The Importance of Electronic Display Signage

In business there are four vital P’s that should be kept in mind when starting up a new business or expanding an existing one, and these four P’s are product, price, place and promotion. The first step in achieving a good promotion is making your business known through creative and attractive signage. There is a reason the global fast food giant McDonald's spends on average $40,000 on signage in each store and has the signage installed even before the physical store is built. They know that promotion is an integral part of any business's success and the best method to do that is through signage. After all, who hasn't com,e to associate the stylized M know as the Golden Arches with this corporate giant? In today's era of technology, McDonald's joins savvy corporations the world over who are embracing the power of electronic display signage with visually rich content.

What is Electronic Display Signage?

Electronic Display signs are the latest buzz in the advertising world. They are electronic screens that keep consumers informed, entertained and educated about a business by displaying visually arresting and media rich content to its intended audience. These devices are usually found in front of retail stores, hotels, restaurants, corporate buildings. Famous locations that house hundreds of electronic display signs are Times Square in New York and the Tokyo Square in Shibuya, Japan.

Why use Electronic Display Signs?

Not all businesses have allotted huge portions of their capital for advertising. However, every businesses that sets aside money for marketing campaigns wants to ensure they receive maximum exposure and wide information dissemination. These can be accomplished by installing electronic display signs. These are the advantages:

• Reduced advertising cost. It may start out as an investment because of the higher initial costs required in the outlay of the sign, but in the long run it will pay for itself with increased profitability and financial health in comparison to traditional forms of advertising like print or radio.
• Flexibility. LED signs come in all shapes and sizes. From large billboards lining interstates to small single line message boards at your local convenience store. There is an LED display to fit any business budget.
• Attracts attention. With it's dancing lights and media rich content, electronic signs attract attention.
• Content can easily be updated, so when new campaigns rise, you can easily upload it via the world wide web with just a click of a mouse.

Electronic signs have definitely changed the way advertisements work and businesses are scrambling to get the latest electronic sign. Don’t you think it’s about time your business installed one? 

What is an LED?

There is so much buzz about LED lighting these days that it is enough to make you wonder just what in the world is so hot about such lighting. Think about it, it is just another source of light so what makes this so special? 

The light in most homes is produced by incandescent bulbs. Inside the bulb is a very thin and fragile, coiled tungsten filament. For the bulb to produce light an electric current is passed through a conductor and the tungsten is heated to the point at which it gives off light. Unfortunately, these bulbs are not very energy efficient; roughly 10% of the energy is used to make visible light.

How do LED lights work? 

The structure of the LED light is completely different than that of the light bulb. Amazingly, the LED or light-emitting-diode has a small and simple structure. The beauty of this structure is that it allows for assembly into many different spaces. 

The LED is actually a diode that emits light. A diode is a semiconductor device covered with a lens that allows current to flow in only one direction.  When electricity is passed through the diode the atoms in one material (within the semiconductor chip) are excited to a higher energy level. The atoms have too much energy and need to release that energy. The energy is then released as the atoms shed electrons to the other material within the chip. During this energy release light is created. 

The color of the light emitted from the LED is a function of the materials that form the chips. Common LED colors include amber, red, green, and blue. There is actually no such thing as a “white” LED. To get white light, different color LEDs are mixed or covered with a phosphor material that converts the color of the light.

What are the advantages of LED lights? 

LED lights have a variety of advantages over other light sources:

• Environmental friendly
• Energy efficient
• Low-voltage and current requirements
• Low radiated heat
• Durable (resistant to shock and vibration)
• No UV Rays
• Long life
• Controllable

What are they used for?

LEDs are mainly used for two things: illumination and direction. Different LED lights can be used for different things like TV sets, lights for cars, and even to light up a home. Another good use for LEDs  is to illuminate LED signs for businesses and other organizations. Projected to reach $30 billion by 2025, the LED lighting industry has come a long way from its initial use as a humble indicator light.

How to Choose the Right LED Sign for Your Business?

As a business owner or as a soon-to-be businessman you have a lot of decisions to make, but one of the most important and first thing you should decide on is what signs you will install to advertise your business. Your sign is your “face” so to speak and it's how people will find and remember your business. So you better make your signs first impression a good one.

Elements of good signage

When considering signage for your business, you need to think size and placement first since you want people to be able to see your sign. Your municipality  and landlord may have something to say about the size they will allow and where you can install it. The next thing you need to consider is illumination. That is right, illumination . It doesn't matter how massive your sign is and how well-placed it is; if it is not illuminated, customers will not be able to appreciate it in the dark. Even in the daylight they may think you are closed. This is where purchasing a well designed Outdoor LED Business sign comes in.

Outdoor LED Open Sign

The Benefits

There are so many benefits you can get from outdoor LED signs and they include:

• Durable -- Other types of signs including neon and back-lit fluorescent tubes can break during shipping and handling, LED modules are very durable requiring little maintenance.
• Reduce Energy Costs -- LED signs can draw as little as 10% of conventional light sources, reducing wattage usage as well as your carbon footprint.
• No Mercury -- LED are RoHS compliant

• Flexibility -- Because of the smaller size, LEDs can be used in slim sign cabinets providing more flexibly in sign placement.

• Illumination -- Passersby can see your business from a distance day or night making it a focal point in the neighborhood.
• Location Branding -- Bright LED signs getting the message out about your company's location and help customers find your business in a clutter of competing messages.

So you see, purchasing an outdoor LED business is a real boon and one of the smartest business decisions you can make. 

Thanksgiving Holiday 2013

LED Sign Authority will be closed this Thursday and Friday, November 28-29, for the Celebration of the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will resume our regular working hours on Monday, December 2nd, 2013. We appreciate your business!

LED Sign Authority estará cerrada este jueves y viernes, 28 al 29 de noviembre, por la Celebración del Día deAcción de Gracias en Estados Unidos. Volveremos a nuestro horario regular el lunes, 2 de diciembre de 2013. ¡Agradecemos  sus negocios!

Utah Sign Company Owner Killed When Crane Malfunctions

The owner of a Utah sign company was killed Friday morning while working from a cherry picker crane in Bountiful. Richard Gillies, 66, of Gillies Signs & Design Inc., was replacing a sign at an out-of-business Blockbuster store when the truck-mounted crane apparently malfunctioned, according to Assistant Bountiful Police Chief Ed Biehler. 

According to police, Gillies was in the bucket of the crane when the problem occurred. When his son, attempted to maneuver the crane from below, there was an additional malfunction which pressed Gillies up against an overhanging facade and then flung him forward toward the building. He fell from the bucket to the ground 10 to 15 feet below.

Other workers inside the building, which is being turned into a fitness club, performed CPR on the victim until emergency personnel arrived. Gillies was flown to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating the accident, and members of the state medical examiner’s office also were at the scene.

According to his company website, Richard Gillies has been in the sign business for over 35 years. The Gillies family has set up this donation/fund to help offset some of the unexpected medical and funeral expenses.  Your support is greatly appreciated. 

DONATE TO THE GILLIES MEMORIAL FUND    http://fundly.com/richard-gillies-memorial-donations

It's Not Too Late to Benefit from Tax Savings

Most people think the Section 179 deduction is some mysterious or complicated tax code. It really isn't.

Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a LED Sign, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income. It's an incentive created by the U.S. government to provide needed tax relief for small businesses. The American Taxpayer Relief Act, reinstated by Congress earlier this year, gives business owners the opportunity to lower their taxable income and free up cash by providing a 50 percent tax deduction on capital expenditures, including LED Displays.

Essentially it works like this. When your business buys certain items of equipment. including an LED display it is typically classified as a capital asset and it gets written off a little at a time through depreciation. In other words, if your company spends $50,000 on a display, it gets to write off (say) $10,000 a year for five years.

Now, while it's true that this is better than no write off at all, most business owners would really prefer to write off the entire equipment purchase price for the year they buy it. In fact, if a business could write off the entire amount, they might add more equipment this year instead of waiting over the next few years.

That's the whole purpose behind Section 179 - to stimulate the American economy (and your business) to move in a positive direction. For most small businesses (adding total equipment, software, and vehicles totaling less than $500,000 in 2013), the entire cost can be written-off on the 2013 tax return.

Section 179 does come with limits - there are caps to the total amount written off ($500,000 in 2013),  with a graduated phase-out once qualified capital expenditures exceed $2 million in the 2013 tax year. To qualify for tax savings, the equipment must be placed in service between Dec. 31, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2014. Because this tax benefit includes both the purchase price and the cost of installation of the LED Displays, business owners need to act fast to ensure their LED sign can be installed by the Dec. 31st deadline. When factoring in manufacturing lead times, if you want to take advantage of this benefit this year, you need to act now.

As always, please be sure to consult with your tax professional before making any capital purchases or visit the Internal Revenue Service web site at www.irs.gov.

Completion of LED Sign Project for the Islamic Council of America

LED Sign Authority continues to maintain their reputation for success by installing a pole mounted LED and identity signage to help the Council effectively share up coming events with the community.

LED Sign Authority  spokesperson Matthew Severson announced the completion of another successful project. The Islamic Council of America purchased a new LED Sign measuring 2.5' x 5.9' featuring a 16mm Full Color  48X112 Matrix Double Face Display in Dearborn, Michigan to increase attendance and exposure for their mosque. The LED sign displays lectures and prayer times as well as other pertinent information for the community of Dearborn.

Matthew Severson of LED Sign Authority explained, "For this project, the services we rendered were identification sign manufacturing, LED sign manufacturing, complete sign installation, comprehensive software training and technical support."

Dearborn, a city of nearly 100,000 people that borders Detroit’s west side, is home to the country’s largest Arab-American population by proportion, with 40 percent of the city’s population being of Arab descent. Dearborn is in many ways a typical American city, with the only discernible difference being many of the storefront signs are written in English and Arabic. Needing an effective method of conveying important information to the community, the Islamic Council of America turned to LED Sign Authority for its signage needs. As a local Michigan company, LED Sign Authority has provided signs and billboards for a number of businesses and communities throughout the surrounding areas.

When asked if they were excited about their new LED Sign Authority Display, Mahmoud Sobh, Council member said, "Yes, we are." The Islamic Council had a new identification sign, as well as a new LED display installed. LED Sign Authority poured foundation footings and performed the new installation. Mahmoud and the rest of the Islamic Council of America are very pleased with the end result and looking to install a larger LED display at another location.

Matthew Severson concluded, "civic organizations need to keep community residents and visitors well informed regarding any number of facts, and a LED display is the perfect way to spread such information. Organizations use our displays for public service announcements, conveying volunteer opportunities, encouraging participation in events, notifying the public of amber alerts and countless other purposes."

3 Reasons LED Signage is Growing

Your business may not be located in Time Square New York, but I bet LED signs are showing up in your neighborhood.  The digital signage market is growing by leaps and bounds. Industry expects expect 22 million displays to be installed by 2015. That's one sign installed every 3.5 seconds! 

The growth of digital signage is not a surprise. It delivers many benefits

1. It reaches the audience in the street.

In recent years the number of newspapers slated for closure, bankruptcy or severe cutbacks has rise dramatically. Once a mainstream source of advertising, businesses are looking to new technology to reach customers. Many are turning to on site signage. Some fast-food companies attribute as much as 80 percent to their on premise signage...  gas stations 50 percent.  

2. It's easy to update

Display programming is becoming easier. Media players can play back Power Point files and jpg images. 
Marketing teams can put together professional graphic packages, or you can source common messages (think "Sale",  "Specials" or "Holiday Messages") from a growing number of online sites.

3. It's more affordable.

Prices of LED displays - even high resolution color - have come down dramatically. It has never been more affordable to install an electronic message board.

On short,  LED signs reach customers, are easy to operate and are easy on the wallet. LED signs will continue to be added to the marketplace landscape as more and more businesses see the value of LED signs.

January is National Clean Up Your Computer Month

January is National Clean Up Your Computer month. With the flu bug raging,  it's a good time to clean up your computer on the inside and out. There are several tasks I do to keep my computer humming along, so I thought I'd share those with you. I use a small vacuum cleaner for my keyboard, canned air for the inside of the case and microfiber cloths with a touch of soap and water to clean plastic parts and keyboards.

Some additional things you can do:
* For a Microsoft Windows based system, run a registry cleaner
* Install an anti-virus software
* Organize your documents; delete ones you no longer need.
* Install the latest updates for your software or drivers.
* Delete old log files.

Studies have shown that computer keyboards are 400X dirtier than average public toilets. This is easily explained by the fact that public toilets seat are generally cleaned once a day, and you probably only clean your keyboard once a year. Moreover, how many times do you clean your hands before using a keyboard ? How many people use your keyboard ? Regularly disinfecting and cleaning your office equipment helps prevent viruses from spreading and improves your equipment’s performance.

LED Signs Benefit Retailers

Traditional zip-change reader boards are being replaced with modern programmable LED display signs. The old reader boards are a maintenace nightmare. Burnt out light bulbs must be replaced, letters aren't visible at night or from a distance. Letters have to be manually changed everytime you want to display a new message, thats if the letters needed are even available and haven't fallen off or blown away. In the twenty-first century zip-change boards are going the way of the black and white TV.

Savy retailers wanting to ensure they present a professional image are turning to electronic LED display signs for their high visability, energy efficenty, carefree service and ease of use. LED signs provide great visibility from a varity of distances. Lettering can be resized, to provide optimal viewing based on traffiic speed and viewing time. Signs can be programmed to automatically adjust light intensity so that the best visibility of images is presented day or night.

Not only do LED signs help to make retailors more visible to the public, but they are also energy efficient, saving retailers money. Low maintenace costs and energy bills make for a win win situation. It’s easy to convince retailers that an LED sign can provide increased visibility with limited  operating expenses, but they start to get suspicious about its benefits when it come to its operation and programming. Fortunately, todays LED sign use intuitive and easy to use software that can have most people able to update content in minutes with little or no training.

Historic District Approves LED Sign

Kent county News reports that the Chestertown Historic District Commission has approved a new LED sign for the Garfield Center for the Arts. If properly managed, which we think it will be, the sign will be a nice addition to the downtown theater.

The proposed LED display was supported Cherilyn Widdell, a historic preservation expert with the National Park Service. The benefit of the LED display is that it is easily programmable to appear just as an old letter board sign that a staff member would have to climb a ladder to reach. It is not uncommon to drive by one of those old-fashioned signs and see mismatched or broken letters, which do not look good.

Some citizens do have valid concerns about the sign being utilized in a proper manner, respectful of the Historic District's nature.Proponents testified that it would be used only for static images, rather than exploding and zooming colored images.

The matter next goes to the town's planning commission to review the outdated sign ordinance. This will be an opportunity for the town and the Garfield to work together to ensure questionable aesthetics are not allowed and the Garfield's marquee mirrors the old-fashioned letter boards.