LED signs use Light Emitting Diodes which are small lights (around one square millimeter in area) to create different types of signage. These small lights are extremely bright and they are available in different colors making them ideal for signage.
Neon Signs on the other hand use luminous tubes filled with Neon, Argon, Mercury or some other gases which glow brightly when electric current is applied to them. Depending on the gas and the color of the fluorescent coating applied inside a tube, light in different colors can be produced. These different colors are combined with the ability to bend glass into various shapes to produce Neon signs.
Given that the market has a lot of signage creators (who respond to the high demand for signage anyway), choosing between LED and Neon signs can be a tough call especially if you do not have an inside scoop on how the signs work. There are a lot of differences between these two signs and the differences are not limited to.
COST:- When you think about cost, you should not just consider the initial purchase price. The sign’s real cost consists of the initial price and the additional costs required to keep it functioning. LED signs use many small lights while Neon signs use several large tubes.
SIZE:- It must be clear by now that LED lights are extremely small, right? However, this does not in any way reduce their capacity for brightness. Both Neon and LED signs can be manufactured to any size in terms of surface area. The difference comes in the thickness of the sign.
Because they utilize tubing, Neon signs will have to have some space between the light-tube and the surface making them 5 to 6 inches thick. LEDs are mostly used on the surface of a sign and thus the signs can even be an inch thick. Size creates a lot of difference in the initial price and if you require shipping, size will be a great determinant of your shipping costs.
LIGHT:- When I talk about light, you should think of brightness, clarity and color. Modern versions of LEDs can produce colors across the spectrum of visible light. They are also far much brighter than Neon tubes making them more visible from a distance than their Neon counterparts. Neon signs also have a tendency to appear blurry from a distance making LED signs way better than Neon in terms of light properties.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION:- LED lights, by a great margin, consume less power than Neon. With the increase in environmental awareness, these signs will make your business very green (not green in color but good for the environment) and also reduce your electricity bill by some margin.
ROBUSTNESS:- Picture the ease with which a fluorescent tube breaks: that is how easy it is to break Neon tubing if they are not well protected. The smaller the size of glass, the harder it is to break it. LED signs, on the other hand, break with time. Typically, depending on how robust the LED’s in your motion display are, you can get anywhere from four to ten years of wear and tear before you need to replace the faces of your sign. By the way, that’s a lot of images, and new customers you’ll gain during that time.
CUSTOM CREATIONS:- The fact that they are made up of a lot of single lights as opposed to a few bent light tubes means that LED signs can be created into different designs with different animations. Used properly, animations can attract more customers to your premises and also create an edge for your brand. We can virtually guarantee if an LED motion display sign is placed in front of your business, your revenue will go up approx. 15-20% the first year.
