Technology advancements continually improve the way sign companies conduct business. One of the segments of the sign industry advancing quickly due to new technology is the electrical sign industry, and specifically, the illuminated channel letter segment.
随着技术的不断进步，标识公司管理经营的方式也在不断改善。标识产业飞速进步的原因应归于新型发光标识产业的发展，特别是LED发光字部分。
Box Letters 发光字壳
Channel letters have become the most commonly used of all types of electric signs. The term "channel letter" was coined for letters with deep sidewalls and recessed light sources that channel the illumination's direction. Today, neon signs and illuminated channel letters are synonymous because most outdoor signs installed in past decades consisted of covered channel-letter signs lit with neon tubes.
发光字已经成为最普遍的标识类型。发光字从字面上来讲，就是在字壳的凹槽嵌入光源的精品字。现在，霓虹灯标识和LED发光字是同一个意思，因为在过去十年大部分室外标识都是用霓虹灯管来照明的。
There is a vast variety of manufacturers of channel letters across the US and the world. Channel letters can come ordered to your customer’s specifications from a factory or material can be purchased along with products on the market now that allow you to create letters in your own shop. The materials used for channel letters are improving as well. New acrylic face materials with more color choices are entering the market faster than ever before.
有一个横跨美国和世界的巨大的发光字厂商。他们能够在工厂为顾客私人订做，或者与顾客一起去市场购买产品材料，在自己的店铺里制作。发光字材料各方面品质一直在提升。新的亚克力面板材料有更多的颜色可供选择，而且比以前的效率更高。
LED 发光字
LEDs are semi-conductor materials that convert electrical energy directly into light. These little light sources have plenty to offer lighting designers, but there are limitations to this seemingly extraordinary light source. The light is very directional, meaning by itself LEDs are not a good source for general illumination. Advancements in technology have created green, blue, red, and amber lights and the long-awaited white light LEDs.
LED是将电能直接转换成光能的半导体材料。大量的小的光源形成光谱，但是这种表面上看起来很特别的光源也有局限性。光是有方向性的，这便意味着LED不是日常照明的优质来源。随着技术的进步，绿色，蓝色，红色，琥珀色和期待已久的白色LED被创造出来。
LEDs can't compete with neon in the general sign market, in terms of lumen output per linear foot for direct light applications. But they can be competitive in certain types of signs and displays like channel lettering. Ron Wallace, Vice President of Marketing with SloanLED, states that “LEDs have impacted the manufacturing lead times for channel letters. Without the lead times normally associated with neon production, the illumination materials for letters can be obtained nearly instantaneously. Most leading sign supply distributors are now stocking LED components and power supplies. The fast assembly and installation times further reduce the total time required to manufacture and install a set of channel letters when using LEDs.”
LED不能够与霓虹灯在一般标识市场竞争，因为LED按照流明输出率直接用在精品发光字的夜间照明上。但是他们能够与其它标识和显示屏系列竞争，像立体发光字。营销的副总裁罗恩华莱士，斯隆LED（SloanLED）说道：“LED光源已经在发光字的制作流程中起了引导性的作用，LED光源引导着发光字领域产品的发展。行业刚开始用的主要是霓虹灯，由于照明材质的变化，可以更好地应用在发光字上，产生更好的效果。更多的标识供应商也会把注意力放在LED光源产品和电源供应方面，这是延伸出来的一个很大的市场。在用LED制作和安装一系列发光字的时候，快速的装配和安装减少了总时间。因为这方面产品丰富了，工作做起来就可以信手拈来。”
Solid-state design renders LEDs impervious to shock, vibration, frequent switching and environmental extremes. With an average life span of 100,000-plus hours (11 years), LED lamps operate more than 20 times longer than the equivalent incandescent lamp. LED lamps produce almost no heat and require 80% - 90% less operating power than equivalent incandescent, making them easy on the environment as well as easy on the bottom line.
固态设计使LED在受到震动、频繁开关和恶劣的环境中不受冲击。平均寿命有100,000小时以上（也就是11年），LED灯具运作时间比等效白炽灯长20倍以上。LED灯几乎没有热量，但是也毫不影响你的使用，可以在交货期内完成，完全不影响出货。又可以轻松应对各种环境，使用质量很高。
LEDs help to streamline the assembly of channel letters too. Shawn Strange, Senior Project Director for AgiLight, a lighting technology and product development company, has seen tremendous advances in streamlining the assembly process. “LEDs, with their flexibility in size and design open up new products through various form factors.” AgiLight developed its SideWinder products to be either side or back illuminated because of the new breakthroughs. The side illumination allows manufacturers to make letters that are slimmer and smaller, while still providing even illumination and with a combination of halo and front illumination effects from the same ultra-thin channel letter.
LED把发光字安装的更加规范化，更加流程化。AgiLight是一个照明技术和产品开发公司，公司的高级项目主任肖恩斯特兰奇，看到了装配进程的巨大进步。“LED照明的灵活性在尺寸和设计展示新的产品等方面表现出来。AgiLight 的SideWinder产品，在使用侧打光源的情况下，字在夜晚并不是特别显眼，呈现的效果不是很好。不过就算是只有反面打光或者只有正面打光，效果也是一样的。
Although many LED manufacturers predict their products can last as many as 100,000 hr, that number is dependent upon several of operating factors. LED lumen depreciation is affected by a variety of environmental conditions, such as ambient temperature, humidity, and ventilation. Control methods, thermal management, and current levels can also shorten life.
虽然许多LED厂商预言他们的产品能够持续100，000个小时以上，但这个数字也会受到某些因素影响。LED流明衰减是因为受到环境条件影响，例如周围环境温度，潮湿程度，或者通风效果。同时，控制方法、热管理和目前的技术水平也会缩短产品寿命。
Chuck Harder, Vice President of Lighting Technology, Westinghouse, offers yet another perspective on the changes occurring. “LED technology and the evolution of electronic transformers is just a couple of the positive changes to occur over the past five to ten years. The former may have driven the latter. With the introduction of low voltage LED channel systems from multiple reputable manufactures, we now have transformer options with neon tubing that can run as efficiently as some LED systems, TFT and Ventex just to name a few. The old fashion core and coil is still the workhorse in the day to day maintenance system but with an eye on the environment and energy savings, most large program managers may now be forced to only consider environmentally green, low energy solutions for large program rollouts.”
查克哈德，西屋电气公司照明技术的副总裁，提供了另一层面上发生的变化。“LED技术和电子变压器在过去的五到十年发生了显著的变化，是前者驱动后者来实现的。随着引进来自多个信誉良好的制造商制造的电压低的LED发光系统，我们使用霓虹灯管作为发光字内部进行照明的时候用的变压器和现在使用LED这种变压器的效果是一样高效的，但是由于LED光源本身的节能性，还是LED更具优势一些，如TFT和Ventex等等。在发展历程中，霓虹灯虽然已经过时，但LED汲取了霓虹灯的精髓，着眼于环境和能源节约，大多数大型项目经理会被迫考虑采用绿色环保，低能源的方案来应对大型项目的发布。
The Marriage LED改写发光字历史
The combination of new channel “cans” and improvements to LED lighting are helping the channel letter segment of the industry offer a higher quality of signage opening new markets worldwide.
新的发光字“字壳”和LED照明系统是一个很完美的组合，帮助发光字产业生产更高质量的引导标识，并在全世界范围内开拓新市场。
“Channel letters will have maintenance issues of some kind during their life,” states Harder. “However, lifetime ownership for a set of quality LED letters will be less maintenance than ever. As LEDs continue to take root and confidence rises, more shops will continue to specify LEDs with no reservations.”
“在发光字发光过程中将会出现一些系统维护问题，”哈德说。“然而，使用正规厂家生产的LED光源，对于发光字质量会有很好的保证，会有更少的系统维护问题。随着LED继续扎根和信心上升，许多店铺将会继续毫无保留的指定LED。”
Steven J. Vaccaro, Marketing Manager with Cyro Industries offering acrylic sheet products for channel letter products, believes that the marriage of LED lit letters is just beginning. “As the costs come down, more and more channel letters will convert to LED. I predict that 90% of channel letters will be LED within the next five to ten years.”
史蒂文J.巴卡罗，Cyro产业营销经理为发光字提供亚克力板材产品，认为LED光源应用在发光字中是一个新的开始。“随着成本下降，更多的发光字会转换成LED照明。我预言在未来的五到十年中90%的发光字将会使用LED照明。
New technology will have to improve on the letters as well. Vaccaro states that there will be a new trend to reduce the size of the cans. “The cans have been about five to six inches deep, partly out of habit to allow the light from the neon to reflect off of the walls properly. This also allowed heat to dissipate. But, with LEDs, there is less output of heat. The challenge now is to see how shallow we can make the channel cans while creating a face material that will perform.”
发光字方面的新技术也将改善。巴卡罗说会有一个新的趋势，字壳的尺寸逐步减少。“字壳深度大约5-6英寸，霓虹灯管放进字壳之后可以把光打在墙上，来散发一部分的热量，而不是把热量全部集中在字壳上。但是，LED照明，输出的热量是很少的。现在的挑战是，如何使发光字字壳的表面材料变浅。”
Shawn Strange agrees that the size of the cans will probably be reduced in the future, “It will be interesting to see how new nano-materials play into this equation. The future may well be ultra-thin solid-state sheets that allow letter illumination that is essentially flush with the wall or surface. LEDs will certainly become more efficient and lower cost, which will drive usage for more and more applications.”
肖恩斯特兰奇同意字壳的尺寸在未来将有可能减少，“这看起来很有趣，新的纳米材料是如何发挥作用的。在未来很有可能使用与墙面平行的超薄固态板材。LED的成本会减少而且会变得更有效率，这将会推动越来越多应用程序的使用。”
The Honeymoon LED与发光字一起创造辉煌
The good news here is that millions of dollars will continue to be spent on R&D to improve on the technology of LEDs. This means that not only will LEDs eventually replace conventional lighting in homes and businesses, but that the sign professional will be able to offer more durable, long-lasting products that will continue to increase their customer base.
最近传出好消息，数百万美元将投入到LED技术的研发提高上。这意味着LED最终会代替家里和公司里的常见照明，而且标识行业也能够提供更耐用，持续时间更长久的产品来持续增加他们的客户基础。
Whether you are looking to offer more for your customers in the channel letter arena or wanting to break into this market segment, the advancements in design and materials are making it easier for you to do so.
你是否想在发光字领域寻找更多客户或者想要打入市场，随着设计的进步和材料的完善，这些会更容易实现。
As Wallace of SloanLED points out, “For those wishing to enter the channel letter market, the timing has never been better. With many qualified channel letter wholesalers, the advent of automated cutting, bending and welding machinery and the ease of using LEDs for illumination, it is much more feasible for a new player to bring quality products to market.”
正如SloanLED的华莱士指出的那样，“为了能够实现进入发光字市场的愿望，从来没有比现在更好的时机。随着发光字的生产商程序日趋完善，就出现了自动切割机，自动折弯机，自动焊字机，把更多更可行优质的产品推向市场。
“Complete penetration of the large retail new construction market will take place in the near future,” says Harder. “Only small owner/operators will still be building with neon. Mom and Pop outlets will also still be producing neon on a just-in-time basis as well, but we will continue to see a decline in channel lighting due to production labor cost savings vs. LED. A neon tube needs to be custom made where LEDs in most cases come ready to install out of the box.”
“大的零售建筑市场将会在不远的将来发生完整的渗透，”哈德说。“只有小业主/运营商将仍然是霓虹灯建筑。家庭经营的商店也仍然会在刚好的时间基础上生产霓虹灯，但是与LED相比，霓虹灯由于生产劳动成本的节约，我们将会继续看到发光字照明呈现下降的趋势。霓虹灯管是需要根据字壳形状专门定制的，但是LED是直接可以放进字壳里的。
While the opportunities continue to grow for those interested in the channel letter market, caution should be applied to any new venture. While new products are being developed, not all have been field tested over long periods. It is wise to learn all that you can about LED illuminated letters and to talk to those already in the industry.
然而对于发光字市场来说，机会是不断发展的，任何新的企业都该谨慎。新的产品正在发展，但并不是所有的都经过长期的实地检测。学习你所能掌握的关于LED的知识，并且与行业中的人交谈是明智地选择。
Ron Wallace offers this advice: “Of course, there is much competition, so there are no guarantees. And the well-established providers of channel letter signs have many advantages, so the new supplier will need to emphasize creativity, quality, reliability and service. On the other hand, many newer providers have done an excellent job of embracing the benefits of LED lighting, setting themselves apart as experts in this technology and effectively selling the benefits to the end-users. Another piece of important advice is to do your homework when choosing an LED supplier. This is definitely not a product category where choice should be determined by price alone.”
罗恩华莱士提出了这样的建议：“当然了，这也是充满竞争的，所以没有保证。渠道完善的发光字标识供应商有许多优势，所以新的供应商将会强调创造力，质量，可靠性和服务。另一方面，许多新供应商都做了很棒的工作，大力欢迎LED照明带来的好处，并把这种优势卖给终端使用客户。另一个重要的建议是做好功课之后再去选择LED供应商。这绝对不是由产品价格这一项就可以决定的。”
Harder suggests that a sign professional not offer just one solution, but to diversify. “Offer many choices from neon to LED and maybe even fiber optics in some applications. Also, shop around for multiple wholesale channel letter sign shops to build your letters for you. Neon is not dead and will never die. A well processed tube can last for well over 20 years if not more! Neon will find a new niche I’m sure in the more artistic shops.”
哈德建议一个标识专业不仅仅提供一个解决方案，要多元化。“提供了许多种选择从霓虹灯到LED，甚至在某些应用程序中的光纤。此外，你也可以货比三家，来构建你自己的发光字标识。霓虹灯不会，而且不会永远消亡。一个经过良好加工后的发光标识，能够持续使用超过20年乃至更多。而霓虹灯将会在更多的艺术商店开拓一个新的市场。
“LED is the future and savvy purchasing agents are becoming more educated every day in regards to this technology. If you do not have LED in your portfolio then you may be perceived to be a shop that is behind the times. There is a huge network of wholesale channel letter 发光字制造商companies that specialize in providing just-in-time delivery. Having a solid relationship with two or three of these companies will give a shop the flexibility to quote multiple products. Where one shop may only offer a certain line of LED their competition may offer another line of LEDs. Either way a menu of choices is critical when lead times start getting stretched from just-in-time to two weeks or more.”
“LED是这一技术在未来的每一天都会有不同发展。如果在你的生产中没有使用LED，就会被别人认为与行业发展脱节。发光字制造商为客户分享最新的工艺资讯，一家制作商只跟确定的一家合作，如果两三家，就具有了灵活性，可以提供不同的方案，可供选择。无论哪种方式的选择都是至关重要的，交货期可以延伸到两周甚至更久。”
The future of channel letters will change, but with that change will come exciting opportunities for sign companies and their customers. Now, customers will have even more selections offered as quality improves with illumination and with the quality of the letters.
发光字的未来会改变，而且随着这个改变将会给公司和客户带来令人兴奋地机会。现在，随着照明和发光字质量的提高，客户将会有更多的选择。
