Digitally displayed signs such as LEDs are all the rage these days because they’re versatile, changeable, affordable and allow for nighttime viewing (at a much cheaper price than neon).
For one, LED bulbs last for a long time. And by the nature of how they operate, will never dim in their lifespans. They also save power, which translates to saving money. Arguably the best aspect of digital signs is their restrictiveness and ability to make moving messages. With digital signs, the options are limitless!
Thus, many businesses in Greater Philadelphia in need of a sign company’s services ask us about going digital. While there are certainly many advantages to doing so, there are also some important factors to consider:
Placement Matters
This may sound obvious, but where you put the sign matters. Before you purchase a sign, audit your property and determine the best placement location—somewhere a lot of eyes will easily see it. Follow these steps to best placement practices to optimize on where you put the thing:
Accessibility is key
High traffic areas = great places for your sign
For non-digital signs, make sure to install lights that shine on it at night
Make sure it’s visible from all optimal angles
As far as the last tip goes, it’ll be smart for you to pick a seemingly desirable spot, then walk toward that spot from all sensible points to make sure it can be easily seen from all surrounding areas.
Check the Laws
Much like with traditional signs and advertisements, there’ll be zoning guidelines to follow. Depending on where your business is located, those laws could be strict, lax or somewhere in between. Make sure to learn the laws before you install the sign to ensure that you’re not violating any local codes or ordinances. Remember to confer with your town or city’s zoning office, and if you’re leasing a property, consult with your landlord, too!
Good Design Wins Every Time
We can’t stress this part enough. If you’re going to spend the money manufacturing and installing a sign, the whole idea will be pointless if the message on it isn’t conveyed well. Make sure the sign reduces clutter, features legible fonts and doesn’t involve clashing colors to ensure a strong design.
As long as you consider these things, you’ll be more than prepared when it comes time to call your trusty sign company in Bucks County to help you manufacture the final product. Go ahead, get out there, find the perfect spot and give us a call! We look forward to hearing from you.
It’s hard to imagine a time when the world may as well have stopped spinning as soon as the sun went down. Lights out was a literal fact of life, and there wasn’t a magic switch to help devoid a space of its darkness. Kerosene was introduced in 1846, and with the long lasting, bright flame produced by the coal-based liquid, we were able to stay up a little later. But everything truly changed when the advent of the electric incandescent light bulb allowed society to stay up the whole night through.
We’ve come a long way since the beginning days of electric lighting, and in today’s ever-moving marketplaces, the ability to work 24/7/365 is nonnegotiable. Quality lighting is necessary for your commercial business, and the facility in which it operates.
While we’re best known for the LED signs that we make for Montgomery County, PA area businesses, we’re also fully capable of installing commercial lighting for your company. Get in touch to learn more and set up a plan. In the meantime, read on to discover a few facts about mankind’s journey to produce light:
The Early Days
Back in the days of yore, man was determined to produce light efficiently. During that long, dark period of trial, error and experimentation, we came up with some pretty bizarre solutions. One of the strangest examples takes us to the Shetland Islands in the Northern Isles off the coast of Scotland. An oily avian inhabitant resides there called the Storm Petrel. Before electric light was invented, people from Shetland would take deceased Storm Petrels, outfit them with wicks, and voila—a bird-based oil lamp was born!
The High Price of Keeping the Lights On
Thousands of years ago, artificial light was extremely expensive. A Yale economist named William Nordhaus set out to determine just how much it cost to keep their homes lit in ancient Babylon. His research concluded that their abilities to efficiently keep the lights on was dim. It would cost about a day’s worth of wages for an average Babylonian to run an oil lamp for 10 minutes.
Electric Lighting Changed the World
While many people credit Edison with inventing the electric light bulb, it turns out that bright idea wasn’t his, but rather, was perfected by he and his cohorts. The prototype for electric light actually stems all the way back to 1802. A determined chemist named Humphry Davy built an incandescent light using a massive battery to run an electrical current through a platinum plate. It was dim and inefficient, but set the framework for a generation of other scientists and inventors to try and perfect the idea.
We’ve come quite a way since the incandescent light was invented. For example, just look how much we can do with the LED signs that we supply to Bucks County, PA companies. Imagine what Edison, Davy, a Babylonian or a Storm Petrel-toting Shetlander would think of those!
All in all, we’re fortunate to have access to reliable light sources these days. Get in touch if you need your commercial space illuminated!
Try to guess what that number represents. We’ll wait for a minute while you think.
OK. Do you give up yet?
6250 days, or about 17 years, is how long a typical LED light will last. And while the lifespans of LEDs blow their incandescent, neon and other counterparts clear out of the water, they’re also beneficial for a number of other reasons.
When incandescent or fluorescent lights dim, it’s because their bulbs are filled with gasses that are prone to leaking after a period of wear and tear. Those leaks are what cause a reduction in brightness. LED bulbs don’t contain gas, and therefore, they don’t dim!
They save power
And by saving you power, they’re saving you money, and you’re also saving the environment. While a typical neon light uses about 20 watts of power per foot, an LED will only use a little over 1 watt. Let’s put those numbers to work.
Say you need to run 100 feet of light. LEDs will cost about 120 watts of power. If you crunch the same numbers against neon, you’ll be in for 2000 watts of power. If you light your sign for 10 hours per day, 365 days a year, that will add up to 438 annual kilowatt hours for the LED, and 7300 kilowatt hours for the neon. At a cost of $.012/kilowatt hour (which is the national average), your annual spend will be:
$876 for the neon sign
$53 for the LED sign
That’s a 94% price difference.
LEDs are unrestrictive
In other words, the ways in which they can be used are virtually limitless. Between color and movement options, what your sign can depict is only restricted by how creative you are. Your options are limitless with LEDs.
Change your message and make it move
You can update what your message says, and make it physically move or scroll with an LED sign. With a neon sign, the message is what it is. If you need to adjust what your LED says, you can do so. You can also display real-time information, such as the time or temperature. Changing your LED sign’s message is easy because you’ll make that happen via computer software.
With an LED sign, your message will shine brighter against the signs of your competitors, and for cheaper and longer. So, do you need an LED sign for your Bucks County, PA business? Get in touch today and we’ll make one for you!
Sure, your sign is the just the façade. It doesn’t have anything to do with the way you operate your business, or what’s going on in the engine room. So, what’s the point of investing in a good one when you could be spending more on things like the day to day operations of the business? Maybe you pride yourself on providing the absolute best customer service in your industry. Your sign certainly didn’t play a direct role in that. You’re right.
There’s a lot of interest out there for LED signage, which is why we get a lot of questions and inquiries about them. That’s why we thought it might be useful to discuss the basics of LED signage, and what makes them such a popular choice, in our blog post this month. So, without further ado, let’s get to it:
What Are LED Signs?
LED signs consist of very small and square panels. These panels can light up in one or more colors, thus being able to create almost any wanted image in the “bigger picture”.
Are They Expensive?
On average, purchasing an LED sign is a little bit cheaper than buying a traditional neon sign. However, that’s not factoring in the long-term maintenance and usage costs. LED signs are practically maintenance-free, as there’s no need for anything like changing the glass tubes or buying more gas like you’d have to do with neon lights. LED signs also use very little electricity, which adds to their cost-effectiveness in the long-term.
What about the Environment?
LED signs are considered environmentally friendly because they use up to 10 times less electricity than traditional neon signs. In this day and age, that is both an economical and an environmental concern. And since LED signs are literally just tiny “screens” there is no hazard of them getting worn out by time and needing to be replaced and creating trash, or doing something like leaking gas the way that neon signs can do when they’re approaching the end of their lifespan.
And Aesthetics?
One of the best things about LED signs is that they can portray almost anything. Any image or wording, or a combination of them, and you can probably do them on an LED screen. It’s very effortless, too, as with most LED screens you can change the image on the sign from your home computer.
That’s just the very basics, but we hope that it was helpful if you’re considering getting an LED screen for your business. As one of the leading sign companies in Bucks County, we would love to answer any additional questions you have.
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Great Company to deal with . Fair prices and nice Quality Signs. Dale Rimmer Siding
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Philip Fisher
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Top notch in every respect. Matt is a pleasure to work with. Definitely a five star operation!!
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Michael M
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MRC exceeded my expectations. Very easy to work with and did a fantastic job.
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Corinna Garis
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We recently worked with MRC Signs to produce and install new banners throughout Dublin Town Center, in Dublin, PA, in celebration of America’s 250th, and the entire experience was excellent from start to finish. Their pricing was competitive, communication was prompt and professional, and they were incredibly attentive to the details and requests we had throughout the process.
The installation team worked efficiently, the banners look fantastic, and everything was completed with care and precision. We truly appreciated how easy they were to work with and look forward to partnering with them again on future projects. Highly recommend!
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Kyle Messina
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Experience and professionalism. Owner/operator is a very pleasant guy, easy to talk to and knowledge. If u need branding, this is where u go.
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Vibrant Coffee
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Great experience every step of the way getting a large exterior sign designed and installed. Highly recommend!
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Deborah Shepherd
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I am very happy with the quality of the signs that we had MRC signs make for us. The monument front sign, the above the door lit sign, the logo and lettering inside the building, the door graphics, the mission statement sign, etc. are all awesome and I am very happy with them. Look up MRC Signs if you need to promote your location/business. They do a great job. They want to make sure that their clients are completely happy and the go above and beyond to accomplish this task.
