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Channel Letter Lighting Choices
There are
different ways that you can light up your channel letter
sign: neon, SpectraLites™ internal LEDs, SolarBrite™ internal LEDs, and LetterLites™ external LEDs.
Click on the "Neon",
the "SpectraLites and
LED" and the "LetterLites LED" 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.
NIGHTTIME COMPARISON DAYTIME COMPARISON
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Everything Lighted |
Everything Lighted |
Only LetterLites™ Lighted |
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Comparison of:
A LetterLites™ Channel Letter "H" EnergyStar 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
Colors in Motion™
Differences Sell ... Light Sells
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