a fine example of the changing technology in the lighting industry.

Many of us have used incandescent tape light for projects such as cabinet lighting, cove lighting and many other unique applications which require a thin, flexible, out of sight light source. Due to the advancement in LED technology, incandescent tape light has become obsolete. The LED Ribbon is a vast improvement over the old tape light for many reasons.

Lets take a closer look and this amazing light source.

LED Ribbon

Tape light was popular as it was the only option for many unique lighting applications.

The major differences between the two products are the size, flexibility, ease of instillation and life span.

Obsolete Incandescent Tape Light

Close Up of LED Ribbon
Click to enlarge

You can tell when you hold the LED Ribbon in your hand just how small it looks. It's width is 3/10's (0.30) of an inch wide and 1/10 (0.10) of an inch tall.

This means the LED ribbon will fit into smaller places and will not stick out so much from the surface.

In addition, this light source has double stick tape already applied to the backside which makes installation super easy.

This new design in tape light allows the user to install the LED Ribbon in places never before possible.

If you need to cut the LED ribbon it can be cut between the copper colored dots ( :|: ).

led ribbon where to cut

Should you need to span an area where light is not needed, you may cut the ribbon, then solder leads to the copper points.

Close Up of LED Ribbon Thickness
Click to enlarge

led ribbon tape light lit another example

In this example I used the warm white color. The colors available are: white, warm white, red, blue and rgb.

Use a driver to supply the necessary power, then you can create a simple on and off function by adding a switch (supplied by you). By adding a controller, you can create more elaborate functions.

If you have never used LED Ribbon, here is some information that will help you understand the basics. LED's are powered by what is called a driver. A driver is a transformer with a few added components for the LED's.

This LED Ribbon is made to light by connecting the leads to the 12 volt side of the driver. If your ribbon does not light, reverse the 12 volt leads. Most LED strips must be wired correctly, i.e. positive to positive and negative to negative connections. You should never power the LED Ribbon with anything other than the recommended voltage.

In summary, the LED Ribbon product is far superior to the old, obsolete incandescent tape light. It has a smaller foot print for both energy consumption and physical size. Its flexibility is outstanding and the double stick tape already installed on the ribbon makes installation a snap.