Signs of the Times - March 2014 - (Page 76)

The 2013 Lighting Survey LED use takes a step backwards. B y Wa d e S w o r m s t e d t F irst of all, we need to apologize for the small sampling that this survey generated. As you'll be able to discern from the tables, which include results from prior years, this year's 52 responses (and approximately half on several tables) somewhat equate to two prior years, but they're not enough for us to confirm the validity of these findings. This is a snapshot; take it for what it's worth. Perhaps people are now so inundated with e-mails that response to anything without a tangible, immediate incentive is questionable. In prior years, in each table, we further broke down the results according to sales-volume categories. Although Table 1 provides an overall breakdown in that regard, we believed, given the small response to this survey, further delineation in every table wouldn't have much merit. The biggest change in this year's survey resides in Table 8. In a question about LED usage, it's the first time we've asked about cabinet signs. The significant 23.7% response demonstrates our tardiness in asking the question. And, of course, it knocks down the results for the other three options in that question. Previously, we had to assume LED usage in cabinet signs would fall under "other." The other significant change occurs in Table 4. The question 76 SIGNS OF THE TIMES March 2014 didn't change, but the results indicate the first time that LED usage, as a percentage of all sign illumination, has measurably declined from the prior year in more than a decade. However, the 40.9% figure is still easily the second-highest figure this study has produced. Remember, this study has nothing to do with electronic-message centers and dynamic-digital signage (DS), unless our readers misinterpret the questions. In those types of signs, an entire unit is purchased; the illumination is not a "choice." This study involves lighting that is purchased as a separate component and is assembled with other components. On a positive, general note, in Table 2, 95% of the responding companies said their sales volume increased from 2012 to 2013. This is a higher figure than would normally have been expected back "in the good ol' days" of the 1980s. The average percent increase of approximately 15% keeps pace with most prior results. Perhaps surprisingly, the percentage of neon produced inhouse, 41.3%, is the highest in at least the past six years (Table 6). However, it could also mean that a greater number of sign companies have quit selling neon altogether; hence, outsourcing declined as well. Neon use in channel letters plummeted to a third of all neon use; never before had it been less than half. Conversely, neon use for border tubing skyrocketed to a new high at 30% of all neon use, nearly equaling the amount of neon used for channel letters. The amount of work for "new" neon (as opposed to neon repair) fell below half for the first time ever. By a fairly small margin, electronic transformers for neon (52% versus 42% for ferromagnetic counterparts) were more prevalent than ever (Table 7). The palette of LED colors has seemingly increased, as the percentage of LEDs in the "other" column more than doubled to an all-time high of 13.2% (Table 9). Consequently, the percentages of red and blue LEDs were at all-time lows. For the first time in four years, the juggernaut of increasing LED usage reversed itself, as neon use nearly climbed back to being half of LED use (Table 10). For the third year in a row, "durability" was cited as the most important of seven factors when choosing between LEDs and neon (Table 11). If that's true, then one would think neon would prevail, because it arguably lasts forever in a sealed vacuum. Nonetheless, the companies that reported using more LEDs in 2013 outnumber those who reported using more neon by a 5:1 ratio (Table 12). ■

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - March 2014

Signs of the Times - March 2014
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Designing for Large Format
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Commercial
Lighting Techniques
The Moving Message
Technology Review: Summa’s DC5 and DC5sx printers
Technology Review: PrinterEvolution Neo Series printers
Design Matters
New Products
Happiness Squared
They Speak the Language
The 2013 Lighting Survey
Ganassi Racing’s Green Light
Dynamic Digital Signage Made Simple, Part 3
Industry News
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - March 2014