Green Beam vs Red Beam Laser Which One You Should Choose?

Why use a Green Beam vs a Red Beam laser?

Imex LX25GP Line and Dot Laser applications

Red beam lasers are often less visible in bright conditions compared to green beam lasers, however, red lasers can be coupled with a laser detector to improve visibility.

With the proliferation of line lasers in the last 15 years and the inherent limitations of being able to project a red beam laser at distance, the later technology green beam laser diodes have become the colour of choice for many line laser applications.

When laser levels were first manufactured over 40 years ago, all laser diodes were red due to the prevalence of this technology for computer technology. The first lasers were a rotary variety, followed by line lasers in the late 80s with a visible laser beam that was exclusively red beam.

The early laser levels were of a rotating nature and because they utilised an aligned frequency detector or receiver, it was immaterial that the red beam couldn’t be seen by the human eye. The laser detector could pick up the laser beam and combine with sound to show the user the level. However, this technology was very limited for any meaningful interior laser leveling where a visible line to align to was required.

The earliest line lasers in the late 1980s and early 90s used a red diode light to project a visible red beam light. These early models were quite limited, due to the weak light beam output and therefore only effective over short distances.

In the late 90s some manufacturers were experimenting with green diodes, which emitted much stronger and more visible light beams. The reason for this is that the human eye sees green four times better than red, so the line “appears” more visible.

Are green beam laser levels better for long distance?

multiline laser level LX3DG | green vs red lasers

For any short distance indoor application less than 6m there is no noticeable difference between the brightness of a red and green beam and for many tasks a red beam laser will suffice. On longer distances, especially for commercial work, a green beam laser level comes into its own and can be used without a detector up to 20-25m depending on surrounding light.

Red diodes are cheaper to produce, given their many applications in other industries so on average a red beam laser is still 10-20% less expensive to purchase than an equivalent green beam model.

Also red diodes use less power input, so battery run times are on average 20-30% better than green beam lasers. Latterly, however, the new generation of laser levels often have latest technology battery platforms where the battery performance is excellent on both red and green beam models. Premium lasers like the iMEX models are powered by rechargeable lithium batteries, eliminating the need for frequent and expensive battery changes.