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Neon Signs

Neon, the traditional type of signage, did once dominate the signage industry. Back in the old days, we would find Neon Signs in every shopping streets of Singapore.

#Glass Neon, #LED Neon

Special thanks to HuntleyFilmArchives for sharing this rare historical footage of Neon Signs in the 1960s, Singapore.

Neon Signs Footage, 1960s Singapore

I. Glass Neon Signs

Neons Signs provide an eye-catching signs and yet not too glaring for the eyes. Although we can still find Glass Neon Signs here in Singapore’s streets, they are not as glory as before, dominating the signage industry. Their demands have quieted down.

Traditional Glass Neon Signs
Glass Neon Signs @ Clarke Quay

Was it outdated by technologies such as LEDs? Not really. Many still prefer Glass Neon over LEDs, as their lighting is mesmerising.

The main reason for the decline in Neon Lights demand is due to the increasing number of retired craftsmen. Nowadays, it is quite difficult to find a Glass Neon supplier. This results in clients looking for alternative lighting such as LEDs or any other signage.

Preserving Cultural Heritage – Neon Arts

Hong Kong is famous for its shopping streets. And Neons Signs greatly contribute to her “shopping paradise” title, mesmerising all the shoppers. Now, they are experiencing the same problem as us: competition from LEDs and a shortage of experienced Neon’s craftsmen, as reported in The Straits Times article.

Luckily for us, we still manage to hold on to this traditional art. We will hold on to this arts as much as we can, so that the future generations get to see them on the streets, rather than having them hiding their glories in the museum.

How Neon Signs are made?

First, we need to heat up the glass tubes to soften them so as to bend them into the required shape. Once the glass tube cools down, the permanent shape is formed. This process can’t be reverted.

In other words, you only got one chance per bend. So this required an experienced craftsman to fine tune each bend without making any mistake.

After that, gas is inserted into the tube. Finally, connect them to the transformer and power supply. There we go, a mesmerising signs.

II. LED Neon Signs

Look at the below LED Neon photo. Isn’t it nice? Could you tell the difference between Glass Neon & LED Neon? Which is your preferred choice?

Car Shaped LED Neon
LED Neon Signs @ Suntec Event

LEDs are the latest lighting technologies, and they are taking over the lighting industry by storm.

They are well known for being energy saving and long-asting.

LED Neon is the replicate of Glass Neon. This is a cross-border between lightings and signage industries. Due to a lack of technical knowledge, many suppliers will just pass off with just one or two types of LED Neon.

Actually, there are many types of LED Neon. Not only are there differences between thickness and materials. There are, in fact, many different neon models, Dome Neon, Square Neon, Round Neon, Pixel Neon, Vertical Neon, etc., Of all, the most closely resemble to Glass Neon, is the round LED Neon.

LED Neon is still very new to many. Most of the time, it was used for decoration purposes and some secondary signage. Very rarely, we will see the application of LED neon on the main Signboard.

The Next Big Thing – LED Neon

Seeing LED Neon as the next big thing in Signage, We heavily invest our time to master the art. We tried working with different materials and installation methods. With this knowledge as our backbone, we even thought of stepping into the lighting industry.

Wait, don’t pass the verdict yet. Read on for a further comparison between these 2 rivals: Neon & LED

Further Comparison

One great advantage of LED Neon over Glass Neon is LED Neon is safer, as they don’t shatter. But these worries are overly amplified.

But isn’t that glass break easily? The answers are “Yes” and “No”.

Firstly, once the signs are installed up high, they are out of reach.

Secondly, when an item is made of glass, everyone will practice caution. Handling will be done with extra care without being told.

Glass Neon lightings are no doubt nicer than LEDs. But it will be hard to tell. Have you ever been to a home appliance store and tried to compare two TV models in different parts of the store?to tell the differences, right? Unless we are placing them side by side, it will be quite hard to make comparisons.

If there was a need to do running lights or any type of changing light effects, LED would definitely outshine Glass Neon.

One tube of Glass Neon contains only one colour, but one tube of LED can have many tiny different colours of LEDs. Programming these tiny LEDs, we can have marvellous lighting effects such as running, dimming, changing colours, etc.,

Neon Signs Selfie

Imagine taking selfies in front of these neon signs. Who knows, the selfie may go viral. As the selfie goes viral, so does your company. So what are you waiting for? Contact us now, we will be glad to assist you.

Further Reading: EL (electroluminescent) wire as Neon

EL wire does produce beautiful lights, but it is not bright enough to be used in Signage. Hence, EL wire Neon is not on our product list.

It will be great to use it for small hand crafts. Well, you could also DIY a Neon Signs using EL wire for your home decoration. The result is quite impressive.

As Signboard is usually hung up high, we do need to clearly illuminate the details. EL wires just could not produce enough brightness.

Hence, we will only recommend EL wires for indoor deco and not as a Signboard.

Are you wondering why a Sign-making firm knew so much about technical details? That is because we have an engineer in our team, which is kind of rare in the graphic design industry.

At Bosimi Design & Creation, we constantly look for new ideas in signage making. We do hope, in the near future, we can improve on our EL wires brightness to include them in our sign making.

Getting magnificent neon Signs? Contact us now.

Click here to read on signage planning. This will help with your signage selection and make the whole purchasing process much easier.