Definition
A lance is a small cardboard tube 8 to 12 mm in diameter and a few centimetres long, filled with a coloured-flame composition, that burns 40 seconds to two minutes with a steady flame like a miniature bengal. Its use is collective: fixed by the hundred on a wooden or lattice frame and linked by quick match, lances spell out a text, a logo, a heart, a date or a silhouette, the set piece or lancework. The design is painted on the frame, lances are pinned every 8 to 10 cm, then the fuse is run from one to the next for simultaneous ignition. Set pieces mark anniversaries, inaugurations and weddings; their preparation takes hours and their effect, a minute. They fall into F3 or F4 depending on the total load.
In practice, for the display company
A set piece is sold as a bespoke service: hours of preparation, frame, hundreds of lances, quick match. PyroDesk prices it as a composite item in the quote, deducts the lances from stock and reserves an ignition cue for it; the client portal lets the customer approve the mock-up of the text or logo before it is built.