3D LED Acrylic Boards - 10 Different Types of Glow Sign Boards to Choose From​

Eye-Popping Shop Boards to Impress Customers and Entice Them to Step in Your Store.

 

Delivery: free in Pune on orders of ₹3,000 + GST; shipped across India at extra cost. Minimum board size 3 sq ft.

 

Pricing: about ₹2,000 per sq ft + 18% GST, as a budgeting guide. Your exact price comes in our free proposal.

Acrylic ACP LED Glow Sign Boards - Detailed description

In the consumer and retail store business, many customers make purchase decisions and judgements based on first impressions. That’s exactly why shopping malls are typically so glitzy and alluring. Shopfronts, building facades and store entrances are all designed to entice prospective clients to walk in.

And the primary component of your storefront is the shop’s signboard. In addition to showcasing your company’s name and brand, this signboard has to be so attractive, that it should literally stop people in their tracks.

Looking for something other than 3D LED letters? See every type of sign board we make in Pune, from acrylic name boards and steel letters to sky signs and safety signs.

Extremely beautiful looking acrylic sign board with a metallic finish and a back glow. Letters fabricated out of highly polished gold metal fitted on white acrylic laser cut letters

Different kinds of boards serve different purposes and align with the way the brand positions itself. Blinking lights attract attention. Bright neon light signs in fluorescent colours stand out and create a festive, high energy, party-like atmosphere.

On the other hand, a signboard fabricated in gold-finished 3D letters conveys an impression of a store having rich and high-quality products.

Finally, you must’ve also seen large sky signs on the top of tall buildings. They make your brand visible for miles across the city skyline and end up becoming identifiable landmarks.

With the wide variety of signboards possible, one can choose an acrylic glow sign board that emulates the business entity’s personality. And the correct option can set the right tone and atmosphere to make business deals more conducive.

10 Types of LED, ACP Acrylic Glow Sign Boards Available at Orchid Digitals

1. 3D Acrylic Letters Mounted on an ACP Base Frame

The letters on this board are made from laser-cut acrylic. They are mounted on an ACP frame and jut out approximately 3 inches from the base. LEDs are embedded within the letters to give them a beautiful glow.

Acrylic box letter boards are ideal for corporate offices and retail stores.

3D acrylic box letters of the Faith logo with LEDs inside, mounted on an ACP frame
3D acrylic letters with a metallic front surface cut in the shape of the ‘Faith’ logo. LED lights embedded inside the letters to make them glow. Acrylic box letters mounted on an ACP frame
3D letters made with aluminium side channel and acrylic front surface laser cut to create the ‘WIX’ logo. LED lights embedded inside the letters to glow the same. Perforated channel patti for the letter ‘W’ with holes on the side
3D letters made with aluminium side channel and acrylic front surface laser cut to create the ‘WIX’ logo. LED lights embedded inside the letters to glow the same. Perforated channel patti for the letter ‘W’ with holes on the side

2. 3D Acrylic, Aluminium Channel Letters Mounted on a Base Frame

This board has a form factor similar to that of the 3D letter board, except that the letters have a metal channel/profile on the side. The light glow comes only from the front surface.

Channel letter sign boards are ideal for corporate offices and retail stores.

3. 2D Stencil Cut Acrylic Letter Sign Boards

This type of board is used where the letters are very small or the content on the signboard is very intricate. The acrylic letters are not 3D but flush with the base-board. As the name suggests, the letters are hollowed out from the base ACP frame similar to how a stencil is cut from paper.

Stencil cut acrylic signboards are ideal for acrylic shop boards with a lot of content in addition to the name and logo. For example, timings, contact details, tag line, etc.

Design of beauty salon logo cut in 3 mm thick aluminium composite panel. Colored acrylic pasted from beneath. LEDs embedded inside the ACP box to give a very colorful glow to the acrylic letters
Design of beauty salon logo cut in 3 mm thick aluminium composite panel. Colored acrylic pasted from beneath. LEDs embedded inside the ACP box to give a very colorful glow to the acrylic letters
Laser cut acrylic letters fixed on a silver ACP box to create a glow sign board of the ‘High Light’ logo. LEDs making the acrylic letters glow from the front and side edges. Black vinyl pasted on the word ‘High’ to give an edge glow. The word ‘Light’ glows from the front as well as the sides
Laser cut acrylic letters fixed on a silver ACP box to create a glow sign board of the ‘High Light’ logo. LEDs making the acrylic letters glow from the front and side edges. Black vinyl pasted on the word ‘High’ to give an edge glow. The word ‘Light’ glows from the front as well as the sides

4. In-cut Acrylic Letter Boards

This board is similar to stencil cut acrylic boards. Here too, the ACP surface is hollowed out, to fit the acrylic letters. The difference is that the letters jut out roughly 5 mm from the surface of the board frame. LEDs are fixed inside the board, under the acrylic letters. 

In-cut acrylic boards are ideal for acrylic shop boards with a lot of content in addition to the name and logo. For example, timings, contact details, tag line, etc.

5. LED Acrylic Boards With Stand Alone 3D Letters Mounted Directly on the Walls or a Metal Frame

This sign is made of stand-alone letters only. The acrylic letters, in this case, are not mounted on any kind of baseboard. Further LED modules are embedded within the letters to make them glow. These letters can then be fixed directly on the wall.

This kind of sign board is ideal for corporate offices, retail stores, gate entrances having a pre-existing frame or wall where the letters need to be fixed directly.

Bright and colorful stand-alone LED letters cut in the shape of the Jumpstart pre-school logo. Acrylic LED letters fitted directly on the frame of a gate
Bright and colorful stand-alone LED letters cut in the shape of the Jumpstart pre-school logo. Acrylic LED letters fitted directly on the frame of a gate
Day and night view of a metal letter sky sign for the Safey company fixed on the side of a very tall building
Day and night view of a metal letter sky sign for the Safey company fixed on the side of a very tall building

6. Robust Sky Signs for Tall Buildings

Sky signs are generally very large and visible from very long distances. Particular care is taken to fabricate them from extremely robust material to withstand strong winds and harsh weather conditions. Sky signs serve as markers to identify buildings.

And as such they are mainly installed at very high locations on multi-storey buildings.

7. Metal Letter Boards With a Back Glow

Metal letter signs look very classy and come in a variety of finishes like gold, rose gold, shiny chrome, brush finish, etc. Metal obviously does not allow light to pass through but the letters can be given a back-glow using LEDs.

Metal signs are used where light visibility is not a very important factor. For example – 5-star hotels, shop interiors, well-lit halls, etc.

Metal letter sign board with back glow lights mounted on a grassy surface. Each letter having different finishes like gold, rose gold, chrome and brushed-finish steel
Metal letter sign board with back glow lights mounted on a grassy surface. Each letter having different finishes like gold, rose gold, chrome and brushed-finish steel
Superhero logos made of metal with crystals on the front surface. LED lights giving a beautiful sparkling glow. Crystal letters mounted on an ACP board printed with images of Justice League superheroes
Superhero logos made of metal with crystals on the front surface. LED lights giving a beautiful sparkling glow. Crystal letters mounted on an ACP board printed with images of Justice League superheroes

8. Sparkling and Glittering Crystal Letter Shop Boards

The 3D acrylic letters in these signs are embedded with hundreds of small crystals. Each crystal has multiple facets all of which strongly glitter to make a highly decorative sign board with a lot of ‘bling’.

Crystal letter boards look very festive and are extensively used by jewellery stores, restaurants and ready made garment stores.

9. Intensely Bright and Strong Open Dot / Spot LED Boards

In this type of sign board the LEDs are fixed right on the top surface. The bright pinpoints of light are exposed to the naked eyes. The output from open dot LED boards is extremely bright and noticeable.

Open-dot glow signs are chosen by shop owners who really want their shop board to stand out, even at the risk of looking overly flashy.

3D acrylic letters on a sign board with open-dot LEDs fixed on top to make the board shine very brightly. In-cut acrylic letters on the side spelling out the words ‘Truth, Justice, Liberty’. Statue of Liberty image in the background on the ACP frame
3D acrylic letters on a sign board with open-dot LEDs fixed on top to make the board shine very brightly. In-cut acrylic letters on the side spelling out the words ‘Truth, Justice, Liberty’. Statue of Liberty image in the background on the ACP frame
Neon sign for a cocktail bar made in multicolor neon lights mounted on a black disk
Neon sign for a cocktail bar made in multicolor neon lights mounted on a black disk

10. Neon Sign Boards Shining With Bright Fluorescent Colors

Neon signs have a typically bright unique and eye-catching colour. A throwback to the old glass tubes filled with neon gas, these signs are used to create text and letters which need to really stand out.

Neon letter signs are used in casual, high energy party locations like lounges, bars, discotheques, etc.

Light Effects You Can Choose

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Fluorescent neon colours

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Blinking lights

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Very strong and harsh spotlights

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Programmable RGB LEDs, etc.

With so many different materials to choose from, innovative signmakers can come up with very interesting signs having a wide variety of form factors.

Do drop into our showroom at Shaniwar Peth and you will be able to check out LED acrylic shop boards having a beautiful 3D look where the letters and logos jut out 2 to 3 inches. We also have on display, two-dimensional boards having a stencil cut look where the letters are cut into the base ACP.

And if acrylic letter boards are not your thing, we can offer you metal letter signs in shades like gold, chrome, copper, rose gold, brush finish, etc. We also have Sky Signs which generally get installed on the top of tall buildings and need more robust materials.

Our more exotic sign-board section includes letters made of glittering crystals, letters lit up in Open Dot LEDs, and even bright neon LED ropes. All of these options can contribute to the festive party look and celebratory ambience of a restaurant or night club.

Honestly, given the wide choice of colours, light effects, and materials to choose from, the types of backlit boards that can be fabricated is limited only by your imagination.

So this page covers an exhaustive (but non-comprehensive) list of the types of LED ACP acrylic sign boards that can be commissioned at Orchid Digitals.

The Right Kind of Shop Board for Your Business

Choosing the right kind of shop signs is very important. Today, there are many different types of acrylic glow sign boards available for all kinds of businesses…

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A business owner can opt for a lit or a non-lit board. 

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They can choose to make a sign where the letters and logos are three dimensional and fabricated out of materials like acrylic or metal. 

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Alternatively, one can have shop signs which are two dimensional wherein the matter is printed on flat sheet vinyl or flex.

And these are just some of the options.

With so many choices, it’s normal for you to get overwhelmed and confused between what kind of shop-board would work the best for your business. Not to worry, we can guide you for it as well. Short on time? Our guide to choosing the right sign board has a board finder that shortlists the right type for you in under a minute.

So this post is crafted with three objectives in mind:

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List the various types of the backlit signboards that modern signmakers have on offer.

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Highlight the characteristics, properties and differences between each of the types of signboards listed to enable you to make an informed choice.

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Talk about the materials that go into making the same, viz: acrylic, ACP (aluminium composite panels) and LEDs (light-emitting diodes) for the same. 

As I mentioned above, this post covers the different types of LED and acrylic ACP signage available in the market.

However, if you are looking for the more entry-level shop boards made of printed flex and tubes in a metal frame, see our backlit flex glow sign boards. Also, see our acrylic name boards if you are looking for acrylic signage for offices without lights.

What Materials Are Modern 3D Shop Boards Made Of?

All signs generally have three main components:

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The base structure of the board. This takes the form of a metal box with a frame. At Orchid Digitals, we use a material called ACP – Aluminum Composite Panel for creating this base.

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The letters or logos that are installed on top of the base: These letters are typically fabricated out of a shiny glass-like plastic sheet called acrylic. We use branded cast acrylic sheets, Lucite™ or Astari™, not unbranded sheet.

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The light components embedded inside the letters or in the base-board to give colours and light effects to the above-mentioned acrylic letters. Modern signs are generally lit up by LEDs.

You can read the detailed description of the materials, above components and construction process of the boards in a section at the end of this page. It does make for an interesting read.

But for now, let’s explore the different kinds of boards listed above, in detail:


Detailed explanation and photos of 10 different kinds of ​LED ACP Acrylic Glow Sign Boards

1. 3D Acrylic Letters Mounted on an ACP Base Frame

Three-dimensional letters fixed on top of an ACP base is the type of sign board that most store owners opt for. As the name suggests, these acrylic name boards consist of:

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Hollow acrylic letters or logos which are approximately three inches thick.

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LEDs are embedded in the hollow space beneath these letters.

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These 3D letters and logos are mounted on an ACP box frame.

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This aluminium frame, along with the backlit acrylic letters, are then installed on-site.

White ACP base board with 3D acrylic letters in shiny gold finish
White ACP base board with 3D acrylic letters in shiny gold finish
3D acrylic glow sign board for the Charmi store with letters mounted on a wooden panel
3D acrylic glow sign board for the Charmi store with letters mounted on a wooden panel
Shop sign board made in 3D acrylic letters and logos mounted on a black metal frame
Shop sign board made in 3D acrylic letters and logos mounted on a black metal frame
Black ACP base frame with 3D letters fabricated out of orange colored acrylic to create a highly attractive shop board for Mahaveer Stores
Black ACP base frame with 3D letters fabricated out of orange colored acrylic to create a highly attractive shop board for Mahaveer Stores
LED acrylic board for the Kesar Gold Jewellery store. Laser cut letters beautifully glowing from the sides and front with a warm white glow and outlining black acrylic letters on the front
LED acrylic board for the Kesar Gold Jewellery store. Laser cut letters beautifully glowing from the sides and front with a warm white glow and outlining black acrylic letters on the front
Thick letters made from green and red acrylic cut in the shape of the Karhai King logo mounted on a black ACP frame
Thick letters made from green and red acrylic cut in the shape of the Karhai King logo mounted on a black ACP frame
Night view of a neon glow sign board for the Pebbles garment store. Sign made of thick 3D acrylic letters in a pink and white combination and lit from within
Night view of a neon glow sign board for the Pebbles garment store. Sign made of thick 3D acrylic letters in a pink and white combination and lit from within
How is a 3D Acrylic Letter Board Made?

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First, a customer provides us with an artwork containing the design and dimensions of the letters and logo for the signboard. To create 3D acrylic letters from this artwork, we use a laser cutting machine.

We cut the requisite shapes from a flat sheet of acrylic having 3 mm – 5 mm thickness. These shapes are then extruded in 3D using a method called skirting.

Skirting is nothing but fixing a vertical, perpendicular acrylic border to the flat laser cut letter on top. This side skirting is approximately 2.5 inches to 3 inches in thickness.

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We now have a hollow 3D box with an acrylic strip on the sides and top surface. Small LED modules can now be fitted in the hollow space beneath the 3D letters.

Since the letter is entirely made of acrylic, it allows light to pass through from the front as well as the sides. The end result is a stunning, well-lit logo or letter for our signboard.

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This glowing box letter, along with its embedded LEDs, is then fitted onto the ACP base frame. And finally, the finished base frame is mounted on top of the storefront.

As I mentioned previously, both ACP and acrylic sheets are available in a variety of colours. Obviously, the colour of these sheets needs to be matched with the brand and corporate guidelines of the client.

The End-Result and Application

The resulting LED acrylic letter board has two different effects ideal for both day and night times.

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During the day, the colourful ACP frame is beautiful to look at. Additionally, the 3D logos and letters jut out in the front and give the board a rich look even when it is not lit up.

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At night, when the power is switched on, these same letters and logos brightly light up with the embedded LEDs and give a stunning look to your shop front.

2. 3D Acrylic, Aluminium Channel Letters Mounted on an ACP Base Frame

Channel letter signs are almost exactly similar to acrylic box letters. Here too, we have a raised 3D letter with LEDs fixed on the inside. But there is one major difference.

In acrylic box letters, both the front as well as the side skirtings are made of acrylic. This means that the entire letter (the top surface as well as its 3 inch deep sides) glow when lit from within.

But that is not the case for a channel letter board.

Black channel letters acrylic shop sign board with individual letters mounted on a metal pipe frame. Letters are 3D and will be lit with LEDs from within
Black channel letters acrylic shop sign board with individual letters mounted on a metal pipe frame. Letters are 3D and will be lit with LEDs from within
Black channel letters with white acrylic fronts spelling Versa Vice
Black channel letters with a white acrylic front surface to create a beautiful sign board for a shop. Letters displayed on a wooden plank spelling out the words Versa Vice
Two examples of channel letters which are used for creating acrylic sign boards for shops. Non-lit letter Y with a gold side patti. S letter with an acrylic front and lit with LEDs from within
Two examples of channel letters which are used for creating acrylic sign boards for shops. Non-lit letter Y with a gold side patti. S letter with an acrylic front and lit with LEDs from within
Side view of metallic channel letters fabricated from white aluminum side strip and white acrylic fitted on the top. Channel letters are great for creating beautiful looking LED glow sign boards
Side view of metallic channel letters fabricated from white aluminum side strip and white acrylic fitted on the top. Channel letters are great for creating beautiful looking LED glow sign boards
Shop signboard made of channel letters having a gold metallic finish on the sides. Front surface has acrylic and is lit with warm white LEDs
Shop signboard made of channel letters having a gold metallic finish on the sides. Front surface has acrylic and is lit with warm white LEDs
Channel letter glow sign board made of metal skirting and crystal LEDs on top. Day and night view showing the board with lights switched on and off
Channel letter glow sign board made of metal skirting and crystal LEDs on top. Day and night view showing the board with lights switched on and off
How is a 3D Acrylic Channel Letter Board Made?

In 3D channel letters, the side border is made of a metal patti or strip. Signmakers refer to this border as ‘aluminium profile strip’ or ‘channel patti’.

For fabricating our letter, we take a 3-inch thick aluminium channel and turn it into the desired shape. There is a specialised channel bending machine to do this. The laser-cut acrylic sheet is then mounted on top of the shaped channel.

The End-Result and Application

The end result is an exceedingly beautiful letter with a metallic finish on the sides. With the acrylic sheet on the front, you still have your backlit effect. The only difference being that the letter will glow only from the front and not from the sides (being made of metal, the aluminium channel does not allow light to pass through).

Choosing between a fully glowing acrylic box letter sign board and the aluminium channel letter option is a matter of personal choice. The costs for both are more or less the same.

A sign board is not lit during a major part of the day. So, for some people, the metallic finish of a channel letter is more important than the amount of light it throws out. Others might prefer the glorious glow of the entire 3D letter. For them, it would make sense to opt for the acrylic box letter sign.

3. 2D Stencil Cut Letters in an ACP Box / Base Frame

The acrylic letters are three dimensional in both types of LED acrylic sign board options mentioned above. They jut out a few inches from the base on which they are installed.

But we can also fabricate boards where these glowing acrylic letters are in the same plane as the surface they are mounted on. These backlit letters do not protrude and are in line with the base ACP frame. Our letters now have a two-dimensional effect.

Day and night view of a glow sign board. White and green acrylic letters stencil cut in an ACP base frame make for a great looking shop board of the Pushkraj store
Day and night view of a glow sign board. White and green acrylic letters stencil cut in an ACP base frame make for a great looking shop board of the Pushkraj store
How Are Stencil Letters Cut Into an ACP Panel? How Is the Board Lit Up?

Stencil cut letters, as the name suggests, are cut into the base ACP sheet. This is done using a CNC router. Let’s say that you need to cut a sign in the shape of the letter “A”. Signmakers make an “A” shaped hole in the metal sheet which goes into the making the base frame of the board. This hole is cut out using the drilling tool of a CNC router.

Remember the arts and craft class back in school when we used to cut stencil designs from paper using a blade? This process is pretty similar.

We then cut another letter “A” in the same shape and dimension of our ACP sheet’s ‘A’ shaped hole. This time the letter is made of a 3 mm thick acrylic sheet. Please also remember that acrylic is translucent and allows light to pass through.

Our laser cut acrylic letter is then precisely slotted into our “A” shaped hole on the metal sheet. LED modules are fitted in the hollow space of the ACP frame, beneath the acrylic letter. These modules make our 2D stencil cut acrylic sign glow and light up.

Stencil cut acrylic letters glow sign board for beauty salon. Outline of a woman lit in red LEDs with the letters lit in white LEDs.
Stencil cut acrylic letters glow sign board for beauty salon. Outline of a woman lit in red LEDs with the letters lit in white LEDs.
Stencil cut acrylic letters board for a restaurant named Sushi. Board made of black printed ACP with a brightly lit food image and letters glowing in red LEDs
Stencil cut acrylic letters board for a restaurant named Sushi. Board made of black printed ACP with a brightly lit food image and letters glowing in red LEDs
Why Would I Choose a 2D Stencil Letter Board in Place of a 3D Acrylic Letter Board?

You are probably wondering why people would opt to make signages in 2D as against the 3D options listed above? Here are several reasons why…

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Acrylic glow signboards with two-dimensional letters are cheaper to fabricate than 3D acrylic signs. The end cost that a customer has to pay for this option does come down.

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Architects and designers like to play with the heights of different elements on a sign. So they might choose to keep some of the elements on the signboard in 3D and others in two dimensions. Let me illustrate this by giving you an example.

Let us say your sign is made up of three elements. Your logo, the name of your firm and the tagline of your company. Obviously, all three of these elements are important since they are being put on the main shop board right outside your store.

But perhaps the name and logo need to be highlighted a bit more than the accompanying tagline. In this case, a designer would go for a larger font size and higher placement for these two elements vis-a-vis the tagline.

Moreover, the letters making up the name and logo would be fabricated in the more prominent 3D acrylic name board option. In contrast, the tagline would be restricted to a flat two dimension.

Our sign is composed entirely of lit up, glowing letters. But some letters (the name and logo) are highlighted more strongly by virtue of giving them more depth and making them jut out from the base surface. The tagline also looks pretty bright. But it is kept relatively subdued because it is stencil cut in just two dimensions.

Apart from pushing the more important elements forward, this play of differing heights on a signboard also looks more aesthetically pleasing.

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Sometimes signboards are installed indoors. For example, the signs that you see in a bar or on the wall behind a hotel’s reception area. These signs are installed at eye level, and if the letters jut out significantly, they might brush or hit against people walking past them.
The less accident-prone, flat 2D glow signs then become the preferred option in this use case.

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3D acrylic letters have LED modules embedded in the hollow space beneath them to impart a backlit glow. These modules are generally 35 mm in width. This means that signmakers need at least 2 inches of free space (width), beneath the letters, to install the same.

Most fonts on large boards have a width larger than the requisite 2 inches. And our LED modules can easily be installed in this gap. But there are cases where the board design is pretty intricate.

A particular font may be pretty thin and not wide enough to accommodate our LED modules. In this case, we need to opt for 2D stencil cut acrylic letters for our sign.

4. In Cut Letters in an ACP Box / Base Frame

In Cut Acrylic Letter signs are pretty similar to Stencil Cut Letters. Here too, a laser cut acrylic letter is pushed into a same shaped hole in the base ACP panel. There is one small difference though.

Glow sign board for Jhas Educational Services made of in-cut acrylic letters fixed on a yellow ACP baseboard being fitted on top of a compound wall
Glow sign board for Jhas Educational Services made of in-cut acrylic letters fixed on a yellow ACP baseboard being fitted on top of a compound wall
Workers on a scaffolding installing an incut acrylic letters glow sign board for the Stereo company. The board is made of aluminium composite panel with LEDs embedded inside.
Workers on a scaffolding installing an incut acrylic letters glow sign board for the Stereo company. The board is made of aluminium composite panel with LEDs embedded inside.
Large laser cut acrylic letters brightly lit with LEDs to create an attractive and attention-grabbing incut ACP glow sign board
Large laser cut acrylic letters brightly lit with LEDs to create an attractive and attention-grabbing incut ACP glow sign board
White aluminium composite board with incut acrylic letters for the Unnati world shop sign board. The sign is lit up with blue and white colored LED modules
White aluminium composite board with incut acrylic letters for the Unnati world shop sign board. The sign is lit up with blue and white colored LED modules
In Cut Acrylic Letters Are Very Slightly 3-Dimensional

In Cut acrylic letters are not two dimensional like their Stencil Cut siblings. The acrylic letters, in this case, protrude very slightly away from the base ACP frame. Where stencil letters are used, the acrylic letter, which is embedded in the ACP cavity has the same thickness as the ACP sheet. So both these elements remain in the same plane.

In-cut letter boards use an acrylic sheet significantly thicker than the aluminium composite panel. The letters, in this case, become taller than the surrounding metal sheet. Let me elaborate on this.

ACP sheets are generally 3 mm thick. So when we make a hole in the same, the cross-section/hole also has a depth of 3 mm. Moreover, standard acrylic sheets used for sign making have a thickness of 3 mm. So when a 3 mm laser cut acrylic sheet is pressed into a 3 mm deep ACP cavity you end up with the ACP sheet and embedded acrylic letter having the top surfaces at the same height.

Run your fingers over the ACP panel and embedded letter and both these objects will be at the same plane. Your finger will not encounter any protrusions. This is why stencil cut acrylic signs are two dimensional.

But let us suppose that in the above example, we fit a 10 mm thick acrylic sheet in our 3 mm deep ACP cavity.

Now we end up with the letters protruding 7 mm (approximately a quarter of an inch) above the flat plane of our metal sheet. This is because, out of the total 10 mm thickness of our acrylic letter, a depth of 3 mm gets embedded in the ACP sheet. The remaining 7 mm juts forward.

In Cut and Stencil Cut Acrylic Letter Boards Are Largely Similar

In cut acrylic signs look very rich. These acrylic letters of course have a front glow. But additionally they also have a very nice edge glow from the sides that are protruding forward.

Opting between Stencil Cut and In Cut letters is a matter of individual choice. All the use case scenarios that apply to Stencil Cut letters stand true for In Cut acrylic signs as well.

In Cut acrylic letters can be deployed to impart a play of differing depths to the various elements on a backlit sign board. They too are used extensively for indoor signs. Moreover, just like Stencil Cut letters, the In Cut acrylic option is used to fabricate boards having very thin fonts or an intricate design.

5. Acrylic Glow Sign Boards with Stand-alone Letters Mounted Directly on the Walls or a Metal Frame

An aluminium composite sheet provides us with a base to mount our lit acrylic letters on. But in many use cases, customers ask us to do away with this base ACP frame entirely. We are requested to mount the letters directly on the wall or an existing metal frame.

Acrylic sign cut in the shape of a logo of the Malhar restaurant. Name board created in 3D with LEDs embedded within to give the letters a bright glow
Acrylic sign cut in the shape of a logo of the Malhar restaurant. Name board created in 3D with LEDs embedded within to give the letters a bright glow
3D letters made of white acrylic with a black surface on top. LEDs embedded inside the letters to give them a beautiful glow. Letters drilled directly onto the wall
3D letters made of white acrylic with a black surface on top. LEDs embedded inside the letters to give them a beautiful glow. Letters drilled directly onto the wall
Laser cut letters in 3D made of white acrylic with shiny mirror gold surface on the front. Letters are mounted directly on to the wall
Laser cut letters in 3D made of white acrylic with shiny mirror gold surface on the front. Letters are mounted directly on to the wall
Acrylic letters mounted on a metal frame dangling from the ceiling. LEDs embedded inside the hollow acrylic letters
Acrylic letters mounted on a metal frame dangling from the ceiling. LEDs embedded inside the hollow acrylic letters
3D acrylic glow sign board cut in the shape of a logo with LEDs embedded within
3D acrylic glow sign board cut in the shape of a logo with LEDs embedded within
Stand Alone Acrylic Letters With Lights. Why Are They Needed?

Assume for a moment that the customer has a well-finished wall of granite. It makes no sense for us to cover his premium looking granite tiles with yet another layer of aluminium composite panel.

Alternatively, the client may have an existing metal frame or steel girders in place at the installation site. Our job is to then reduce his cost by installing the 3D letters directly onto this frame. Doing away with the base frame does help in saving money.

In many malls, you’ll see glowing letters hanging from the ceilings without any visible back support. Standalone letters shining in front of the glass facade of premium retail stores add to the aesthetic value of the same.

Two Prerequisites for Stand Alone Acrylic Glow Sign Board.

Stand-alone letter jobs come with a couple of conditions. Fulfilling them will result in a beautifully finished job. The two things we pay particular attention to are…

01

We need to connect an electrical wire to each individual letter or logo of the sign. Remember, these letters have LEDs encased inside. Power needs to be supplied to these LED modules. In the case of an ACP base frame, the wires are easily concealed behind the metal panel.

But exposed wires do look ugly if there is no place to hide them. To work around this issue, we back drill on the wall where the letters have to be installed. This means we make a small hole behind each letter and loop the wires from behind the walls.

In case the letters are installed on a frame, we hide the wires in the structure’s hollow metal pipes.

02

Since there is no proper base or support for our letters, we prefer to use thicker and more robust materials to fabricate the signage. The letters are still made of laser cut acrylic, but we may choose to opt for a 5 mm thick sheet in place of the more standard 3 mm.

But while the front and sides of the letters are made of acrylic, to allow light to pass through, the back surface/base of regular letters is generally cut out of a 5 mm thick sunboard. For stand-alone letters, we recommend the use of a metal / ACP sheet for the back surface.

These best practices ensure significantly enhanced strength for our 3D letters. Crosswinds on high rise buildings pose a very real danger that needs to be considered by sign makers.

I have personally witnessed gale force winds tear apart a huge, 40-feet board, from the seventh floor of a high rise.

While thankfully no one was injured in that incident, it highlights the fact that fabrication and installation of shop signs should be commissioned from agencies with some level of experience rather than blindly contracting out the job to the lowest bidder.

6. Sky Signs

Three-dimensional acrylic, custom LED signs are very frequently referred to as Sky Signs. While the materials and methods used in creating sky signs are mostly similar to the ones used in other acrylic shop boards, the term ‘Sky Signs’ has a slightly different connotation in the signage industry. Let me explain why.

Sky sign of large metal letters lit with LEDs from behind, giving a glowing halo on the building wall
Sky sign of the Aerobit logo made out of metal letters with LEDs for a back glow. Name board installed on the side of a huge building
Cognizant sky sign of blue painted metal letters on a tall office building
Logo board for the Cognizant IT company created as a sky sign made from blue painted metal letters and installed on the side of a tall office building.
Large metal letters with LED back glow being installed as a sky sign on a building
Metal letters almost the height of a man being installed as a sky sign on the side of a building. LEDs give the letters a strong back glow
Logo board made of acrylic on an ACP frame for the Crown shipping company and installed on the side wall of their warehouse
Logo board made of acrylic on an ACP frame for the Crown shipping company and installed on the side wall of their warehouse
Logo in the shape of the number 33 fabricated from acrylic and metal letters glowing with LEDs and installed as a sky sign on the side of a tall residential building
Logo in the shape of the number 33 fabricated from acrylic and metal letters glowing with LEDs and installed as a sky sign on the side of a tall residential building
Night view of a glowing sky sign made from weatherproof acrylic and installed on the side of a tall building
Night view of a glowing sky sign made from weatherproof acrylic and installed on the side of a tall building
Multi Spice Hotel logo in laser-cut coloured acrylic on a black ACP frame on a tall building
Black ACP frame installed on the side of a tall building with the Multi Spice Hotel logo on top. Logo fabricated from laser cut acrylic of different colors
Apex Athena LED acrylic hoarding glowing at night
Apex Athena 30-foot LED acrylic hoarding lit at night
Use Case Scenarios for Sky Signs

Sky signs, as the name suggests are installed at very high locations. Ten storeys and higher buildings have become the norm in many Indian cities and there is an increasing demand for signs to be installed on top of the same. The reason is obvious. The higher a sign is installed, the greater its visibility.

Large signboards on top of skyscrapers can sometimes be viewed from kilometres away and have the potential to become prominent identifying marks on a city’s skyline. Drive down the expressway heading into Pune city and you will see huge signs atop tall buildings on both sides of the road.

Challenges in Executing a Sky Sign Project

Sky Signs, as a separate category in the signage industry, have some unique characteristics, such as:

01

The size of the letters and logos on a sky sign are significantly larger than the ones installed on storefronts. We routinely fabricate individual letters of 6 feet, 8 feet and even larger. An average 15 storey building shoots up to almost 200 feet in the air.

Signs on the shops at road level have letters of 2 or 3 feet at the most. But 3-feet high letters would become insignificant and in fact, almost invisible when installed on such a tall building.

02

We also need to use stronger, thicker, heavier and more robust materials to account for this increase in the size of the letters.

03

Moreover, sky signs are generally exposed to very high-speed winds all year round. Gale force winds at elevated locations can play havoc with signs. There have been instances of the wind unmooring or uprooting letters from their base.

04

Open-to-sky signs are also significantly impacted by rain and harsh sunlight. Signs need to be fabricated out of materials that do not corrode. Moreover, the electronic components of sky signs, namely the LEDs, the power supply and associated wiring all need to be waterproof to avoid short circuits and fire hazards.

05

Installing a sky sign on the side of a tall building can incur an additional cost of scaffolding. Accessing high places is difficult. If there are no means to reach the outside wall on the seventh storey of a building, we need to get a ‘pahaad’ or bamboo scaffold erected to do the same.

You need to keep this factor in mind when planning for your sky sign job.

How Are Sky Signs Fabricated at Orchid Digitals

At Orchid Digitals, we take particular care when commissioned for Sky Sign projects. Here are the points that are generally addressed.

01

Robustness of the signs: Sky signs are almost always made of aluminium channel letters. The aluminium profile used is also pretty thick. When the sides and back of the letters are made of metal, the letters become extremely strong. The acrylic sheet fixed on the front of the letter has a thickness of 5 mm in place of the more standard 3 mm. The materials’ thickness and strength ensure that our sky signs do not crack or break in adverse weather conditions.

02

Since the individual letters are made of aluminium, they do not corrode or degrade over time.

03

The LED modules and power supplies (drivers) in our sky signs are outdoor-grade and weatherproof, so they are not damaged by rain.

04

We deploy a scaffolding team for fixing Sky Signs on the sides of buildings, and ‘jhoolas’ or platform lifts suspended from ropes. I even remember one hotel sign project on Baner Road, where we brought in a crane to hoist a heavy 6-foot circular-shaped sign, 4 storeys high.

7. Metal Letter Boards

Extremely beautiful looking acrylic sign board with a metallic finish and a back glow. Letters fabricated out of highly polished gold metal fitted on white acrylic laser cut letters
Extremely beautiful looking acrylic sign board with a metallic finish and a back glow. Letters fabricated out of highly polished gold metal fitted on white acrylic laser cut letters
Metal letters signboard cut in the shape of the Where Else Cafe logo. Yellow LEDs fitted behind the letters to give it a beautiful back glow. Metallic letters drilled directly on to the wall
Metal letters signboard cut in the shape of the Where Else Cafe logo. Yellow LEDs fitted behind the letters to give it a beautiful back glow. Metallic letters drilled directly on to the wall
Metal letters shop board mounted on an acrylic and ACP base. Letters having a shiny gold finish and jutting out in 3D
Metal letters shop board mounted on an acrylic and ACP base. Letters having a shiny gold finish and jutting out in 3D
Shop board made of highly polished gold metallic letters with a LED back glow. Letters installed directly on the wall above the shop
Shop board made of highly polished gold metallic letters with a LED back glow. Letters installed directly on the wall above the shop
Metal sign board made of gold finish letters fixed on top of laser cut 3D acrylic letters. Shop name board mounted on top of aluminium composite panel
Metal sign board made of gold finish letters fixed on top of laser cut 3D acrylic letters. Shop name board mounted on top of aluminium composite panel
Silver Palace Steel Letters with All-Weather Strip LEDs
Silver Palace Steel Letters with All-Weather Strip LEDs

In all the types of LED acrylic sign boards described above, the letters or logos of our signs are made of acrylic. This is because acrylic allows light to pass through. Using different colours of acrylic, we can have a backlit signboard in a variety of shades and light effects.

In our introduction to this post, I also argued that backlit sign boards are commissioned due to their high visibility. Clients choose them to make their brand stand out as much as possible. In fact, we enthusiastically cram in as many LEDs as we can in a backlit signboard to give it the maximum amount of glow.

But there are certain situations where the light glow and visibility of a shop sign are not as important as the need to impart a very sober and rich look. The effect I am talking about is more subtle and less ‘in your face’. Enter metal letter sign boards.


One Advantage and One Disadvantage of a Metal Letter Board

The Advantage – Our metal letters are cut from 3 mm stainless steel and given a PVD finish, such as gold, rose gold, chrome or copper, or a brushed finish. We also make MS (mild steel) letters, which are painted in the colour you choose. The finish gives metal letters a rich look and feel.

The Disadvantage – The only drawback of metal letters is that it does not allow light to pass through. So, we recommend that these signs be installed in areas where light visibility is not as important as the need to create a rich effect.

A five-star hotel’s lobby for example is probably already very well lit from hundreds of different light sources. A sign in this location need not be backlit. So many interior decorators would opt for a highly polished, rich-looking metallic sign here.

Metal letter signs can be given a very beautiful back glow effect. As explained above, metal in itself is not transparent, duh! So what we do is, we do not install the letters flush with the wall.

Instead, the letters are raised a couple of inches away from the wall using spiked nails. We then put in a flexible LED rope beneath the letters. The light modules are kept facing the wall.

When switched on, the LEDs give a beautiful back glow effect, wherein light shines from the beneath the letters and from its sides. The letters themselves remain dark and silhouetted against this back glow. Do take a look at images of this shadow effect that I am talking about.

8. 3D Crystal Letter LED Boards

When you light up 3D acrylic letters, you get a very bright and even glow from the sign board. Moreover, if the acrylic is coloured, we get a similar shaded glow. And these kinds of light effects are ideally suited for most shop fronts and corporate offices.

But there are some businesses which demand, for want of a better word, more ‘bling’ from their signage. A hotelier, a ready garments store owner and jewellers especially look for more embellishment on their shop signs. And 3D Crystal Acrylic sign boards fit this bill perfectly.


How Do We Make Letters That Merrily Glitter and ‘Chamak’?

Instead of acrylic which evenly diffuses the LED glow we use hundreds and even thousands of small glass crystals in our sign letters. And these crystals disrupt the light emitted by the LEDs fitted beneath.

Each of these quarter inch crystals have multiple facets. And each of these facets create their own tiny focal point angling the light beam at thousands of different angles. Our crystal letter sign ends up glittering and shining very much like an expensive Swarovski chandelier.

Channel letter glow sign board made of metal skirting and crystal LEDs on top. Day and night view showing the board with lights switched on and off
Channel letter glow sign board made of metal skirting and crystal LEDs on top. Day and night view showing the board with lights switched on and off

For making crystal letter boards, we need to make a small change in the way we fabricate our acrylic box letters. The front surface of this letter has to be transparent like glass. We then glue small crystals on the back of this clear acrylic sheet. We push in one more sheet behind the crystals, to hold them in place.

The LED modules are placed beneath the crystals (inside the acrylic letters) just like we do for all other signs. Our white crystals are now in place and can be individually seen during the day when the lights are off. At night, when the power is switched on, each of these hundreds of crystals starts glittering to give a stunning effect to our sign board.

Crystal Letter Boards Are Ideal for Jewellers

Jewellery store owners especially love the sparkling diamond-like effect of Crystal Letter Signs. Further, they ask for the sides of these letters to be made of metal with a gold or rose gold finish.

The look of this ‘gold’ letter sign with sparkling ‘diamond’ lights ends up closely representing the ornaments they are selling!

9. Open Dot LED Boards

In all the boards described above, the light source, i.e. the actual LED modules, are always concealed. Think of an LED as a single bright pinpoint of light. In the above types of boards, this pinpoint is hidden beneath an acrylic sheet, covered by a metal letter or occluded by lots of miniature crystals.

Each of these methods also gives off different light effects. For example, an acrylic sheet evenly diffuses the glow, and metal letter signs enable a back glow effect. Letters adorned with crystals, on the other hand, give a unique sparkling effect.

But at Orchid Digitals there is an option of creating a signboard without having to hide the individual dots of glowing LEDs.

We can fabricate letters where the individual LEDs can directly be viewed. These signs, where the lights are not covered, are known as Open Dot LED boards or LED open signboards.

Open Dot LED board for Nakoda Jewellers created out of metallic gold letters with thousands of small LEDs fitted on top
Open Dot LED board for Nakoda Jewellers created out of metallic gold letters with thousands of small LEDs fitted on top
Open dot LED board for Saksham Book store made of 3D white acrylic letters with thousands of LEDs fitted right on top
Open dot LED board for Saksham Book store made of 3D white acrylic letters with thousands of LEDs fitted right on top
Gold metal letter sign board for the Shambhu Saloon with thousands of open dot LEDs on top
Gold metal letter sign board for the Shambhu Saloon with thousands of open dot LEDs on top
Brightly glowing open dot LED sign board for the Shambhu Saloon with the letters made of gold metallic letters
Brightly glowing open dot LED sign board for the Shambhu Saloon with the letters made of gold metallic letters
Sign letters being fabricated out of gold finish metal with holes drilled on the top surface to insert open dot LEDs
Sign letters being fabricated out of gold finish metal with holes drilled on the top surface to insert open dot LEDs
DG opticals open dot LED signboard
DG opticals open dot LED signboard
Ugam ghee open dot LED shop sign
Ugam ghee open dot LED shop sign
DG opticals open dot acrylic LED letters
DG opticals open dot acrylic LED letters
The Advantage of an Open Dot LED Board

The single biggest advantage of Open Dot boards is that the light thrown out by these signs is phenomenal. Since there is no cover on the LEDs, the full power of their luminosity is brought into play.

Each LED module is a pinpoint of light. The viewer can see hundreds of these pinpoints or spots of light. That is why these signs are also referred to as Spot LED boards.

I want to once again emphasise how bright Open Dot LED boards can become. There have been instances where high powered street lamps pale in comparison to these signs.

At dusk, when Spot LED boards are switched on, the roads and mohallas visibly brighten up. This extreme brightness can also backfire on us. One client actually came back to us with a complaint that viewers get dazed when they glance at their LED open sign board.


How are Open Dot LED Boards made at Orchid Digitals?

To fabricate a custom Spot LED sign, we first create a regular 3D acrylic sign. We then drill small holes on the top surface of the acrylic letters. Individual LEDs each measuring 8mm in diameter (or even smaller) are slotted into these holes.

Instead of being embedded under the acrylic cover, each dot of LED remains exposed. Hundreds if not thousands of these dots are placed closely together to make a single shop sign. And when these thousand-plus dots all light up, the effect is truly awesome.

Standard LEDs emit light in a single colour. But RGB LED modules are a variant of the same where one dot can glow in many different colours. Custom acrylic LED signboard manufacturers use a special programmable driver/chipset to make all the LEDs cascade through different colours simultaneously.

We can even program the LEDs to create interesting patterns. RGB LEDs are used extensively in LED open signboards. These signs then come ‘alive’ through a riot of colours, patterns and light effects.

10. Neon Sign Boards

A very specific type of LED acrylic signs are the neon signs. Technically speaking this is a bit of a misnomer. Previously, people used to fabricate signs out of glass tubes filled with neon or argon, xenon, helium and other noble gasses. These gasses used to light up with the typically bright and fluorescent colours we are all familiar with.

But neon lights were very difficult to maintain and consumed huge amounts of power. The glass tubes were prone to breakage. Also, the gas used to frequently leak out of the glass tubes it was encased in. Do you remember seeing neon signs where one of the letters was flickering or had gone completely dark?

Brightly colored neon sign for a cocktail bar made out of neon lights of different colors and mounted on a black colored circular base
Brightly colored neon sign for a cocktail bar made out of neon lights of different colors and mounted on a black colored circular base
Multiple signs created in bright neon lights spelling out the words open and beer. Neons are all of different colors
Multiple signs created in bright neon lights spelling out the words open and beer. Neons are all of different colors
Colorful neon sign board created for the storefront of a waffles shop named the London Bubble Company
Colorful neon sign board created for the storefront of a waffles shop named the London Bubble Company
Neon sign board spelling out the letters Symbiosis in a bright red color
Neon sign board spelling out the letters Symbiosis in a bright red color

Depicting a seedy rundown motel by opening the scene on a partly dark or flickering sign is a trick used in many Hollywood movies. Such broken down signs did attract attention, but for all the wrong reasons. With the advent of low-cost, low power consuming, and long-life LEDs, glass tube signs quickly became obsolete.

But the neon lights used decades ago had one thing going for them. Their bright fluorescent lights emulated colours straight out of a science fiction movie. These colours brought a festive party-look to their surroundings.

Neon signs were phenomenal attention grabbers. They have always been in great demand in places like bars, lounges, restaurants, fashion salons, etc.

The ability to grab attention is the reason sign makers like us get paid :-). Customers started demanding a solution for very bright coloured signs with low power consumption and none of the maintenance hassles inherent in gas-filled glass tubes.

The time was ripe for LEDs to fill in this demand gap, and LED manufacturers did not disappoint. And, they did so with an ingenious solution.

LED Neon Ropes – A More Modern and Energy Efficient Solution for Neon Light Signs

Neon glass tubes have been difficult to make and maintain, and thankfully, replaced of late by LED ropes. These ropes are tubular and can mimic the running, script letter form of older generation neon signboards.

But most importantly, these neon LEDs are available in beautiful eye-catching colours like fluorescent green, bright orange, peppermint blue, fluorescent pink, royal blue, etc. Also, since these ropes are made of flexible plastic as against glass, they are not prone to breakage. Moreover, neon LEDs consume a tiny fraction of the power of their glass tube counterparts.


LED Neon Signs Boards Can Only Have a Running Font Form Factor

Do remember that neon LEDs ropes are thin half an inch thick flexible tubes. So we can fabricate thin running font letters out of the same. But if your sign design is made up of thick blocky fonts, you might have to opt for the more conventional acrylic letters.

Moreover, what is a bright colour for some, may be too garish for others. A fluorescent pink letter might not be appropriate for a sober corporate sign. Use neon colours when you want to give a high energy, youthful look to a low-lit lounge bar. But you might be sending across the wrong message if the same were to be installed outside a doctor’s clinic.

Do have a look at the images showing examples of LED neon sign boards.


What Are the 3 Main Components of a Glow Sign Board?

Reading this section will give you in-depth knowledge about the materials and construction process of acrylic ACP glow signboards. Please click on the accordion tab below to know more.

On the other hand, you can choose to skip this section and see how your shop board project can be taken forward.


Base of the Sign

The base of the sign (or the actual board) on top of which all the letters/logos are installed is generally made of two components.

01

An aluminium frame, 3 inches deep. This frame is made of square pipes of aluminium. The industry refers to them as aluminium sections or profile patti.

02

This ACP or aluminium composite panel is a 3 mm thick sheet which is stretched or moulded across the frame described above. As the name suggests, ACP is a sheet composed of two thin aluminium skins sandwiching a polymer (plastic) core.

The end result is a box of three inches depth. This depth is enough to conceal all the electrical wirings and acrylic letter fittings.

The box frame is screwed on to the wall at the installation site. All the other components like the glowing letters, the LEDs associated with the same, etc. are fitted on top of this box frame.

The benefits of using sheets of aluminium composite panels for outdoor signages are:

03

ACP sheets do not rust: aluminium does not rust, and the plastic core is sealed between the two aluminium skins.

04

ACP sheets have a fabulous finish. It is smooth and flat. When moulded around a frame, one can get extremely straight edges. All in all, ACP sheets have a significantly better form factor than other signage materials like patra or tinfoil.

05

ACP sheets are available in a variety of colours, metallic tints and even wood finishes. This choice of shades makes it easy to match the custom signboard with the clients’ logo colours or brand identity.

06

Using a CNC router, it is very easy to cut letters and logo shapes into ACP sheets. This is important because the next step in fabricating our board is to place LEDs in these cuts for illumination. Thick acrylic letters are then mounted over the LEDs for the backlit 3D effect.

Acrylic Letters

Acrylic letters are the second and the most visible component of our LED acrylic shop boards. All letters, logos, tag lines, etc. fitted on top of the ACP base frame are generally made of acrylic.

LEDs concealed behind these acrylic letters act as the source of light for our acrylic ACP glow sign boards.

Acrylic is a very high-quality sheet of plastic which can replace glass in a variety of products. It has the look and shiny finish of glass. But unlike glass, acrylic is extremely lightweight. And since it is a high-grade plastic, it is far less likely than glass to crack or shatter.

Perhaps the most important property of an acrylic sheet is that it can be easily shaped, moulded and cut in just about any shape you desire. Moreover, we can even extrude (give depth) acrylic sheets to create hollow three-dimensional designs.

For example, let us assume that we need to create a backlit sign of the letter ‘O’. We first use a laser cutter to cut out an ’O’ shaped design from a flat 3 mm thick sheet of acrylic. This flat sheet is then given a depth of about 3 inches. We now have a hollow 3D letter.

Small modules of LEDs are fitted in the hollow space beneath the letter. The end result is a beautiful glass-like letter which glows from within when the power is switched on.

To summarise, acrylic has the following properties which make it the ideal material for creating backlit signs:

01

Acrylic is smooth and has a very glossy glass-like finish.

02

Acrylic is strong and far less prone to breakage than glass.

03

Acrylic is significantly lighter in weight when compared to glass.

04

For creating 3D signs acrylic can be easily cut and moulded. It is pretty easy to fabricate acrylic letters in just about any shape or to reproduce logos and fonts specified in a client’s artwork.

05

Acrylic is available in a variety of colours. In fact, there is a whole album/shade card of colours for you to choose from. Matching logo colours as per corporate branding guidelines is a breeze.

06

Acrylic allows light to pass through. So 3D letters made out of acrylic can be embedded with LEDs to give it a backlit effect.

LEDs

LEDs are the third component of our glow sign boards: the light source. Small LED modules are fitted inside the hollow 3D letters, or inside the ACP box behind stencil-cut and in-cut letters, and make the board glow evenly at night.

We use waterproof, industrial-grade LED modules (UNI or Rishang) with outdoor, weatherproof power supplies. Branded LEDs, such as Philips or Samsung, are available on request.

Here is why LEDs are the right light source for a modern sign board:

01

LEDs consume a fraction of the power used by traditional light sources. This leads to huge savings on the electricity bill. This is significant because custom backlit LED sign boards are typically switched on from dusk or late afternoon to the wee hours of the following morning.

02

LEDs run cool. They give off far less heat than traditional bulbs and tube lights, so they need much less power.

Just as important, less heat inside the board means a much lower risk of overheating, which makes LED sign boards far safer than boards lit with old-style bulbs.

03

LEDs last a long time. Good LED modules are rated for up to 50,000 hours. Even if your board is lit for 6 hours a day, that is many years of light, with far fewer replacements than older light sources needed. Like any electrical part, an LED module or power supply can still fail: our boards carry a 6-month warranty from installation, and repairs after that are chargeable.

04

LEDs have a very small form factor for the luminosity that they can generate. A 35 mm LED module can typically generate as much light as a 2-3 inch bulb.

    • Due to its small size, a signboard manufacturer can typically fit more LEDs in a board to make it significantly brighter.
    • Moreover, modules measuring less than an inch can be fitted in the tight spaces, corners and curves of a logo or font. For example, let’s say the letter ‘A’ in a customer’s design measures 12 inches. There is no way to fit a 3-foot long fluorescent tube in this letter. The only way to light up this small letter is to use miniature LEDs.

05

There is a variant of the standard LEDs known as RGB LEDs. RGB diodes are capable of emitting different colors as against the vanilla LED option that shines in one single shade. Signboards fitted with these RGB LEDs can be made to cascade through all the colors in the spectrum. We need a special programmable chip to make this happen.

But the fact remains that multiple varieties of colours and dancing lights make our custom acrylic LED sign board even more eye-catching.

I can keep going into more detail about the materials and fabrication processes of sign boards. But for now, let’s talk about how your sign board project gets planned and priced.


Why There Is No Fixed Price for a Sign Board

Every board we make is different. The letter A on one board may be 2 ft tall, and on another only 1.5 ft. The amount of acrylic, the number of LED modules and the size of the ACP base change from board to board, and so does the difficulty of the job.

A board above a shop at road level is a very different job from one on the side of a 10-storey building, which needs scaffolding, a pahaad or even a crane. A board close to our shop is easy to bring over; one on the outskirts of Pune, or outside Pune, needs a tempo or a truck and a separate installation team.

A sign board is not something we can hand you across the counter: we have to go to your site and install it. That is why about ₹2,000 per sq ft + 18% GST is only a figure to budget with. Your exact price comes after we have studied your project in detail.


Before You Pay: a Free, Detailed Proposal

For every sign board, we first make a detailed proposal, free of cost. We do it for one reason: transparency. Describing a specification over the phone and showing it to you on paper are two different things. With the proposal in your hands, you know exactly what you are going to get before anything is cut, and there are no rude surprises after the board is made.

Here is how it works, step by step.

01

Your inputs: Send us your artwork (logo, name and tagline, preferably as a .AI or .CDR file), the size of the board you have in mind, and photos of the spot where it will go. For large or difficult sites, we can send a person to survey the site and take measurements (a site visit is charged, and the charge is adjusted against your order).

02

Layout: We lay out every element on the board, such as your name, logo, tagline and services, so it is easy to read and gets noticed.

03

Dimensions: A page with the overall size of the board and the height and width of every element, so you and your architect or interior designer can check that it fits.

04

Materials and colours: Every material that goes into the board: its thickness, whether it is lit or not, the kind of LEDs we will use, and the colour of every element, matched to your brand.

05

Specifications: The board shown lit up at night, so you see at a glance which parts glow and which stay unlit, which parts are 3D and which are flat 2D, and how the board is fitted.

06

Site render, day and night: We place your board on a photo of your site, in a day view and a night view, so you can see how it will look on your building before it is made.

Then, the costing. You go through the proposal and tell us what you would like changed: a colour, a size, lit or non-lit. We refine it until you are happy with it. Only when the proposal is final do we work out the cost, so you know exactly what you are paying for.

No obligation. The proposal costs you nothing. If you don’t like what you see, you are free to walk away.

Easy to compare. Every material, size and specification is written down, so you can put our proposal next to any other quote and compare them line by line.

Below is a short video of how we plan a glow sign board, followed by pages from a real proposal we made for the ISKCON Gifts store (prices removed).

Proposal layout page: the ISKCON Gifts sign board with the logo, name, tagline and Marathi name laid out on a brown base
Layout: every element placed on the board
Proposal dimensions page: the overall board size and the width and height of every element, for the client and architect to check
Dimensions: the overall size and the size of every element
Proposal materials and colours page: every material on the board, from the ACP base and aluminium frame to the cast acrylic, LED modules and power supply
Materials and colours: every material, its thickness and colour
Proposal specifications page: the ISKCON Gifts board shown lit at night, marking which parts glow, which are 3D and how the board is fitted
Specifications: the board at night, with what glows and what is 3D
Proposal page showing what we are aiming for: a day and night mock-up of the ISKCON Gifts glow sign board on the storefront
What we are aiming for: the day and night mock-up we start from
Proposal site render: the new ISKCON Gifts board placed on a photo of the store in a day view and a night view
Site render: your board on your own building, by day and by night

Our Work: 3D LED Sign Boards We Have Made

Real jobs from our workshop, photographed on site. Tap a card to see all the photos and the story of each job.

More 3D LED sign board jobs

Read more on our blog

See all our 3D LED sign board jobs in Our Work →

FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions

In the page above we have listed 10 different types of Acrylic LED glow signs. These include 3D acrylic letter boards, stencil cut letter boards, metal letter boards, sky signs, neon light signs, open-dot LED boards, incut boards and many more variants.

We can even fabricate further variants using a combination of the above.

Mail us your logo file, approximate dimensions and a photo of the site, and we’ll recommend the board best suited to your needs. You can also try the board finder in our sign board guide.

To enable us to understand your requirements fully, we need a few inputs from your end. Do mail the following information to us.

1. Your design/logo file that needs to be fabricated in 3D: This artwork needs to be in the form of a vector file. Two examples of vector-based software are CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator. Their file formats are referred to as .cdr and .ai, respectively. Other vector files like .eps and .svg files will work just as well. Bitmap file formats like .jpg, .tiff, .png .psd do not really help.

2. The dimensions: The horizontal width and the vertical height are two of the main parameters that go into determining the total cost of the acrylic board project. Do make sure that you share the same as well.

3. Site photograph: Do share a photo of the location where the board needs to be installed. This site pic helps us visualise the job and formulate a proposal for you.

Yes, and it is free. We make a detailed proposal with the layout, dimensions, materials and colours, specifications and a day-and-night render on your site photo. Once you are happy with it, we work out the cost. If you don’t like what you see, you owe us nothing.

See how our proposal works.

Plan for about ₹2,000 per sq ft + 18% GST. This applies to all 10 types of boards on this page, and it is an indicative figure to help you budget, not a final quote.

For example, a board 6 ft wide and 3 ft high is 18 sq ft, so plan for about 18 × ₹2,000 = ₹36,000 + 18% GST.

Every board is different, so the final price depends on:
1. The amount of acrylic that goes into it
2. The number of LED modules and the size of the ACP base
3. The size of each letter and logo, and the amount of detail
4. How difficult the installation is: above a shop at road level, or on the side of a 10-storey building (scaffolding, a pahaad or a crane)
5. Where the site is: close to our shop, on the outskirts of Pune or outside Pune (transport by tempo or truck, and a separate installation team)

We give you the exact price only after studying your project in detail, in our free proposal.

Yes. For our Pune clients we handle the whole job: the proposal, fabrication and on-site installation. Installation is available in Pune on orders of ₹10,000 + GST and above (smaller jobs on request, at a small extra charge). Its cost depends on the site, so we quote it separately after studying the job; scaffolding, a pahaad or a crane, if needed, is extra.

Outside Pune, we ship the board ready to fit, with the fittings it needs and a stencil for alignment. A local contractor can install it, or make the frame or brackets that hold it, following our instructions.

We make many kinds of shop boards and signs. Click a link below to learn more:

3D acrylic boards with lights: you are on this page
3D acrylic boards without lights, also available as non-lit acrylic logo letters on a base plate
2D backlit flex boards with lights
Non-lit printed boards: ACP prints or WPC sheet prints
Sunboard prints, which you can also order online

Not sure which suits you? Try the board finder in our sign board guide.

Your design/logo file (that has to be fabricated in 3D) has to be in the form of a vector file.

Two examples of vector-based software are CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator. Their file formats are referred to as .cdr and .ai, respectively. Other vector files like .eps and .svg files will work just as well. Bitmap file formats like .jpg, .tiff, .png .psd do not really help.

The smallest board we make is 3 sq ft, for example 3 ft × 1 ft. This applies to all 10 types of boards on this page. The minimum order is ₹3,000 + GST.

Yes. Delivery is free in Pune on orders of ₹3,000 + GST and above. Outside Pune, we ship the board anywhere in India. LED boards are bulky and fragile, so shipping is charged extra, and we tell you the cost before dispatch. Outside Pune, a local contractor installs the board (see the installation question above).

Cost of LED Acrylic ACP Backlit Signs

Every sign board is different, so there is no fixed rate card. As a budgeting guide, plan for about ₹2,000 per sq ft + 18% GST. The final price depends on:

  • The amount of acrylic that goes into the board
  • The number of LED modules and the size of the ACP base
  • The size of each letter and logo, and the amount of detail
  • How difficult the installation is, and how high up the board goes
  • Where your site is: in Pune, on its outskirts or outside Pune

Each of these has to be studied before we can give you a meaningful price, and we do that in our free proposal. To get started, email us at [email protected] with:

  • Your artwork: your company name and logo, tagline and fonts. Please share the original file in CorelDRAW (.cdr), Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or .eps format.
  • The size you have in mind. Rough measurements are fine at this stage.
  • Photos of the site where the board will be installed, and its address. If the board goes very high up or the site is hard to reach, we may need to send a team to survey it.


A Quick Way to Budget for Your Board

If you are at an early stage and just want a rough figure, use about ₹2,000 per sq ft + 18% GST. It applies to all 10 types of boards on this page.

For example, a board 6 ft wide and 3 ft high is 6 × 3 = 18 sq ft. So plan for about 18 × ₹2,000 = ₹36,000 + 18% GST.

Please treat this only as a budgeting guide. Your exact price comes in our proposal, after we have studied your design, materials and site.

3D Acrylic LED ACP Glow Sign Boards

All 10 types of LED glow sign boards. *An indicative price to budget with; your exact price comes in our free proposal.

₹ 2000 Sq. Ft*
  • Sign board fabricated from new-age materials like LED, ACP, and acrylic
  • Glow sign board is brightly lit with small, all weather LED modules
  • Choose from acrylic 2D letters, in-cut letters, 3D letters, channel letters, etc.
  • Rust-proof, all-weather, exterior-grade ACP for the base of the board
  • Clear imported cast acrylic inside avoids shadows on the letters
  • A high density of LED modules gives brightly lit logos and letters with an even spread of light
  • 3 or 5 mm thick imported cast acrylic (Lucite or Astari) and exterior-grade vinyl to match your logo colours
  • Delivery within Pune is free on orders of ₹3,000 + GST and above
  • Installation in Pune is quoted separately, after we study the site
  • Please note: the costing below is indicative and can go up or down based on the final project specifications
  • Example: ₹48,000 + 18% GST for a board 6 ft × 4 ft (24 sq ft × ₹2,000 per sq ft)

Please note:

  • ₹2,000 per sq ft + 18% GST is an indicative figure for budgeting. Every board is different; your final price comes only in our proposal, after we study your design, materials and site.
  • Minimum board size: 3 sq ft (for example 3 ft × 1 ft), for all 10 types. Minimum order: ₹3,000 + GST.
  • Delivery: free in Pune on orders of ₹3,000 + GST and above. Outside Pune, we ship the board; shipping is charged extra and told to you before dispatch.
  • Installation: in Pune, on orders of ₹10,000 + GST and above, quoted separately after we study the site (scaffolding, a pahaad or a crane is extra if needed). Outside Pune, a local contractor installs the board or makes its frame, following our instructions.
  • Turnaround: typically 1 to 15 days after you approve the proposal and pay, depending on the job. We confirm it in your proposal but don’t promise a fixed date.
  • Warranty: 6 months from installation; repairs after that are chargeable.
  • Payment: 100% in advance.

Get a Quote for Acrylic Glow Sign Boards

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