Affordable Signs & Neon offers expert channel letter sign designs, sales, installation, and repairs for businesses in Frederick County, Montgomery County, Baltimore County, Howard County, Carroll County & Washington County Maryland.
Channel letter signs are internally illuminated and mounted directly to your building or store front. The body of each 3-dimensional letter or logo is typically constructed of aluminum. Neon or LEDs inside the letter provides the light source. Transformers or ballasts are contained in a raceway behind the letters or inside the building. The face of the letter may be various colors of translucent plastic or clear Lexan. A reverse channel letter, also called halo or silhouette effect, can be produced by using a solid metal face. An open back allows the light to surround each letter. Combining the two types of illumination produces a lit face with a halo surrounding each letter. Using different colors for each light source makes design possibilities unique and practically unlimited. Channel letter signs have been made with internal neon for many years but have recently been designed with LEDs due to the rising costs and scarcity of neon benders. Neon creates the best light using less to provide the same brightness as LED. Neon can last upwards of 30 to 50 years under perfect conditions. The downsides are that neon is heavier and more fragile which can be broken easier versus LED. Also, Neon requires the use of bigger transformers which can drive electricity costs up if the sign is left on for twenty-four hours a day, and could potentially need a separate area to house the transformers. LEDs require less energy consumption and are lighter versus neon. The offset to LED is that LEDs require more in order to provide the same lighting as neon. Also, the lifespan of LED is three to five years versus the longer lifespan of neon.
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