Q: What is the GLOWMARK™ Safety System?

A: The GLOWMARK™ Arrow is a visual boundary marking system that glows for many hours after a short exposure to light.

Key applications include:

Marine safety: boats, rafts, kayaks, hulls, pontoons, jetties, buoys.
Hospital and domestic safety: marking exit routes and other important areas.
Textiles: glowing fabrics for emergency use, e.g. to indicate escape routes on planes, fashion items of clothing.
Horticulture and gardening: pathways, ornaments, lighting.
Commercial building and industrial safety, e.g. to delineate road works and for traffic management.
Mining: pathways and exit routes.
Agriculture: to mark equipment and potentially hazardous obstacles.
Transport industries: road marking, anti-slip step and floor products, signage, extrusions, floor & wall paints & coatings, aerosol paints, phosphorescent glass, acrylic chips.

GLOWMARK™ provides a Boundary Marker Safety System which is illuminated at night and in low-light conditions. The system uses a matrix of fitted GLOWMARK™ units. Each unit emits a warm green glow that is easily seen in the dark. The GLOWMARK™ Safety System is a low-cost alternative to expensive electrical lighting and ineffective reflectors habitually used in the above areas.

A: The GLOWMARK™ is comprised of our unique SGCMkII Glow Compound within a lens, set into a 5.8cm x 6cm x 0.5cm heavy-duty clear plastic shell which acts as a protective barrier against the elements.

Q: What makes the GLOWMARK™ glow?

A: Each Glowmark™ is embedded with proprietary SGC MKII (Synergy Glow Compound) light-emitting crystals. SGC MKII (Synergy Glow Compound) is a photo luminescent compound, capable of glowing brightly all night after being exposed to only 8 minutes of natural daylight or artificial light, indoors or out.

Q: Is SGC MKII (Synergy Glow Compound) safe and environmentally friendly?

A: Absolutely. SGC MKII is a non-toxic, non-radioactive compound. We have made sure that SGC MKII rigidly conforms to all relevant safety requirements. There are no harmful chemicals whatsoever contained within the SGC MKII crystals. In fact, SGC MKII is so harmless that it has been approved for use in children's toys. And despite their warm green glow, SGC MKII crystals neither emit nor have ever been exposed to radiation of any kind. In the early years of glow-in-the-dark technology, products were coated with a low-level radioactive compound known as Radium. Like all radioactive compounds, Radium was eventually proven to be harmful to humans. In contrast, SGC MKII is completely safe to handle and poses no threat to people or the environment. These factors alone make the GLOWMARK™ Safety System both literally and figuratively the most popular "green" solution on the market today.

Q: Does GLOWMARK™ really glow all night long?

A: Yes. Field testing has shown that pedestrians and cyclists perceived the GLOWMARK™ to be glowing strongly after 12 hours in low-light conditions. The GLOWMARK™ had stored enough energy during their exposure to normal daylight to emit an easily perceived glow that lasted throughout the night. In actuality, extensive lab testing has proven that only an 8 minute exposure to normal daylight is required to achieve this high level of performance. Therefore, any path or public area lined with the GLOWMARK™ Safety System will be clearly delineated during the hours of darkness and can be safely used as long as the GLOWMARK™ units are not removed or obstructed by debris.

Q: How is the GLOWMARK™ Safety System better than conventional exterior electric lighting?

A: Conventional exterior electric lights provide enough , but rising fuel costs mean that they are becoming an unviable solution. The GLOWMARK™ Safety System uses its own self-contained and environmentally-friendly energy source. Therefore, it has no effect on monthly or annual operating budgets in regard to energy consumption.

Q: How is the GLOWMARK™ Safety System better than "Cat's Eyes" reflectors?

A: Reflector-based systems are relatively inexpensive to install, but a reflector simply bounces back the light that is aimed at it. When there is no light, or not enough light aimed directly at the reflector, then there is little or no reflection - rendering the reflector useless. If there is a light source present which is bright enough to light up the reflector, then the light source is also bright enough to see by, so you really don't need a reflector. The concept of a reflector used in an area where light is absent and is only occasionally brought in by a pedestrian or cyclist is fundamentally flawed, making it a poor choice for that particular environment. The GLOWMARK™ Safety System uses its own self-contained and environmentally-friendly energy source to illuminate pathways and boundaries.

Q: How is the GLOWMARK™ Safety System better than solar-powered lights?

A: Solar-powered lights provide ample , but their energy sources are usually expensive NiCad batteries, recharged by solar energy. Typically, solar-powered lights are much more expensive than GLOWMARK™, and sooner, rather than later, their NiCad batteries begin to lose their ability to store enough energy to power the unit all night long. In fact, the average service life of a solar-powered light is nowhere near that of a GLOWMARK™, which is guaranteed to glow for 5 years, but is actually expected to last 10 years or longer.

Q: How long do GLOWMARK™ usually last before they must be replaced?

A: GLOWMARK™ was designed with long-term outdoor use in mind. Consequently, they should have a very long and useful service life. Apart from replacement of vandalized units, the only other expected maintenance is an occasional wipe to clear away fallen leaves and debris that may cover the unit. GLOWMARK™ is guaranteed to glow for 5 years. In practice, however, the SGC MKII (Synergy Glow Compound) photo luminescent crystals embedded in the unit are capable of glowing for as long as 10 years with minimal degradation in luminance.

Q: How much do GLOWMARK™ cost?

A: Each GLOWMARK™ costs £4.50 (distributor price)(around £80 per unit cheaper than some of the light-giving solar competition). Please contact us for bulk purchase discounts. 

Q: How will I save money by using the GLOWMARK™ Boundary Marker Safety System

A: As the cost of electricity and other forms of energy soars ever higher, so does the popularity of the GLOWMARK™ Safety System as an alternative to them. This popularity is driven by the system's relatively low price and extreme versatility. A box of twenty (20) GLOWMARK™ units costs £90.00 and will cover a linear distance of fifty (50) meters on a cycling path or walking trail. If that same distance were lit by electrical lighting, the cost of hardware installation alone would be much greater. In addition, the combined cost of maintenance and energy consumption would exceed the total cost of the entire GLOWMARK™ Safety System each month!

The GLOWMARK™ Safety System uses its own self-contained energy source and does not rely on electricity or other forms of energy to operate. Therefore, it has no effect on monthly or annual operating budgets in regard to energy consumption.

Q: How easy is it to install the GLOWMARK™ Safety System?

A: Very easy. In most cases, all that is required is a nylon or rubber mallet along with each GLOWMARK™ anchoring pin. A strong exterior epoxy should be applied to the base of each GLOWMARK™ prior to anchoring, regardless of the surface type. White mastic is highly recommended. The adhesive will minimize dislocation or removal of the GLOWMARK™ due to vandalism, exposure to the elements, or the accelerated wear normally associated with high-traffic public areas, whether indoors or outdoors.

Q: Do GLOWMARK™ have any placement or spacing requirements?

A: Yes. For optimal effectiveness, the GLOWMARK™ should be placed on all sides of the area to be illuminated, if possible. There should be no more than five (5) meters between each GLOWMARK™. In the case of a cycling path or walking trail, for instance, GLOWMARK™ are generally installed in pairs with a single being placed on each side of the pathway. Each such pairing of GLOWMARK™ is referred to as an point. As the installation of points proceeds along the path, care should be taken to follow the "Five Meter Rule" in order to maintain the effectiveness of the GLOWMARK™ Safety System at night and in low-light conditions. In a typical pathway installation, four hundred (400) GLOWMARK™ are needed per kilometre; 200 units per side.

Q: Is there a maximum number of GLOWMARK™ that should be used?

A: No. The GLOWMARK™ Safety System is an "open-ended" product. There is no limit to the number of GLOWMARK™ that can be used to illuminate a public area. Five meters is the maximum distance recommended between each GLOWMARK™ in order to maintain the system's effectiveness at night and in low-light conditions. Obviously, there can be less distance which will require more GLOWMARK™ units for any given length of pathway.

As the name suggests, the main objective of the GLOWMARK™ Safety System is safety. Therefore, the goal is to space the GLOWMARK™ units close enough together to give pedestrians and cyclists enough visual input to use the public area safely at night and in low-light conditions. But regardless of how the GLOWMARK™ Safety System is configured, simply having one in place is a step in the right direction

Q: On what surface types can GLOWMARK™ be installed?

A: The most common surface types for installing the GLOWMARK™ are tarmac, wood, brick, concrete, mud, sand, and gravel. The application possibilities are versatile enough to permit installation of the GLOWMARK™ Safety System in any interior or exterior environment.

Q: Are there any special considerations for installation on brick or concrete?

A: Yes. To prevent damage to the anchoring pin and the GLOWMARK™ during installation on hard surfaces such as brick or concrete, a 3mm pilot hole should be drilled into the mounting surface beforehand. This is quickly and easily accomplished using an ordinary electric or rechargeable hammer-drill and masonry bit.

Q: Are there any special considerations for installation on mud, sand or gravel?

A: Yes. Mud, sand, and gravel are unsuitable surfaces on which to mount a GLOWMARK™ unit directly. In order to use the GLOWMARK™ Safety System on these surfaces, stakes or fixing posts should first be installed. Then, install the GLOWMARK™ unit to the stake or fixing post.

Q: What if a GLOWMARK™ is covered by snow, leaves or dirt?

A: A GLOWMARK™ will continue to glow even when covered by precipitation (snow, standing rain water, etc,) and/or debris such as leaves and dirt. However, once the unit has discharged, it will not recharge until the obstruction is removed and the unit is exposed to natural daylight. To minimize maintenance, each unit is designed with a calculated slope to allow for leaves and general debris to be blown away with the wind and washed away by rain. Still, care should be taken to install the GLOWMARK™ in locations where they are not easily obstructed.