Color filters are fitted over stage lights to change the color to achieve a certain effect of lighting, often to look like daylight or natural lighting. These filters work by blocking certain colors from the light's spectrum, leaving only the desired color of light. Color correction filters only reduce the amount of light very slightly; therefore, they are very pale in color.
Rosco is an international company that produces stage lighting products. Both the Roscolux 104 and 160 filters are made with co-extruded polycarbonate plastic. This material is used due to its heat-resistant properties. The polycarbonate used in Roscolux filters meets the most stringent of international and U.S. standards for fire safety. These filters are sold in 20-by-24-inch sheets or in rolls that are 24 inches wide by 25 feet long.
The Roscolux 104 filter is known as "Tough Silk." This filter blocks some light to create a slash-of-light effect. This filter does not change the color; it changes the shape of the beam of light. The Roscolux 160 filter is known as "Light Tough Silk." This filter also creates a slash of light, but diffuses less of the light than the 104 filter.
Both the Roscolux 104 and 160 filters can be combined with a colored filter to create a colored slash of light. The 104 filter diffuses more of the light than the Roscolux 160 filter does, but both create a compact beam of light.