Recent Illuminated Signs Work
The hours your sign is on its own
For a good part of the British year it is dark before the working day ends. An unlit sign stops working at that point; a lit one carries on. That is the whole argument, and it matters most to trades whose customers come after work — restaurants, takeaways, gyms, bars, late-opening retail — and to any premises people have to find in the dark.
It also changes how a frontage reads at a distance. A lit sign is picked up from further away than an unlit one of the same size, which is why the choice often replaces the urge to simply make the sign bigger.
Often paired with 3D letters and totem signs.
Modern LED technology, safely installed
LED light boxes, illuminated fascias, face-lit and halo-lit letters with low running costs. Our installers take care of the electrics and weatherproofing, and we can advise where consent is needed.
LED replaced fluorescent and neon in this trade for reasons that show up on the bill and in the maintenance: it draws less power for the same brightness, it survives cold starts, and it fails gradually rather than all at once. It also lets us light a shallow letter that would once have needed a much deeper return.
The two parts that decide whether an illuminated sign lasts are the sealing and the supply. A sign outdoors is a box that rain will find, and the electrics have to be installed so that water never reaches them. That is not a corner worth cutting on a sign that will be up for years.
What to decide before you ask for a quote
First, is there already a supply at the sign position? If not, getting one there is part of the job and it is better known at quotation than discovered at installation.
Second, face-lit or halo-lit. Face-lit is brighter and more direct; halo-lit is quieter and often the one that gets through in a conservation area. Third, how it is switched — on a timer, a photocell, or with the shop lights. Fourth, whether the building is listed or in a conservation area, because illumination is the element most likely to need consent.
Survey, manufacture and installation
We survey the position, check what supply exists, and prepare artwork for your approval. Manufacture is in our own workshop in Ipswich, and we install across Suffolk, East Anglia and London.
Where consent is likely to be needed we will tell you before anything is made. Quotations are free.
Common questions
- Are LED signs expensive to run?
- LED draws considerably less power than the fluorescent and neon it replaced, for the same brightness. Running cost is rarely the deciding factor on a modern illuminated sign.
- Do you handle the electrical work?
- Yes. Our installers take care of the electrics and the weatherproofing — the two things that decide whether an outdoor illuminated sign lasts.
- Face-lit or halo-lit — which should I choose?
- Face-lit is brighter and more direct. Halo-lit keeps an opaque face and glows onto the wall behind, which reads as quieter and is often the version accepted in a conservation area.
- Do I need permission for an illuminated sign?
- Illumination is the element most likely to require consent, particularly on a listed building or in a conservation area. We can advise before anything is manufactured.
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Need a quote for illuminated signs?
Free quotations: 01473 688111