Light-emitting diodes(LED光源)are a household name today, with a growing number of general illumination applications in residential buildings and elsewhere, but only after enjoying a longer period of research and development (R&D) specific to the sign industry, along with long-term real-world use.
发光二极管（LED光源）在标识行业经历了一段长期的研究和发展（R&D），随着长期的实际使用，如今可谓家喻户晓，越来越多地被用于住宅建筑和其他地方的普通照明。
Since the early 2000s, when LED光源 were a relatively unproven method of illuminating signs, the technology has come a long way in matching and improving upon the performance of neon and fluorescent tubing. Yet, there is also still more work to be done, with much of the sign industry yet untouched by LED光源.
在20世纪初期，LED光源还未被证实可以用于发光标识，但该技术在匹配和改进霓虹灯和荧光灯的性能上已经取得很大进展。但标识行业的大部分领域LED光源还没接触到，所以仍然有很多工作要做。
The LED advantage
LED的优势
Perhaps the most well-known benefit of LED光源 over traditional means of sign illumination is their environmentally friendlier energy efficiency, but they also offer other benefits. As solid-state lighting (SSL) components, for example, they are much more difficult to break during freight and handling than other bulbs, making for easier installations and maintenance. They also exhibit more consistent light.
众所周知，相对于传统方式的标识照明，LED光源最大的优势是节能环保，同时他们也提供了其他的好处。例如，固态照明（SSL）组件，相对于其他灯泡来说，他们在运输和操作时更难被打破，也简化了安装和维护，同时能够提供持续的照明。
LED光源 were given a new market advantage in the sign industry after Underwriters Laboratories (UL) revised UL 2161, Standard for Neon Transformers and Power Supplies, in 2000 with new requirements for secondary ground fault protection (SGFP) to reduce fire hazards associated with neon signs. The ease of implementation for LED光源 was made all the clearer by comparison.
2000年新规定出台，要求二次接地故障保护（SGFP）以减少火宅隐患，其中涉及到霓虹灯标识。美国保险商实验室（UL）重新修订了UL 2161，这是霓虹灯变压器和电力供应的标准。这在标识领域给LED光源带来了新的市场优势。经过比较，LED光源易于安装的优势显而易见。
Another step forward for the sign industry was the development of white LED光源.
标识行业的另一个进步是白色LED光源的出现。
“Red, green and blue (RGB) LED光源 worked fine, but after white LED光源 came into the market, they became brighter and prices went down,” says Carlos Vilanova, owner of Global Lux in Boucherville, Que., who had previously worked in the neon industry. “Today, there are so many competitors in the LED market. It's been important to think outside the box to continue to make these products easier to use.”
Carlos Vilanova，位于加拿大魁北克省布谢维尔的Global Lux公司总裁，曾经在霓虹行业工作，说：“红色、绿色和蓝色（RGB）LED光源效果都很好，但在白色LED光源出现在市场上之后，他们变得更明亮，且降价了。如今，LED光源市场有许多竞争者。竞争中最重要的是要跳出固定思维，让产品变得更容易使用。”
Early improvements
早期的发展
The dynamics of the market in recent years can be seen in the evolution of US LED. Sign business veteran Ron Farmer founded the company in 2001 specifically to adapt LED technology for the needs of his industry.
近几年的市场动态通过US LED公司的发展就能看出来。标识贸易领域资深的Ron Farmer在2001年创建了该公司，为了适应行业需求专门研究LED技术。
“Ron saw what was out there at the time wasn't sufficient,” says the company's director of sales for Canada, Luc Laliberté, based in Laval, Que.“With his background as a signmaker,he saw the opportunity to save time both in the shop and in the field through reduction of breakage and the need for maintenance. He looked for the best LED光源 available and worked with an engineering firm to ensure the reliability and durability of their products.”
位于魁北克拉瓦尔的加拿大公司销售总监Luc Laliberté说：“Ron具有先见之明。因为标识制作者的身份背景，他发现了省钱的方式，就是减少产品损坏率和维修率，无论是在店铺里还是在户外。他渴望最好的LED光源，和一家工程公司合作来确保产品的可靠性和耐久性。”
The process of adaptation involved not only the LED光源 themselves, but also the packaging that would make them more useful for both signmakers and installers. As the quality of the packaging improved, the expected lifetime of the LED光源 grew from 50,000 hours to more than 90,000 hours.
改善的内容不仅包括LED光源本身，也包括他们的包装。不管是对于标识制作者还是安装者，包装能够让标识更有用。随着包装质量的提高，LED光源的寿命期从50000小时提高到超过90000小时。
By way of example, US LED's patented quick-connect systems eliminated the need for‘bolt-on'connectors and wire nuts, which had previously represented a common point of failure.
举个例子，US LED公司的专利快式系统消除了对“螺栓”连接器和电线螺母的需求，此前，这些曾是常见的故障点。
“Over time, systems have been redesigned,”says Laliberté, “to the point where now a standard-depth, 381-mm (15-in.) stroke channel letter can be illuminated by just one row of LED modules, which was not even dreamed of a couple of years ago. There are also LED modules for cabinet signs that can be placed on 610-mm (24-in.) centres just 203 mm (8 in.) from the face—or on 508-mm (20-in.) centres at 152 mm (6 in.) from the face. This is all due to huge improvements in lenses. And with prices dropping with each improvement, there is little reason to use fluorescent lighting for these types of signs at this point.”
Laliberté说：“随着时间的推移，系统已经重新设计。现在的标准深度，381毫米（15英寸）冲程发光字，只需要一行LED模组就足够照明，这在几年前简直难以想象。还有专门针对展览展具的LED模组，可以放在610毫米（24英寸）中心距离表面仅203毫米（8英寸）或者放在508毫米（20英寸）中心距离表面152毫米（6英寸）。这些都归功于透镜的巨大进步。且随着每一次改进，价格都有所下降。这种情况下，在这些类型的标识里，没有理由使用荧光照明。”
Increasing versatility
广泛的用途
With such developments, LED光源 have also become practical for more types of signs today than they were in the early 2000s.
随着技术的发展，相对于2000年早期来说，如今的LED光源在各种类型的标识中应用得已经非常普遍。
“LED光源 are unidirectional, so when they first reached the sign industry, they were most suitable inside channel letters, where you only need lighting in one direction,” says Mike Bluhm, North American sales manager for SloanLED, which has served the lighting industry since the mid-1950s and specialized in LED光源 since the early’70s.
SloanLED公司北美销售经理Mike Bluhm说：“LED光源具有单向性，所以他们最适合放在发光字内部。因为发光字只需要照射一个方向。”SloanLED公司从50年代中期就进入照明行业，70年代初就开始专业从事LED光源领域。
As a design and engineering firm, SloanLED was also well-positioned to apply past lessons to the customization of LED systems for the sign industry.
作为一家设计工程公司，SloanLED公司也很好的吸取过去的经验教训，并应用于标识行业的LED系统定制服务。
“We came up with‘poster box'LED光源 for wall signs, where side illumination is used to achieve even lighting within a very shallow profile,”says Bluhm.“We've also placed LED光源 at angles to bounce their light off the sides of channel letters and used secondary optics to bend light in more visually appealing ways.”
“我们为墙面标识设计出了 ‘海报箱’LED光源，可以实现侧面照明。”Bluhm说，“我们也将LED光源放置成一个角度，这样光能照到每一边，同时利用二次光学元件弯折光线使得视觉上更吸引人。”
“Each LED module and system has a different application, depending on sign depths and angles, and you have to educate people about how to use them, so as to optimize performance and reduce costs without sacrificing brightness and uniformity,”says Global Lux's Vilanova.“You also need good wiring. Many manufacturers today provide high-quality LED光源, but they all use different connectors.”
Global Lux公司的Vilanova说：“每一种LED模组和系统都有不同的用途，这取决于标识的深度和角度。你需要教育人们如何使用它们,以优化性能、降低成本而不牺牲亮度和均匀性。你也需要好的接线。如今很多制造商提供优质的LED光源,但他们都使用不同的连接器。”
Also, as these systems have been introduced, signmakers have responded by specifying shallower profiles in the first place. With LED-based signs running cooler and taking up less space than their predecessors, they can be installed in places that would have been difficult to illuminate before.
同时，这些系统一经推出，首先就得到了标识制作者的应用。以LED为基础的标识运行占用的空间比之前的更小，能够安装在之前难以照明的地方。
“Perimeter lighting with LED光源 allows for easier installation of accessibility signage versus conventional fluorescents,” says Bluhm.
Bluhm说：“与传统荧光灯相比，带有LED光源的周边照明灯更容易安装。”
New horizons
新的领域
That said, some types of sign illumination have proven challenging or even impossible for LED光源 to achieve, particularly at the larger, brighter end of the spectrum.
一些类型的发光标识对于LED光源来说是个挑战甚至不可能实现，尤其是光谱底部更大更明亮的部分。
“We struggle to compete with the high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting that's installed inside big pylon signs or blasts onto a billboard at night,”says Bluhm.“Those are cases where you need a lot of light across a lot of space.”
Bluhm说：“我们正在研究高强度放电（HID）灯，用于安装在大型导视标识或者晚上的广告牌上。这种情况下，你不仅需要大量灯光也需要很大的空间。”
Similar problems are encountered across large flex-face signs that rely on tension bars running their entire length to help maintain their structural integrity.
大型多面标识也遇到了相同的难题，需要用拉杆支撑他们的整个长度来帮助维持结构的完整性。
“Extrusions have been redesigned to bring the tension bars back a bit, but they still allow shadowing if you're using LED光源,”says Bluhm.“They're hard to light evenly.”
Bluhm说：“铝型材已经经过重新设计，使拉杆受力回来一点，但如果你使用LED光源还是会有阴影存在。他们很难实现均匀照明。”
Where there is still much opportunity for LED光源, however, is in the replacement of fluorescent lighting, which is still common across the sign industry.
但是，LED光源仍然有很多机遇，更换荧光照明在标识行业仍很常见。
“LED光源 are still more expensive than fluorescent, but will shine brightly much longer,”says Bluhm.“A fluorescent lamp depreciates quickly from day one.”
“LED光源仍然比荧光灯贵得多，但也能保持更长久的明亮照射。”Bluhm说，“从一开始荧光灯就贬值很快。”
With this in mind, he cites growing efforts to use LED光源 to illuminate dye-sublimated fabric graphics in the retail sector, particularly to help reduce maintenance costs for those installed at hard-to-reach heights.
考虑到这一点，他更加努力地在零售行业中使用LED光源，从而使热升化织物图像更夺人眼球。尤其是减少了安装在难以触及高度的标识维修费用。
“The focus will be on replacing fluorescent lighting in sign boxes,”Global Lux's Vilanova agrees.“There are only a few LED systems like that now and they're still quite expensive, so there's still a lot of market opportunity.”
Global Lux公司的 Vilanova 表示赞同：“重点是在灯箱标识领域取代荧光灯。目前只有少数种类的LED系统，且价格昂贵，所以仍然有很多的市场机会。”
