Side-Lit Signs
Side-Lit Signs give every letter or logo piece its own acrylic shell with a solid, opaque face, and LEDs inside send light out through the sides onto the wall. The face can be black acrylic, a metal plate or painted acrylic, and they mount flush, indoors or out, with the halo tracing each outline on the wall.
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Here are sample photos of Side-Lit Signs to help you choose the look of your own sign. Click any photo for a short description of how it was made.
Parts of a Side-Lit Sign
Side-Lit Signs are one of several ways we build halo signage. The front face of each letter is solid and opaque, and light leaves only through its acrylic sides onto the wall, so the halo traces the outline. They mount flush and work indoors and outdoors. Every Side-Lit Sign is made up of five parts:
Key Specifications
- Minimum letter height
- 3-15/16 in (100 mm)
- Minimum stroke width
- 13/16 in (21 mm)
- Default depth
- 13/16 in (20 mm)
- Face
- Solid and opaque, in laser-cut black acrylic, a laser-cut metal plate or painted acrylic
- Back panel
- White powder-coated aluminum, 1/16 in (1.5 mm), laser cut, with the LEDs mounted on it
- Mounting
- Mounted flush on the wall with stud bolts by default. Off the wall when needed, for example on a curved wall, where tube spacers set the gap and keep the wires and bolts out of sight.
- Production time
- About 15 working days after you approve the shop drawings
- Price
- From US$50
- As with every lit sign, we recommend a professional sign installer to protect its look, safety and service life.
- Even above the minimum size, some letters have strokes of uneven width, or their shells leave only just enough room to spread the LEDs evenly. PCB LEDs give these letters a very even glow, because every LED sits on the circuit board at a position that has been calculated and tested. They improve the light, not the minimum letter size. They are fully custom LEDs with a minimum order quantity, and every letter needs its own PCB LED. Getting them right can take several rounds of testing and adjustment.
- Production begins once you approve the shop drawings. For every step from inquiry to delivery, see how ordering works.
Acrylic Letter Shell
- Material
- Opal acrylic
- How it is made
- CNC engraved in most cases, sometimes fabricated
- Default depth
- 13/16 in (20 mm)
- Face
- Laser-cut black acrylic, a laser-cut metal plate (stainless steel by default, or aluminum), or painted acrylic
- Metal face finishes
- Stainless steel, painted: gloss, semi-gloss or matte paint or powder coat, or metallic paint
- Stainless steel, base finishes: mirror polished, brushed or vibration finish
- Stainless steel, plated: gold, rose gold, brass, copper, bronze, black titanium and other colors, over any of the base finishes above
- Stainless steel, vintage: brass, copper or bronze, plain or with a vibration finish
- Stainless steel, wood grain: a wood grain transfer finish
- Aluminum: gloss, semi-gloss or matte paint or powder coat, metallic paint, a brushed finish, anodizing or a wood grain transfer finish (aluminum cannot be mirror polished)
- Brands
- DonChamp by default, or Mitsubishi or Degussa (PLEXIGLAS) on request
- Powder coat comes only in the powder makers' ready-made colors, a few common ones such as black, white and some neutral shades. We don't tint powder, so it can't be matched to a color chart. For a custom color, give us its code from Pantone, RAL, Sherwin-Williams or Matthews Paint, and we will mix liquid paint to match.
- A partner factory handles plated, vintage and wood grain finishes, which adds about 3 working days to production time.
- We don't recommend plating for signs near the sea, because salt corrodes the plated layer.
- See the finish options, with photos, in our finish gallery.
LEDs
- LED type
- LED modules, LED strips or PCB LEDs
- Voltage
- 12 V DC LEDs by default, or 24 V DC LEDs on request
- Brand
- BlueView by default
- Light colors
- White (6000K)
- Natural white (4000K)
- Warm white (3000K)
- Red
- Yellow
- Blue
- Green
- Controllable RGB or RGBW
- Other colors made to order, in a close shade rather than an exact color
- Outdoor Side-Lit Signs use waterproof LEDs, and for very rainy areas we upgrade them to IP67 LEDs.
Aluminum Back Panel
- Material
- Aluminum
- How it is made
- Laser cut to the shape of each letter
- Thickness
- 1/16 in (1.5 mm)
- Finish
- White powder coat
- The LEDs are mounted on the back panel, which then closes the back of each acrylic shell.
Electrical Wiring
- Wire type
- UL-certified flame-retardant two-core copper wire by default
- Gauge
- AWG 15 (1.5 mm²) by default
- Lead length
- 78-3/4 in (2,000 mm) per letter by default
- For the main power line, we recommend AWG 13 (2.5 mm²) or heavier. It is not included by default.
- How each letter connects to the power supply is shown in our wiring diagram.
Power Supply
- Brand
- MEAN WELL
- Series
- LPV series by default (model LPV-60-12)
- Input
- 90-264 V AC
- Output
- 12 V DC by default, or 24 V DC with 24 V LEDs
- Protection
- IP67 waterproof
- Each sign's power supply is chosen to match the power we measure on the finished sign, and it must be wired exactly as shown in the wiring diagram we provide.
- If your site runs on commercial or industrial power rather than standard residential power, tell us its voltage and frequency before you order, and we will fit a power supply rated for it.
Certification and Mounting Kit
- Certification
- UL Listed
- Operating temperature
- −22 to 158°F (−30 to 70°C)
- Mounting kit
- Full-size (1:1) mounting template
- Stud bolts
- Nuts and washers, for walls you can reach from behind
- Stainless steel tube spacers, for signs mounted off the wall
- Wiring diagram
- Installation instructions
- Stud bolts hold each letter on the wall. Use the template to mark where to drill for the bolts and wires.
- Nuts and washers are for walls you can get behind, such as thin drywall partitions, where they secure the stud bolts from the other side.
- For signs mounted off the wall, the stainless steel tube spacers, 13/16 in (20 mm) long by default, hold all the letters at one distance from the wall and conceal the wires.
Warranty
- Side-Lit Signs come with a 3-year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. If a part fails within 3 years because of such a defect, we send you a free replacement by DHL at our cost. Import duties are not covered, and neither is the labor to remove the faulty part or install the new one. The warranty doesn't cover damage from lightning, floods, storms or other natural disasters, or from power surges, improper installation or wiring. Damage caused by people isn't covered either. If you need a 5-year warranty, tell us and we will provide it as a custom service.
- The power supply carries MEAN WELL's own warranty, and any controllers carry their makers' own warranties. We'll contact these makers for you and help you get warranty service. Shipping and duties for those parts are paid by you.
- LEDs dim gradually with use. When your sign is no longer bright enough, we recommend replacing the sign. The shells can be opened to replace the LEDs, but that is skilled work, and a damaged shell would leave the sign worse off than before.
Diagrams
Side-Lit Signs FAQ
With LEDs fitted inside each letter's shell. When they light up, their light passes out through the translucent acrylic sides and forms a halo on the wall. The face stays solid and opaque, in painted acrylic, black acrylic or a laser-cut metal plate.
Yes. The face can be a laser-cut metal plate, stainless steel by default, with a mirror-polished, brushed or vibration finish. It can also be painted in the color you choose.
Yes. Side-Lit Signs mount flush on stud bolts, and the light from their sides forms the halo on the wall.
The difference is which surfaces glow. On Side-Lit Signs, only the sides glow, and the face gives off no light. On Face & Side-Lit Signs, the face and the sides both glow.
The letters start at 3-15/16 in (100 mm) tall, and every stroke has to be at least 13/16 in (21 mm) wide.
Written by the HaloLitSigns.com engineering team
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Other Halo Lit Sign Models
Weighing your options? Here are our other halo lit sign models.
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. Because the acrylic is exposed, its light reaches the eye directly. It also shines straight onto the wall around each outline, so the halo is brighter and wider. They can 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. They mount flush and keep fine engraved detail, which makes them especially suited to close viewing indoors.
More Details about Acrylic Halo 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. Vinyl can give the lit face a different color from the halo, and they mount flush or off the wall.
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. The whole letter glows, in a wide choice of colors, and light from its sides lights up the wall around it with a halo.
More Details about Face & Side-Lit Signs
Halo Effect Light Box Signs
Some letters or logos are too small to be made as individual lit letters, yet still need to light up and have a halo. For them, a halo effect light box is the only way to do it. All the LEDs sit together in one metal box. A panel on the back of the box lets light through to cast a halo around it on the wall.
More Details about Halo Effect Light Box SignsRelated halo lit topics
