Neon signs for business: logos, windows and quotes

A neon sign can do real work for a small business: it tells people you are open, puts your name on the wall behind the counter, and turns up in customer photos. This guide is for shop owners, studios, cafes and offices. It covers what the sign should do, which kind fits where, signs that work as a set, wet spots and events, permits, and what to send us for an accurate quote.

Two project pages put the parts together: the storefront window project and the office logo wall project.

Do businesses still use neon signs?

Yes, though most now use LED neon rather than glass. LED neon is a flexible silicone tube pressed into a groove in a clear acrylic board. It runs on 12 V DC from a plug-in adapter and draws about 8 to 12 W per meter of tube. A sign with 4 m (about 13 ft) of tube uses roughly 32 to 48 W. The LED tube is rated for 50,000 hours, which on paper is more than 11 years at 12 hours a day. Our guide to neon sign energy use does the math for your hours.

Real glass neon still has a place for its look; see LED neon vs glass neon.

Decide what the sign has to do

Start with the job, then pick the sign. It saves a round of mockups.

Job	What usually works	Where
Say you are open	An OPEN sign on a timer	Window, facing the street
Bring people in from the sidewalk	Your name or logo, sized for reading distance	Window or a covered outdoor wall
Put your brand on the room	A logo sign	Behind the counter or at reception
Give customers a photo spot	A short slogan or a word that fits your business	A feature wall with space to stand in front
Show people where to go	Short words: Pick Up, Bar, Restrooms, an arrow	Above the counter or at a turn in the room
Set the mood	A word or a symbol in a warm color, on the dimmer	Lounge, waiting area, treatment room

Signs that work together

Many businesses use two or three signs rather than one big one:

• Name outside, line inside. Your logo in the window or on a covered wall, and a short slogan on the photo wall inside.
• Logo plus OPEN. The logo stays on all day; the OPEN neon sign goes on a timer with your hours.
• A light box for one job. A PICK UP light box over the counter or an ON AIR light box outside a studio door.
• One color family. Using the same tube color, or your brand color, across the set makes separate signs read as one brand.
• Several locations. Quote the set at once so colors, fonts and board finishes match, with each sign sized for its own wall.

Pick the right type of sign

Type	Best for	How it is priced
Custom text sign	A name, slogan or menu word	From $189.99 (20 in)
Custom logo sign	Logos with clear lines	From $289.99
Neon on a printed backboard	Detailed or many-color logos	Same as logo neon
Backlit printed acrylic sign	A full-color logo with a halo on the wall	Quote, free mockup
Custom light box	Double-sided signs that stick out from the wall	Quote, free mockup
ON AIR / PICK UP light boxes	Studios, pickup counters	From $214.95
Real glass neon	The classic look	From $479.99

With a logo sign, we redraw your artwork as tube paths. Thin lines become one tube along the center of each stroke, and bold shapes are outlined. Details too small for tube, such as fine text, are UV printed on the board. If your logo depends on gradients or many colors, the printed backboard version keeps the full artwork, and it still shows the logo when the sign is off. Our guide to turning your logo into a neon sign has examples.

Indoor, window or outdoor

Indoor walls

Reception walls, behind the counter, a feature wall in a studio. Wall standoffs float the sign about 1 in off the wall. Clear acrylic disappears against the wall; black, colored or mirror boards make the sign stand out when it is off. Round logos sit on a clear circle and text on a rounded rectangle. See neon logos for office walls and backboard options.

Windows

A window sign usually hangs on two ceiling cables close to the glass. Remember that it reads correctly from one side only; people inside see it reversed. If you need to be read from both sides, or from along the sidewalk, a double-sided light box on a flag bracket does that job. In bright daylight any lit sign reads less strongly than at dusk, so a window that gets direct sun may call for a wider sign or bolder letters. The ready-made OPEN neon sign and our OPEN signs and storefront neon guide cover the details.

Kitchens, bars and other wet spots

A sign behind a bar sink, near a kitchen pass, in a restroom or anywhere it may get splashed should be the outdoor build, even though it is indoors. Keep the adapter away from the sink and off the floor where it could be mopped. The outdoor build is IP67 rated, which is tested in still water, not against jets, so wipe it clean rather than spraying it.

Outdoors

For a porch, patio, food truck or storefront wall, choose the outdoor build. It is IP67 rated, with a test report: dust-tight and tested for short immersion. It lasts longest under a roof or awning, out of all-day rain and sun. The adapter must stay dry, indoors or in a covered weatherproof outlet box. Outdoor outlets should have GFCI protection and an in-use cover that stays closed with a plug in, as the electrical code requires in most cases; an electrician can check yours. More in indoor vs outdoor neon signs.

Events, pop-ups and trade shows

A sign that travels needs to set up fast and run where outlets are scarce:

• Mounting: a clear free-standing base for a table or counter, or ceiling hanging cables clipped from the top rail of a booth frame.
• Power: a DC extension cable for an outlet a few feet away, or the 8 x AA battery box, which runs a sign for about 4 to 5 hours per set of batteries.
• Venue rules: some halls ask for flame-retardant materials. We can make the backboard in flame-retardant polycarbonate (PC) instead of acrylic; tell us before production.
• Transport: carry the sign by the board’s edges and keep its box for the trip home.

Our guide to neon for events and photo booths has more setups.

Sign permits: check your city first

Sign rules are local, and they vary a lot. A few patterns are common:

• Signs on the outside of a building usually need a permit.
• Some cities also require a permit for a neon sign inside a window, because it is seen from the street.
• Many cities limit how much of a window signs may cover, often as a share of the window’s area, and some exempt small window signs.
• A landlord, shopping center or historic district may have its own rules on top.

Before you order, call or check the website of your city’s planning, zoning or building department. Ask whether an interior window sign counts as a sign, whether you need a permit, and what limits apply to size, coverage and lighting. If they ask for drawings, your free mockup shows the size of the sign.

What to send for a quote

The more of this you include, the closer the first mockup will be:

1. Your logo or wording. Vector files (AI, EPS, SVG or PDF) work best. A photo or sketch is enough to start.
2. The width you have in mind, or the wall or window size and a photo of it.
3. Where it goes: indoor wall, window or outdoors.
4. Colors. Pick from 18 tube colors, or send your brand colors and we suggest the closest tube colors on the proof. Several colors in one sign cost nothing extra.
5. Mounting: wall standoffs, ceiling cables, no-drill mounts or a free-standing base.
6. Your deadline, so we can tell you whether standard production works.
7. How many, if you need the same sign for several locations.

You can order a logo sign directly and send the file after checkout, or send everything through our contact page first. Every sign gets a free proof with unlimited revisions, and nothing is made until you approve it. Production then takes 15 to 20 days (Priority 10 to 14 days, Express 7 to 9 days), plus 3 to 5 days in transit. The design proof process guide explains each step.

Running a sign every day

• Set it and forget it. A plug-in outlet timer switches the sign on at opening and off at closing.
• Use the dimmer. Every sign comes with one. Turn it down in the evening if the sign overpowers a small room.
• Keep it clean. Wipe dust off with a dry microfiber cloth with the sign switched off. See cleaning and care.
• Warranty. Every sign carries a 2-year warranty with free repair.

Trade and multi-location orders

Agencies, franchises, interior designers and shops with several locations can use the trade form for quotes on several signs at once. Tell us the designs, sizes, quantities and dates. To try ideas first, open the neon designer or browse business neon signs.