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Equipment

  1. 1 Year old fully automated SDS Automation channel letter assembly line equipment for sale! Channel Bender SXP - Bends coils from 1"-8" height / face-lit, halo-lit and Trimless letters, Aluminum, Stainless and Mild steel, letters as small as 3" in height Channel Sander - Pre sands aluminum coil for reverse lit letters, saves $$$ in hours of hand sanding! Channel Stitcher - This rapid-fire fastening solution creates its own industrial-strength staple from a coil of galvanized or stainless-steel wire to attached aluminum or ACM backs to sides Channel Trimmer - Automated trim cap processing solution that will automatically notch outside corners, mark inside corners and measure all distances with remarkable accuracy Total Cost new: $205,000 Asking $175,000 OBO This entire setup is 1 year old, with very little use. We are exiting the channel letter manufacturing business and no longer need the equipment. Call or email Ralph at 512-619-6487 / ralph@dr-signs.net for further details.
  2. The BrightON-II Ruby Red vs Principal LED Qwik Mod Red ShootOut So, we got some interesting feedback from our last Shootout between the .8w 24V BrightON-II, .8w 12V Principal LED Qwik Mod 2, & .96w 12V Sloan's Value Line 4. Confusion First and foremost...We are from the Sign Industry as Fabricators & Designing and we will continue to build LED systems from that view point.... There seems to be a lot of confusion in the air with our industry as some were quick to say the comparison was bad because the BrightON II LED module was 24V compared to the rest only being 12V. There was also confusion when I explain that the BrightON II LED Module was way more light efficient. Let's take the first one. There is nothing about a 24v LED Module that makes it brighter over a 12V if they are both .8watts each, the only difference is 24v is double the voltage, but half the current of a 12v LED Module....just as a 12v LED module is half the voltage but double the current of a 24v LED Module. What's important about the 24v BrightON LED line is that they are built to last (and we have 12V LEDs too), that being said....we design for 24 volt system because it means the module is taking half the current through the system which means it's getting half the resistance and heat of a 12v LED Module. Lesser heat and resistance means longer life. LED's HATE heat! The second part, when I say Light Efficient, I don't mean it's "Energy Efficient" for the client. I'm saying the quality of the LED chips (Diode) is such a high quality that it requires very little power in for more light out. In other words the BrightON II Led Module, is producing more light for the same power as the Principal Qwik Mod 2, or lesser power than the 1 watt Sloan Value Line 4. This means the BrightON is built with higher quality. BrightON LED is building Quality, NOT Quantity. BrightON LED is building lighting components for Competitive Light, NOT....Usable Light. And it's producing more light being under driven, NOT overdriven to produce more light, hence the BrightON II .8watt produces more light than the .96watt Sloan Value Line 4. Alright, enough of that. Now we enter the .8w 24v BrightON II Ruby Red vs Principal LED's Red Qwik Mod 2. The Shoot Out Principal LED Qwik Mod 2 Red (Left), BrightON II Ruby Red LED (Right) The Benchmark Comparison Details Similar to the last comparison, not much changes. Both are contained in a 24" x 4.25" x 5" Channels. The faces are 1/8" 2283 Red by Plexiglas MC Grade. The BrightON II Ruby Red LED is .8watts per module and a 24volt module, the biggest difference is that the module is Constant Current, NOT Constant Voltage, the wiring is also 18 AWG. The Principal Qwik Mod 2 Red LED is also .8watts per module and is a 12V module with a contact voltage system. The wiring is 20 AWG which will have voltage loss for long long runs and jumps that are involved with Channel Letter lighting that will lead to dimmer lighting at certain points in jump from the Power Supply Both modules are spaced equally, 6" OC, 3" from the ends. The Results Well, the results are significant...... The BrightON II Ruby Red is significantly to say the least, WAY more Light efficient than Principal LED's Qwik Mod 2 Red. The BrightON Ruby Red has double the Luminance (Light on a surface) than the Principal Qwik Mod 2 Red. The Foot candles per watt are also double. If you had two signs with the same name "Rug Depot" and they were both side by side, the difference at night would be HUGE. You could even say we could space the modules of the BrightON Ruby Red out much farther to use lesser modules and the sign would still be brighter and the Qwik Mod 2 Red and the Cost of Operation would be much less. We could even be so bold to say that we could down size the wattage of the BrightON Ruby Red to a .6w or .5w module and still be brighter than the Principal Qwik Mod 2 Red. Constant Current vs Constant Voltage Basics As explained before... Constant Voltage Let's talk about the Constant Voltage LED System and how it affects Sign Applications and Projects. CV LED modules only use Resistors to protect the system, this is minimal. Sometimes LED Power Supplies can kill these Systems especially when not loaded right. A lot of LED PSU's (LED Power Supply Units) vary in the voltage out, or secondary. Some Secondaries can output about 12.15 to 12.24, sometimes slightly higher. That fraction of a volt makes the LEDs run hotter and the brightness of the LED goes up beyond the intended purpose. Also, if you light a string of say 25 LEDs, the first module takes a bigger hit than the last LED module on the string, also the light output of the first module is brighter than the last. You will have inconsistent lighting of LED modules on long strings when it comes to CV Modules. Fractions of a volt dim the LED modules from string to string or Jump to jump. Constant Current With Constant Current LED systems, each module has a current regulated by having an on board CR Chip. What this does is govern the current, in short....it's extra protection. How it differs is, unlike CV LEDs, where the last LED module on a string of 25 will be just as bright as the first module on that string. Also, going over the intended voltage will not affect the light output or life that it will with CV LED. CC LEDs assure consistent brightness throughout your sign, and longer life than a CV LED Module where they can be overdriven Loading Advantages With the 24v BrightON II Ruby Red LED modules, you can load 120 modules on a single channel 96watt France Lighting Solutions Led Power Supply. On a 12v system you are limited to a single 60w channel which will give you about 63 modules being on the safe side. In Closing The Results Speak for itself.... This is not to take away from what light the Principal Qwik Mod 2 Red produces, it's decent, it's your average red creating usable light. But it's Constant Voltage and it uses 20AWG wire for it's system which will further voltage loss when used for channel letter lighting along with dimmer light with that voltage loss. The BrightON Ruby Red is just a High-End module producing premium light for the same power compared to most modules on the market today. I'll say again....first and foremost...we are from the Sign Industry as Fabricators & Designers and we will continue to build LED systems from that view point....NOT, the other way around If High-End, Long Life, Competitive Lighting is what you want to integrate into your Sign & Lighting Projects for your clients, then the BrightON LED line is what you want...
  3. I was experimenting with the new revised BrightON Lightning module which is more efficient than the previous version.....more light for the same power. This BrightON Lightning module was made for very shallow lighting applications. Anyway, thought I would snap some pics and show how impressive this little module really is. This module is perfect for 3" & 5" return channel letters, even better for halo illuminated letters because of the crazy light output, perfect for Day/Night faces where you need light to punch through. This module produces Competitive Light, NOT Usable Light...so if you have a premium customer and premium project this little High-End Constant Current LED module is for you! A lot of light that will last a very, VERY long time. Here is a test channel at just 1.5" in depth, the acrylic used is 1/8" #7328 White, this is just using a Autohaus MC Grade 7328, and the result is even lighting no hotspots. LD Acrylic is real nice for LED lighting, but at 1.5" depth, this regular grade sign white light nice. 4"W x 24"L x 5"D Channel with false bottom, lighted up for a 1.5" Depth The Luminance right on the face measures something around 544 Foot Candle Average, that's some crazy brightness. Typical .6w to .72w modules for 3" and 5" returns with usable light luminance is around 200 FC's. Using these for the same you get around 300-400 FC. You can purchase these from our Online Store or Contact us to place an Order (858) 880-1400 | orders@thesignsyndicate.com
  4. JEWELITE TRIM CAP NOW IN STOCK!!! I am very proud to announce that we NOW stock Jewelite (Vidon) Trim Cap We just brought in a good sizable stock load of both 1" & 3/4" Trim Caps. One of the awesome things about Jewelite is, it's now of the few components in our trade that is actually made right here in the Good ol' U.S. of A Our Current Sign Syndicate Trim Cap Pricing as follows: 3/4" x 150' 6+ Rolls $46.75 each 1-5 Rolls $51.25 each 1" x 150' 6+ Rolls $56.75 each 1-5 Rolls $61.25 each **Discounted shipping on orders of 6 or more rolls. You can call in/email your order 858.880.1400 | orders@thesignsyndicate.com or try our online shopping cart
  5. The BrightON-II LED .vs The Principal Qwik Mod 2 LED So....we've been getting lot's questions on how our New High-End BrightON II LED compares to The "New" High Efficient Principal Qwik Mod 2 LED Well, we did a quick "side by side" benchmark comparison to find out. They have some basic similarities. • .8 watt modules • Both 170˙/175+ Optics • Both have Aluminum PCB We compared both LED modules and placed them in 24" x 4.5" x 5" channels using a standard Plexiglas MC white #7328 white acrylic face to simulate a wide channel letter stroke . Modules spaced 6" OC from one another and 3" from the channel walls. Now to find out what the differences are... Once we lit the channel compartments one big difference was the white appearance of each light source. The Principal Qwik Mod produces more of a yellow white illumination on the sign face, whereas the BrightON II is more of a True White. The pictures here may not do justice as it's hard to capture Real Time and Real Life along with how your display may be calibrated. Both BrightON II & Principals's Qwik Mod are .8w modules....The BrightON II is 24V LED module, the Qwik Mod is 12V LED module. 24V means half the current flowing through the system of a 12V system, which translates to lesser heat, lesser resistance than a 12V system. A 24V system is more reliable and a longer life system over time for the very reasons I stated. A 24V system allows you to use a larger single watt channel PSU (96w). The BrightON LED system uses the France Lighting Solutions "True Power" LED Drivers to complete the system, "True Power" means users are able to load the PSU to 100%, where as other LED PSU's are recommended not to go beyond 85% of the rating. A full load 96W France PSU can load 120 BrightON II LED modules. France Lighting Solutions LED Drivers are the only Drivers to date that are 100% loadable. With a 12V system a single channel 60W LED PSU is typically loaded at 85% or 51W of a 60W unit, or 63 Qwik Mods. You can load more modules on a single unit but you would have to be looking at using a 120W PSU that is a dual 60W channel unit. Luminance Right away the biggest take away from this LED comparison in the image below is the Sign Face Surface light output results in Foot Candles using a ExTech Light Meter measuring the High's and Low's in the 7" x 4" rectangle area of the acrylic face. The BrightON II has a Foot Candle Average of 209 versus Principal's Qwik Mod coming in lower at 171 Foot Candles. Constant Current A HUGE difference which will play big in lighting and in life is how the current is driving across each module. The BrightON II is of course Constant Current, NOT Constant Voltage. The Qwik Mod is Constant Voltage. The quickest, simplest explanation and differences is this. On a Constant Current system, each module has a current regulator chip which means each module is current regulated, and protected not to overdrive and create more heat and run hotter. The first module on a Constant Current string is equally as bright as the last module on a string....the result is consistent lighting. If you've ever paid attention to the light testing we have been doing on The Sign Syndicate since 2009', you would know that the best and lowest light degradation or Lumen Maintenance results always came from CC LED systems, Constant Voltage or "Eco" Modules not so much. In a CV System you better hope your LED PSU is not driving above the intended voltage of 12 volts. A slight increase in a fraction of a volt... say...12.2V can kill a LED system fast depending on the makeup of the Modules. When we did our Light Testing "The Great White Hope" we had a incident where a LED PSU operating at 12.25 was used on a Permlight "El Plato Module which was CV and in under 30 days the original output dropped 30%. We had to kick out the PSU and start over with another string of EL Plato's using a manual adjustable LED PSU to assure not to go above 12V. On a typical CV System on long runs the first module will be brighter than the last module on the same string, inconsistent lighting, with a not well regulated LED PSU CV LED will tend to run hotter and brighter in some areas causing a shorter life. The system is solely dependent on the module resistors for protection. In Short.... Constant Voltage = Lesser LED life over time Constant Current = Longer LED life over time Lighting Angles Below.....you can take what you want from this part... We used equal underexposed shots from both LED light sources from a Canon SLR Camera instead of Real Time to show our audience where the optics is transferring light We used a lighting angle chart that we created, made up of 1" grids just to help in displaying where the optics and throwing light. Both Module have wide angle optics, I would just say that the Brighton II throws more light towards the edge of the chart and a little higher up the middle. What It All Means In closing, the biggest differences that can be taken away from this benchmark comparison and what separates the BrightON II are a couple of big factors. • The BrightON 24 volt system which has half the amperage, heat, & resistance than the 12 volt Principal Qwik Mod LED system. You're also able to load more LED modules on a 24V system than a 12 volt system • If you're looking for a more "Purer" white light source, better bin, then the BrightON LED Module family is for you. • More light for less power on the sign surface....better chip efficiency... that was just displayed and shown in Foot Candles....BrightON II 209 FC over Principal Qwik Mod 2 171 FC • Probably the single most important factor? The BrightON LED Family is Constant Current rather than a lower costing system that uses unregulated current in Constant Voltage. What that means for user is....Longer Consistent Life Over Time The New BrightON LED The previous High-End BrightON LED version has had a lot of success since the launch. What is new? Only some miner changes were made to make a already superior LED module even better. Same high efficient chip, improved 6500 Kelvin, different optics. Not that we needed it but, the BrightON is, and has always been underdriven but....we changed from a Fiberglas PCB Board to Aluminum. Aluminum provides better thermal cooling, but again, it wasn't needed....it's just nice to brag about it and say we have Aluminum. The New BrightON LED Family will in stock by early May 2021. **UPDATE** The BrightON LEDs can now be purchased from our our online store HERE, or you can order over the phone (858) 880-1400 | orders@thesignsyndicate.com
  6. I may have made mention of it in certain posts but never a single topic all to it's own. I've had some inquiries here and there, but yes, NC LED is no more. For the last couple of years it was hard to get NC LED to make modifications to existing lines or create new ones. NC was becoming a very stubborn company bent and dictated their product line to European sales. They had open ears at one time, but over time....well. High performance & High End demand for LEDs is so much more, and so different than European standards. So, slowly over time I became frustrated with NC LED. All they wanted to do was push existing lines and NOT change with the times, or demand, or for American demand...we became 2nd tier. I'm not striving to be 2nd tier or 2nd place.... This is one of the main reasons why we took the modifications we wanted to make into our own line. The BrightON Line is just so much more improved over the Reckless NC LED line that we promoted here. The Reckless NC LED line that we dedicated here was top of the line and ahead of it's time....at one time....and that time is long gone. With the BrightON line the user can get more linear light per string, better chip efficiency and get more light per watt, and at 24v the amperage is cut in half, you have lesser resistance and heat running across the system than you would with a 12v system...and have a wider 175˙ true optic lens over a 120˙ Korean module. The Korean typical wide optics for a supposed 140˙ lens was just a diffused lens...nothing more...nothing special. Sure the light spread more, but it was dimmer, it was like taking your hands and choking someone...it was just a matter of dispersing the pinpoint light, you might as well put a piece of diffuser film over the Korean clear lens. From what I'm told the NC LED Plant in Vietnam is closed. The plant in Korea is mainly closed and the company is under re-organization greatly in part due to the China Flu. I'm not sure what NC LED American in NY is doing, I hear it's just a matter of getting rid of depleted constant voltage NOT Constant Current LED stock, and that they may be selling some other LEDs from a company in Korea. Whatever stock we have left is limited. We can special order modules to match up whatever may have been put out before by users, but again it's special phone in order only. Our new and improved is our BrightON LED Line and it WILL change with the times keeping current with our American creativity that knows no bounds or ceiling. That's what we strive for, high-end products for high-end shops. There are plenty of cheap LED modules one can find on Amazon, Ebay, or Alibaba that we have been shocked to find out shops have been using them for their clients...but High-End Signage is not their forte, and best not to compete with that market and longevity is not their standard. Anyhow, thought I would spread the news about NC LED after getting so many inquiries lately BrightON LED Line Topics
  7. Like everywhere else if you're very fortunate to be busy during this shut down, some business's are still willing to upgrade their branding in these slow depressing times We removed some outdated retail signage and upgraded them to their current look. I know, this is normally just an average channel letter sign....*Yawn*......but what's unique is the lighting system that powers it at night. The Illumination? BrightON II 24v constant current NOT constant voltage ....LEDs instead of the industry typical 12v LEDs for half the amperage across the wire and components which translates to less heat, resistance, and in return a MUCH better system for dependability. Not even to mention just how much light for very little power you get from the super high efficient BrightON II Chips with the added 175˙ high efficiency optics. Another advantage of 24V is the typical single channel power supplies are 96W, which means you can et LOTS of LED modules on a single power supply (less parts, less problems) which leads me to the next part... The system doesn't stop at the LEDs, it continues with France Lighting Solutions "True Power" LED Power Supplies. The Electric Sign industries unique and sole 100% load Power Supplies, no not 85%, not 80%.....100%. 5 year Labor / 5 Year Parts. If you've been in this industry long enough I don't even need to mention what "France" products mean....it mean Longevity & Dependability...just the BrightON II LEDs Front and Rear illuminated channel letters. France Westrim Pattern Paper 15" thick Tilt-Up Wall with plenty of rebar, WOOOHOOO!! France Lighting Solutions Power Supplies of course. The Atlas series with diagnostic LED lamp The Finished Day Look The Night Finished Look. For typical 5" deep return channel letters with front illumination light output measured right on the face for decent or as most LED MFG's like to say..."usable light"... if you have a light meter on hand ....."usable light" is right around 150 - 165 Foot Candles....that's just your typical even lighting number. The BrightON II at full stretch already exceeds that and with fewer modules compared to competitors using higher powered LED modules. This set right here gave us an average of 213 Foot Candles right on the face despite the light loss coming out of the rear. Brighton LEDs are "Competitive Light"...NOT "Usable Light" In the end? The client letting me know that they are VERY happy and that the sign looks AWESOME. These are the types of signs you flash to potential clients....Bright, Dependable, & Happy Reviews by Happy Customers. If this sign was in a shopping center the light output alone would stand out, and far above other competing signs. The Recipe: Autohaus Plexiglas MG 3M Translucent Films BrightON II 24v LEDs France Lighting Solutions LED Power Supplies Westrim Burroughs Pattern Paper Plasco Trim Cap Paige Wall Busters 3/16" Polycarbonate Plaskolite
  8. **OUTDATED POST & INFORMATION** Our Current New & Improved LED Technology LED MODULE is the BrightON LED Series More Light per Watt, Longer Life, Lesser Modules & Cost... located Here Competitive Light NOT "Usable Light" As some of you may already know The Sign Syndicate has been testing NC LEDs since 2010 in Project Tighty Whitey, The Red Light District, & Blue Light Special and after the first 8,000 hours I was pretty impressed in "PTW", even in that short about of time we saw no light degradation (Lumen Maintenance). So I was always interested to see how they progressed, err....regressed in light as time went on. As many of you know, I don't use LEDs as a primary light source for channel letters unless I have too. When I have had to use LEDs over the years I've always been real careful about what LED manufacturer I use, and there is a VERY, VERY short list of who I use/used because I'm one of the few electric sign manufacturers that offers my clients a 5 year electrical "Worry Free" warranty that INCLUDES labor to change any electrical component out and I stress....."I"...chose to use for their sign. For this very reason you can pretty much chuck most LED marketing brochures in the garbage that states their LED's last 50,000+ hours of operation without loosing any light output. Most of the time they've never even tested their own to see how long they last of they take a result of 2 to 5 thousand hours and project to you the consumer those results which usually show little to none and project them in a slow gradual path of light loss. You can't do that that with LED's, but you can when it comes to light degradation with Neon & Fluorescents who have a much larger case history to go off of and it's just phosphor loss unlike LEDs which have so much more to loose. Most sign shops stick to the 1 year state mandatory (contractors licensing law) warranty, and "optional" or limited component warranty that does NOT include labor for up to 5 years. So should some component YOU chose crap out on your client then I guess they call you, you get a free replacement from the manufacturer and YOU end up charging YOUR client to replace something YOU specified out.....oh real nice!!! With my clients I put my money where my mouth is, so that's why my list of who to use is short, if it goes bad because of what I specified out I eat it, NOT my client!!! 5 years is a long time, and those who pay attentions to the 3rd party testing that The Sign Syndicate has been doing since 2008 knows most LEDs don't last as long as claimed, at least when it comes to "usable" light. I've been using NC LED for a particular program for a few years now where I have to use LEDs because the use of electrical component clearance is impossible for Neon. Over the years the results have been awesome using NC LED, and of course happy clients. The main reason why I choose to use NC LED for my program before we even started selling it here which is obviously recent, is because from the testing we have been doing here namely Project Tighty Whitey as it applies here.....there are a few things in common the brighter white LEDs in the comparison that last longer than others have in common. 1st....Their made in Korea, very tight quality control, think "Japan"!.......NOT China where they have quality control issues. Don't let anyone tell you different, there is too much of a track record and case history for INCONSISTENCY and manufacturers have to constantly hold the hand of the Chinese to make sure they're getting consistency and this is why American companies play musical chairs with Chinese plants who make their products. 2nd....Their constant current, or current regulated on each module...NOT constant voltage aka "Eco". So if you're not familiar with that term Constant Current just know each module is 12 volts from the first to the last on a string. A LED module that is ...NOT CC is constant voltage, aka "Eco"! Those are unregulated and the first LED module on a string is different than the LED on the last, or middle. It also means the first LED on the string could be taking a big hit from the power supply because it's not regulated and you'll get faster degradation as well as uneven lighting. CONSTANT CURRENT vs CONSTANT VOLTAGE This is not to say others that aren't with similar characteristics will last nearly as long (there have been exceptions), in past versions degradation over 15,000 hours or 5 sign years is left on 8 hours a day has been about 0 to 3% of the original illumination, that's something that should interest you and the end user, and newer versions only get better with heat dissipation. NC LED come with three different diode manufacturers, SOL, LG, & Samsung ("Reckless"). I took a personal hand for us to use SAMSUNG, their white is brighter than the other configurations, it's more of a true 6500 white, and you need bright! The LED colors that we stock are SOL chip. Every LED manufacturer has their marketing claims on Lumens, Viewing Angle, Lens..no lens, etc etc etc. From the Neon & LED testing we have been doing here on the Sign Syndicate they can throw all that out the window because it doesn't translate into anywhere when it comes to the sign industry, how we use them, and how it makes them last over time. 90% of the time it's just a sales pitch to throw at you on why you should buy their over another one. Who cares about Lumens when it comes to signs...we light up a sign face and only care about surface light! Viewing angle??? Don't get me started! What do we care about being in the sign industry? That it's bright, and most importantly it lasts over time....well...at least the client does more so than the sign sign shop because it's them who will have to pay to re-retrofit to something else. So, we're very happy to offer the NC LED "Reckless" light source product to our members that we know works as an option for your sign projects here on The Sign Syndicate. It's nice to add another High Brightness LED to our line up, AND the Reckless-2 is the brightest LED in it's class of under 1 watt per module and under 3 watts per foot than anything on the market today! If you're the type of shop that just likes to stick to big name LED manufacturers because you think you're playing it safe and you're also not too familiar with the testing The Sign Syndicate has been doing since 2008 let me just say this. From all the testing we have been doing with out benchmark testing, and we've talked about it a lot in the past. You pay a lot of money to big name LED manufacturers and the product itself is most of the time is average and most a lot of times subpar compared to what's out there from a few small select LED manufacturers. You pay a lot and you get very little. What I mean by that is, you don't get a whole lot of light in return and you could pay significantly less and get a brighter light output and a product that will even last longer. Not all big names, but you'll have to download the quarterly results that we have in the Board forum and judge for yourself. Like I said, there are VERY good results from a FEW select companies in Project Tighty Whitey and NC LED is one of those few, AND that's why I'm very proud to offer it to our members. Why leave money on the table choosing someone else and why not have a more satisfied client using NC LED? NC LEDs come in both forms, Constant Current "Reckless" as well as Constant Voltage "Eco"(ECO Series), we will be concentrating on the Constant Current versions of these LEDs Basic NC LED Specs • IP68 • 5 Year, 50,000 Hour Warranty • Constant Current (Regulated) not Constant Voltage like cheaper "eco" LEDs • Made in Korea.....NOT made in China • High Brightness LEDs • Samsung Diodes for white • Sol Diodes for color As I stated above, we're offering 100 of the most versatile NC LED "Reckless" Modules which is the two diode Samsung configuration, the Reckless-2 powered by Samsung for only $79.99 Specification Cut Sheets (Updated 4/25/16) NC SS Brochure.pdf Lastly I need to mention that I power up these bad boys with our also Korean made LED Power Supplies by Union Elecom So if you're burning out those cheap import Chinese LED power supplies, (even the so called "Engineered In America...Made In China.." type) and you can't figure out why after loading your power supply to a safe 50 watts on your 60 watt power supply which REALLY may only be able to handle a 40 watt load because of make, convection cooling, and due to the environment in which it's in you might want to get a hold of their derating curve chart and see what your product may be able to handle. Plastic power supplies = NOT good. So....we now stock the Union Elecom Class II, Listed, 60 watt and 120 watt (Dual channel) LED Power Supplies. These LED Power Supplies are IP68, and fitted with 1/2" nipples so you can simply hook up the primary with a junction box that has 1/2" thread knock-outs so you don't need a Transformer Box to house your power supply for remote installs. Again, why Union Elecom if you're not familiar with the name or company? First, their Korean, that means high quality standards. This is what they do, this is what they do best....they make power supplies.....solely! Unlike some other companies who offer power supplies but it's not their primary focus, they really make LEDs or other products as their primary. They just "offer" a power supply to go with their LED's. THAT can be bad and as we all know, we've seen plenty of failure on the field whr we have to come back and replace over and over again! UNION ELECOM LED POWER SUPPLY Members can purchase these LEDs by phone (858) 880-1400, emailing us orders@thesignsyndicate.com or use our online Shopping Cart LINK
  9. In 2016 SDS / Adam's Tech introduced Innovation Award winning LetterForm Trimless channel letter coil to go with our ChannelBender Series channel letter machines. Here is a picture of a very recent job at Yesco using our patented Trimless LetterForm coil with the new Super ChannelBender they bought to replace their AccuBend Model 410. Our customers have seen a dramatic increase in the number of jobs specifying Trimless channel letters due to large commercial property companies like Simon Property Group and others effectively banning trim cap channel letters. I'm curious if others fabricators are seeing this as well.
  10. THE WHITE HORSE NC LED Our White Horse NC LED is our Flag Ship wide angle 160˙ LED module for shallow, low profile, and general lighting projects. Shallow Lobby Signs, Channel Letters, Reverse Channel Letters, & Cabinet Lighting. The White Horse comes in both .92 watt (186 Lumen/ft) & .72 watt (150 Lumen/ft) high powered light output LED modules, both are constant current and high grade Samsung diodes. The White Horse is a high quality, low cost component for a lot of your Sign & Lighting applications. 100 modules per tray will give you 42 Linear feet of lighting • 160˙ Wide Angle LED Module • Shallow Projects, Sign Cabinet Lighting, & Channel Letters • IP68 UL/CE • 5 Year, 50,000 Hour Warranty • High Brightness Light Output • Constant Current NOT Constant Voltage • NOT Made in CHINA If you already like and use our Reckless NC LED Line, you'll LOVE these! 3" Depth Lobby Sign with Bright & Consistent Lighting (.92w Modules) To Place an order Online visit our Online Shopping Cart. Lower priced Discounts to our Sign Syndicate Patron's (The Order) For Inquiries, Questions, or to place Orders over the phone or email contact us at 858.880.1400 / orders@thesignsyndicate.com
  11. An official product announcement. The Low Voltage LED Wall Wire Protectors are finally up in our online shopping cart. I was going to wait until I upgraded the site, which will bring a nice new look and functionality to the site, but I've just been nose deep in work and will do so in a few days. Anyhow..... These are some picture of the LED Wire Pass Throughs. Perfect for standard Channel Letters and especially Reverse Channel Letters I know and not all have issue's with either their U.L. Inspectors or Local Building Inspectors that require a pass through for standard LED channel letters and more so for reverse channel letters that need more of something that penetrates through the wall. These are UL879 and in the UL SAM. And if nothing else, these make GREAT Fidget Spinners! Spinning the plastic nut up and down the threads! We'll stock these in 2", 4", 6", and for some who like them big there is even the 8" lengths Before bringing them in I had a friend use them for a job and it was all thumbs up, they liked them over the more costly Paige Wall Busters. These are sold in packages of 10 Oh and these are produced and manufactured right here in the good 'ol USA!! You can purchase from our online Shopping Cart or Order by Phone / Email (858) 880-1400 -- orders@thesignsyndicate.com The Cart isn't always up to date on quantity & availability because of call-in orders, local sales, etc. So if you're unsure just call or email
  12. **OUTDATED POST & INFORMATION** Our Current New & Improved LED Technology LED MODULE is the BrightON LED Series More Light per Watt, Longer Life, Lesser Modules & Cost... located Here So....we've had them and I haven't been pushing them out because I didn't think they were right yet. But now that time has come. Been to a few shops of customers and when I saw what I saw, I had to push for it. It's al because one of my customers recently obtained a new AdamsTech Bender. So now he's producing Channel Letters, reverse Channel Letters that are so small and tight the worry is no longer being capable of producing such a letter the worry is now....how the hell to power it up PROPERLY. It's hard to put existing modules in, competent LED modules I mean. Well....In mid to late September we will have NC LED White Horse Nano (Far right) Their 160˙, same top tier Samsung used in our White Horse Product Line. Their about 4 per foot and power consumption will be .48 per module. If the Reckless 2, and White Horse 2 weren't already small enough as is, the White Horse Line will fit and integrate into all those hard to reach places and give you a bright light output
  13. AdamsTech and SDS – Joining Forces Global manufacturing leader, SDS Korea, and sales and service partner, AdamsTech, are combining forces in North America, and bringing new manufacturing capabilities to the United States. July 7, 2017 (Boulder, CO): “We are very excited to announce the formation of a new company, SDS/AdamsTech, with our longtime manufacturing partner, SDS,” said Mike Adams, co-founder and former president of AdamsTech. “We are likewise pleased to announce that Ellen and I, though still available for SDS/AdamsTech and customers as consultants, are happily passing on our leadership responsibilities as we enter the next stage of our career.” The new company will begin manufacturing SDS machinery in Irvine, CA, as well as continue sales and service of other products like Cutlite Penta lasers and Delta Diemaking equipment from their office in Boulder, CO. Assuming the role as President of SDS/AdamsTech is Tony Lim of SDS, who is both a familiar face to AdamsTech customers and has been a partner of the company for almost 20 years. Key employees who will continue with the new company are Connie Adams, James Cross, and John Wiley, as well as the technical support staff, many of whom customers know personally, including Brad DeHaan, Sara Fox, Don Hill, Kyle Kermoade, and Andy Park, known for their “best-in-class” support. AdamsTech and SDS, partners for more than 21 years, have long anticipated, as the natural progression of their success, this evolution into one company. Their combined forces as global manufacturing leader of both automated channel letters and steel rule fabrication, with expertise in sales and service, will lift the new company and its products to the next level. Look for even more innovations in die- and sign-making from SDS/AdamsTech.
  14. $27,500 - Make awesome channel letters using automation. Both the notcher and bender are only 3 years old. Stop hand cutting, hand notching and bending. Join the 21st century and save time and money while being able to consistently make quality channels. Two sets, three sets, or more no problem, just hit repeat! This system runs perfectly and makes flawless channel letters. Call Tim for more info: 888-773-9899
  15. "NOT MADE IN CHINA!!" I would like to share a document with you I was recently given, somethings are debatable in some issues but a good chunk should be payed attention too. The LED DelusionV2.pdf Sometimes I get people asking me why I say "NOT made in CHINA!!!" on a lot of our advertising when it comes to products we distribute on the Sign Syndicate like our infamous NC LED's. The answer has always been simple. China manipulates their currency which provides a disadvantage when it comes to trade, it's unfair, unequal trade. American companies who have gone to Chinese plants for production for decades...think "Engineered In America, Made In China" philosophy has always resulted in playing musical chairs because unless you have an engineer, someone you can trust to watch these plants and observe or conduct your own quality control on a daily basis, more often than not things get changed up to cut costs. More often than not, that enforcer for quality control most likely will only show up quarterly or yearly. Standards Socialism versus Capitalism, who do you think has a higher incentive to do better? Human rights, there is no such thing when it comes to China and how can there be under a dictatorship. Chinese government/industrial hackers of our computer systems It's clear until we greatly deregulate our own country so we can bring back jobs and production in our very own country, until that happens which will be hopefully soon we should be careful about who we buy from when we can as much as possible. When it comes to our own electric sign industry, things maybe cheaper to buy Chinese BUT the quality is almost never there unless you have VERY tight quality control and when it comes to LED's from our own tests we have been running since 2008, we haven't seen it. As that saying goes, "buy the best, and only cry once"
  16. Senior Level Journeyman Fabricator Looking To Relocate To A Progressive Sign Firm That Has Need of A NO Nonsence Fabricator That Does Need To Have HIS HAND HELD NO BABYSITTING REQUIRED HERE . Single No Dependents , / Can Re-Locate Quickly / Can Be Contacted @ ( 928 ) 458 - 8442 or E/Mail @ fishriley56@gmail.com
  17. What's just as good if not better than our Channel Letter trim Cap? Our fresh batch of Syndicate Bootleg Brewing "K-Liscious Summer Sunset Ale", that's what! It goes perfect with Trim Capping, it gives your finger tips a cool buzz feeling while saving the taste of hoppy goodness! By the way, I STILL don't get why most of you buy 1" Jewelite or 1" Plasco trim Cap for your average size letters. 3/4" PLASCO has the same mechanical clearance as 1" Jewelite, and again MUCH easier to work with without having to worry about bending that Jewelite arrow trim around tight corners and bends for small letter faces. Check this out, see.....same mechanical clearance! So why spend the extra money on 1" Jewelite???
  18. **OUTDATED POST & INFORMATION** Our Current New & Improved LED Technology LED MODULE is the BrightON LED Series More Light per Watt, Longer Life, Lesser Modules & Cost... located Here Utter Reckless Sign Making Got an opportunity to fabricate and install a reverse pan channel letter sign using the Reckless NC LED lines that we carry. Unlike most LED's on the market that are Constant Voltage, made in CHINA....unregulated, and short life for whites and especially color LED's OURS are ALL Constant Current, long life and of course rated for IP68...not that that was needed for this....but nice to have an know! Here we used our Yellow/Amber, Red, and our Reckless High Powered White (Amazing 3% Light degradation in 15,000 hours from our testing in Project Tighty Whitey). I have to reiterate again, it's only been the last few years that The Sign Syndicate got into Light Source Sales since we started out testing for the electric sign industry. We were amazed with our benchmarks on a few lines, and from someone who likes Neon over LED's I was impressed. Neon is still my preference, there are only about 5% of what we've tested that I would ever use when it comes to LED's. If you like LED's, then this is one of those lines. We started selling Axiom LED's for bright high powered white, and soon after I became so impressed with NC LED, it soon followed. I was asked for a couple of years to sell this line, and I finally gave in, here is a little of that "why". I like selling only what I use, and know to be quality. Their main focus was "eco", or constant voltage, I requested a constant current line when we first started testing, it wasn't something they focused on. But after seeing results of other similar make up we soon saw NC LED exceed those that came before it. When we finally picked up the line I wanted something even more different here in the U.S., I tailored a configuration that I thought best suited the needs of the American electric sign industry when it comes to LED's and what it was thirsty for. A product that also does not help financially support those across the ocean that aren't exactly our enemies, but NOT exactly our friends either. Enter the Reckless... High Powered White, high grade/tier Samsung diodes, Constant Current, high standards of quality control from Korea (think Japan) and here in the US hence the name #teamncled All that put together and we get a 100% Sexy...Bad Ass module, it's disgusting I know. The Reckless is my baby, it's Team NC's Baby, and we're going to treat her right. It appears in the last few months we've been doing almost too good of a job promoting her, and now many suppliers (reading this) are starting to flock to become carriers themselves. Guess their feeling that that what they've been pushing and promising is just not all that, and the failures are hitting them hard. But be assured, learning, seeing, and observing from what happens looking into the past with other mfg/supplier relationships, we've not going to let her be whored out and eventually cheapened #TeamNCLED is going to be taking very good control with all standards when it comes to this particular product, and who can offer it. What keeps great products going and preservation of that, is the team behind it. It's another reason why I'm proud to be apart of it, it's not just a business but it's a "family" of individuals that are and will stay strong, and stay together. That said, I have to say, I'm very proud how this particular job came out. It was going to have to be LED because of clearances, I could have made the "Orange" in Neon and I did think about it, EGL green pumped red. But I REALLY, wanted to see what the 1/2 watt Amber modules could do for halo lighting. From an optics standpoint, I love that the modules castings are the color of the light they will produce, no second guessing....easy! The wall the signs were going on was pretty VERY much appreciated. Flat, light colored, perfect for reflection. We we're lucky, some walls in the shopping center were dark brown, NOT good for halo lighting unless you install with some flat white reflectors flush on the wall. Easy wall to drill through, easy well enough access behind the wall but ALL Power supplies had to be centered on the wall because of access. If this was a Neon sign, it would be dreadful behind that wall. Behind the wall was one of our Union Elecom 120 watt (Dual Channel), and one 60 watt per sign, which totaled two signs. At a glance. Our Constant Current IP68 NC LED .48 watt Amber/Yellow Our Constant Current IP68 NC LED .48 watt Red The NC LED system engines, Union Elecom Power Supplies The Sign Day Shots Last but not least, and more important night shots to wrap it up Right now just about all of the signs are LED only, and all white. Some ugly gray looking white, cheap blue white, high kelvin I'm sure but sold as 6500K with a poor bin process, and probably 50¢ modules. There is only one sign what has a nice white like our reckless, a national chain. Other than that the colors involved for this sign REALLY make it stand out, which leads us to this. That's the point really, to stand out, to compete against our rival/competition (our customers too) and WIN! Winning brings you more clients/customers and referrals, and MORE future work. That is what you will get when your signs have our LED's integrated into them, it's all apart of "Making Long Lasting Channel Letters, and What It Takes" and the products are only going to get better...BELIEVE ME! One thing you have or haven't noticed, we've NEVER sold LED's with marketing statement such as "More Energy Efficient...Saving the Planet..Better than Neon or Fluorescent Lamps", those are myths and mis-information, we just sell better LED's than those that claim they do. This is also NOT my full time job, product sales is fun for me. Not being my full time job mean something of value to me and should for everyone else reading this. Not being full time for me means I don't have to lie or whore myself just to make a sale to float my boat. MANY do that because it IS their full time job. I'll just tell you it is a REALLY great product because we've tested it for years, and I myself use it. I can't bullshit for sales, I never have, never will, I never have with signs and I sure as hell won't do it with components....I'm not the type who can look at myself in the mirror if I did. "NOT made in CHINA!!!" Go #TeamNCLED
  19. I wanted to initiate some conversation regarding Trimless channel letters which are becoming more common every year. Adams Tech introduced a new patented coil named LetterForm at ISA Sign Expo 2016. We were actually presented with an ISA Innovation Award for this new coil. I've been working closely with many of our customers and the feedback has been tremendous. A number of major players are pitching Trimless letters to their national accounts with success. Just wondering if many of you are seeing more jobs come in specifying rimless letters? http://www.channelbender.com/trimless/letterform-2/
  20. To update everyone of our new stock and colors we now have a darker blue which matches pretty well with Avery's Dark Blue Translucent 8500 Vinyl series 007. We also have a real Duranotic Bronze to match most coated pre-fab Aluminum coils. Finally we have an Orange. These can be ordered from our store http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/store/category/10-trim-cap-plastic-adhesives/ Or call in 858.880.1400
  21. **OUTDATED POST & INFORMATION** Our Current New & Improved LED Technology LED MODULE is the BrightON LED Series More Light per Watt, Longer Life, Lesser Modules & Cost... located Here If you can find an LED that competes with our Reckless NC LED I should would like to know. Is it Constant Current and NOT constant voltage? Reputable high grade diode such as our top tier Samsung? Is it consistent? Is it made in CHINA? Most importantly does it last? How do you know it lasts? I'm not talking about catastrophic failure and I'm talking about gradual light degradation in a short about of time. The Reckless is only 3% light loss in 15,000 Hours. Are they IP68 for wet location? So far everyone who has tried has bought more as it relates to the applications they use it for. The Reckless is the brightest in it's class under 1watt modules or 3 watts per foot Constant Current Red HLC2 Also, introducing our new LED Power Supplies. Union Power Supplies, IP68 for wet location, they come in 60 watt, and dual channel 120 watt units So far we haven't seen any LED manufacturer who claims to be the best or brightest in the same class compare in a true white rendering, in brightness, or in longevity. American companies using Chinese LED's just don't seem to last or stay consistent over time. THE RECKLESS • IP68 UL/CE • 5 Year 50,000 Hour Component Warranty • Constant Current • 3% Lumen Maintenance in 15,000 Hours • Made in Korea • High Grade Tier Samsung Diodes Most importantly.....NOT made in CHINA!!!! You can visit out online Shopping Cart and order here or call in 858-880-1400 / orders@thesignsyndicate.com
  22. From the album: A little bit of our work... Detroit Sign Shop

    © Signarama Troy / Metro Detroit - www.MichiganSignShops.com

  23. October 2015 Electric Sign Industry Neon & LED Test Comparison Results Below are the various categories of our test results made available for the electric sign industry. You can download the newest Sign Syndicate test comparison .pdf result sheet at the bottom of every Light Project Test entry with the most current date from the links below. Please remember....we have now made these light testing results available to you for free. If you feel like you have learned/gained something from these results or found that these results have saved you money by choosing one product over another please help support us in upgrading your free membership, or by purchasing various sign supplies we have available for you & your company. Many of our sign supply products are usually well below what you might pay for at one of the mainstream sign suppliers and some are bundles with free shipping. We've attached many various banners to the results in hope something may grab your eye. As always, enjoy the results and hope you learn as we do going down this adventurous path! One big add we did this period was change over all projects from the Tutorial Board to our forum board, mainly because we are getting ready to go through a major software upgrade for the site. This period we also added a new side by side comparison from project start to current activity. Amongst our various light projects this month we added in some LEDs from Principal LED as well as NC LED The Great White Hope II (Year 1 & 2) The high powered white Neon & LED test comparison for large channel letters and sign cabinets, comprised of high powered LED modules 1watt+/3watt per foot+ and above with Tri-Phosphor Neon Lamps. (7,000+ hrs) Project Tighty Whitey - (Year 5 & 6) - The white exclusive LED only test comparison for mid (.85 watt modules and below) to mini sized LED modules. (39,000+ hrs) The Red Light District - (Year 3 & 4) - The Red Neon & LED channel letter light source test comparison. (31,000+ hrs) Border Security - (Year 3 & 4)- The Neon & LED border tube lamp test comparison. (23,000+ hrs) Blue Light Special - (Year 1 & 2) - The Blue Neon & LED test comparison for channel letter. (12,000+ hrs)
  24. Quality Long Life Channel Letters What does that take? The short answer is....always use the best light source according to the project application. I've been busy and took some time away from the Sign Syndicate to take care of a few accounts & live real life. I decided to maintain two good accounts and shut down my shop all the while turning down work from my regular clients and referrals until the jobs were done. The good thing was, I had some good loyal clients who waited for me until these projects were over. I had over 250 channel letters ranging from 12" to 46" and I did all of them myself and by hand instead of subbing them out. Why? I wanted something to do! On one of the accounts which I'll post soon I used LEDs for the obvious reasons, the stroke is too thin for Neon components, but there is something really awesome about these LEDs that I had a personal hand in but that will be a separate thread I'll post later. But for now I'm going to talk about this one, which is focused on Neon illumination. Neon illumination what??? A request by the client who owns a large national high end furniture chain that stems from the west coast to the east coast. I did their first job which was a entirely new location a couple of years ago which I posted here. They came to me by referral and they wanted Neon, NOT LED. They were real specific, reason been IS...they heard all the marketing claims made by sign companies who in turn heard it from the LED manufacturers about saving energy, prolonged life, yadda yadda over fluorescent lamps & Neon. A very topic we discussed in a topic "General LED Channel Letters On The Rise". They had a lot of signs made and retrofitted and well.......time went by and all the failures started to happen across multiple states in their wall signs and pylon signs. Enough was enough, they wanted to go back to light sources that they know always worked and never let them down , and that brought me to a group of stores right here in San Diego. They were making a name change re-brand over so I had to remove all the existing signs which were Neon illuminated. They were installed right for the most part and they didn't really have issues over time. I just improved what was used before, shorter runs, better material, making sure all circuits were properly loaded and going from single halo-phosphate (6500K) lamps to Tri-phoshor coated lamps. My first job for them I used FMS Neon's BL6500 in 12mm, I just continued that for this job. Wow, why 12mm? The Sign faces are day/ night, 3M perf over white. Using 12mm the appearance looked like 6500 white behind white acrylic, and it just a little more load than using 13mm. Seriously, it's that bright. I just happened to put these signs where a lot of the competitors also used 3M perf faces. They used LEDs, we used Neon, the result is now like someone sprinting past a jogger....with the jogger jogging backwards. No competition.....Truly! Using the Tri-Phosphor lamps each letter will be uniform in it's entirety, no need to worry about any individual letter light output degradation. When you have 15' of linear lamp for a letter you only have one single light source, or two depending on how you break it down per letter. For LEDs you would have over 67 individual modules with over 134 individual diodes that can break down, degrade, have irregular lumen maintenance and or fail showing uneven lighting over the years, which is not good for a high end furniture store This high end furniture chain wanted none of that, nor do I, especially with the spec of the sign having day night faces. Now, If I could have done some things different I would have used the Axioms AXLE 9XB's for one of the signs that was on a tilt up wall, that one would have been perfect because some of the letters also had a 1.5" stroke and the stroke was real small for the field installation as well is hitting rebar almost every 8", after all the Axioms are one of the rare LEDs thats as bright a 13mm Tri=Phosphor lamp running on 60ma. The Axiom AXLE9XB LEDs would be perfect, who wouldn't want Nichia of Japan LEDs in their sign? But, again...it was Neon specific so it just took longer to install, no biggy! Back to the illumination at night, it's even, it will stay even, the Tri-Phosphor lamps will stay whiter longer over time than the standard 6500 white. As if 6500 white didn't already stay white long enough. But Tri-Phosphor Whites can be 2 to 3 times brighter and stay white longer 2 to 3 times longer over time before the phosphor coats break down. I had a fun time on this project, 6 sign locations, plenty of 3'x16' monument aluminum faces and smaller to go with it. I had my kids who wanted summer money helping out in trim capping, channel letter fabrication, sign removal and installation. I can't post pics of all sign locations so I'll just keep it simple and it would just be redundant, I've posted this job before but on the initial job, this is more of the existing store chain locations making a rebrand. I'll start from the beginning. The removal My Second oldest getting involved Patterns on the wall Always double nut the system ground, bottom ground for the panel, top for the tranny! Plenty of head room for installation Part of my work organization Racks and boxes of Neon Load Plan Silicone GTO & electrode caps Letters and GTO up! C'mon Neon Day time shot Night time shot How the competition looks at night
  25. General LED Channel Letter Failures On The Rise Been getting a lot of calls to retrofit channel letters that are having failures. It seems like that short time period of three to five years has finally come around to where the sign user who bought from the lowest bidder or bought into the idea of "saving money....more efficient mantra" is coming around to bite them in the ass as well as the sign shop who made a poor choice in using the inexpensive most likely Chinese LEDs. The reality is, there are very few LED manufacturers I would personally EVER use for sign projects that I build. I base that based on our very own Sign Syndicate Light Testing Projects where we test just about every LED on the market and have been doing so since 2008 The failures I see out on the field do nothing but support those results . LED Modules are great for peeling and sticking, spending more time in the shop than out in the field but they should not be used for everything. Too many sign shop are lazy, they look for an "easy way" to stay in business, that's the plain truth of our industry. The Sign Syndicate's Neon & LED Test Comparison "The Great White Hope" (2012 Shot) Our enabling of LED manufacturers inflated, exaggerated, and even misleading marketing points is what help kill our own industry, and now those chickens are coming home to roost. Those 100,000 hours, 80,000 hours, 60,000 hours, 50,000 hours that a lot of sign shops within our industry have financially sabotaged, and screwed the consumer. The LED powers supplies have gotten cheaper, so have the LED modules, shops scramble for the 50¢ modules, the plastic $20 power supplies and a few years later...Waalaa.... individual diode failure leading to inconsistent lighting and power supplies that truly couldn't handle the heat of the load. I've seen this rise in retrofit the retrofit and I'm only in 70˙F weather all year around in just that last couple of months. For Red LEDs that were supposed to last sooooo long, well now those same channel letter faces that were so evenly lit are now hot spotting. The LED Sign market if you don't know as it relates to the sign industry is a crap shoot. Very few reputable companies like GE and others, don't even want to be in it any longer, they would rather be in general lighting. Why? Too many cheap consumers, too many sign companies that don't make wise decisions get lured and duped by the ever growing and disappearing market of what was once here today is gone tomorrow. Sure, a lot of manufacturers tell sign shops their components are warrantied for 5 years BUT, do they, do YOU replace those parts for free to your client? Chances are like most of the scenarios that call me say no, "I still get charged labor" Shame on those companies and shame on you if you're one of those companies. You planned out your project, you spec'd out your project and there is absolutely NO reason why a electric sign should not carry a 5 year "worry free" electrical warranty. This industry has plenty of quality components that are built to last, and Neon is still a VERY viable option especially when it comes to consistency in longevity as well as lighting, unfortunately that is no longer an option for a lot of shops because they lack the "know how", or willingness to learn, even worse..they only posses the laziness and willingness to collect a check and walk away. Today I still continue to install the right light source based on the application, that goes for using LEDs, Fluorescent or Neon. 20+ years later I get very few failures , VERY few. I have signs that operated for 18+ without a single maintenance call. I know I may work a little harder, pay a little more, even spend a little more time with each project BUT...I do sleep easier at night, I don't have to worry about taking those calls about having to come back, and I have happier clients that have stuck with more for my 20+ years that I've been in business. Just some Thursday food for thought to chew on.
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