Glossary
Sign trade glossary
Common terms for neon, LED and illuminated signs.
- Argon
- An inert gas used in neon tubes, usually with a little mercury, to give blue light. Many coated colours are argon filled; others, such as some pinks and reds, use neon.
- Beam angle
- How widely an LED spreads its light, in degrees. Wide angle modules (160-170°) spread light evenly across a sign face with fewer modules.
- Bombarding
- Heating a new neon tube under vacuum to drive out impurities before it is filled with gas. A key step in making long-lasting neon.
- Built-up letters
- Three-dimensional letters with sides (returns) and a face, lit from inside. Also called channel letters.
- CE
- The marking that shows a product meets the relevant European safety, health and environmental requirements.
- Coated tube
- Glass tubing with a phosphor coating on the inside. The coating turns the gas discharge into the finished colour.
- Colour temperature
- How warm or cool a white light looks, in kelvin (K). 2800K is a warm white, 6500K is a cool white.
- Constant current
- A driver that keeps the current steady while the voltage changes with the load. Hansen LEDchain and LEDtube run from constant current drivers.
- Constant voltage
- A power supply that gives a fixed voltage, such as 12V or 24V DC. LED modules wired in parallel use a constant voltage supply.
- Convertor
- An electronic neon transformer. It is smaller, lighter and quieter than a traditional core-and-coil transformer.
- CRI
- Colour rendering index. A score out of 100 for how naturally a white light shows colours. Higher is better.
- Diffuser
- A translucent panel or face (often opal acrylic) that spreads light evenly so individual LEDs or tubes are not seen.
- Dimmable
- Can be dimmed. Some drivers dim with a 0-10V control signal, others with PWM or a mains dimmer.
- Driver
- The power supply for LEDs. Can be constant voltage (12V or 24V) or constant current (mA).
- Electrode
- The glass and metal component sealed to each end of a neon tube. It carries the current into the gas.
- Face
- The front of a sign or letter, usually acrylic, that the light shines through.
- Halo lit
- Letters lit from behind so light washes onto the wall, giving a glow around each letter.
- IP rating
- Ingress protection. The first digit is protection against solids, the second against water. IP65 resists jets of water, IP67 resists short immersion.
- Kelvin (K)
- The unit of colour temperature.
- LED module
- A small unit with one or more LEDs, usually behind a lens, joined to the next by cable. Used inside letters and light boxes.
- Light box
- A box sign lit from inside, with a printed or vinyl-covered face.
- Lumen (lm)
- A measure of the total visible light a source gives out.
- mA (milliamp)
- One thousandth of an amp. Neon transformers and Hansen LED drivers are rated in mA.
- Neon
- A gas that glows red-orange in a clear tube. In the trade, "neon" means glass tubes filled with neon or argon gas.
- Parallel wiring
- Each LED module connects across the same supply, so one failure does not switch off the rest. Used for 12V and 24V modules.
- Phosphor
- The coating inside a tube that turns ultraviolet light from the gas into visible colour.
- Return
- The side of a built-up letter, between the face and the back.
- RoHS
- Restriction of Hazardous Substances. Shows a product meets EU limits on lead, mercury and other substances.
- Run
- A chain of LED modules wired back to the power supply. Each module type has a maximum number per run.
- SELV
- Separated extra-low voltage. A supply whose output is safely isolated from the mains, used for LED signs.
- Series wiring
- Components connected one after another, so the same current flows through each. Hansen LEDchain and LEDtube are wired in series.
- Spacing
- The distance from the centre of one LED module to the next.
- Stroke
- The width of the lines that make up a letter.
- Transformer
- Steps mains voltage up to the high voltage that lights a neon tube. Can be a traditional core-and-coil unit or an electronic convertor.
- Voltage drop
- The fall in voltage along a cable or run. Long runs at 12V can cause the far end to dim.
- Watt (W)
- A unit of power. Add up the watts of all the modules to size the power supply, then allow spare capacity.