Halo Lit Channel Letters
In halo lit channel letters, each letter or logo piece is a separate sign, with its own metal or acrylic 3D shell, LEDs and circuit, and lights up on its own. Their light falls on the wall behind them as a halo, in lobbies and offices or on storefronts and buildings, and every set is UL Listed and backed by a 3-year limited warranty.
Halo Lit Channel Letters Sample Cases
Here are sample photos of halo lit channel letters to help you choose the look of your own sign. Click any photo for a short description of how it was made.
What Are Halo Lit Channel Letters?
Channel letters are hollow 3D letters, each with its own light source and wiring inside, and in the US, the hollow shell is called a channel. Halo lit channel letters, also called reverse lit channel letters or reverse channel letters, are lit in reverse. The face of each letter doesn't light up. Instead, the light shines out of its back onto the wall it is mounted on and traces the letter there in a soft glow, the halo.
Because every letter, or every separate piece of a logo, has its own shell, LEDs and circuit, each one can be lit on its own. That is what sets channel letters apart from a light box sign, where several letters share one lit box.
How the Halo Effect Works
LEDs inside each letter shine through an opal acrylic back panel. The light lands on the wall behind the letter and reflects toward the viewer, so the letter appears as a solid shape outlined in light while its face stays unlit.
How wide and bright the halo looks depends on the gap to the wall, the wall color and the LED color, as our guide to reverse lit channel letters shows. The back panel itself can be built in different ways:
- When the back panel is hidden inside the shell, the letters stand off the wall so the light has room to spread, and the wall reflects a soft halo.
- When a thicker, stepped back panel shows behind the shell, viewers see its light directly, and it lights the wall right around each letter for a brighter, wider halo. Such letters can also mount flush.
How They Are Built
In our factory, metal halo lit channel letters go through the steps below, and our Acrylic Halo Lit Signs take a different route. Each model page linked below lists specification details such as depth, back panels and spacers.
- Cutting: the face of each letter is laser cut from stainless steel sheet, 304 by default or marine-grade 316 near the sea. Very large letters can be made in aluminum to save weight.
- Forming: a strip of metal called the return is bent to follow the edge of the face, and the face and return are laser welded together into a hollow, fabricated shell.
- Finishing: the shell is painted or powder coated, brushed, mirror polished or plated in a color such as gold or black titanium. It can also get a vintage brass, bronze or copper effect, or a wood grain transfer finish.
- Lighting: 12 V DC LEDs go inside by default, or 24 V DC LEDs on request. An opal acrylic back panel closes the back, either laser cut and hidden inside the shell or CNC engraved in steps so that part of it shows.
- Acrylic Halo Lit Signs: each letter is CNC engraved from acrylic and painted opaque, except for a strip of the sides next to the wall, where the light escapes.
Where They Work Best
Halo lit channel letters suit places where a name should look sharp with the lights off and glow with them on: storefronts and mall entrances, hotel and office lobbies, and reception walls. They mount on brick, concrete, stucco, drywall, stone and even glass. The Maryling sign above is glued onto glass.
Outdoors, the same letters get waterproof LEDs, weep holes and, near the sea, marine-grade 316 stainless steel. Our guide to outdoor halo lit signs covers weatherproofing and installation.
How to Choose Halo Lit Channel Letters
These points help you pick a model. If you are still unsure, compare all our models, or send us your design and a photo of your wall, and we will suggest one with your quote. Once you have chosen, here is how ordering works.
- Indoors or outdoors
- Tell us where the sign will go. Every model here works indoors and outdoors. Basic Metal Halo Lit Signs stand up best to harsh weather, and Acrylic Halo Lit Signs are best suited to indoor sites.
- Mounting
- Every model here except Basic Metal Halo Lit Signs can mount flush against the wall. Basic Metal Halo Lit Signs stand slightly off it.
- Halo
- Pro Metal Halo Lit Signs give a brighter, wider halo. Basic Metal Halo Lit Signs give a softer one that depends more on the wall color.
- Detail
- For detailed fonts and logos, the shells of Acrylic Halo Lit Signs are CNC engraved with high precision.
- Viewing distance (letter height)
- Letters can be read from about 100 to 120 times their height, so 12-inch (305 mm) letters reach about 100 to 120 feet (30 to 37 m). Our guide to halo lit letters covers fonts, stroke widths and spacing.
Halo Lit Channel Letters FAQ
Yes. On channel letters, the two names mean the same product, and so does reverse lit: letters that send their light onto the wall behind them.
Be careful with light boxes, though. There, the same word traditionally describes a box whose face lights up, with no halo at all, so when you ask for a quote, describe the glow you want or say halo lit.
Each channel letter has its own shell, LEDs and circuit, so it can be lit on its own. A light box holds the LEDs for several letters in one shared box.
Our channel letters need to be at least 3-15/16 in (100 mm) tall to hold their LEDs. For smaller lettering that still needs a halo, the only option is our Halo Effect Light Box Signs. They hold acrylic letters as small as 1-9/16 in (40 mm) in one metal box, and the panel at the back of the box sends a halo onto the wall around it.
Only when the back panel is hidden inside the shell, as on Basic Metal Halo Lit Signs. Those letters need a gap of about 3/8 to 13/16 in (10 to 20 mm) so the light can spread across the wall, and stainless steel tube spacers keep the gap even.
Pro Metal Halo Lit Signs mount either flush or off the wall, because their exposed back panel shines straight onto the wall. Acrylic Halo Lit Signs, Side-Lit Signs and Face & Side-Lit Signs mount close to the wall. Face & Halo Lit Signs can go either way, depending on how they are built.
Like solid 3D letters in the finish you chose: a painted or powder-coated color, brushed or mirror-polished stainless steel, a plated color such as gold or black titanium, or painted acrylic. Your sign will be seen both ways, so choose a finish that looks right on your wall with the lights off as well as on. Our finish gallery has photos of these finishes.
Yes. On Face & Halo Lit Signs, the face of each letter glows too, while the light from its back falls on the wall to form the halo. Vinyl can give the face and the halo different colors.
On Basic Metal and Pro Metal Halo Lit Signs, the back panel spreads the light evenly and keeps insects and dirt out of the letters. We make it from opal acrylic or polycarbonate (PC), depending on the design. Acrylic Halo Lit Signs, Side-Lit Signs and Face & Side-Lit Signs use an aluminum back panel instead.
Written by the HaloLitSigns.com engineering team
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Halo Lit Channel Letters Models
These models are made as halo lit channel letters. Each model page has full specifications, sample cases and PDF diagrams.
Pro Metal Halo Lit Signs
Every letter or logo piece has its own separate fabricated metal shell, stainless steel by default, with a stepped acrylic back panel that sits partly inside the shell and partly outside it. Viewers see the light of the exposed acrylic directly, and it also lights the wall close around each outline. The halo is brighter and wider, and the letters mount flush or off the wall.
More Details about Pro Metal Halo Lit Signs
Acrylic Halo Lit Signs
Every letter or logo piece has its own separate CNC-engraved acrylic shell, with the face and the sides near the face painted to block the light. The light for the halo leaves through a strip of the sides left unpainted next to the wall, and the engraved shapes keep fine detail for close viewing.
More Details about Acrylic Halo Lit Signs
Side-Lit Signs
Every letter or logo piece has its own separate acrylic shell, mostly CNC engraved and sometimes fabricated, with a solid face of painted acrylic, black acrylic or a metal plate. Their sides glow and cast an elegant halo on the wall while the face stays solid.
More Details about Side-Lit Signs
Face & Halo Lit Signs
Every letter or logo piece has its own separate shell, which can be built in many ways, in fabricated metal (stainless steel by default) or in acrylic. The face glows, while light from the back lights up the wall behind it and forms a halo around the outline. The lit face makes the letters read brightly, while the halo gives them depth.
More Details about Face & Halo Lit Signs
Face & Side-Lit Signs
Every letter or logo piece has its own separate shell, usually acrylic, whose face and sides both light up. Light from their sides lights up the wall with a halo, and they glow in a wide choice of colors.
More Details about Face & Side-Lit Signs
