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I t's well documented that LEDs have essentially taken over the channel letter market. By some estimates, LEDs now account for more than 90 percent of all new installations and retrofits for light- ing channel letters. ELECTRIC SIGNAGE 76 • September 2014 • S I G N & D I G I T A L G R A P H I C S L E D C A b I N E T S I G N S LEDs and the Cabinet Connection LEDs are rising in the sign cabinet market, and here's why b y R E G A N D I C k I N S o N Regan Dickinson is the former executive editor for Sign Business and Digital Graphics magazine. He currently resides in Denver, Colo., where he continues to follow the signage industry. In the sign cabinet market, change has been significantly slower for a number of reasons. First, the traditional cabinet lighting source—the fluorescent tube— is not as troublesome and expensive as neon from production to installation and maintenance. And, perhaps most impor- tantly, using LEDs in a sign cabinet can be four to five times more expensive per foot than they are in a channel letter. However, as with LED channel letter lighting systems, the technology con- tinues to improve while the price falls, so opportunities abound to sell cabinet sign LED lighting systems for new builds, retrofits and remodels. "We're seeing a huge upswing, espe- cially with retrofits and remodels," says Steve Stone, senior vice president of US LED in Houston. "It is still growing for The Tandem2 prod- uct from US LED employs a patented Quick Connect sys- tem, and is avail- able pre-assembled in four-foot single- sided sections with eight LED modules. (Image courtesy of US LED)