3 Reasons Custom LED Illuminated Channel Letters Are Great for a Nostalgic "Neon-Look"

What if you could get the look of neon without the toxic chemicals and high price tag? Enter LEDs and custom-designed channel letters.

Everyone loves a neon letter sign. It’s cool, gives a retro vibe, and is instantly eye-catching. But traditional neon signs are also expensive, have fragile components, and poor energy efficiency. What if you could achieve that same classic 'glow' without the toxic chemicals or maintenance headaches?

Enter LEDs and custom-built channel letters.

With their versatility, energy efficiency, and low maintenance requirements, LEDs are the go-to choice replacing neon- and fluorescent-style lighting for signage. By crafting channel letters with push-through acrylic, you can mimic the glow and look of classic neon tubes. Your designs can even include strategically placed line breaks in the midlines to add authenticity.

3 Reasons Push-Through Letters with LEDs Are a Great Alternative to Neon

1. Versatility. LED mod­ules can be eas­i­ly cut and installed to suit spe­cif­ic sig­nage requirements. Plus, you can get creative with color. RGBW LEDs give you the abil­i­ty to match your brand col­ors or change them seasonally just by adjusting the settings.
2. Ener­gy sav­ings. Neon uses mer­cury and oth­er tox­ic chem­i­cals and has a low light out­put for the amount of pow­er required. LED tech­nol­o­gy offers up to 90% ener­gy sav­ings com­pared to tra­di­tion­al light­ing sources, result­ing in reduced oper­at­ing costs and a green­er footprint. LEDs pro­duce more light per watt of elec­tric­i­ty than tra­di­tion­al light sources, resulting in up to 7 times the energy savings compared to traditional lighting.
3. Reduced main­te­nance costs. Neon’s glass tubes are extremely frag­ile and come with high main­te­nance and instal­la­tion costs. LEDs are durable and more cost effi­cient to make, buy, install, and replace. Unlike flu­o­res­cent lamps that require fre­quent re-lamp­ing, LEDs have a longer lifes­pan (up to 50,000+), min­i­miz­ing main­te­nance efforts and expenses.

“Neon-Looking” LED Channel Letter Signs in Action

We know seeing is believing, so here are two great examples of push-through acrylic taking the place of neon in channel letter signs:

1. Pickle Palace. Pickle Palace boasts 37,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, duckpin bowling, a rooftop pub, restaurant, and event spaces. The developer’s vision of a bold and whimsical brand was brought to life with skyline-defining signage and quirky interior details. The LED illuminated scaffold sign towering above the rooftop consists of 42” tall channel letters with push-through acrylic. The color-changing signage redefines the Cedar Rapids skyline and instantly establishes brand presence. Inside, 36" ceiling-mounted open channel letters with exposed incandescent LED bulbs give a vintage vibe to the duckpin bowling area.
   Learn more about Pickle Palace.

2. Kingston Yard. The architects of the urban development wanted to use a parking garage to attract people to the area with a bold, iconic landmark sign, drawing on Kansas City Power & Light District and Seattle’s Pike Place Market signage as references. Six-foot-tall red letters crafted with routed push-through acrylic midlines mimic the glow and look of classic neon tubes, with line breaks in the midlines to add to the retro neon vibe. The sign is visually striking from a great distance, and it’s also durable and low-maintenance. Check out the photos in this blog; more on this project is coming soon.

Like This Idea?

We’re excited to bring more energy- and cost-efficient push-through acrylic channel letter signs to life. Reach out to us at connect@latitudesignage.com to start discussing your signage project.