The history of Neon LED font
Whether Tokyo, New York, Las Vegas or Berlin, flashy neon signs have been an integral part of urban areas for a century. The neon font shows us the way to the bar, the cinema or the hairdresser. There are even fewer limits to creativity today than ever before, because LED fonts can now be custom-made in all colors and shapes. You don't have to look long for this, because NEONMONKI has a free one Configurator, with which you can easily set your saying in your favorite color and suitable font.
But how did neon signs become commercially widespread? And how did LED writing become established? We want to address this in the following article.
Commercial use of the neon font for neon signs
As early as the 19th century, chemists discovered that certain gases could be kept in a glass tube and made to glow using an electrical charge. This laid the foundation for the neon sign.
However, it only came into commercial use in 1912 when Georges Claude installed the first neon lettering as an advertising sign for a Parisian men's hairdresser. He was declared the father of neon signs and had this confirmed with a US patent in 1915. After the first neon lettering appeared at a car dealer in Los Angeles in 1923 and passers-by couldn't take their eyes off this new curiosity, there was no turning back.
Now the neon lettering appeared everywhere. Whether in front of bars, shopping arcades or in Times Square in New York, the world was more colorfully illuminated than ever before. The futuristic style of lighting found favor in all industries. At the 1938 New York World's Fair, General Motors erected a giant neon sign reading "Futurama" to light the path to the automobile manufacturers' World of Tomorrow exhibition.
With the Second World War, popularity collapsed as business owners could no longer afford the relatively high costs of maintaining the glass tubes of gas. In addition, neon font was increasingly associated with shady business models among the general public, which undoubtedly forced traditional retailers to switch to alternatives.
After the economic boom in the 50s and 60s and the adoration of neon fonts in increasingly popular pop culture, neon signs made a comeback in the 70s. Since then, the popularity has remained, but the materials and composition of the signs have changed dramatically.
Innovation in neon advertising: LED font
Today, LED fonts are more popular than neon signs. There are numerous reasons for this. For one thing, glass tubes are fragile, making transportation and installation challenging. On the other hand, such a fluorescent tube contains mercury, which means that special care must be taken when disposing of it. Conventional neon signs can only be made by experienced glassblowers, which increases production costs accordingly.
In contrast, LED writing uses modern technology that is easier to use and much more energy efficient. Instead of gases and glass, it uses semiconductors and a process known as electroluminescence. Electricity is converted into light in a tiny area without producing heat. The power consumption is reduced by up to 90% compared to neon lettering. The irritating hum of the neon tubes is also absent. In addition, this form of neon sign is far more shatterproof.
But how did LED technology come about? Let's look at this aspect in more detail.
History of LED lighting
Hardly any other light source has revolutionized the lighting market as much as LED technology. With increasing performance and efficiency, demand has increased so much over the last few decades that the price level has fallen sharply and other light sources are increasingly being pushed out of the market.
But things looked completely different at the beginning of the creation. Back in the 20s, the Russian physicist Losev discovered that inorganic materials could be made to glow through the action of electrical voltage. However, the first LED light was too weak to be of any real use. The process was popularized as electroluminescence by French scientist George Destriau in 1936, but it took 30 years for the technology to receive renewed attention.
In the late 50s, American laboratories experimented with semiconductors, which inevitably led to the development of the first practical LED lamp. In 1962, as an employee at General Electric, Nick Holonyak invented the first LED light, which emitted highly visible red light. He was then declared the father of LED technology.
In the 70s, the colors green, orange and yellow were added, which boosted the commercial use of the technology. With increasingly new materials used to produce semiconductors, the variety of color nuances continued to increase in the 1990s. The area of application for LED technology grew and the advertising industry also recognized the potential within a short time.
Development reached its peak in the 2000s when the luminous efficacy of an LED lamp was increased to 100 lumens per watt. In comparison, a conventional light bulb produced only 10 lumens per watt.
With this performance and efficiency, it of course makes sense to use the complex manufacturing process and toxic and fragile materials of neon font for nostalgic and art purposes, while LED font can be used in commercial areas and at home.
LED font today: This is how the trend towards more efficient lighting has become established
Retro is king! Nostalgia has become a lifestyle over the last two decades. Whether it's 60s pop art or 80s neon colors, everything comes back somehow at some point. This revival culture continues to set new trends that spread on social media. Ideas on how to make a style statement with neon LED fonts are mostly spreading on Instagram, Pinterest and the like. You can also find inspiration on our Instagram and Pinterest Profiles.
Like you already in our personal company history As you have learned, we have had a passion for neon lettering some time ago. Our vision is to offer every consumer and every business owner the opportunity to do that with trendy LED lettering Home or Store to make it more lively and colorful. Even up Corporate events or Weddings A statement can be made with LED font. So together we are bringing back the trend of letting neon signs show the way. Only this time it's easier, more environmentally friendly and more economical!
This is possible with the LED technology that we use in our products. Our signs are characterized by energy efficiency, break resistance, high-quality craftsmanship and real trend reliability.
