Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008 - (Page 54)

BrightLine on-site. “A lot of times, you start laying out things in the shop and they don’t turn out to [truly represent] the actual building,” he says. “So when an installer gets out there, he can cut it to fit. We didn’t have to prep anything inside the shop and then go out and start laying it out. This saved us a lot of time at the location.” The parties involved were concerned about the number of building penetrations that would be required in order to create the design using exposed neon tubing or some LED tubing systems. The BrightLine product allows up to 240 continuous feet of tubing to be run from a single power connection, which were mounted on the roof (as no building penetrations were allowed in the secure facility). Cook Sign Company employees mounted the BrightStrip modules onto the backs of the shutters and then adhered them onto the building with metal studs. “They come in six- and eighteen-inch lengths and attach into a plastic track that can be cut to a desired length with a clear shield over them and the wires,” says Warkenthien. “Since they’re 24V DC, we just soldered them together and shrink-wrapped the ends and then slid them into the plastic track and sealed the ends.” “The track that the BrightLine snaps into were created fairly easily. It was a matter of laying it all out on that long building side. The biggest thing, though, was the power supply. [Ed. note: Cook Sign Company employed 4-amp power supplies, which allowed them to run up to the available 240 feet.] We had to run all the wires up the building and try to keep it from being non-clutterable. We were trying to hide the wires (primary and secondary) as much as possible. All the power supplies are up on the roof and out of sight. We hid all the wires with plastic track and metal conduit.” There were several reasons why Cook Sign Company suggested using LED technology for this architectural lighting project. As Warkenthien just pointed out, they weren’t allowed to make any penetrations through the wall. “It’s a highly secure building,” he says. “There’s a lot of research and nanotechnology going on in there, so they told us there would be no penetration in the building whatsoever.” Another reason (in addition to AgiLight’s products fitting close to the University’s green-and-gold color scheme) involves conservative energy usage. “In today’s society, the big push is to go ‘green,’” says Nelson. “With that in mind, we wanted to look at something that would lower power consumption. “Light Emitting Diodes are also less expensive than other types of accent striping,” adds Selvig. “And the life expectancy of it is anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 hours (based on the colors you’re using).” Because NDSU wanted an extremely bright sign, Cook Sign Company crewmembers performed all product testing and installation at night so the brightness could be tested to ensure that it would meet the client’s expectations. “We were amazed at how bright everything was,” says Brasel. Employees also performed signage testing at night during winter conditions to make sure the LED products—which are designed to withstand extreme operating temperatures without diminished brightness, color shift, or start-up prob- presents Issue 1, Volume 1 SBI Update Have You Heard? SBI Update is the monthy E-newsletter from Sign Builder Illustrated. As an extension of our magazine, SBI Update provides readers with expanded coverage of the sign industry and up to date news and information, including exclusive debates on some of the industry’s hottest topics such as LED vs. Neon. Sign Up Today! And best of all, it’s FREE! To sign up for the newsletter, please visit www.SignShop.com and fill out our online subscription form. You can opt out at any time in the future and your email will not be shared or sold to third parties. At Sign Builder, we value your privacy. Sponsorship Opportunities Available! To find out more about sponsoring a newsletter, please contact Don Rogers at 212-620-7214 or Art Sutley at 212-620-7247 54 Sign Builder Illustrated May 2008 http://www.SignShop.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008

Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008 Contents SBI Agenda Quotes & Comments Contributors Costly Concerns Dispatches Sign Show Dateline: Time to Find a New Identity Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks Sign Illumination: It’s Time to Pay Attention Restoring Old Photographs for Digital Printing Price Doesn’t Sell the Signs You Want to Make Architects in LED Codes for Electric Signs: Don’t Get Blindsided! Digital Displays at the Pearl Harbor Museum The Art of Wayfinding Signage Grand Format National Following Traffic Sign Regulations Designs on ADA Signage Painting Professionally SBI Marketplace Imagine-It Graphics

Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008

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