Professional photographer Arn Lowenthal and Dick Sequerra, an electronics engineer join forces to fulfill their vision to develop a repetitive strobe light system that could be synchronized to a motion picture camera. Only individual single-flash strobe lights were in use but there were no automatic high-speed repeating lights. In their spare time, Arn & Dick develop a small portable strobe light that can be synchronized with a motion picture camera.

The Unilux 500 is the culmination of a number of improvements, with more sophisticated enhancements and state of the art engineering, using a 10-flash head, 3 console system. In essence this Unilux 500 is a monument to the skills of the engineer-president of the company. The original concept is that this equipment is intended for rental only in the production of TV commercials and special effects in TV and motion picture films. A full sound movie stage is built at 830 Broadway in New York to be rented to production companies.

Unilux is funded to develop high power strobe lights for special effects in the creation and production of television commercials.

A decision is made to design a new smaller, simpler, lower cost system than the Unilux 500. The Unilux 700 Stroboscopic Analyzer is completed in late 1969 as a versatile photo-instrumentation product, with sales expectations for a very broad range of applications. Unfortunately, the recession of 1969 hits and many of the markets for research and development dry up. The development work on an esoteric model 600 for extremely high flash rates is discontinued due to lack of market interest.

In 1970 while searching for new applications, a new and untried market in the steel industry is discovered. In the manufacture of flat rolled strip steel, modern steel mills worked at speeds up to thousands of feet per minute. With ordinary illumination, it is totally impossible to see the surface characteristics of the steel while in motion. A series of demonstrations were made at steel mills throughout the United States and orders for the System 700 began to roll in.

The sound stage at 830 Broadway is closed due to the declining number of TV commercials using Unilux lights on rental.

An optimized version of the Unilux 800 Strobe is created for the video industry. The 800 Videostrobe System consists of a camera, camera tube, lenses and tape recorders mounted on a hand cart. The system produces 60 pictures per second and is compatible with all standard video in the US. It is sold to production houses throughout the US.

In an effort to expand the base operations and assist with early development costs and a “new technology” marketing difficulties, the Major Safe Company is purchased.

Our redesigned videotape system becomes the Unilux 900 High-speed motion analysis system and includes a number of technical improvements such as videotape recorder and an improved, smaller, lighter camera.

At the peak of the steel industry, requests were made for surface inspection equipment for locations that were unsafe or impossible for an inspector to stand. The Unilux 1000 Surface Inspection Equipment features high resolution video and scan-converted image storage devices so that inspectors can review the surface of the steel from a safe distance away.

Unilux establishes twelve US sales representatives as well as sales reps in Canada, Australia, Scandinavia, the Philippines, Japan, Israel, Spain, South America, South Africa, Mexico and India.

Unilux introduces its first medium duty strobe the Model 850 for surface inspection, which is much smaller than the 700. It is widely accepted in the steel and paper industries.

Unilux creates the lightweight, easily transportable Model 980 to address customer objections to using bulky, immobile equipment.

Models 880 and 885, the first portable trouble shooting strobes, are introduced, available in spot or flood light configurations. This opens the range of applications to include printing/converting, paper, steel, video inspection and video motion analysis industries. The power supplies weigh under 20 pounds and light heads weigh under 15 pounds.

Unilux development is able to come up with a smaller and lighter portable strobe, 885. 

For greater portability, the Hi-Lighter is launched with a power supply built into the light head and weighing less than 14 lbs/6 kg.

Until now these highly sophisticated systems of strobe lights were only available on a daily rental basis.

Unilux launches a self-contained unit for the first time with the Lith-O-Light series. The LOL-20 and LOL-40 take the printing industry by storm.

To compliment Unilux strobe lights, Unilux rents high speed cameras manufactured by Photosonics, with or without strobe lighting. In addition Unilux makes all of its industrial products available under short term operating leases helping move equipment out more quickly.

The LOL-10, the smallest fixed mount LOL strobe fills a need for narrow and medium web widths.

The LOL-5 provides flexibility for narrow web inspection with both portable and fixed mount options. 

Unilux is recognized with a technical achievement award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences for its work with the H3000 in the film industry.

Amusement ride operators now have another revenue stream using the HS897 to take still pictures of moving rides. 

The release of the Miti-Lite provides the brightest battery powered xenon strobe light. And the upgraded 700 is released as the Centurion, the power house for wide surface inspection

Unilux and Parsytec team up to become a leading surface inspection provider. Unilux customizes our inspection strobes to meet their specific needs.

The HD-851 is introduced for continuous high speed production lines. This powerful light emphasizes minimal and simple equipment maintenance. The HD-851 operates from various controllers or external triggering signals such as video, pulse or current.

The Big Shot enable amusment park owners to to capture still photos of riders on roller coasters and other rides, giving them an additional revenue stream.

Unilux develops a strobe for Titleist to test the flight of golf balls.

The Guardian, or LOL-10, the LOL-20 and LOL-40 are introduced to meet the needs of medium and wide web operators. 

The Sentry (850D) supplies advanced clarity and definition of surface imperfections at full production speed, up to 2,300 meters per minute.

The Beacon allows paper machine operators to see formation activity across the entire wire as well as study the dewatering process, ensure nozzle spray quality and determine felt and wire wear quickly and easily.

The Cricket and Tracker strobes are designed for converting, maintenance and speed measurement applications. Their small, rugged design enables efficient portable or fixed mount use with ultimate flexibility and affordability.

The LOL-IV uses enhanced features to provide superior performance for fine detailed inspection.

The Uni-Shot strobe light joins the Big Shot as a means to capture amusement ride photos.

Unilux takes its first foray into the LED handheld strobe market with the introduction of the Pocket Pixel.

Edge Tech replaces Q-Eye for inspection of the trimmed edge of metal strips. 

The entire family of pulsed LED inspection lights is introduced: 1XF, 1XS, LED 5X2, LED 1X3 and the Pocket Pixel. These 1st generation LED inspection lights eliminate maintenance due to bulb replacement and and provide better light output. They range from narrow light output for narrow web inspection to wide web inspection capable of inspecting up to 36ft (12m).

The Unilux Water Cadet strobe light provides triggered stroboscopic illumination to enable camera image capture of moving objects.

A new look at edge trim problems is now available with the introduction of the newest version of the Edge Tech system, allowing for real-time examination of trim quality and knife condition at full production speed. This introduction follows several months of full production tests at mills in the US, Latin America and Europe.

The Edge Tracker system complements Edge Tech by automatically positioning the camera sub-systems at the correct distance from the strip edge to attain the best image quality.

The operational and environmental benefits of LEDs and the power of Xenon strobes are brought all together with the introduction of the new LED2000 series. These lights are 5 times brighter than our 1st generation LED strobes with only 25 - 35% of the energy consumption in a smaller, lighter design.

Immediate dividends are seen as the 1st Edge Tech system goes into operation in China, installed on the PLTCM line at Maahshan Iron & Steel Company (Masteel). 

Unilux product development is recognized at ICE 2013 as they win C2 Converting Innovation Award for LED2000 series. With the creation of the LED2000 series, Unilux has completely re-engineered the concept of LED-based stroboscopic surface inspection lights. The new lights combine the operational and environmental benefits of LED lights with the power of traditional xenon-based strobes, while reducing operational costs and environmental impact.

Rotoflex partners with Unilux to give label printers and converters the ability to inspect more details at full production speed on high-volume slitter rewinders and diecutting equipment. New Rotoflex VSI and VLI slitter rewinders and DSI and DLI diecutters are now equipped with Unilux LED2000 series inspection lights as standard.

Unilux expands on its LED2000 series strobe lamps with the spot version [LED2000-S] and the LED2000-H strobes that provide greater downstream coverage, particularly important in the metals industry.

The introduction of the LED-12 means twice the light output of it predecessor and greater flexibility in handling production and maintenance operations for the printing converting, papermaking, metals and textiles industries. The LED-12 is also designed for additional applications such as maintenance, speed measurement, machine vision, camera inspection, motion timing and motion analysis.

The next generation pocket-sized inspection strobe is introduced at ICE 2015 with the new LED-1. The LED-1 replaces the Pocket Pixel and is 5 times brighter. The LED-1 is perfect for narrow inspection in converting, printing and textile manufacturing. It also can be used for the inspection of belts, chains, gears, shafts, pulleys and other machinery for plant maintenance.

Unilux continues the expansion of its next generation LED handheld strobe inspection lights with the launch of the LED-3 at LabelExpo Europe. The LED-3 replaces the 1XS, the 1XF, the Cricket and the Tracker with spot and flood models. The LED-3 is also available in a UV model and all come in either handheld and fixed mount options. The LED-3 is 5 times brighter than its predecessors. 

Unilux adds UV inspection capability for any web width enabling operators to see special security codes or coatings that are only visible in the narrow UV light spectrum. By replacing UV filters used on xenon strobes with LED diodes, the filter penalty is eliminated. Old technology using the filter which removed various visible wave-lengths of light producing less output. Without filters and using UV diodes, these new lights are 10 times brighter.

Unilux introduces an inspection strobe with brighter, more concentrated, even illumination in both handheld and fixed mount models, in flood and spot options. The LED-9's small compact size make it ideal for inspection anywhere on a narrow web.

The LED Beacon provides crisper, clearer detail in a lighter, more durable inspection strobe for paper mills. LED's eliminate bulb replacement and associated downtime, and provide a wider, more uniform coverage area.

The industry-first LEDUV series inspection strobes win top honors at the annual Sapphire Awards. Unilux LEDUV strobes are used to inspect optical brighteners in the printing of banknotes and secure documents or coating and cold seal applications in flexible packaging.

Surface inspection has been greatly enhanced with the latest developments in LED technology utilised in stroboscopic inspection. The ability to precisely control flash duration time of LEDs now enables inspectors to have sharper and crisper images of the strip surface allowing them to detect finer anomalies.

LED2000 Series Inspection Systems now feature Smart Assist. This advanced interface improves setup and simplifies access to powerful new inspection techniques, making it even easier to spot imperfections in print and surface quality at full production speed.

The popular LED12 is redesigned with smart controls. New features make it easier to instantly synchronize the strobe flash rate to motion for a perfectly still image even when speed fluctuates, while also allowing an operator to fine-tune the target inspection area.

The LED Beacon becomes the only portable inspection strobe with an IP65-rating for resistance to pulp and water. Updates to the design provide additional peace-of-mind when inspecting of formation activity and machine vibration on paper machines.

The LED27 runs off existing machine power, eliminating the need for a separate power supply. Smart Assist graphic controls make it easy for any user to set up and operate with all controls and on-screen instructions in multiple languages.

The LED27 handheld inspection strobe is designed to provide an evenly distributed light pattern ideal for metal coil processing, where the ability to see defects on a reflective surface is critical. It is the first portable strobe to incorporate Smart Assist graphic controls, making it even easier to adjust settings so that an inspector can spot imperfections in surface quality in an instant, across the entire width of the strip