How to choose an LED Sign

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Information on how to choose an LED sign!

Ask Yourself, "What does my LED sign say about my business?

 

  • Monochromatic, color or video display - choosing the LED best for your business.

  • If you are presenting simple text messages, price changing or time and temperature displays, a simple digit or monochrome text message center will easily meet your display needs. Motels, convenience stores or gas station owners who manage ongoing price changes and vacancy information benefit from one - three line monochromatic message centers.

  • If your sign messages are image oriented with graphics, icons and video imagery, full color displays more effectively bring customers into your business. A sports bar showing sports highlights, a shopping center advertising upcoming events, or a movie theater showing trailers from forthcoming films are all examples of businesses that have benefitted from the full color displays.

 

Viewing Distance and Speed
The distance between your sign and its viewers is the number one factor in determining the type of LED display you will need. Longer distances require less resolution and shorter distances require higher resolutions. In addition, if you are traveling at 55 MPH on a freeway, and the sign is 600 feet away at a truck stop, the text letters must be at least 20 inches tall to be legible. Likewise, if you are standing 60 feet away from a street level sign, the letters need only be two inches tall to be legible. The rule of thumb is that you need 1 inch for every 30 feet of viewing distance. 

 

Character Height
In addition to the discussion of viewing distances, it is important to know that at least seven rows of diodes are required to make one text character. For multiple lines of text, it requires an eighth line as a separator. This means that for each line of text there needs to be eight rows of pixels, and that those eight rows together measure the required character height. In other words, if you need three lines of ten inch text characters, you need to have 24 rows of 36 mm pitch pixels to get the proper character height. Of course, you can always use a higher resolution display and combine lines to make bigger text letters. 

 

What about the message content on my display?
Communicate your specific messages to everyone who passes by your sign each day. A good word, an inspirational thought for the day or new sales specials are easily conveyed with a simple keyboard click, keeping you in touch with your customers on an ongoing basis. 

 

Your business image. A good display tells who you are.
LED displays are an on-premise advertising medium intended to direct passing traffic into your business location. Once you install an LED display outside of your business location, it becomes part of your business image. LED displays convey  a high tech, modern business image and help facilitate 'impulse stops' by passing motorists who then do business with the store beneath the sign. 

 

Speedy customers. Are your customers passing you by?
When advertising with any outdoor marketing medium, make sure your audience can easily notice and read the messages on the display.

 

  • When purchasing and installing an LED display, identifying the viewing distance between your audience and the proposed display location is very important.

  • Sign location is critical. The sign's angle of view and the amount of time available to read the sign messages are important determinants in where your LED sign is placed on location.

  • A long viewing distance requires careful consideration of the size of text, pitch of LEDs, and display time per message. Our experts at LEDs Today can help! 

  • When choosing display size and creating messages, it is also important to factor in the speed your audience will be traveling. The best message content is short and sweet. Long text messages are usually only half read. It is always a good idea to fit the key information of a message into 1 frame that stays still for several seconds so the audience can finish reading the whole message in one glance.  

 

Government Regulations On Sign Use
In many states and cities, there are regulations governing the use of an LED message center. In certain urban centers, moving messages or video clips may not be permissable. When planning any new sign installation, it is important to consult with your local county office for assistance in interpreting your local municipal sign codes and regulations. 

 

LEDs Today Displays See The Light of Day
Getting your customers' attention and getting your messages across is the first step in any form of advertising. A boring, non-attention grabbing advertisement will not capture your customers' attention, no matter how effective the marketing message is. A low price, low performance (low brightness, poor readability) LED display can be a big expense with a low return on investment when it comes to attracting new customers or bringing in increased sales.

 

If someone tries to sell you a display at a low price, it is important to compare their sign's performance with products from established manufacturers such as LEDs Today during daylight before you make the purchase. Think about how many of your customers will miss the messages you are trying to communicate if your display underperforms.