What are Backlit Office Signs?
Backlit office signs have LED light strips mounted to the back of each letter allowing a light to glow around each letter providing a "halo" effect. Backlit signs are typically made using flat cut materials like acrylic and are raised off the wall on special clear and metal mounts. The acrylic is sometimes finished with a metal face with painted silver edges to match.
Benefits of Backlighting your Sign
- Helps draw attention to your sign
- Increases visibility
- Increases impact
- Makes viewing the sign more memorable
Backlighting requirements
While backlighting is a great way to help your sign stand out from the wall, especially in poorly lit areas, only certain signs with large enough letters or bold font may apply for illumination. Illuminated letters or symbols must allow enough space on the back to hide 1⁄2″ wide LED strips without running into difficulty.
Backlit vs other lighted options
We most commonly use backlighting with flat cut dimensional materials. A few other lighted sign options include:
- Backlit Metal Channel letters
- Face-lit Metal Channel letters
- Acrylic Channel Letters
- Frosted Illuminated Letters with backing panel or box
Backlit Acrylic Letters
Backlighting acrylic sign letters creates a “wow” factor, draws attention, and increases visual impact of wall mounted logos for clients visiting your office space.
Chrome Backlit Signs
Mirrored signs are excellent candidates for backlighting. The final result is eye-catching, luxurious, and makes a grand statement about your brand.
Mounting backlit mirror signs raised through drapes in the reception area of a condo sales center can produce a high impact effect. A finish like this draws in prospective buyers, empowers employees and inspires faith and curiosity in your brand.
How Backlit Signs Work
Backlighting requires a separate wire to supply power to each letter. This wire is pulled into the wall and connected either at the other side of the wall or in the ceiling. The wires are relatively thin and easily connected to a power adapter. The power adapter is similar to a phone charger that simply plugs into a regular 110v power outlet.
If dragging the cable into the other side of the wall or ceiling isn’t possible, you can also drag the wire near a socket on the same side of the wall. This allows you to hide the cables from running along the wall and closer to the power source. Once the individual wires for each letter are connected together, there is only one cable left to be plugged into the power adapter to plug it into an outlet.
Depending on how the wall is structured beneath the drywall, dragging the cables in this way may or may not be possible. It is important to check with building management or the construction company that constructed the space to see what type of structure lies hidden beneath the drywall. This will ensure a smooth final installation.
Backlit Panel Signs
Another option, if you would rather not have separate wires for each letter is to pre-mount the sign to a frosted background in which case you can either have a hidden outlet behind it or you would only have 1 wire to pull as opposed to one for each letter.
The outlet you get needs to be a recessed outlet box so that the adapter can be hidden in the wall because the sign will not have enough space behind it to fit an adapter if you use a regular outlet.
Backlit Signs and Shipping
Before shipping each custom backlit sign we ensure that the sign is functioning and everything works correctly. Once you receive it we recommend carefully taking it out of the box to ensure no damage has occurred during shipping or due to mishandling while shipping.
Backlit sign Installation
Although Installation is easy and straight forward with our guidance, support and easy to use installation hardware and materials, we do also provide the service of providing qualified local sign installers to help you install your sign. We handle all the coordination work, including scheduling, and going over the details and requirements of your custom backlit sign installation.
Many of our clients do opt to install their signs themselves with great success. Otherwise having us provide an installation crew for you makes ordering a backlit sign even easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What power source do backlit signs need?
Backlit signs typically use a low voltage 12v power source. The amperage ranges between 5 — 15 amps. The adapter we include resembles a regular cell phone charger you can plug directly into a typical 110 power socket.
Can I choose color LEDs?
Yes, we also provide the option of full-color RGB LEDs which allow you to select from any color on the spectrum for the Lights on your sign. Please be sure to specify RGB LEDs when ordering if you prefer your LEDs to be in color. The default option are white LEDs. Additional cost apply.
What if one of the LED’s burns out?
LED technology has come a very long way and we rarely see them burning out. If anything, over time, it’s usually the power adapter that needs to be replaced and this can be done very easily.
Would you recommend turning the sign off when I leave the office OR is it fine to keep it on continuously?
It is best practice to have your sign on a timer allowing it to turn off at night. Using a timer to strategically turn off the sign will greatly extend the life of your sign. Unless that is, you have exposure to walking traffic that will view the sign at off-hours. Even then, I would suggest setting it on a timer to turn off at times when it is least likely for anyone to be passing by.
How long will it take to install my backlit sign?
It really depends on the type of wall and how many individual letters and symbols there are in your sign. It usually takes between 1.5hr — 3 hours to install a backlit sign.
Can I install my Backlit sign on a shiny surface?
Although you can always install your sign onto a shiny surface, keep in mind the individual LED dots may show more. We suggest using a surface painted matte as the backdrop for backlit signs because it will help disperse the individual dots and provide an even glow effect.
Can I install my Backlit sign on an uneven surface such as Ledge Stone?
Yes! You can install your backlit sign on ledge stone, faux brick, or reclaimed wood surface where the depth varies. Just be sure that you have a gap behind the stone or wood through which you can pull the wires to power the illumination. You would think that you would need different size spacers to accommodate the different sizes of stone. However, what we normally do in this case is not use spacers at all! Raising the letters and symbols on just threaded rods alone, without any spacers, gives you more flexibility, and produces better results. This way you can simply add a dab of silicone to the rods, push the rods into your drilled holes in the wall and adjust the height accordingly. The reason for this is that there is just way too much variation in order to prepare spacers of varying heights to align to every single depth. Sometimes even the wall itself is uneven! This way you can adjust for that. It’s very easy and we use this technique regularly with great results!
Who does the installation if we choose that option?
We have local installers worldwide that can help you install your sign if for any reason you prefer to have someone come in to install your sign for you. We just need you to provide your full installation address, details of where the sign is going, such as the type of wall it is going onto and a picture of the wall so that we can share it with our installers and confirm the installation details and cost. Our signs also all come with an easy to use installation kit, including instructions, template, and mounting kit. If you do opt to install your sign yourself, we guide you through the process every step of the way, answering questions you may have so that your sign installation goes as smoothly as possible! If you are not sure whether you should install your sign yourself or have someone help you install it, feel free to give us a call to go over the details so that we can recommend the best route for you! To find out more, call us Toll Free 1−877−516−4141.
How do the full Color LEDs work?
Color LEDs are called RGB LEDs. They are called RGB because each LED light, instead of just one white LED, has three separate tiny bulbs for each color Red, Green and Blue. A bluetooth controller, in this case an Android or iPhone app controls the intensity of each LED’s combination of Red, Green and Blue which allows it to produce any color.
How does the spacer distance affect the Halo Glow or Backlit effect?
The gap between the wall and the sign plays a big role in how much of a halo glow you will get around the letters. With a smaller gap, the LEDs will have less distance to spread out which will decrease the halo glow around the letters. With a larger gap, the LEDs will have more distance to spread out which in turn increases the halo glow around the letters. We generally include 1−1÷4″ spacers for backlit signs because we find this distance to provide the best effect. For wood slat walls or uneven surfaces such as ledge stone or wavy substrates we sometimes will not include spacers and suggest manually setting the distance using a block or object that is between 1 to 1−1÷4″ to keep this optimal distance to provide the best glow.
Should I paint my wall a specific level of sheen to ensure my backlit sign shows up well?
A flat or matte wall paint or finish generally works better for back-lit signs than semi-gloss or gloss. Matte paint tends to diffuse the LEDs on the back of the sign better and allows for a softer, broader and more even glow. Glossy or semi-gloss wall finishes may reflect individual LED dots making for a more spotted glow.
Which wall color works best for backlit signs?
Backlit signs tend to show up best against lighter colored walls because light colors reflects light better than darker colors. That is not to say that a darker wall won’t work, the effect may just not be as intense because some of the light may get absorbed by darker colors.