Which LED sign option should I choose for my business or customer?
There are several factors that will determine which sign choice is correct including: budget, size, location, pixel pitch, location, type of marketing message to name a few.
Call us or do your own homework. Like with most things, simple paths exist to traverse what seemingly complex choices. We can “boil it all down” to a typical solution that can be altered slightly to fit your individual needs.
How expensive are LED signs?
This is a tricky question. The tricky answer is they cost what you are willing to pay for them based on solutions to your advertising problems. Are they more expensive than a wooden sign with a painted canvas stretched over it? They most certainly are. Are they too expensive if the right sign doubles your customer traffic and improves your businesses income by 150%, perhaps not?
Where will the money for this purchase come from? Is it an addition to your existing ad budget, or are you shifting funds from one advertising program to another? With print advertising becoming ineffective for most businesses you can switch those marketing dollars to Direct Advertising.
To answer the question directly- they range in price for the product from a low of $3500 for a small sign to whatever you want to put into them for larger square footage products.
Can signs be leased or financed?
Yes, they can. We have excellent 3rd party financing available with a printable application contained within this site.
Can the cost of a LED sign be classified as a business expense?
IRS Section 179 deduction, customers are able to write off the entire asset in the acquisition year, even when leased (limitations apply).
What message is most effective on our sign?
Trying to communicate with simple text messages and graphic images, including video, turns your sign into your personal TV studio and window to the world! LED signs can real-time promote specials, offers, and events. Using a basic KISS approach- keep it simple silly, works best!
What's an LED?
LED is an acronym for light emitting diode. A diode is not a light bulb and it doesn’t have a tungsten filament that heats up until they glow, like a toaster heating element, either. That’s’ what incandescent bulbs have. LEDs work differently- there is no filament to burn out, they are like an electronic component. They're also a much more efficient light source, producing considerably more light per watt than a traditional bulb. Most LEDs are about 2/10 of an inch in diameter and about 1/3 of an inch in length. A typical household lamps require 120 volts, an LED uses just two or three volts and can last 100,000 hours or more.
How effective are red or amber LED signs versus full color LED signs?
Monochrome LED signs have been in existence for nearly 10 years. If you are choosing a sign strictly on available funding then monochrome displays may be your best choice. They get attention and are very effective. But as you compete for customer attention you are what you advertise and perception becomes reality. If red scrolling letters define your company’s core product or service and computer enhanced color video is unimportant to you then consider a monochrome LED sign.
What's a pixel?
"Pixel" is an acronym for "picture element"- the smallest point of light in an LED sign. A pixel is frequently just one red or amber LED. In an American LED Technology color sign, the smallest point typically includes four LEDs: two red, one green, and one blue. A display with more pixels typically has higher resolution, and appears sharper, depending on distance viewed.
What does "pitch"or “pixel pitch” mean?
"Pitch" is the distance in millimeters between pixels. A smaller pitch corresponds to more tightly packed LEDs and therefore more clear resolution.
What does "viewing angle" for an LED display mean?
When looking at the sign, a point is reached where the light intensity is exactly 50% less than the "on-axis" brightness. Twice that 50% brightness angle is the engineering definition for "viewing angle".
I'm concerned that my county’s zoning issues may not permit an electronic LED sign.
Some communities are very electronic sign friendly while others have not yet embraced this new technology. You should check out your local communities standards, call your county permit office, and work with your attorney and your local governments to help revise outdated zoning restrictions. Whichever LED sign you buy, make sure you’ve done your due diligence on these local standards.
All LED signs look alike in the ad slicks! Am I buying a quality product?
Our signs are produced in a quality environment labeled ISO9001- a high standard of process compliance. Powder-coated, rugged steel cabinets and weather durability house electronic components that are designed to withstand years of use (and abuse!).
What are the computer requirements for my sign?
Most quotes include a dedicated computer. If you want to provide a computer and receive a price discount discuss this with your sales executive.
Once my American LED Technology sign is installed, how will I get help?
American LED Technology can resolve software technical problems remotely. Our technicians are available to assist, coordinate and plan any service issue or question that arises.
LED signs have many names. Are they all the same?
Just like with any new industry the jargon has gone through several iterations already- electronic message boards, electronic message centers, electronic displays, marquee signs, message signs, message centers, video displays, electronic display boards or electronic LED display systems. Call it a car, an auto, a horse-less carriage or a Mercedes-Benz the appropriate reference is whatever you prefer. They all mean the same thing with the exception of the American LED Technology product. That stands for you being completely satisfied with your purchase as you become another totally happy customer!
Circulation
Traffic volume in a market.
Contrast ratio
Ratio between the brightness or intensity measurement taken when the screen is displaying a blank video signal and a full, white video signal. This ratio determines the readability of thedisplay so as to measure "depth" of an image or as a measure of how well the image can be seen in high ambient light.
Controller
Computer or computer-type device used to program and operate digital displays
CPM Cost per thousand. The term refers to the cost of reaching one thousand advertising exposure opportunities in a market. Common to all media.
Deinterlacing
It was designed for video based material like fast-paced sporting events. Its purpose is to eliminate jagged edges along diagonal lines caused by interpolation.
Daily Impressions
Also called DEC (Daily Effective Circulation). The estimated number of persons passing an outdoor location on an average day.
DVI
Digital Visual Interface – A type of standard connector between the display and a computer or other device. DVI is Video only. DVI images are superior to composite video and
S-Video signals.
DEC
Daily Effective Circulation. The average number of persons passing and potentially exposed to an advertising display for either 12 hours (unilluminated - 6:00am to 6:00pm) or 18 hours (illuminated - 6:00am to 12:00 midnight).
Degradation
The standard method used to express the life of a display is the time it takes to reach 50% of its day one brightness.
Dimming
Changing the brightness of a display, or the capability of increasing or decreasing the overall display intensity. The brightness level should be highest during the day to compete with daylight, and lower at night.
Diode
Also called light-emitting diode (LED). See light-emitting diode.
Enhanced Pixel Resolution
Increases picture definition by utilizing LED pixel sharing technology where LEDS from adjacent pixels are shared to create a new pixel half-way between the real pixels.
Expected lifetime
Anticipated length of use for an LED. The expected lifetime of an LED is measured at the point when the sign has degraded to 50 percent of its original intensity. LEDs have a typical expected life of 50,000 to 100,000 hours (as specified by the manufacturer).
Controller
Computer or computer-type device used to program and operate digital displays
CPM Cost per thousand. The term refers to the cost of reaching one thousand advertising exposure opportunities in a market. Common to all media.
Deinterlacing.
It was designed for video based material like fast-paced sporting events. Its purpose is to eliminate jagged edges along diagonal lines caused by interpolation.
Horizontal Viewing Angle
A wide horizontal viewing angle lets viewers sit away from the center seating position and still experience the product.
Intensity
Often called brightness. The LED industry measures display intensity in candelas per square meter, which is also referred to as nits.
LED (Light Emitting Diode)
A solid-state component that uses a semiconductor (a silicon chip or some other type of semiconductor) that emits visible light when electric current passes through it.
Nit, nits
Nit is defined as a luminance unit equal to one candela (one candle) per square meter measured perpendicular to the rays from the source. From the Latin word nitere, meaning "to shine"; nits are used to measure display intensity, or brightness. Nits, when used in conjunction with contrast ratio and viewing angle, determine the quality of the image in the desired application.
Pixel
The smallest single point of light on a display that can be turned on and off. For LED displays, a pixel is the smallest block of light emitting devices that can generate all available colors. For incandescent displays, a pixel is an individual lamp on the matrix.
Pitch
The distance from the center of a pixel to the center of the next pixel. Pitch influences the resolution of a LED display that shows images. A small pitch translate to higher resolution. A large pitch translates to larger text/character sizes. The picture to the right indicates how pitch is measured.
Resolution
Refers to the sharpness and clarity of an image. The term is most often used to describe monitors, printers, and bit-mapped graphic images. In the case of dot-matrix and laser printers, the resolution indicates the number of dots per inch. For example, a 300-dpi (dots per inch) printer is one that is capable of printing 300 distinct dots in a line 1 inch long. This means it can print 90,000 dots per square inch.
Refresh rate
The number of times per second the screen is updated or "repainted." Depending on the video standard, the actual image is changed only 30 times per second for NTSC signal or 25 times per second for PAL. However, most LED systems use pulse-width modulation to generate the color levels, and if the image were only "painted" once for every change, there would be a noticeable flicker on the display. A refresh rate of greater than 60 times per second will minimize the flicker. In general, LED displays should be refreshed at 120 times per second (120 Hz) or greater.
Resolution
The basic measurement of how much information is displayed on a screen, expressed in units of pixels. Resolution is determined by the pixel pitch and the physical dimensions of the display
RGB
Red-green-blue. In video displays, web design, and design for computer monitors, colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors. For example, the RGB abbreviation for the color blue is 0-0-255. In contrast, print designers typically define colors using cyan-magenta-yellow-black, or CMYK.
Viewing Angle
The area that will provide optimum viewing of a display. The angle is determined by the horizontal and vertical points at which the measured light intensity is 50 percent of that measureddirectly in front of the display.
Viewing Distance
In general, the distance from a sign that text can be read. For digital displays, the maximum viewing distance is gauged by the readability of the entire display. It is generally acceptedthat for every 1' of display height, there is a viewing distance of 40' (40:1 ratio). For example, an 8' display could reasonably be viewed at a distance of 320'. For traditional matrix displays, the maximum viewing distance is gauged by using the smallest text character (using a 7-pixel-high font). The accepted standard is that displays gain 50' of viewing per inch of character height. For example, using a 7-high font for a 1.5" pixel (character height = 7 pixels x 1.5" = 10.5"), the viewing distance would be 525'. (10.5 x 50' = 525). The minimum viewing distance is defined as the closest distance at which the colors from an individual pixel begin to blend with the surrounding pixels.