LED lighting has changed dramatically in the past decade. It used to be that just one or two companies produced LEDs. Now, there are more than 40 companies in the business, which has driven innovation in the sign industry, says Carl Ondracek, president of GoQ LED America in Plano, Texas.
美国德克萨斯州普莱诺GoQ LED公司董事长卡尔·安瑞斯克称，过去十年里，LED照明行业已经发生了巨大的变化。过去只有一家或两家企业生产LED。现如今，行业内有40多家企业在做LED，它们推动了标识行业的改革创新。
LEDs can be used to illuminate channel letters or make signs with movie-quality video displays. Both types have been gaining in popularity and market share as the technology has improved and come down in price.
LED可以用于照亮槽型发光字或者制作电影画质的视频显示屏。随着技术的不断进步和价格的下跌，这两种应用都受到了人们的喜爱。
Customers can get LED modules that offer a wide spectrum of color, whiteness and brightness.
客户可以获得提供广泛颜色、白度和亮度的LED模组。
The bulk of LED modules are used to illuminate channel letters. The second biggest use of LED modules is in ground-mounted signs, says Ondracek, whose company sells small LED modules manufactured by Samsung.
大部分LED模组都用于照亮槽型发光字。安瑞斯克说，LED模组的第二大用途是地面装配标识，他们公司主要销售三星制作的小型LED模组。
Front lit channel letters are the most common. Strings of LED lights are encased in an aluminum backing, allowing it to shine through the acrylic face of the letters. Another popular option is backlit or reverse channel letters, meaning that the LED modules light up the wall behind the sign, creating a halo effect.
正面点亮槽型发光字是最常见的。成串的LED灯装在铝制外壳中，使其通过字符的亚克力表面发出亮光。另外一种比较受欢迎的应用是背光式槽型发光字，即LED模组通过照亮标识背后的墙面来创造光晕的效果。
The improvements in today’s LED modules are the driving force behind the trend to make channel letters a shallower depth.
在目前行业发展趋势下，LED模组的改进是使得槽型发光字厚度更小的主要驱动力。
Traditionally, channel letters stick out from the wall about 5 inches. But because of the heat produced by newer LEDs is much less than previous lighting sources, channel letters can now stick out only 2 or 3 inches.
传统上，槽型发光字距离墙面大约5英寸。但是由于新型LED产生的热量远远低于先前的光源，所以现在槽型发光字只需凸出2或3英寸。
It’s all about perception, says Ondracek.
安瑞斯克说，这些都是由人们自身的感知决定的。
“Some people like it not as far sticking away from the wall. The majority are 5 inches deep. Some like the closer look. It is more of a conceptual visual thing,” he says. “Overall, it costs less to build those types because you don’t have as much material.”
他说：“有些人喜欢它是因为它与墙面之间的距离。绝大多数的槽型发光字与墙面的距离都是5英寸。有些人则喜欢近距离观看，它更多的是一种概念性的视觉体验。总的来说，由于无需使用过多材料，所以制作这些槽型发光字的成本是很低的。”
Because channel letters are some of the most popular types of signs, that means LEDs have become one of the most popular forms of sign lighting.
由于槽型发光字是最受欢迎的标识类型，因此LED成为最受欢迎的标识照明形式之一。
Seventy percent of LED modules used in channel letters are white, Ondracek says. Others come in red, green and blue. With a little technological assistance, some LEDs can be programmed to produce different patterns of color from a computer or tablet.
安瑞斯克说，用于槽型发光字中70%的LED模组都是白色的。其他的还有红色、绿色和蓝色。一些LED可以通过电脑或平板电脑在技术支持下做出不同颜色模式。
“If you go online, there are 1,000 different controllers,” Ondracek says. They range from inexpensive, basic controllers that can rotate through eight different colors to very elaborate ones that can be programmed with a computer to produce different colors in a sequence.
安瑞斯克说：“如果你上网查阅过，就会发现有1000种不同的控制器，其覆盖范围从便宜基本的八色循环控制器，到通过计算机编程产生不同颜色的精心制作的控制器。”
LEDs can last up to 50,000 hours, depending on how often they are turned on, proper installation and having the right power supply. If they are only lit at night, properly installed LEDs can run 10 to 15 years before they need to be replaced, he says.
安瑞斯克说，根据LED的使用频率、正确的安装方式和适当的电源供给，LED的寿命通常为50000小时。如果它们只在夜晚点亮，正确安装的LED在需要被更换之前，可以用10到15年。
LED message boards also range from basic white to multiple colors and some offer video capabilities, but in comparison to channel letters, they can get very expensive.
LED显示屏同样包含基本的白色和其他多种颜色，有些还有视频功能，但是与槽型发光字相比，LED的价格更贵。
These have risen in popularity as more municipalities have updated their zoning laws to allow them. Initially, the industry couldn’t get LED signs in certain communities because those in charge felt they would distract drivers and accidents would increase, says David Rycyna, CEO at Emeryville, Calif.-based Cirrus Systems, Inc., a company that manufactures LED modules. And there are still many communities where these signs aren’t allowed.
由于越来越多的自治市更新其区域法，准许生产LED显示屏，因此它们变得更加受欢迎。加州埃默里维尔制作LED模组的Cirrus Systems公司CEO大卫·利亚称，最初，社区内不允许出现LED类型的标识，因为那些社区负责人称它们会分散驾驶员的注意力，并且交通事故会随之增加。现如今许多社区仍然不准许安装这类标识。
Rycyna says the sign or message center doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective. It just has to be noticeable. He spends a great deal of time getting his customers to realize that an LED sign will pay for itself quickly in its ability to attract attention and spread a message.
利亚说，标识或信息中心不需要制作得过于复杂，只需足够显眼就可以发挥作用。他花了很大功夫让客户意识到，LED标识很快就可以通过自身的吸引力和信息的传播来产生价值。
Cirrus recently built a sign for a wine store. Its first message advertised a wine tasting at the store.
Cirrus公司最近为一家红酒店铺制作了标识。它传达的第一个信息就是可以在店铺里品酒。
“The guy had 60 people in the door because of the sign outside. It was displaying that event. Forget about future business. That day, how much did it make him? That’s why we see more and more people using them,” he says.
利亚说：“这家店铺因为其外面的标识吸引了60位顾客进店品酒，就只是品酒，暂时忘却未来的生意。那一天，它为店铺带来了多少人？这就是越来越多的人使用这类标识的原因。”
Cirrus Systems makes LED modules for large outdoor displays. It mixes interconnecting modules to make a much bigger message center.
Cirrus Systems公司为大型户外显示屏制作LED模组。它将互相连接的模组混合在一起制作出更大的信息中心。
Cirrus Systems’ LEDs come in the form of modular panels, which come together much like building blocks. Each module connects to numerous others so that building a larger messaging center is simple and only takes a screw driver to complete, Rycyna says.
利亚说，Cirrus Systems公司的LED模块式嵌板就像积木一样堆积在一起。每个模块与其他元件连接起来，从而建立一个只需螺丝刀就能完成的更大的信息中心。
Because people do balk at the high price of a sign, his company offers a financing package that spreads the cost out over a couple of years.
由于人们对标识的高价格有所顾虑，因此他们公司推出了一个融资方案，就是可以在几年之内分期付款。
Depending on the size of the sign, some can cost upward of $20,000.
根据标识的尺寸，有些标识的花费不止20000美元。
“That’s a huge investment for a mom and pop bakery somewhere. We have a lot of customers that run the gamut, but even for a restaurant, that is just a chunk of change to put out there,” he says.
他说：“这对某些小型零售商来说是一笔巨大的投资。我们的客户来自各行各业，甚至对一家餐厅来说，做了这类标识就会产生明显的变化。”
Even if the cost of a sign is high, it is something every company needs to have, Rycyna says. Overall, regardless of who you are getting it from, a sign is something every company will invest in as part of its marketing budget.
利亚说，即使制作标识的成本很高，但是这是每个企业都需要拥有的。总而言之，无论无论你找谁制作标识，它都是每个企业营销预算的一部分。
A high-tech message center might cost a lot up front, but it costs pennies on the dollar to reach every car or pedestrian that passes by.
高科技信息中心最开始的花费可能会很高，但是它传达给经过车辆或行人的信息成本却是很低的。
Cirrus Systems’ makes a 1-foot by 2-foot board that is covered in diodes. Each LED diode represents a pixel.
Cirrus Systems公司制作了1英尺x2英尺布满二极管的板子，该板子上的每个LED二极管都代表一个像素。
“The same way your iPhone has thousands of pixels, our tiles have 24 x 48 pixel outdoor screens. It is not as high of a resolution as other devices, but it is still a digital image,” he says.
他说：“你的iPhone上面成千上万的像素也是同样的原理，我们的产品是分辨率为24x48像素的户外屏幕。它不像其他设备一样具备高分辨率，但它仍然是一个数字图像。”
It is the pitch or distance between pixels that determines the resolution of the LEDs. Most billboards are meant to be seen from a distance so the pitch doesn’t have to be as small. The average pitch is 16 or 19 millimeters.
像素之间的距离决定了LED的分辨率。大多数广告牌都被安装在很远的位置上，因此像素间距无需过小，平均间距为16或19毫米。
For signs that are closer to a pedestrian’s eye level, a 9.5-millimeter pitch produces a high-resolution image.
对于那些更接近行人视线水平的标识来说，9.5毫米的间距就能产生高分辨率的图像。
“A 19 mm pitch would be too low. Nobody would see anything. It is all about viewing distance and where it’s going,” Rycyna says.
利亚说：“19毫米像素间距的标识分辨率太低，没有人能看清楚信息。因此关键还是在于观看距离和安装位置。”
A full-color screen is going to employ red, green and blue diodes, for the most part.
大多数情况下，全彩色屏幕采用的都是红色、绿色和蓝色二极管。
“One of our models is all white; it can be 4,096 shades of white depending on the brightness. It can get a full video image. It looks like a black and white screen. It has the same effect. Some people prefer that,” he says.
他说：“我们有一种产品是全白色的，它可以根据亮度调成4096种明暗度不同的白色，生成一个完整的视频图像，看起来像是黑白屏幕，有同样的效果。有些人更偏向于此。”
“It is rare to have a single color screen with video capabilities,” he adds. “For us, it was like, why not? All of our technology is built around video, so why dumb it down if we don’t have to.”
他补充道：“带有视频功能的单色屏幕是很少见的。对我们而言，所有的技术都是围绕视频而开发的，所以如果我们不需要，那为什么要降低难度呢？”
Cirrus would rather build 10 smaller LED signs instead of one big one, but the biggest LED display it ever manufactured was 2,000 square feet.
Cirrus公司宁愿制作10个小型LED标识，也不愿做一个大型标识，他们做过的最大的LED显示屏为2000平方英尺。
“They get quite large. Theoretically there is not a limit, but the whole system is meant to be deployed quickly and inexpensively,” Rycyna says.
利亚说：“这种大型标识规模是相当大的。理论上来说没有什么限制，但是整个系统要能达到快速处理的效果且价格要便宜。”
There are many LED options with different performance levels, he adds, which drives down costs.
他补充道，许多LED的性能水平都不尽相同，这样就会压低价格。
Rycyna believes that LEDs will continue to decrease in cost as the LED package gets slimmer. They are also getting more efficient, which means they emit less heat, which makes engineering the whole display a lot easier.
利亚说由于LED封装变得更加纤薄，因此LED的成本将会持续降低。同时它们也会更加高效，这就意味着它们产生的热量更少，使得整个显示系统的设计制作变得更简便。
The next evolution of the LED module will be in the integrated software arena; how a client can manage the content on an LED screen more easily. There already are cloud-based options and some allow a consumer to stream news headlines or comments from their social media feed onto their LED sign.
LED模组的下一步进展将在集成软件领域；客户如何更简便地管理LED屏幕上的内容。现在已经出现了基于云服务的技术选择，有些可以让客户将社交媒体上的新闻头条或评论显示在LED标识上。
“The next five years will be all about that content, dynamic, connected content,” he adds. LED signs have moved well past just displaying the time and temperature.
他补充道：“未来五年标识的发展都是关于标识内容、动态标识以及连贯内容。LED标识已经不是只能显示时间和温度的装置了。”
“There are so many cool, connected things you can do that ultimately it is about helping that brand, helping them come across as being that much cooler,” he says.
他说：“你做的很多酷炫相关的事物，最终都是为了帮助那些品牌变得更加酷炫有名气。” |
