Neon vs. LED.....Let's move one

[DAVE THE NEON GUY]

Hi All,

I am a frequint visitor to The Sign Syndicate. I do not post much, but I read all the time. Topics here have helped me tremendously and I salute Erik and his lovely bride for the time they invested in our future. First, let me say that I am 100% NEON....not half time......not part time.....not even a little.....I am a custom neon sign shop that has gotten fat on doing Channel letters and border tube for the normal everyday....I do everything....sign shop....which most of you guys are.... no problem with that....That stopped three years ago. The rest of my business is focused on custom neon signs. I have lost most of my cheese channel letter jobs to LED. No problem here. In my opinion, big sign companies are probably better off with LED than NEON on channel letters because of the jack asses they have working for them. They break the neon etc.......I do not want to write a long winded editorial, but I do want to say that Neon has been a staple in our economy for many decades.....It has a place and an application. There are some things that LED will not do and there are some things that Neon will not do....My beef comes with the angle the LED manufacurer have taken at me personally. I am living the American Dream. I buy my product from Americans....I build my product for Americans.....and I sell my product to Americans.... I pay taxes on every dime I collect....I can deal with change....change is good.....I have an ex-wife : ) but I want the LED and NEON dudes to call a truce and spend their time on how they can help me rather than how they can hurt each other. Perhaps EGL's announcement will lay the ground work for that to happen..

David

Dave the Neon Guy

www.davidshieldsneon.com

sales@davidshieldsneon.com

[Erik Sine]

Hi All,

I am a frequint visitor to The Sign Syndicate. I do not post much, but I read all the time. Topics here have helped me tremendously and I salute Erik and his lovely bride for the time they invested in our future. First, let me say that I am 100% NEON....not half time......not part time.....not even a little.....I am a custom neon sign shop that has gotten fat on doing Channel letters and border tube for the normal everyday....I do everything....sign shop....which most of you guys are.... no problem with that....That stopped three years ago. The rest of my business is focused on custom neon signs. I have lost most of my cheese channel letter jobs to LED. No problem here. In my opinion, big sign companies are probably better off with LED than NEON on channel letters because of the jack asses they have working for them. They break the neon etc.......I do not want to write a long winded editorial, but I do want to say that Neon has been a staple in our economy for many decades.....It has a place and an application. There are some things that LED will not do and there are some things that Neon will not do....My beef comes with the angle the LED manufacurer have taken at me personally. I am living the American Dream. I buy my product from Americans....I build my product for Americans.....and I sell my product to Americans.... I pay taxes on every dime I collect....I can deal with change....change is good.....I have an ex-wife : ) but I want the LED and NEON dudes to call a truce and spend their time on how they can help me rather than how they can hurt each other. Perhaps EGL's announcement will lay the ground work for that to happen..

David

Dave the Neon Guy

www.davidshieldsneon.com

sales@davidshieldsneon.com

So many factors there as to why. The large companies IMO that go mainly LED and not choosing Neon or LED for the job only is because of one reason, bottom line. It's no longer about quality to them, it's about convenience and pushing out a quick inexpensive commodity in competition with their competitors. But you won't hear about this in the upcoming issues of Signs of the Times Magazine. The Community organizer is of the assumption that if the "Big Dogs" are doing it, than that's the industry standard, and how the industry is changing the standard.

IMO, the Neon industry has had some big quality control issues in the past that has come to bit itself and chew off it's own foot. I'm lucky, I don't have that problem (anymore), and again I'm just lucky who I have. I have an ace in my back pocket, one of the best processors there is when it comes to a finished CCFL lamp, AND I only use custom coated phosphor lamps, his. People have made comments in the past about "Well, not everyone in the industry does that", of course not! I play the "Sign Game", not commodity game. I use LEDs too when it fits into that I do, or when requested. LEDs are very attractive when you don't have a good Neon bender around, or one that can properly process lamps, or when you're just an uneducated individual that lacks proper knowledge on how to install neon signs, properly. Mainly these are the new electric sign people, the vinyl shop turned electric sign shop overnight, the audience the Trade Magazines appeal to, or fill with their magic show.

The Sign game to me is still about "Custom". The weather in my neck of the woods is greatly suited for CCFL lamps, and not sever enough to damage LEDs IMO. All those cheap LED module wanna b sign shops/ vinyl shops now electric sign shop people, or "Big Dogs", I love when one of your channel letter sign is sitting next to mine, LOVE IT! You make me look GOOD! No, my Neon guy makes me look GOOD.

On the truce part.

The truth is, there are very few LED guys who have actually even held a Neon lamp in their hands let alone know what one looks like, most of them aren't even or never have been in the sign industry. Their just Joe Shmo who has a new position within that company who came from sales from a telecommunication company and now they sell lights. They just regurgitate what the company marketing dept. told them and they think it's true. Hell, they probably got a copy of the Community Organizers magazine, Signs Of The Times Magazine thrown in their lap, an issue with Magic Mouth in it and then told, "See, it's in print, so you now know it's true".

Whatever the future, and when the sugar high runs out, both light source producers need to focus on "Quality" and repair the damage done by these cheap LEDs manufacturers that get sold for a buck a module. Everyone's trying to compete with the JT & the JS's of the world, I personally don't have a clue why. So many of my good friends who are competitors use these, I just shake my head and offer advice of other LEDs that are slightly higher because of results, results in our testing. What do we want to sell to our customers? A throw away commodity, or a quality "product?"

In closing, I have to shake my head again going back to these fellow industry men and women who spend countless hours in fabrication of signs who do beautiful jobs. Quality fabrication with quality components, immaculate final finish paint jobs......and all to pick and stick cheap LED modules to light it up with???? I don't get it, why run an Iron Man marathon, all to crawl 5 steps to the finish line.

I'm not worried about EGL either, their staff is full of Sign People, another Sign shop first who sells LEDs now too. Kind of hard to break away from your roots of selling quality.

Neon & LEDs are both apart of our industry, it's just too bad how their both "mis-characterized"

[Kev25A19]

Very well stated by both of you.

There has to be an area of coexistence between the 2 genres of lighting. Me, I personally LOVE neon..LOVE it for many reasons, mostly the same reasons I love 55 Chevy Nomad Wagons..

That being said, I want a 55 Nomad with a procharger, souped up 502 big block, 5 point racing harness, power disc brakes and air conditioning..