DFW's Largest Custom Sign Company

There are different ways that you can light up your channel letter sign:  neon, SpectraLites^™ internal LEDs, SolarBrite^™ internal LEDs, LetterLites™ external LEDs and external backlights with or without backplates.

Click on the "Neon", the "LED Lighting", or Backlights tabs to the left to learn about these lighting options.

There are two important indexes for judging the importance of various lamps in illuminating your sign: Color Rendering Index (CRI) and the light’s color, expressed as degrees Kelvin (K).

In degrees Kelvin a lower number is a more “yellow/red” light, a higher number is a more “blue” light.

Interestingly, the color of “daylight” varies from the equator to the poles.  But it is generally accepted as about 6000K with a CRI of 100.

A CRI of 100 is perfectly matching the sun’s effect on colors.

In white neon the old standard has been that 6500K neon is best for lighting a sign face.  It has a CRI of 65.  The tri-phosphor “rare earth” neon Signs Manufacturing^™ uses to illuminate digital graphics, translucent paint, translucent vinyl, and color transparencies has a CRI of almost 100.

Unless you work for a very major corporation and have been paid to study this issue this information has not been readily available until now.

Thanks to digital photography we are now able to show you what we are talking about without asking each potential customer to visit our lighting laboratory.

The left side of the picture is a sign lighted by Daylight HO fluorescent lamps, the right side with CW HO lamps.  A thin black line has been placed where the two pictures are spliced together.

Daylight HO lamps are 6000K with a CRI of 65.  CW HO lamps are 4500K with a CRI of 50.

Fluorescent lamps are actually just large pieces of neon!

Our simple goal is to get a potential customer to notice your sign first; rather than look at someone else’s sign and never notice yours.

Different Lighting Options For Different Needs

Most people think of lighting as just ... lighting. It's what makes your sign noticeable on a cloudy day. It's what gets your business seen, and lets people know that you are there and, sometimes, that you're even open!

Business owners tend to view all lighting as the same. This is not true, and it can be bad for your business if you have the wrong lighting.

Randall Brown, formerly an owner for a chain of Whataburger locations throughout Texas and Florida, would drive by his stores every month, EVERY ONE OF THEM, to look at the lighting. If there was a sign with a letter out, or a parking lot light out, or a light inside the store that's out, or even a piece of neon (he loved lighting up his stores with neon) that wasn't working then he would contact us to repair it right away ... and his Store Manager would pay for it out of his pocket!

Randall understood the value of his signs being seen, and the importance of lighting.

One of the biggest mistakes retail store owners make is using gooseneck lighting. Sure, it's fancy and attractive and we certainly like the looks of it. But gooseneck lighting is dim. It does NOT make your sign stand out.

The purpose of a sign is, more than anything else, marketing your organization. It needs to stand out. It is the #1 advertising tool that you have ... make sure it is seen!

However, in some cases the type of lighting you are using should NOT be the brightest you can possibly get! Sometimes, the color of the lighting is more important than the level of illumination.

Take lobby signs, as an example. In a lobby you don't want that sign to blind everybody walking through your door. It should be a subtle glow that emphasizes your brand and creates an excellent first impression.

For backlighting, where the lighting is indirect such as reverse letters where the lighting is against the wall and not out the face of the sign, the lighting needs to be soft. Its purpose is to not only highlight the sign (make it glow) but also to bring out the character of the wall behind it. The lighting should not wash out the wall texture and color.

Most sign companies buy whatever is available without consideration of lighting temperatures or the use/purpose of the lighting that they are using. Frequently the choice comes down to the cheapest product they can purchase ... that's what they use.

We know the difference, and the value of using the correct lighting for the job. Lighting that is used for backlighting or lobby signs should be a soft, or warm light. We typically use 5000 kelvin lighting for this application, although depending on the scenario we may choose a warmer color.

Let us help you make sure that the sign you are getting is properly built with the correct components for the purpose of the sign.

Different LEDs for Different Uses

Every individual LED bulb is designed for a specific purpose.  As an example, the design of an LED for a flashlight is different from a LED designed for an LED electronic sign.  One is designed to focus all light straight ahead, the other to disperse its light evenly in all forward directions.

Significantly, almost all LEDs are not designed to meet a strict color-match.  Most back-lighting LEDs are designed to light a colored plastic.

Did you know that an LED that is superior at lighting channel letters with plastic faces is not the best choice to light a channel letter or sign cabinet with translucent vinyl or digitally printed graphics on a plastic or flexible sign face; or for creating the halo around a reverse-channel letter?

Most sign companies do not know this.  In fact, the wholesale suppliers that supply virtually all sign companies do not even carry use-targeted LED products.  For them, it’s “…one size fits all…”

We use SolarBrite ™ Color-Correct™ LEDs which are specifically designed for these use-targeted applications.  Their light output has a color-corrected wave length; superior for lighting translucent colors from behind.

We always use the proper LED to give our customers the best sign possible…Guaranteed.

Click on the "LED Lighting" tab in the left column for more details.

NIGHTTIME	DAYTIME
Everything Lighted	Everything Lighted	Only LetterLites™ Lighted

Comparison of:

A LetterLites™ Channel Letter "H" Sign

 A "S" exposed double-stroke red neon channel letter

A "I" internally LED lighted white channel letter with red vinyl graphics

A "G" Day/Night Black/White channel letter

A "N" blue acrylic internally lighted channel letter with a backplate

Special Effects:

Colors in Motion™

Differences Sell ... Light Sells

Please stop by and see all of these products displayed in our unique Sign Lighting Laboratory and Display Showroom.

Adding Motion to a Stationary Sign

We can take your normally static sign, with a fixed message, and add movement using our programmable LEDs. Different speeds, "frames" if you prefer more subtle movement, multiple colors, etc.  We can even have it programmable so that you can change the colors of the LEDs!

As an added effect, you can program the moving LEDs separately from the rest of the sign. So, using the video above as an example, they could have the rotating record be green on St. Patrick's Day!

How's THAT for eye-catching?

This is available in channel letters as well as lighted sign cabinets, as shown above.

FOR ORDERING OR ASSISTANCE CALL:

214-339-2227 254-582-7446 817-861-1234 903-561-5959 940-365-3433 972-850-3300

877-SINCE79 toll free

Business Hours
Office: 7:00am to 5:00pm (CST) Monday thru Friday
Showroom/Tours: 7:00am to 5:00pm (CST) Monday thru Friday (or by appointment)

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