Halo-Lit vs Front-Lit Channel Letters

The Two Ways to Light a Letter

Our letters can be supplied with direct or indirect illumination — light through the face, or light thrown behind the letter onto the wall. They look nothing alike at night, and the choice changes how the letter is built, so it has to be made before fabrication.

The LED modules and power supplies we use are CE, RoHS and UL approved in both cases.

Halo-Lit: The Metal Stays Metal

• An indirect, or halo, letter is mounted on stand-offs with the LEDs facing the wall. The letter itself stays solid metal; what you see at night is the outline of the letter against a glowing wall.
• Because the face is never translucent, the brushed grain or mirror polish you paid for is still doing its job after dark. That is the main argument for halo lighting on a premium frontage.
• Two things control the result: how far the letter stands off the wall, and what the wall is. A pale, smooth render gives a clean even halo. Dark, rough brick absorbs most of it — which is a reason to reconsider, not a reason to add more LEDs.

Front-Lit: Legible From the Far Side of a Car Park

• A front-lit letter is a fabricated box with a translucent face and modules inside. At night the letter itself is the light source.
• This is what you specify when the sign has to be read at distance — roadside retail, outlet units, forecourts. A halo is beautiful at ten metres and invisible at eighty.
• The returns are still metal, so the letter reads as a metal letter in daylight. The compromise is on the face, which has to be translucent rather than brushed or polished steel.

What the Choice Changes in the Build

• Return depth. A front-lit letter needs enough depth for the module pitch to light the face evenly; too shallow and you get visible hot spots.
• The back. Halo letters are built with an open back and stand-offs; front-lit box letters are closed.
• Cable entries, which are positioned before the finish is applied — not drilled afterwards.
• This is why lighting is a question we ask at the quotation stage rather than at the end.

If You Are Not Sure Yet

Tell us the viewing distance and what the letters are mounting onto. Those two facts decide it more often than any aesthetic preference.

It is also reasonable to build unlit now with the return depth and cable entries already sized for lighting later. That costs very little at fabrication and saves a rebuild.