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Sign Industry Fake News Fake News has become a recent term that came about our country's recent election BUT, the term has well defined our industry for some time I've been asleep and was pretty much dormant for some time writing about the writers of our industry, the self claimed "Trade Magazines", or as most of us well seasoned tradesman and women like to call them, the "Trade Rags, Brochure Rags, Brochure Magazines". I took a brief leave because one of the worst magazines in our industry did a complete 180˙ from bad to good, Signs of The Times started doing a better job of balanced industry information. I coined the editors name of Wade to "Community Organizer" because for a period of time it became all about the broad positions he held and surrounded himself with, ISA, the Foundation, his Advertisers, and being Media. I took that title away after SOT turned for the better, and Brochure Magazines like Sign Builder Illustrator, & Signs & Digital Graphics continued to decline. Once I heard Wade was leaving and another took his position, I had a feeling it was only a matter of time where I would once again be writing about, the writers. I didn't get to coin the new name of SOT, another did and it's well fitting, "The Community Agitator". That is because she has strong core political convictions that divide everyday American's, and that spilled into the Magazine one month and after so many complaints she choose NOT to address it or support her position. SOT today, we can officially say has slowly started to decline once again. This is all okay. It's okay because as you might already know, their not highly read anymore as they once were, and one day they will go the way of the Penny Saver, here today, gone tomorrow. You don't have to take my word on this, just look at any of the three and you'll see that they have become more and more thin over time, it's like they went on a crash diet from paper. Sign Builder at one time was the better of the three, and SDG has always been consistent, consistent as being known as the lowest of the low. Sign & Digital Graphics is the only one to this day tied to Convention Shows, so it might be the reason why they position themselves to be more promotional than actual informational though....that seems to be changing, maybe more on that later If there is one Magazine above all others that wears the badge name of "Fake News" it's Sign & Digital Graphics. In fact, I don't even know why they bother to have an editor. There should just be a online shopping cart that had a Bonus Button that can be added with purchase "with annual purchase of full page ads, submit your free marketing material here". I don't read Sign & Digital Graphics that much but I noticed a peculiar article the other day posted on LinkedIn called LED Insights. Having some background knowledge it peaked my interest. SDG LED Insights is written by Bryan Vincent, also co-owner of Principal LED, who also owns Ventex, Ventex is a consolidation of both Ventex & Transco. Ventex and Transco are known for their Neon Products, Ventex primarily for their SST Neon Transformers. For a period of time Ventex tried to promote and sell a proprietary class I LED system that had has had some very bad power supply issues. We had a number of them fail on our own in house testing that Ventex supplied us for their products. Needless to day, Ventex tried harder at one point to push their LEDs over their customer/following preferred long time legacy Neon Components by pushing Retrofitting of LED VenBrites. They still might continue that marketing today, I just haven't kept up. Ventex who once was a champion of Neon tuned bad guy over night with their CEO (John Boyd) putting on seminars that Neon 15/30 Transformers loading 15mm Red consume 510 watts. He was one of the early helpers in our Sign Syndicate's Great White Hope Project Test. He knows full well they do not. He conveniently left out the power factor of that transformer to push the ROI and appearance of their LEDs much better. A 15/30 max load are also 3.75 watts (name plate value). 3.75a x 120v x .57 (NPF) = 256.5w Also, no one loads these to max usually 80%, or 205 watts So to learn of this was very disappointing, and it said to me ..."desperate" So....Fake News, and SDG "LED Insights", which should really be called Principal LED insights...HELL, the SDG should just be called "Principal LED Sign & Digital Graphics". I haven't picked up an issue in some time but all electric sign marketing says Principal LED whether it's photo's used for another rep, ERRRRrrrr.....writer, and Ventex, with a throw in of "Bitro" once in a while, still trying to figure out that relationship. Back to the 2014 article that popped up on LinkedIn the other day, the LED insights for January 2014 just circles the companies co-partners, and when it came to quoting it was only the close related, sure some other companies were named but let's look at the primaries who played a big part in the article who were the story passing off marketing claims as if they were fact and going to different sources, which in fact they were all coming from only one source in reality. This is probably before the Principal officially owned Ventex, but obviously their sites were already set on the acquisition . No proof but it's my opinion, a little research would be required but it's a safe bet to assume. Who can take the never ending loop of Principal LED in S&DG seriously, and in "matter of fact"? Just this month, we have their "The Life of the Lighted Sign" by "freelance" Ryan Fugler, pictures in bold print "Image courtesy of Principal LED". I mean, how kind of them to donate their pics to be promoted once again in the Principal LED magazine??? Out of 11 photo's 5 are Principal's, the rest are Bitro....again. The dynamic Duo. No matter what happens in the brochure magazine you just can't escape the two companies or quotes by either of them. It's any wonder that any LED company actually exists in the sign industry other than these two in the S&DG World. Just like EVERY Marketing article that this brochure Magazine pimps out, there is one thing they ALL have in common and that is that there are NO real numbers are ever put out, only vague marketing points. Whether it's Pro's and Con's of all light sources discussed, Light Output, or Cost of Operation, those are facts and numbers they will NEVER put out, because they can't....THAT would defer YOU as the reader and question the entire article because once you have a standard or relationship of the light sources the rest is easy to figure out They depend on the ignorance of the reader, the editor (maybe, or not, maybe it's a nice chunk of change to turn the other way or ask questions), and customer base is clearly built on "if you say it enough times, it's believable....and if it's in print, it MUST be true! Principal & Bitro must be the best thing out in the market because that's all you read about in Sign & Digital Graphics