Electronic Message Centers are usually built into additional signage, not installed by themselves. Doing so makes them less expensive and more effective at the same time!

But most electronic message center manufacturers do not manufacture additional types of signs.

Signs Manufacturing™ makes more than electronic message centers. We manufacture, install and service church signs, school signs, apartment signs, park signs, governmental signs, architectural signs, etc. Interior signs as well as exterior signs.

We manufacture road signs and building signs including channel letter signs (internally lighted with neon, Solarbrite™ LEDs, the new automatic color-changing SpectraLites™ LEDs, or externally lighted with first-surface LetterLites™ LEDs), neon signs, wall sign cabinets, pole signs, pylon signs, monument signs, message centers, PinLights™ LED signs, architectural signs, plastic lettering, metal lettering, trim-cap lettering, awning signs, plaques and more!

Dependent on your location, Signs Manufacturing™ may be able to offer you INCOME from a FREE pole, pylon, monument sign, or electronic message center.

The Signs Manufacturing On-Location Sales Team's Personalized Service

No matter what types of signs you are interested in, our sales team, consisting of 11 highly-trained individuals, is at your beck and call.

Let us meet with you in your office, or at your new signs location, or home, or anywhere.

You will probably have a firm quotation for what you want during our meeting; certainly no more than a day later.
There are 19 questions you must have answers to before investing in signs. Questions not about the signs themselves, but about how the signs will be perceived, and how long they will take to pay for themselves. Our sales team will bring you a COMPLIMENTARY PROFESSIONAL MARKET SURVEY of your new signage locations. Click on the "Sign Market Research" tab to the left for details.

Visit Our Unique Sign Lighting Laboratory and Demonstration Showroom with LED Video Displays

Unique in the entire sign industry, Signs Manufacturing™ built an 85’ by 50’ (over 4,000 sq ft) indoor sign lighting laboratory for testing the longevity, visibility, and effectiveness of all the lighted signs we manufacture.

The Laboratory is open to the public, for FREE, adding an LED Video Display Showroom because we realized how important one would be to consumers.

If you are considering purchasing an LED Video Display or Digital LED Message Center sign this exclusive opportunity will be particularly important. You must determine what type of sign, and which LED spacing is best, so that your sign will be successful, considering how you will use it.

We invite you to also observe all other types of signage, viewing them up close as well as from a distance, under varying light conditions (and stay out of the weather while doing so!)

How will shadows affect my sign's readability during the day? Should the wall behind my sign be light or dark colored? Would a different type of sign look better on my brick wall? Should I consider a routed sign face with push-through letters?

Live Demonstrations of Signage Features

Changeable Message Signs – A Brief History

When LED lighting first replaced incandescent lighting in changeable message signs their color was monochrome, and their array was balanced.

When color LED’s were introduced existing computers could not coordinate the virtually unlimited display options a balanced array offered. This resulted in a very “grainy” product. The 3 led colors (RGB) were therefore grouped into “pixel clusters” so that these classic computers could control the display, providing better results.

We’ve come a long way; computers and processors are thousands of times faster than early models.

The technical ability to place larger individual LED’s closer together without electrical co-interference has greatly improved also.

Not bound by pre-existing equipment or designs, and rather than invest in dated technology, Sunburst LED Displays™ utilizes modern computing power to control the virtually limitless potential of our large LED Balanced Array™ Video Displays and Digital Electronic Message Center Signs.

Sign Cost Information

Interested in the concept of electronic message centers, but unfamiliar with their cost?

Click on the "Cost" tab to the left to obtain general pricing and cost information on various sizes and types of LED Electronic Message Centers and our 5 different methods of paying for them.

When you do so notice how dealing directly with the manufacturer can potentially save you additional thousands of dollars in Texas sales/use taxes!

However, you can purchase right now and save if you know precisely what you want.

If you do not know precisely what you want, please contact us to develop an exact plan to meet your particular needs - for free (see our "Design Center" page!)

Our professional staff will usually have exact quotations, and exact scale drawings of your signs installed on your building or property ready for you the same day we meet with you. (Much faster than the 2 1/2 week average in our industry.)

If you are planning for the future, please bookmark our website as a "Favorite" so you can find us when you are ready. The detailed construction and installation information below, and to the left, is very important in developing a sign that will accomplish your goals.

Fraud Protection

Signs Manufacturing™ is insured, registered, licensed and bonded per all City and State regulations, and even carries product liability insurance to protect our customers, and their customers, which is very rare among sign companies.

We even offer our customers free coverage on a $2,000,000 insurance policy providing Deposit Insurance if we were to default.

We've got you covered!

Free Demonstrations

Arrange an on-site demonstration today! Demonstrations are available in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and all of North Texas.

BIG Business Booster

There is no question that LED electronic message centers are the business signage communication wave of the future. Local advertising has never been cheaper because of them.

Every business has a need to promote special events, sales, sponsorships, etc.; either at their business location and/or at local sports events, parades, church and school events.

If your business is not located where you can have a permanent messaging sign, or you need to advertise at multiple locations (like the kid's soccer game), the question is, HOW?

This question has been answered with “The LED Sled™” pictured above, Signs Manufacturing™’s new portable self-powered LED electronic message center and video display.

Local businesses have never before been able to be so creative, to think so far outside the box to gain a competitive advertising advantage.

“To rent, or to own, THAT is the question.” (sorry Shakespeare.) How often do you need to promote your business?

If you are a multi-location business you need to own one of these! Some location ALWAYS has special needs or opportunities. Or a new store under construction.

If you’re not in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex you absolutely need to own one because you are too far away for us to rent you one!

Message Center Brands We Sell and Support

All electronic message centers are made differently, with different characteristics and sizes, and no single display can be used in every installation condition.

No one manufacturer's design is the best value for every customer, any way they want to use it.

Sunburst Displays™

With an electronic message center you are leaving your computer out in the Texas rain, ice, heat and cold, and tornados and hurricane-force winds are trying to blow it away.

Color Selections

Monochrome (one color) displays are available in “Red” or “Amber (Yellow).”

Full-Color displays are either RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White.)

The more colors, the more LED lights in each pixel, the larger each pixel, the further back from the sign you must be so that the sign is not “grainy.”

Display Capability - Palette

Because the intensity of a LED light can be changed by increasing or decreasing the voltage to it, the better monochrome displays feature over 4000 shades of Red or Amber. Some manufacturers call this "grayscale."

The cheaper monochrome displays cannot vary their color intensity at all, they are truly one color. A Sunburst Displays™ sign can turn it's gradients feature "off" and display one-color monotone.

Good color displays (RGB) can display over 260,000 color variations; exceptional units 6 million.

We have units available with 256/4,000/26,000/6,000,000 and 281,000,000,000,000 shades/colors.

Pixels

An electronic message center is in many ways a large computer screen. The screen is illuminated by turning many individual lights, or pixels, on/off (or varying the voltage to them.)

Tighter spacing between pixels allows more data to be displayed and makes the sign look better but increases cost.

Older generation displays group LEDs in clusters. Modern Sunburst Displays™ utilize “Balanced Spacing” and more modern software for a superior appearance.

How far pixels are from one another is called “pitch” and is usually expressed in millimeters (mm.)

Older color displays, because each pixel is actually an unequal cluster of 3 or more different colored LED’s, cannot have as small a pitch as a monochrome display or the appearance of a more modern display with a Balanced Array™. Therefore they must be viewed from a greater distance to have a quality appearance. There is a lot of blank space between pixels.

Old-style full-color displays are available in 12mm, 16mm, 20mm and larger pitches.

Old-style monochrome displays are available in 9mm, 19mm, 25mm, 35mm, 46mm and larger, some very larger pitches.

The distance between LEDs in Sunburst Displays™ Balanced Array™ can be as small as 6 mm, monochrome or full-color. Pixels can overlap in full-color video displays.

Light Density (LD) = The Number of LEDs per Square Foot of Sign Face

As the discussion gets more and more technical, the easiest comparison between displays is the "LD," the number of LED lights in a square foot of sign face.

Again, pixel pitch or LED spacing, as well as image quality, determines how close a sign can be and still deliver quality images. They also determine Resolution (below).

Too large a pitch or spacing for the viewing distance and images are grainy, maybe unreadable. A potential customer’s image of your business suffers. When you see grainy LED signs don’t you think of them as “cheap?”

It is therefore better to err on the side of a “tight” array. Visit our showroom to personally compare displays before making this very important decision. Remember, we’re local.

A Balanced Array™ can automatically adjust pixel quantity and location to produce as high a resolution as the image will allow for the display size. It’s like a modern “High Definition” television. If the image sent to it is “HD” it will be shown “HD” if possible. But remember, garbage in, garbage out! And, size matters! A larger display will support more detail in images.

Why Not Use a Television?

All modern flat-screen televisions are LCD televisions. So-called “LED” TV’s are actually LCD screens edge or back lighted with LED’s.

How many pixels wide and high the display is, which determines how many of what size letters can be displayed at one time.

Most matrix dimensions are in multiples of 8 pixels, or potential pixels in the case of a Balanced Array.

Viewing Angles

As an automobile driver drives toward an electronic message center which is installed on a 20’ tall pole the vertical viewing angle increases from near 0° to almost 90° as the driver passes under the sign. As the viewing angle increases the intensity of the display decreases. The vertical viewing angle of the LED’s used in the display plays an important role in the usefulness of the display. (For more information on this see “Glare Shields or Louvers” below.)

As a driver drives toward an electronic message center installed on the side of a road the horizontal viewing angle increases from near 0° to 90° as the driver passes beside the sign. As the viewing angle increases the intensity of the display decreases in this direction also. The horizontal viewing angle of the LED’s used in the display also plays an important role in the usefulness of the display.

It is important to understand the vertical and the horizontal angle that the display will be viewed from.

LED lights are directional, and Glare Shields or Louvers can block visibility. High quality LED’s can be viewed by as much as 90° horizontally and vertically and still observe over 70% of the lumen potential.

Some LED’s lose virtually all of their light at angles over 45°. Less-expensive signs must therefore be viewed nearly straight-on to be legible.

Determining Your Minimum Display Size

Videos will run on any size sign, with a resolution equal to the pixel matrix of the display.

This is not true for wording, however.signs that have a larger pixel pitch will not be able to display small letters as clearly as a sign with a smaller pixel pitch (smaller pixel pitch means more dots per square foot).

Decide on how many lines of text vertically you need to display. Decide the maximum height of the letters you want each row to use.

Add at least 2” between rows, and 1.25” top and bottom. If you are going to use both upper and lower case letters allow additional space for the descending letters also. The amount of space varies by letter size and style. Will you want a lighted border around your message?

The cumulative total is how tall the minimum display height of your sign must be, in inches.

But, can the display clearly display your smallest letters? For a standard block letter style the smallest letter a 20mm sign can clearly display is a 6.3" tall lower-case character. A 16mm sign can display 5.1" minimum-height characters.

It is possible to go smaller, but it may require some experimentation with letter styles and spacing. Smaller letters probably require a tighter pitched sign.

If you plan on using some lower-case letters recognize that their shorter height is your shortest letter.

To determine minimum letter height for all sign pitches, multiply the pitch of a display you are considering, in millimeters (say 20), or by the LED spacing in a Balanced Array™ times 2, by 0.315. This tells you the smallest letter the display you are considering can reliably display.

Next, decide on the longest message you need to display. Count both the letters and spaces, and include space both before and after the message. Multiply by 0.3145. Now multiply by the pitch of a display you are considering, in millimeters (say 20), or by the LED spacing in a Balanced Array™ times 2. The answer is how long the sign display must be in inches to display the message adequately in most letter styles. Realize that some letter styles would require an even longer display, but this is a good average. If you plan on running text twice this smallest size, the display will need to be twice as long.

You now know if the size and pitch of the sign you are considering will meet your needs.

But, remember that size matters! A larger display will support more detail in images.

Viewing Distances

The minimum viewing distance is the point at which the display loses its graininess. This can vary depending on the message being displayed.

The maximum viewing distance is the point at which the smallest character which will be generated on the display becomes unreadable. A potential solution is to generate larger characters, but this may increase the minimum viewing distance.

Reading Time

These times are only achievable when viewing signs made with LEDs with wide viewing angles, and a tight resolution.


	30 MPH	40 MPH	60 MPH	80 MPH
6" LETTERS	1.4 Seconds	1 Second	0.7 Seconds	0.5 Seconds

8" LETTERS	1.8 Seconds	1.4 Seconds	0.9 Seconds	0.7 Seconds

12" LETTERS	3 Seconds	2 Seconds	1.5 Seconds	1 Second

18" LETTERS	4 Seconds	3 Seconds	2 Seconds	1.5 Seconds

24" LETTERS	5.5 Seconds	4 Seconds	2.75 Seconds	2 Seconds

36" LETTERS	8 Seconds	6 Seconds	4 Seconds	3 Seconds
Prepared by Signs Manufacturing™

Control Software

More than any other part of the sign the operating software determines the usability of the system. Sunburst Displays™ proprietary operating software contains many virtually unique features into one package:

Text, Graphics, or Both

Some competitive units only display text, some must display text as a graphic (drawing), some can display both text and graphics. Some competitors can only display "stick" letters (one line.)

AMBER LED MESSAGE CENTER, Arlington, Texas

Sunburst Displays™ proprietary software can display text and graphics, and we can vary the font (letter style) and the thickness of the letters.

On our monochrome units (one color) text and graphics can be displayed in 1 or 256 shades of the one color. Full-color units display 281,000,000,000,000 separate shades.

All Sunburst Displays™ software can display fixed messages or graphics (drawings) or “scroll” messages or graphics (drawings) and include F/X features. We also show a display such as a cartoon with character movement, for instance.

All Sunburst Displays™ programming can display pre-programmed messages and pictures in a slideshow format, much like a screensaver slideshow showing multiple messages or images.

All Sunburst Displays™ proprietary software can display videos of varying random lengths.

Live Video or TV

Scheduling

Schedule various messages, graphics or videos to automatically run at various times of day or night with Sunburst Displays™ software.

Double-Sided Display Programming Options

Most competitive units display the same message or animation on both sides of a double-sided display.

However some competitive units can only be programmed totally independent of each other. There displays will not synchronize, so they take twice as long to program.

Sunburst Displays™ standard is a synchronized display, with independent programming an inexpensive option.

Display Size and Appearance

A bleed face gives more display space in the square footage allowed if a city has a restrictive sign ordinance.

Automatic Brightness Control

Sunburst Displays™ and other quality displays automatically adjust their brightness to the current lighting conditions.

Display Brightness

LED’s are affected by voltage. For instance, an LED will burn nearly 100% brighter if you double the power feeding it. The LED will last about 1/6 as long, however, making this alternative quite expensive in total cost.

LEDs dim as they age. At some point (subjective) they will need to be replaced because they are too dim. Feeding them less voltage extends their useful life.

If only brightness is important a monochrome display that does not include a grayscale feature, or automatic brightness adjustment, will be the brightest, at least initially, because all LEDs will always be fully-powered. The LEDs can also be more closely packed because only one color of LED is used; room does not have to be dedicated to other-colored (RGB) LEDs.

Colors in motion, though dimmer than monochrome, have proven to be a better attention-getter, and the displays last longer.

A thermometer installs on the sign cabinet and plugs into the sign computer in systems set-up for this feature.

With this option, and a temperature sensor, the controlling computer can have the display flash, scroll, or constantly display time and temperature.

The best systems display “atomic” time and self-adjust for daylight savings time.

Optical Fiber. Run underground from the sign to the controlling computer, usually inside the building. This fiber must be run in separate conduit, but it can be buried in the same trench as the electrical supply.

Phone Control. The unit can have a cell phone number and a modem. Simply call the sign from the controlling computer and tells it what to do. The internal memory of the electronic message center repeats these instructions until they are changed.

RF Wireless Modem Communications. An antenna is placed on the sign, and on the building, which is hooked to the controlling computer.

Wi-Fi Modem. Uses a wireless modem connection in the computer, and in the sign cabinet, to communicate.

It is possible to have one computer control multiple of our electronic message centers (all Long John Silver’s are, for example.)

Besides the computer that is used to program the sign there is a processor or a computer inside the sign in most systems.

The poorly engineered signs are programmed and controlled by a single computer that is hard-wired to the sign and must be left "on" at all times. Or, in some cheap signs a second "personal computer" is actually installed inside the sign.

The problem with either of these systems is that the sign is running on "Windows" using a CD or hard-drive and is additionally subject to all the viruses, freezes, lock-ups and reboot problems that a personal computer faces. (As a simple example of the problems faced, who climbs the pole of a free-standing pole sign to reboot the computer after a power outage or computer lock-up? Service call.)

Plus, with all the moving parts in hard drives, disk drives, and other humidity and temperature sensitive components, a PC is a poor way to run a sign from inside the sign. They fail often enough when they are used in the controlled environment of a building.

Tremendous cooling is required when there is an "Intel Inside" but many of these poorly engineered units don't even have cooling fans for the LED displays, much less the computer's processor chip.

In the worst of all signs, the software to program the computer inside the sign is not even in the sign owner's possession. It is not on the programming computer, it is "on the cloud." The sign’s computer must have high-speed internet access.

What if the sign manufacturer does not own the software, he uses a third-party system, and they notify you that in order to keep your sign operating you will now have to pay them $2,000 per month to continue access to the programming software. This happens all the time with other "free" software. Or, he controls the software "on the cloud" but goes out of business so your sign cannot be programmed by anyone.

We don't have a "computer" in our signs. The processor in our signs is a "mother-board" with a non-volatile memory (no heat-sensitive processor chip) and its sole purpose is to store and control using the commands you send it from the programming computer we furnish Free with the sign. (No rebooting!)

The processor stores up to 64 GB of text, images, and video. Enough memory to change the image on the sign every second for 723 days! The memory in non-volatile, no reprogramming after a power failure, as is common in some competitive units.

The programming software is on the computer we give you, and we also give you a back-up copy.

Ventilation

Heat is the enemy of LED’s. Sunburst Displays™ electronic message centers have multiple inflow and outflow ventilation fans. Additionally, every heat-producing component has its own internal cooling fan. Larger units incorporate air conditioners into their design. Excessive heat can shorten LED life by up to 80%.

In poorly engineered signs with little (passive) or no cooling, decreasing the pitch, increasing the size of pixels, or over-driving LED’s with higher-than-required voltage to increase their brightness, increases heat, shortening the life of the unit.

Some units vent out the front of the sign, some out their sides, and some out the rear. This affects how each unit can be installed. For instance, a unit that vents out its sides cannot be covered with brick.

Many companies manufacture LED’s. There are over 5,000 varied LED’s available, and they vary greatly as to brightness, lux, light-dispersal (viewing) angle, useful lifetime, and lifetime.

Some are very cheap, some are quite expensive, but all cost more than neon for equal illumination.

Signs Manufacturing Corporation's Sunburst Displays™ only use Solarbrite™ LED’s that are rated to retain 80% of their brightness for 60,000+ hours. These are the most expensive, but highest value, LED’s. Our selection of LED’s is what makes our signs brighter, and last longer.

As an example, a White Solarbrite™ LED is 280 lux, compared to our BrighterSigns™ neon's 235 lux, or standard neon's 140 lux.

A Solarbrite™ LED incorporates a new kind of chip, different from all other LEDs. Signs Manufacturing™ is an industry leader in the implementation of new technology in advertising.

Solarbrite™ LED’s utilize military specification coatings on the circuit boards the LED’s are attached to, preventing corrosion and electrical problems.

Like neon, LED’s are also affected by voltage. For instance, an LED will also burn nearly 100% brighter if you double the power feeding it. The LED will last about 1/6 as long, however, making this alternative quite expensive in total cost.

We power our Solarbrite™ LED’s properly, and offer a 5 year warranty on the LED’s in our lighted signs.

Incandescent Lighting

Incandescent (household) lamps begin disappearing in 2012, starting with the 100 watt lamp, and will be mostly gone by 2016.

The Government has mandated that all these lamps, with 22 exceptions, must begin being at least 25% more energy efficient starting in 2016, 70% more efficient by 2020.

"Sign Service" lamps are exempt, but whether or not lamp manufacturers will recognize a big enough market to continue to make just them is problematic.

Servicing

Our signs are front-serviceable, but they do not hinge like some older designs. By eliminating the "hinge" we avoid a potential place for water to get into the sign. Our signs are sealed to avoid leaking water, but the LED parts can all be accessed from the front of the sign!

To speed trouble-shooting we've also incorporated our LEDs into our circuit boards as a diagnostic aid in our Sunburst LED Displays™. Few manufacturers of LED signs have taken this logical step.

The Value of “Listed" Signs

Virtually ALL cities, as well as the State of Texas, adopt the National Electric Code as law.

The National Electric Code (NEC) requires that for electrical, structural, and installation safety all electrical signs be "Listed" (tested and labelled with an appropriate Listing Mark.)

Certification (testing and labelling) organizations acceptable in the USA to test to the multitude of Standards signs are required to meet are determined by OSHA.

For you the Listing Mark is assurance. It means that the sign has been tested to insure that it is structurally and electrically safe, and will be installed properly. You benefit from the knowledge that it is not solely us telling you that our signs are safe, this is what the testing laboratories and the US Government says also.

Underwriters Laboratories (“UL” Listing Mark) and Intertek (“ETL” Listing Mark – originally Edison Testing Laboratory founded by Thomas Edison) are the premier certification organizations and 80% of all things electrical are tested by them.

If the sign you are purchasing does not have a ETL or UL Listing Mark label the sign is probably not legal to install, anywhere in Texas. There are a few local city ordinance exceptions.

Intertek is over twice the size of UL, and has a greater global presence. UL is the largest in the USA. We have both companies test and apply Listing Marks to various signs.

We are the 9th oldest UL Listed Manufacturer in North Texas. (File #UXYT.E149959)

We are the third oldest ETL Listed sign company in Texas. ( File #4007685) (One of the two older companies makes lighted scoreboards, the other makes lighted office door signs.)

Incidentally, ISO (International Organization of Standardization) Standards, such as ISO 2001, are NOT electrical Listings (similar to a UL or ETL Listing) that allow a sign to be installed in Texas. That said, components in our electronic signs also meet ISO 2001 standards.

The Savings Advantage of a “Listed" Sign

Sunburst Displays Video Displays and Electronic Message Centers, because they are Listed, are approved to operate with approximately 40% of the power supply requirements of unlisted signs.

This is a huge savings in installation costs, as only 1/3 of the comparable electrical service needs to be provided.

And since the National Electrical Code limits the branch circuits serving signs to 20 amps maximum, this equates to many fewer circuits.

For safety, an untested sign (not Listed) must be supplied with enough electricity to meet the total “continuous” needs of each internal components rating. (Each components rating x 125%)

A Listed sign has been tested as a whole, and the amount of energy actually used has been determined. The sign is approved for use when supplied with this amount of electricity, regardless of the ratings of the individual components.

This is always much less than the rating of each internal component taken individually, so the cost of installing electricity to the sign will be significantly less.

Electrical

120 volt single phase service is normally required because these Listed displays do not consume a great deal of energy, but some units require 240 volt 1 phase.

Remember, however, that other parts of the sign will have electrical requirements also.

Electromagnetic Interference

Radio Frequency (RF) interference from the sign can cause a sign to interfere with radios, cell phones, radar, TV signals, automatic door openers, hospital equipment, etc.

Radio frequency interference can also cause radios, cell phones, radar, automatic door openers, TV signals, hospital equipment, etc. to interfere with the sign.

Although not required in the United States, Signs Manufacturing™ had our electronic signs tested for Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), even testing beyond the rigorous European standards.

This assures you of an even-more-trouble-free sign when you purchase from Signs Manufacturing™.

This varies by the message displayed, and how long the electronic message center is on.

That said it is uncommon for ANY electronic (LED) message center to use over $1.00 in electricity in a day.

Some electronic message center manufacturers, more interested in the sale than the needs of the customer, overdrive their LED’s to make them brighter (usually because they are using inferior LED’s.)

Besides shortening the lifetime of the display to 1/6 of a properly manufactured display it wastes energy.

We do provide internal overvoltage, low voltage, spike and brownout protection for the sign. Many manufacturers do not.

The system should have easy to use control software with built in features such as scrolling and blinking messages and a time and temperature display. It should also allow you to preview both individual messages and your whole display queue without forcing you to show the world your half-finished ads by running them on the display. The message should be able to be changed from inside your business, or the system should be configured so that “headquarters” can change the message at each store.

Most good manufacturers have teaching CD’s in addition to Technical Assistance.

Signs Manufacturing™ is particularly adept at these systems, and helps our customers until they no longer need us.

The electronic message center manufacturer must be large and dedicated enough that they will continue to support their products with parts.

Technical support must be easily available and there must be no limit to your access to it.

Even after you have become an expert, and years later, you might have difficulty programming a new-look message.

Make certain your electronic message center manufacturer and installer will be there to help you 24 hours a day.

Most up-to-date computers, purchased within 2 years, have enough memory to create control programs.

It is usually NOT necessary to buy a separate/additional computer to control an electronic message center.

Each Sunburst Displays™ electronic message center comes with a "free" pre-programmed laptop computer ready to remotely program your new electronic message center.

Full-color displays can also be programmed using Power-Point, Corel, Photoshop, or any graphics software you are familiar with. So you already know how to program the sign!

The programming computer communicates via Wi-Fi, so you probably already know how to work it, and it only needs to be "on" when you are changing the program. The sign runs on its own internal processor.

You can create a program at home, and download it to your sign when you get to your business, if you desire.

Proprietary encryption in both the sign and the programming computer software make the sign impossible to use by anyone else.

SolarGuard™ Protection for Sunburst Displays™

Our plastic faces that hold the LEDs, and Glare Shields, have internal UV protection. But your sign needs to look nearly as good 10 to 15 years from now as it looks the day it is installed.

The longevity and appearance of plastic face materials are extended when they are coated with SolarGuard™, a special, clear, high-gloss, mar-resistant topcoat which protects plastics from ultraviolet light and ozone so that they last longer, just like your eyeglasses have UV coatings to protect the plastic lens.

Signs Manufacturing™ adds SolarGuard™ protection to every plastic sign face component.

Does SolarGuard™ Protection Work? The face on the right was made of “generic” red acrylic and black trim-cap. The left half was coated with SolarGuard™ and the face was left outside for ONLY 7 years; your sign will be out there much longer!

(This product does not come from the traditional sign industry. Few sign manufacturers know about it, or where to get it.)

EMC faces that were NOT protected with SolarGuard™ (Click on each picture to Enlarge.)

Construction Details for Sunburst Displays™

All face-plates, the part of the sign that the display's external LED boards are mounted to, are CAD/CNC (Computer Aided Design/Computer Numerical Controlled) routed from solid aluminum plate, to prevent rusting and increase heat dissipation.

An extensive lattice-formed 3-dimensional aluminum frame is welded to the face-plate to insure rigidity and further aid in heat dissipation.

Aluminum is also used for all exterior surfaces of the sign cabinet, again to prevent future rusting.

Almost all Chinese-manufactured signs, among others, have steel cabinets and face-plates.

Free-standing signs are engineered to survive a 140 mph wind. With some manufacturers, incredibly, the face-plate is merely many individual pieces bolted together. Hardly engineered to withstand 140 mph tornado winds.

Water is the enemy of electronic message centers. Sunburst Displays developed a unique cabinet design that channels water and ice away from vital internal electrical components.

The face boards, containing the LEDs, are gasketed and hermetically sealed to prevent moisture from entering the sign through the faces.

The interior of the sign incorporates a welded structural-steel frame, necessary for the strength to withstand 140 mph winds. All other interior metal is aluminum also.

Most Chinese displays are painted with questionable paints. (Remember when the Chinese were caught painting Mattel kid's toys with lead paint?) We even add self-cleaning properties.

Revolutionary Ceramic Vacuum Microsphere Shield

During a Texas summer, your Texas electronic message center can experience daily internal heat levels of over 200* F, enough to seriously damage it, shorten its life, and cause you expensive repairs.

High heat is very hard on electronics and LED’s, and shortens both their lives.

NASA, with the Space Shuttle program, has proven the value of insulating ceramic vacuum microspheres as a thermal barrier to both heat and cold.

While not as debilitating as temperatures experienced by the Shuttles, we commonly experience temperatures well over 200º inside Texas signs. Water boils at 212º at sea level.

Signs Manufacturing™ builds a better sign. We cover the metal exterior of each Sunburst LED Display™ with the same ceramic vacuum microsphere barrier developed by NASA.

We have documented 30% internal heat differences, 60º cooler at 200º, accompanied by an 80% increase in heat dissipation when compared to identical signs without our ceramic shield.

NASA confirms that 90% of solar infrared and 85% of ultraviolet rays are reflected by this revolutionary product.

Visually the only difference is the very slightly textured appearance of our ceramic barrier when compared to uncoated metal; a small price to pay, especially since you will never notice the difference. We still use the same wonderful paints with the same excellent results.

Impact protection from hail, asteroids, and other objects is vastly improved also.

Automotive+ Paint Finishes on Metals for a Quality Appearance

The goal of every sign is to be noticed. Paint your sign some color other than Architectural Brown, which is what the Chinese paint ALL of their signs.

Stand out. You have 32,807 choices. Maybe even add a neon border. We can do that!

IS PAINT QUALITY IMPORTANT TO ME? Look at the letters at the right. The sign looked good when new, but even the plastic has lasted longer than the paint (this sign is only 2 years old.) What is your impression of this business?

Signs Manufacturing™ also uses the new Signlux Paint Systems™ Automotive+ paints and two-part primer systems.

The entire channel letter sign will be epoxy primed, then finished with Signlux™ modern acrylic urethane automotive type finish coats, to insure that it continues to look good for many years. Even though these paints and primers are five times more expensive the long-term results are well worth the price.

In fact, the same paint types are used by BMW, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and many other luxury automobile manufacturers to paint their cars!

But, Signlux™ offers many advantages over “automotive” paint when used on signs.

Signlux™ features compatible systems of very durable, high solid yet flexible paints specifically formulated for applications on metals, plastics, wood, banners and flexible sign-face materials. These paints do not chip off the surface because of heat-freeze cycles. The paints are UV stabilized to virtually eliminate fading.

Signlux Paint Systems™ feature their own paint intermix system. The system uses the latest in paint mixing technology; more sophisticated than any paint store's.

An astonishing 32,807 colors can be mixed. Virtually all PMS (Pantone) colors can be closely matched.

Color-matching opaque and translucent paint formulas are featured. Metals are painted opaquely. Plastic and flexible sign-face materials are painted translucently so that the sign face lights in color at night. Not all sign companies do this!

Signlux™ is compatible with our Ceramic Vacuum Microsphere coatings protecting the electronics in the Sunburst™ Digital LED Electronic Message Centers and Video Displays we manufacture.

Painting air is cleaned and dried twice before entering the paint booth, and again before painting.

Our state-of-the-art paint booth, 25’ by 25’ by 16’ tall, with full-sized entry/exit doors on each end, filters the air coming into the booth as well as the air discharge. (The booth even has its own built-in explosion-proof lifting crane.)

Free Factory Tour

Come and see the array of equipment and tools, and the facility dedicated to making good signs.

Quality Certified Signs™ Trained Technicians

All Sunburst Displays™ shop, installation and service personnel are QualityCertifiedSigns™ trained technicians.

Certified Welding

Sunburst Displays™ employs Certified Welders; horizontal, vertical, and overhead.

We are virtually the only sign company in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex employing certified welders.

The quality suppliers get their product to us in 4-8 weeks. Our manufacturing cycle is usually slightly shorter than this.

Since most electronic message centers are built into or installed as part of additional signs we need time to fit the parts together.

Sunburst Displays™ warranty is the STRONGEST TOTAL WARRANTY for Digital Electronic Message Centers in the industry!!!ry!ry!ry!

If ANY part of a Sunburst Displays™ electronic message center fails in the first three years of service, if properly supplied with power, Sunburst Displays™ will provide BOTH parts and service FREE OF CHARGE through Signs Manufacturing™.

Plus, Sunburst Displays™ warrants their sign with a LIFETIME* WARRANTY, again through Signs Manufacturing™, that reduces both our normal labor rates for service, and parts costs, 20% forever.

No other Digital Electronic Message Center manufacturer IN THE WORLD provides a warranty on ANY labor, much less a transferrable warranty.

Additionally, after the Initial Warranty period, Sunburst Displays™ will provide free replacement parts for any previously replaced part that fails within one year of installation.

Other manufacturers whose products we install and service have varying new-sign parts-only warranties that average 3 years.

Controlling Message Center Cost

Electronic Message Centers cost a lot of money, but they achieve tremendous results.

To keep from spending more money than necessary, consider the design of your sign and the results you want to achieve.

Rather than purchase a larger, blank, rectangular message center and display your name and all other information on it, consider incorporating signage that constantly displays the messages you want to constantly display. It will cost less, and look better!

Because we manufacture and install all types of signage, not just electronic message centers, we can design, build, and install the most cost efficient and effective signage for you (see our "Design Center" page!)

Free Demonstrations - Sunburst Displays™

Demonstrations are available in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and all of North Texas.

Serving Collin, Cook, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Navarro, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, Titus, Van Zandt, Wood, and Wise Counties in Texas.

Electronic Message Center Rentals

Rental units are available for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and all of North Texas.

Using Our Website to Learn About Signs and Create a Successful Image.

#1 Signs Company in Customer Satisfaction Your sign forms that very important "first impression" your potential customer has of your business. Your sign must always look nearly as good as it looked the day it was installed so that you don't give potential customers a worsening impression of your business as your sign ages.

An example of our dedication to helping our customers succeed is this website. It IS the definitive source on signage information, ranked by Alexa® in the top 0.05% of ALL websites in the world, the top 0.01% in the USA! Not bad for a sign company serving North Texas. (We placed the website online in 1999, and have been improving it ever since.)

Click our "Sign Types" tab to the left, then pick any of our products and discover how we make each sign to last; including the use of CNC manufacturing, rust-proof metal, structural-steel frames, high-end automotive paint, high-impact plastics, and most importantly, sophisticated protective coatings. All our signs include these many hidden features, critically important to you but often ignored by competitors so they can make more money. We even add self-cleaning properties.

Signs Manufacturing™ makes more than lighted and unlighted business signs. We manufacture, install and service church signs, school signs, apartment signs, park signs, governmental signs, architectural signs, etc. Interior signs as well as exterior signs.

We manufacture road signs and building signs including channel letter signs (internally lighted with neon or Solarbrite™ LEDs, or externally lighted with first-surface LetterLites™ LEDs), neon signs, wall sign cabinets, pole signs, pylon signs, Monument signs, message centers, PinLights™ LED signs, architectural signs, plastic lettering, metal lettering, trim-cap lettering, plaques and more! Please "click" our "Sign Types" tab on the top left of this page to learn about our products by category.

"Click" our "Sign Types" tab and Channel Letters, Wall Cabinet Signs, Pole or Pylon Signs, or Monument Signs also to learn about our "EZ Install Signs™" that are manufactured so that you can install them yourself.

We champion brighter, energy-saving solutions that save our customers money while protecting our environment. No matter what type of signs you are considering, please explore our "Lighting Choices" tab for that product, with its own "Energy Savings" tabs. In fact many of our unique sign designs can even be Solar Powered!

We have lots of experience. Click our "Design Center" tab to the left to learn how we can help you - for free. We even furnish a "Grand Opening Package" featuring a free parking lot "Coming Soon" free-standing portable sign to attract attention while your sign is being constructed.

We will give your company an edge and help make you money.

We are the "greenest" sign company in Texas. Click the "Our Environment" tab on our "About Us" page to learn about our environmental efforts.

Please use and enjoy this 400+ page, always growing, website with over 2000 images, the largest information resource about signs on the internet, created so you can learn about all types of signs and how you can control their affect on your image.

We believe that if you're a knowledgeable purchaser there's a real good chance you'll become our customer.

Signs Manufacturing Campus 2001

Signs Manufacturing Corporation's Four-building Manufacturing Campus prior to our 7,500 sq. ft. expansion in 2004 (Photo courtesy of Bing.)

Signs Manufacturing's 2004 Building Expansion

Weekend photo showing Signs Manufacturing Corporation's 2004 Building Expansion, taken during our 2009 re-roofing project (Courtesy of Google Earth.)

Texas' Success Story

Flag of the Great State of Texas The Dallas/Fort Worth "Metroplex" continues as the fastest growing large city area in the United States, year-after-year. It is the fourth fastest growing such area in the world. As fast as in China or India!

North Texas is expected to gain over 4,000,000 new residents in just the next 4 years! The business economy HERE remains healthy! Well over 100 new businesses are started in just the D/FW Metroplex every week.

Don't let the "doom-n-gloomers" talk you out of being successful. This is the best time ever to start a new business in North Texas and Northeast Texas.

State Licensed Sign Installation and Sign Service

We are a full-service sign company. We provide sign site surveys, sign permits, sign installation and sign maintenance services for electrical and non-electrical signs for our customers as well as other sign companies. We provide this work in Dallas, Fort Worth (DFW), and ALL of North Texas and Northeast Texas.

State Sign and Electrical License Numbers: TECL17503, TSCL18015, TSCL18016.

Our technicians are also Quality Certified Signs™ certified. (Click the "Installation & Service" tab for details.)