Light Box Signs

Fascia Light Box Signs

Light Box Signs: Bright, Affordable and Energy Efficient

Capture the attention of customers with an illuminated Light Box Signs. Fascia Light Box Signs are an excellent marketing tool to increase your stores’ visibility year round. With their brightly illuminated sign face, lightboxes are hard to miss.

Fascia Light Box Signs are awesome for interior and exterior sign solutions for any businesses. Sign cabinets, as they are some times called, are used for storefront signs, commercial building signs, and central directory signage. The architectural signs are known for their simple design, brilliant illumination and interchangeable acrylic sign face. LED Light Box Signs are utilized in many branding applications, stand alone signs and in tandem with other non illuminated & illuminated sign types.

Compared to other architectural signs such as Channel Letters, LED Light Box Signs are lower cost and require less maintenance over time. With these financial benefits, lightbox signs provide great advertising value for many businesses.

When it comes to installation, Fascia Light Box signs can be installed in a variety of configurations. Lightboxes are lightweight and structurally design to be mounted in various layo outs.

Benefits of Fascia Light Box Signs

• Interchangeable Acrylic sign faces

• Low-Cost Exterior Sign Solution

• Sign Cabinets Can be Illuminated

• Illuminated Sign Cabinets are Highly Visible at Night

• Support A Wide Variety of Graphic Sign Faces

• Can be Manufactured in a Wide Range of Size Options

• Easy to Install in a wide variety of configurations and wall types

• Light Boxes Are Easy to maintain

• For larger projects Fascia Light Box Sign can be mass manufactured.

Fascia Light Box Signs Sizes

Fascia Light box Signs can be custom manufactured to meet any height, width and depth specification your job site and business requires. Your building’s architectural and structural supports which the light box sign will be installed to is generally the only physical limitation. Fascia Light Box Signs can be fabricated to maximize building specifications as they are built light weight with hidden structural framing. For those who are flexible on the size of their fascia light box sign, there are common sizes of Sign Cabinets. These common sizes allow our production team to maximize sign material yield, providing the most cost effective fascia light box sign options.

Parts of a Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinets

Fascia Light Box Signs are built in three distinct parts: the structural lightbox cabinet, face retainer frame, and the sign face substrate. The sign face contains the brand design, graphics are usually made of cut vinyl or vinyl print. The face itself is commonly made from acrylic plexiglass, polycarbonate lexan or specialty fabrics with sign vinyl applied to the surface.

All our Fascia Sign Cabinets are built to meet or exceed nation wide building codes. Sixstream Signs Fascia light box Signs come with drainage holes to allow moisture to escape, hinged sign face for ease of service, and internal structural mounting frame to make installation easier. For enhanced aesthetics, to match building color or branding guideline requires, Light Box Sign Cabinets can be painted to match any color.

Structural Light Box Cabinet

The Structural Light Box Cabinet portion of the sign typically contains all the structural elements, wireways, and illumination components. At one point, Sign Cabinets were commonly illuminated with fluorescent lamps, but today, they are lit with LEDs for a brighter and more energy efficient illuminated sign solution.

The internal structural components are structural grade welded aluminum or steel framing. The aluminum or steel framing is the backbone that holds the sign together and allows it to be installed onto a variety of surfaces. On top of the structural framing, the Sign Cabinet has an exterior casing built in, using rigid, rust-proof and weather tolerant aluminum extrusions. The aluminum extrusions are welded together and fastened to the framing. In conjunction with the structural frame, the Structural Light Box Cabinet will support the face retainer frame. The aluminum extrusion and structural framing in the cabinet helps prevent the Sign Cabinet from bowing and provides rigidity to support the sign face. There are also structural mounting components built into cabinets that allow Sign Cabinets to be installed in a multitude of locations.

Face Retainer Frame

The Face Retainer frame is what holds the substrate graphic sign face in place with the structural light box cabinet. The graphic face substrate generally slides into the retainer frame, protecting the substrate on all edges. For accessibility, a hinge is used along the top side of the face retainer to secure it to the structural light box. The hinge allows the graphic face to swing open for purposes of installation and maintenance. Along with protecting the graphic face, the face retainer frame helps conceal fasteners and screws on the perimeter of the sign cabinet, allowing the overall sign cabinet to maintain a clean and finished appearance. The face retainer frame is also what allows the sign face to be changeable so the substrate doesn’t need to be directly fastened onto the sign cabinet. Whenever a change is required the old substrate can be slid out and a new one slid into the face retainer.

Sign Face Substrate

The Sign Face Substrate contains the graphic design and branding elements. Its commonly made of acrylic plexiglass or polycarbonate lexan which will be reviewed below. The Sign Face Substrate slides into the face retainer frame with the help of hanging bars. It’s important the hanging bars are made of the same substrate as the sign face for material to help keep the sign face plumb. The hanging and retainer bars are what holds the sign face substrate in place and gives it enough breathing room to expand and contract. Without the hanging bars, the sign face would bow and not stay in place over time. Make sure that if you are getting a replacement sign face for your light box that it has hanging bars.

What Sign Face Options are Available with Light Box Signs?

The sign face substrate is designed to be changeable and can be made from a variety of sign materials. For simplicity fascia light box signs are commonly found with acrylic, polycarbonate and specialty fabrics for use as their sign face substrate. Fascia Light Box Sign can also be manufactured to support specialty face types such as a push through sign face. This means that once a Fascia Light Box Sign is installed the signs face can be changed without modifying any of the other sign components. Thus making Fascia light box sign cabinets popular as tenant signs or in locations where there is turn over in tenancy.

Acrylic Face with Cut Vinyl 

As a low cost sign face solution, Acrylic Face with Cut Vinyl is popular. This sign face is the most basic option to pair with a Fascia Light Box Sign. An Acrylic face with cut vinyl is great for simple vector text and logos that are made up of a few colours. This type of sign face is relatively simplistic, when designed correctly it can turn out amazing.

More information can be found on Acrylic Signs here.

Acrylic Face with Full Flood Print

An Acrylic Face with Full Flood Print is a great option for displaying full colour graphics. This type of sign face is very similar to an acrylic face with cut vinyl with the added benefit of being able to use any color and rasterized imagery. Acrylic Faces with Full Flood Print are typically used for complex logos and specific branding designs and information. The full flood print is a popular option for brands that want to illuminate a picture in their store or office.

Flex Face or Fabric Face

Rigid substrates are changed out in favor of specialty fabrics once box sizes exceed the dimensions of available rigid material. Rigid materials like acrylic plexiglass and polycarbonate lexan are manufactured in specific sizes. Fabrics however are easier to manage as they are generally lighter and require less complex manufacturing methods in some cases. When using fabric as your sign face option, the fabric is stretched across the retainer frame and held in place with tension. Cut vinyl or printed graphics can be applied on the fabric much like a rigid face once fabric has been tensioned.

Push Through Sign Face

To add extra depth to your light box, we recommend a push through sign face. A push through sign is as it sounds, we push dimensional lettering (usually made of acrylic), through a negative relief cut out of a rigid substrate such as aluminum or ACP.

To make a push through sign, we generally start with designing your sign so it will fit the area it’s intended to be installed on. The next step involves cutting your lettering and logo out of thicker acrylic and then push these letters through the face with the negative cut out. The face with the cut out is also cut by CNC so the sign pieces fit together properly. The acrylic that is pushed through the face can be illuminated. The remainder of the face will not, as a result this creates a halo effect around the pushed through sign. A push through signs is a great sign face option when illumination, cost and an extra dimension is import for business.

Light Box Signs Exterior Finish

Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinets are produced by our factory with an aluminum mill finish. This is the natural finish of the aluminum material used to construct the Fascia Light Box Sign Cabinet. If the light box is being recessed into a finish cavity or painted on site, the sign can be left unfinished.

For those who want to add a bit of colour to their sign design, the extruded aluminum exterior of the light box and visible components of the face retainer can be primed and painted. Sign Cabinets are painted with an exterior grade architectural paint that is designed to withstand weathering and protect the Fascia Light Box Sign Cabinet from tarnishing. We can colour match paint from a paint swatch, or from a piece of pre-painted material, such as siding, stucco or other exterior cladding.

How are Light box Signs Illuminated?

High Output T12 fluorescent lamps were once a popular option to illuminate Light Box Signs, and many existing Light Box Sign Cabinets still contain this type of lighting technology. Fluorescent lamps at the time allowed for an economical way to light up a large area.

As we start moving towards greener options with lower power consumption, many Fascia Light Box Signs are LED illuminated. LED’s consume a fraction of energy, require less maintenance and easier to install. LED Illuminated Light Box Signs help reduce the operation costs of a light box sign. The production time of manufacturing light box signs using LEDs have also greatly improved. LEDs are the most common technology used to illuminated Light Boxes.

How to Install Light Box Signs

Confirm Sign Placement

Fascia Light Box Signs are relatively light in weight and easiest to install on flat surfaces. To start things off you’ll want to confirm the placement of your fascia light box sign on the building. Its best to confirm the location of where your going to be install the sign cabinet as moving it can be difficult. Mark up your installation area with registry marks and use a level to ensure the Sign Cabinet will be installed straight and plumb. Its also important to know where power will be coming from to energize your LED lightbox sign.

Unload your Light box Sign

When you unload your Fascia Light Box Sign, make sure to do it in an area which has plenty of space. It is recommended that you disassemble the Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinet into each component for ease of access and handling. Once you have separated the sign face and the retainer frame from the sign cabinet, you will notice the structural cabinet portion of the light box has engineered mounting points along the frame. These engineered mounting points will be used as the fastening points which will secure the sign to the building. Its important to make sure these points on your sign box line up with the building supports.

Install Light Box into Place

Lift the Custom Sign Cabinet into place using your registry markers and double check that the sign is level and plumb once more before securing. Depending on the size of your Fascia Light Box sign a crane maybe required to easily move it into place and assist with installation. Mechanical fasteners are passed through the mounting points in the Light Box Fascia Sign and secure the sign to the wall or structural point of the building. Pre drilling into the wall and preparing the mounting locations may be required. The fasteners used to hold up your light box will depend on the wall type. 

Energizing Your Light Box Sign

Once the light box sign is safely secured in place, line power is required to be run to the Light Box Sign Cabinet to energize the LED's to illumination your sign. It is recommend to have an electrician or certified sign technician complete this step. When the line power is connected to the LED lightbox sign, make sure to test the sign before you install the remaining components.

Test Your Light Box Sign

When you have completed your flash tests and the LEDs light up, its time to get the retainer frame and sign face in place. Generally, your retainer frame and sign face can be lifted as a single piece. Lift the retainer frame along with the sign face substrate and secure them in place in the opposite order you disassembled the Sign Cabinet. Light Box signs manufactured by Sixstream Signs Vancouver will likely have a hinge bracket attached to the top.

Now that your light box sign is securely installed to the wall and illuminating, make sure to give it a final clean.

Exterior Signage at a Great Price

One of the main advantages of a Fascia Light Box Sign is its low cost relative to other architectural sign options. Pricing of Fascia Light Box signs are generally done using time and materials, this gives you the best pricing models. Of course, there is always a range of costs based on materials used in your exterior sign. Its important to insure that your fascia light box sign cabinet is built with quality materials and qualified parts. When it comes to sign parts, equivalent parts may pull you in with their low initial cost but create headaches later and be costly to maintain or repair.

How are Fascia Light Boxes Shipped?

Fascia light boxes signs are lightweight and structurally sturdy, as a result light box signs can be easily shipped across Canada. To guarantee your custom sign arrives in its best condition all Sixstream Signs’ light box signs in Vancouver are crated before they leave our Surrey Sign Shop.

The custom crate is built to guard the Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinet in Surrey, from damage during transport. Once the light box sign is secured in the crate, it’s ready to be loaded. Loading of the fascia sign is generally done by forklift or crane into our freight transport vehicle from Surrey, BC to Burnaby, BC. All light box signs travelling by freight make their way to Greater Vancouver's central sorting facility in Burnaby BC. From there the sign begins its shipping journey. Once the cabinet sign makes way to the sorting facility in Burnaby, you will be able to track your package from there.

Where are the Fascia Light Boxes Manufactured?

Sixstream Signs manufactures all our Fascia Light Boxes Signs in Surrey, BC. To get the light box where it needs to go, we offer freight and shipping across Canada. Light box signs in Surrey are shipped nation wide. If you are a sign installer with a large truck or trailer we also offer curb side pickup for our neighbors in: Langley, White Rock, Delta, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Richmond and Vancouver.

Maintenance of Lightbox Fascia Sign Cabinets  

Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinets are low maintenance and easy to take care of. Your Lightbox Fascia Sign Cabinet should provide you with years of trouble free operation. To ensure your  Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinet is still in good shape, it’s recommended to periodically inspect the sign and keep it clean to maintain its appearance. The exterior of the Light Box Fascia Sign Cabinet can be cleaned with a non-abrasive cloth such as a microfibre cloth using a simple soap and water solution. It's not recommended to power wash the sign as it can damage the electrical components and tarnish the sign face. 

When it comes to the electronic illumination components in the LED lightbox signs, LED modules are rated for 5,000 to 10,000 hours of operation. This works out to approximately 5-10 years. Over time, you may need to service the LED drivers in your lightbox sign which energize the LED modules, however this is not common. Sixstream Signs’ clients have exteriors illuminated signs that are still up and brightly lit for over 10 years without any defects.