Some of the positives and negatives of traditional Halo Lit Letters, sometimes called Reverse Channel Letters

It's true that Halo Lit Letters look great when everything is right. They create the look of established business with that permanent, been in business for 50 years look. An elegant solution for displaying your name and logo. When installed correctly and in the right location. Traditional Halo Lit letters are an awesome light display.

There are however the potential issues with Halo Lit Signs when used as a primary form of advertisement. Your sign will primarily not be viewed from straight in front. It will be mostly viewed by walking or driving past the sign at an angle.

When viewing from an angled, the Sign Halo is not completely visible. Part of the halo can be hidden by the other letters. This can make you sign difficult or impossible to read.

When designing or buying Halo Lit Letters, It is very important to speak to a sign design expert. An experienced sign designer will make sure the sign will perform its primary task. The primary task is to make a sign that is visible and readable.

Other potential issues are with the reflection of the Halo. Textured surfaces and darker surfaces that do not reflect the light well and can diminish the contrast between the halo and the letter. Even a case where a blue halo would be reflecting on a red surface and could barely be visible, because the red surface would not reflect the blue light. A surface that is too reflective can also cause a lighting issue. The LEDs that create the halo are actually visible in the reflection. This creates a Christmas light look to the halo.

The last issue with the Traditional Halo Lit Letters, is other ambient light competing with the Halo Light. This could be from a Streetlights, Headlights or other Face Lit Signs close by. When you are reading Halo Lit Letters, the part that represents the letter is actually the shadow, since the letter is dark and the area around is lit. This makes the Halo your primary visible part of your sign during evening hours.

An alternative to the Traditional Halo Lit Letter, is a Halo Lit Letter that is also Front Lit. This gives you the best of both worlds. That cool Halo and the lit face that is bright easy to read at any angle. With the Halo and Face Lit sign, you can have one color emitting from the back and a different color from the front. They are built with two independent LED strings so the Traditional Halo is only complementary and not essential for readability. We find that this type of sign is always successful, where the Halo only signs are sometimes not.

Both Traditional Halo Lit and Letters can look great and succeed in you sign project. Make sure you know what the goal is for your sign. It is good to understand the type of installation and that it will work for your location. Keep in mind that wall texture and the lighting colors will affect how visible you sign is at night. If you need any help, our SignMonkey.com customer service folks are would love to advise you on the best sign for your project.