Channel letters are becoming smaller, thinner, and brighter thanks to new building materials, fabrication methods, and lighting products. We take a look at some of the new products as well as the best practices for working with channel letters.

随着新的建筑材料、制造方法和照明产品的出现，发光字正变得越来越小、越来越薄、越来越亮。下面，我们会介绍一些新产品以及使用发光字的优势。

Get Bendy

更好的柔韧性

Bending machines are a great efficiency in the channel letter market. Computerized Cutters, Inc., pioneered automated channel letter bending machines over twenty years ago. The company still has original Accu-Bends in the field, and all of their machines are made in the U.S.

弯字机能够提高发光字的效率。二十多年前，一个计算机化数控刀具公司设计并制造出了自动弯字机，直到现在，该公司的产品依旧有能进行精确的弯曲，并且他们所有的机器都是在美国制造的

Sign shops benefit from these machines in both time and cost savings. “If they’re buying from a wholesaler now, they can end up saving three quarters of the cost by doing it themselves,” says Carl Ondracek, president of Computerized Cutters, Inc. “If they’re building them by hand, it normally would take them forty-five minutes to an hour to bend and shape a channel letter. The machine’s going to do it in about five minutes.”

这些机器帮助标识商铺从节省了许多的时间和成本。公司总裁卡尔·昂德拉西克说：“现在如果他们购买机器,那么可以节省四分之三的成本。”如果手工制造，一般需要四十五分钟到一个小时来弯曲和成型，但是使用这台机器大约五分钟就能完成。”

The company recently introduced its newest machine, the Accu-Bend FREEDOM, which is priced just under $20,000. “If a shop is doing one set of channel letters a month, the machine pays for itself within a year,” says Ondracek. “A lot of these guys are doing two or three, and the machine pays for itself in half a year.”

该公司最近推出新的机器——Accu-Bend FREEDOM，售价略低于2万美元。卡尔·昂德拉西克说:“如果一个商家一个月需要制作一个字母标识，那么这个机器一年之内就能回本。”“很多人一个月需要做两到三个标识，那么在半年内就能收回成本。”

The Accu-Bend FREEDOM features a space-saving design without sacrificing the capabilities of a full-sized machine. It also runs off of standard 110-volt power (as do all of Computerized Cutters’ machines) so it can be plugged in anywhere. “They can put this in a corner, and when they’re ready to build a set of letters, they bring it out, run their set of letters, and put it away,” says Ondracek.

Accu-Bend FREEDOM是一个能够在节省空间的同时不影响其功能的机器。它使用110伏的标准电源(和所有计算机数控的切割机一样)，可以插在任何地方。卡尔·昂德拉西克说：“不使用的时候可以把机器放在一个角落里，准备制作字母标识时，再把它拿出来，等字母标识制作完成后，再把它收起来。” 

For the shops with space, placing the bender in a strategic spot by a router and a clinching machine can help to increase efficiency even more. “One person could be running the router and the bending machine at the same time,” says Ondracek. “Or they could be clinching the backs to the letters or putting LEDs in the letters while the machine is running. They don’t have to be there the whole time just watching the letter bend.”

对于有空间的商店，可以将弯字机放置在刨槽机和装订机旁边的位置，这样子能够提高效率。卡尔·昂德拉西克说：“一个人可以同时运行刨槽机和弯字机。”或者他们可以在机器运行时把字母的背面固定住，或者在字母里放上LED，这样子就不需要一直在那里一直看着字母弯曲。”

To ensure efficiency on individual jobs, Ondracek says starting with a clean file helps. From there, processing the letters in a particular order is also beneficial. “If they’re going to do two sets of letters, they’re better off doing the first full set before they do the second set,” he says. “That way, they can complete the letters in a timely fashion when they have to put LEDs in it and do trim cap and all that.”

为了保证工作的效率，卡尔·昂德拉西克说一个干净的锉刀会有很大的帮助，按特定的顺序处理字母标识也是有益的。他说:“如果他们要制作两组字母标识，最好先完整的制作第一组字母，然后再制作第二组。”“这样，在他们必须在里面放led并进行装饰和其他工作的时候，就可以及时地完成字母标识，。”

Facing Fabrication

制作过程

If your shop still struggles to choose between acrylic and polycarbonate for channel letter faces, Dennis Spahr, director of Sign & Graphics for Plaskolite, says color is a good place to start. If the letters need to be a custom color, acrylic is often the better choice as it’s available in more colors.

Plaskolite标识公司的图形总监丹尼斯•斯帕尔表示，如果你的商店仍然难以在丙烯酸和聚碳酸酯之间选择，那么可以先选择颜色。如果字母需要定制颜色，丙烯酸通常是更好的选择，因为它有更多的颜色可供选择。

Size is another indicator. If the faces are more than thirty-six inches tall, polycarbonate is usually used, as acrylic letters larger than three feet are difficult to manipulate, difficult to transport, and run a higher risk of breaking. For letters three feet tall or smaller, acrylic or polycarbonate can be used, but acrylic has become a popular choice due to its light diffusion and transmission properties.

标识的大小是另一个指标。如果字体超过36英寸高，通常会使用聚碳酸酯，因为大于3英尺的丙烯酸字母很难操作，难以运输，而且容易破碎。对于三英尺高或更小的字母，可以使用丙烯酸或聚碳酸酯，但由于丙烯酸的光扩散和投射性比较好，一般上这种小尺寸就会选择丙烯酸。

Speaking of lighting, be sure to consider it before starting fabrication. “If you are using fluorescent or neon, the channel letters will need to be backed out five inches or more,” says Spahr. “If it’s LED, as most channel letter signs are now, the depth of the lighting can be as close to the face as 2.5 inches. Anything shallower than that and lines or shadowing can be an issue as well as heat concerns.

照明是在开始制作之前一定要考虑的一点。斯帕尔说:“如果你使用荧光或霓虹灯，沟道的字母需要倒出5英寸或更大。”“如果是LED，就像现在大多数的发光字一样，灯光的深度可以接近人脸2.5英寸。任何比这浅的地方，线条或阴影都可能存在问题。”

“Maintaining a suitable depth allows for better light diffusion and transmission without the pin-lighting effect behind the letters.”

“保持一个合适的深度可以让光线更好地扩散和传输，而不需要字母背后的照明。”

Plaskolite recently released a new product designed to make lighting channel letters even easier. The OPTIX-L Black/White is a continuous cast acrylic that appears black in daylight and white when backlit illuminated. It is best used in signs that are viewed at a distance.

最近，Plaskolite标识公司发布了一款新产品，旨在使照明发光字的制作更容易。OPTIX-L黑色/白色是一种连续浇铸的丙烯酸，在日光下呈现黑色，在背光照明下呈现白色。它最适用于制作远距离的标识。

“In the past, sign shops would have to apply perforated vinyl,” says Spahr. “It’s expensive and time consuming. This product eliminates the need for a second layer to achieve the desired effect under daylight or nighttime conditions, reducing material costs and streamlining sign construction.”

斯帕尔说: “在过去，标识商铺必须使用乙烯基材料。”“这既昂贵又费时，而现在该产品不需要分成白天或晚上两种情况来进行制作，降低了材料成本，简化了标识的制作过程。”

Stretching the Limits of Lighting

扩大照明范围

Channel letter lighting is all about brighter and faster installs. SloanLED recently harnessed the benefits of multi-die chip technology. “LED efficacy has increased to a point where we can squeeze more chips into a product design and have the added benefit of using less area, making our designs more compact, giving us greater design flexibility, and at an increased efficacy,” says Michael Bluhm, director, Product Solutions – Sign, SloanLED.

发光字照明的目的是为了使照明更明亮，安装更快速。SloanLED产品主管迈克尔•布鲁姆说:“LED效能的提高让我们可以在产品设计中可以使用更多芯片，这样子的好处是使用了更少的面积，能够使设计更紧凑，具有更大的设计灵活性。”

Bluhm says the company’s Prism Lens technology has also helped sign shops to quickly illuminate channel letters with fewer rows of product, “What used to take two rows can now be done with one,” he says.

布鲁姆表示，该公司的棱镜透镜技术也帮助标识商店使用更少的零件行快速照亮发光字，“过去可能需要两行，现在可以用一行就能完成。” 

Principal LED makes installations faster and easier with its smart packaging where one bag of material equals one power supply. “We also utilize a Qwik Release Tab on all of our products so that customers save considerable labor time (and frustration) trying to remove the liner from the back of the VHB tape on modules,” says J. Bryan Vincent, partner, Principal LED.

Principal LED采用智能包装的形式，安装更加快捷、更加容易。负责人布莱恩·文森特说：“我们还在所有产品上使用Qwik Release标签，这样客户想要把模块上的VHB胶带背面的衬垫移除时，就可以节省大量的劳动时间。”

Principal LED also offers layout and estimating services. The company acquired Aries Graphics and plans to release Sign Wizard 8 by the end of July with a plethora of new features. “The online estimator [driven by Sign Wizard] automatically eliminates modules that will not work for your input sign parameters,” says Vincent.信安LED还提供布局和估算服务。该公司收购了Aries Graphics， Finally 24-volt drivers have also been hitting the market. The drivers allow for more wattage and are useful on long runs to minimize voltage drop.

Principal LED 公司还提供字母布局和估计服务服务，收购Aries Graphics公司之后，计划在7月底前发布带有许多新功能的Sign Wizard 8。文森特说:“在线估算器会自动排除不适合输入符号参数的模块。”最后，24伏的驱动器也开始进入市场。驱动程序可以使用更多的瓦特，适合长期运做，并且降低电压。

“Due to class 2 requirements, 12-volt power supplies are limited to 60 watts of power. With 24-volt, you are allowed 100 watts of power per driver to be class 2 compliant. This extra 40 watts allows the sign manufacturer to use fewer power supplies per sign,” says Bluhm. “Fewer power supplies means less labor and parts cost, which results in lower cost to the customer.”

“二类要求的标准是，12伏的电力供应被限制在60瓦的功率。对于24伏，每个驱动程序允许100瓦的电力供应。额外的40瓦可以让标识制造商使用更少的电力给标识进行供电。” 布卢姆说：“更少的电力供应也意味着更少的劳动力和零部件，这将大大的降低客户的成本。”

“The real advantage is in reduction of power supplies in larger signs,” says Vincent. “However, 24-volt is not more ‘efficient’ than 12-volt. For example, our new Tapout Pinnacle™ Stik uses an extremely efficient LED and smart system design that is 12-volt, and you can run the same number of Stiks as the most efficient 24-volt systems and at the same output. Net result: Lower cost power source, and a 12-volt system that is 35 percent more efficient than the 24-volt system.”

文森特说:“优势是使用更少的电力覆盖更大的范围”“然而，24伏并不比12伏更‘有效’。例如，我们的新设备Tapout Pinnacle™Stik采用了一种非常高效的LED和智能系统设计，即12伏，就可以运行与最高效的24伏系统相同数量的Stik，并且具有相同的输出。最终得到的结果是:使用成本更低的电源，即12伏系统，得到的效率却比24伏系统高出35%。”