Does the prospect of literally billions and billions of dollars of potential business – much of it hiding in plain sight – seem like a huge but largely untapped avenue for sign professionals?
对标识专业制作商而言，大多潜在数十亿美元的业务前景，难道真的是遥不可及的吗？
For years, we've heard of the transformation going on as LED lighting technology has become both much brighter and less expensive, helping it to gain traction as a replacement for older, less-efficient fluorescent or conventional lighting in traditional spots such as cabinet sign replacements out for neon lighting. The longer life of today’s LED lighting systems also significantly cuts down on maintenance for signs and decorative lighting.
多年来，我们知道LED照明技术发生了很大的变革，变得更明亮，价格也更便宜，这样就为LED替代老式、低效的荧光灯或传统照明设备带来了动力，正如灯箱标识替代霓虹灯照明一样。目前的LED照明系统能保持更长的使用年限，因为它减少了不必要的标识维护和装饰照明需求。
But many suppliers say that sign companies are also in a great position to cash in on the virtually unlimited jobs available to convert customers' antiquated outdoor fluorescent lighting, as your sign company bucket truck – and a little installation expertise – can make those sorts of jobs a snap, and open you up to a whole new market.
但许多供应商提到，标识公司也有很好的机会来获取收益，他们把客户的废旧户外照明设备翻新，以此来作为公司的贸易业务。如果你具备相关的安装经验，就能够快速完成那些工作，并且为你开辟一个新市场。
Even better, with green initiatives growing nationwide for more efficient electrical use, customers can be given some financial encouragement to make the change to LEDs thanks to ever-expanding government and utility company incentives.
更值得关注得是，随着电气设备的高效使用，政府和公共事业单位的鼓励不断扩大，客户可以获得一些财政支持来转变LED照明技术。
Tom Grunwald, western regional lighting specialist with N. Glantz and Son Sign Supplies, a national provider of sign components and electrical fixtures, says that just as we've seen prices drop and technology improve for consumer products such as flat-screen TVs, the LED lighting business has also reached a stage where all of the positives are starting to line up.
N.格兰兹索恩标识供应公司——标识元件和电气设备供应商，负责西部地区的照明行业专家汤姆·格伦沃尔德称，正如我们所看到的，消费产品譬如平板电视的价格下跌和技术改善，使得LED照明行业达到了一个阶段，所有积极影响都会随之而来。
“As recently as three years ago, LED lighting technology was tremendously expensive, but those costs have now moved much more in line with traditional lighting,”Grunwald says.“Combine that with the energy savings associated with those lights, and that's helped make it extremely attractive.”
格伦沃尔德称：“就在三年前，LED照明技术是非常昂贵的，但那些成本却和目前的传统照明技术相当，如果把节能灯和LED照明技术结合起来，会让它变得极具吸引力。”
Henry A. Brown III, president of lighting supplier Ventex Technology, LLC, says the newest updates in modern LED lighting systems make them almost an entirely different product than what some sign professionals remember.
照明供应商Ventex技术LLC的总裁，亨利A.·布朗三世称，使用现代LED照明系统的最新升级技术，使得他们的产品和之前的完全不同。
“The sign industry has been constrained by what kind of product has been available to them – five yeas ago, it would have been impossible to do what we're able to do today, as the product was horrid, expensive and really not that bright,”Brown says.“Today, particularly with the LED version of HID lamps for parking lots – that's got a lot of people saying,‘OK, let me look into that.’”
布朗谈到：“在现有可用的产品种类中，标识行业已然受到了束缚——我们今天能够做的事情，五年前根本做不到，因为那时候的产品很糟糕、很昂贵并且很不明亮，如今，尤其是停车场使用LED技术的HID灯，博得许多人的青睐。”
Grunwald says utilities such as Southern California Edison have begun to recognize the huge energy savings provided by customers retrofitting their flat-tube signs or swapping out their older metal-halide or high-pressure-sodium lamps, and have offered significant rebates for those who do so.
格伦沃尔德说，南加州爱迪生电力公司等公用事业已经开始认识到，客户通过更新发光标识、更换旧的金属卤素灯或高压钠灯节约下来的巨大能源，给他们带来了显著的利益回报。
More than anything, it's the sheer mass of the market that makes LED retrofits such a great opportunity for sign professionals, he adds.
最重要的是，它是一个庞大的市场，使得LED更新给标识专业制作商提供了一个很好的机会，他补充道。
“If you consider that there's probably $300 billion in old, traditional lighting out there, 80 per cent of it more than 20 years old, this is really a prime market,”he says.“If you've already got the bucket truck, when you're out working on customers' channel letters, you should seriously consider offering the LED retrofits at the same time.”
他谈到：“老式传统的照明设备可能需要3000亿美元，而且80%的设备使用年限超过20年，这确实是主流形势。如果你已经谈成了这笔交易，你就应该认真考虑，在为客户制作槽型发光字过程中，把LED改良技术融入其中，从而做出令客户更满意的产品。”
Advanced technology in the new generation of LED chips has vastly extend the life of lighting systems, meaning less maintenance for customers, with new LED systems good for seven to 10 years, versus much shorter lamp life for traditional products. Some LED systems are expected to provide an operating life in excess of 100,000 hours, meaning more than 11 years of maintenance-free utility.
应用于新一代LED芯片的先进技术，已经极大地延长了照明系统的使用年限，这意味着客户使用新型LED系统可以持续7到10年，与较短使用年限的传统产品相比，也减少了维护需求。一些LED系统有望做出超过100000个小时，也就是超过11年免维护照明设备。
And Grunwald says overall luminosity – an issue with the first generation of LED lighting solutions – has also drastically improved.
格伦沃尔德说，LED照明方案第一代存在的问题——整体亮度也有了大幅度的改善。
“Even two years ago, you were only getting 30 to 40 lumens per watt, but the systems today provide between 100 and 120 lumens per watt, and in the lab, they're now able to produce as much as 200 lumens per watt,”he says.
他谈到：“就在2年前，你的设备只能达到每瓦特30到40流明，但是目前的系统可以达到每瓦特100到120流明，并且在实验室里，它们已经可以达到每瓦特200流明了。”
Brown says the improved brightness might not matter much in smaller, traditional channel letter signs – though efficiency is still a major factor – whereas new LEDs' blazing output can be critical for single- or double-faced cabinet signs, especially those out on the highway. As replacements for parking lot or business lights, the vastly improved and energy-efficient output can be a huge selling point with customers, even those who are not existing sign clients.
布朗说，改良的照明技术可能与小型传统的槽型发光标识不匹配，尽管效率仍是主要影响因素，新型LED光源输出也可以用于单面或双面的灯箱标识，尤其是那些公路上的标识。作为停车场或商业照明设备的替代品，深度改良的节能输出设备对客户来说是一个大卖点。
And while their use in channel lighting is their easiest application, LEDs are also beginning to have more uses as replacements for traditional neon lighting.
然而它们在槽型发光字中的应用是最简单的，LED作为传统霓虹灯照明设备的替代品，也开始开发更多的应用。
“I love neon, and it's still very much an art, but there are now getting to be some LED products that will make neon look old fashioned,”Grunwald says.“They've been doing quite well in replicating straight neon tubes, but to get it to bend around 90 degree corners, that's where they're still having some challenges.
格伦沃尔德说道：“我喜欢霓虹灯，它也的确是一件艺术品，但是LED设备的出现会让霓虹灯看起来很老旧过时，他们在折转笔直的霓虹灯灯管方面已经做得很出色，但是要把它弯成大约90度的直角，仍然面临着一些挑战。”
Brown sees new AC-power LEDs as another emerging technology which will soon be offering signmakers more opportunities.
布朗称，另一项新兴技术——新型交流电源LED，不久将会给标识制作商带来更多机会。
“The new systems will have universal input, meaning no power supply or conversion necessary, so sign companies will not be constrained to have two inventories of supplies,”he says.“It's mostly aimed at the commercial and residential market, but I think we'll soon see the benefit in the sign and lighting industry.”
他说：“新型设备将会采用通用电源，这意味着电源供给或转换是不必要的，因此标识公司可以不用再提供备用电源，它目前主要针对商业区和住宅区，但是我相信不久就能被有效的应用于标识和照明行业。”
Brown says larger retrofit projects, prompted by business owners or executives looking for ways to vastly reduce their electrical expenditures, provide a great avenue to demonstrate the financial positives of LED solutions.
布朗说，企业老板和高管都在寻找能够大幅度降低电气开支的方式，实行项目革新，这也给LED照明方案的经济方面提供了一个好机会。
“A sign provider will get a call from a woman who wants to get an energy savings report for all the signs at a hospital – some LED, some neon, some fluorescent – so the big calculation is what energy saving she'll be able to get, based on kilowatt-hours,”Brown says.“With LED product quality increasing significantly and costs reduced dramatically, everyone is the winner.”
布朗谈道：“标识供应商会接到一个女客户的电话，她想要知道医院里所有标识能源节约的数值报表，譬如LED、霓虹灯、荧光灯——所以根据一度电的标准，最后的计算结果就是她能够获得的能源节约总量。随着LED产品质量显著提高、成本大幅降低的发展趋势，最后一定会实现共赢。”
What are the best strategies for current sign professionals to break into the LED retrofit market? It turns out that you already have much of the equipment you need; Brown simply suggests doing some research and partnering with a supplier serving your area to build up the necessary expertise on LED applications – and installations.
标识专业供应商如果要打入LED新型市场，最有效的策略是什么呢？那就是你已经拥有了所需要的大部分设备。布朗提议道：做一些相关调查，并且与负责你的区域的供应商合作，以此来增强LED应用和安装的必要专业知识。
“You really want to work with someone who can interact, solve problems and offer hands-on education, so you're completely competent when you're out there, and not training on the customer's dime,” he says.
他说：“你一定是想和那些能够互相影响、解决问题并且有实际经验的人合作，因此当你处在那个位置的时候，就需要完全胜任这项工作，而不只是收取客户的金钱把它当做一项实验。”
“It's not rocket science, but each system has a different way of being put together, and actually being able to work with a technical advisor is beneficial. A little hand-holding by a vendor can keep you out of trouble. My advice is that if the system offering is so complicated that installers can't make it work, don't do it.”
“这不是火箭技术，但是每个系统都有一套不同的装配程序，能够和技术顾问一起工作是很有益的。和供应商合作能让你摆脱困境。我的建议是，如果一个设备的功能复杂到连安装员都不能让其正常工作的话，就不要去做了。”
