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![]() Light Boxes for Retail Display - Saving Dollars with New Technology
By Jeff Parry
Are all retail light boxes created equal? New developments in retail light box technology and demands for more sophisticated and energy efficient merchandising and display products may be signaling the demise of standard light box technology.
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So, what does this new technology bring to the table?
First, these traditional store light boxes really chewed through the power. A large light box of 6m x 3m (approx 20 x 10 foot) requires 45 x 58 watt fluorescent tubes to effectively illuminate. Such a light box, running for just 12 hours a day, uses around 12,000 kW of power per annum and that equates to an electricity bill of well in excess of US$1000 for just one light box! Maintenance is also an issue that seems to be problematic for business owners using these traditional style light boxes. Just one faulty tube in your light box can make it look… well… average at best. And clearly the likelihood of a fault at any given time, when you have 45 fluorescent tubes or more illuminating a single light box, is rather high. Flickering or broken tubes quickly become a considerable ongoing cost and as a result it is common to see this type of light box with dull patches or shadows across the surface. This flawed presentation has a negative impact on consumer perception of your brand, not to mention a significant decrease in the impact of your signage or advertising - it's not professional and it's not bright.
These matrix patterns are the crucial element in the effectiveness of slimline light boxes. The light that is introduced into to acrylic panel is reflected by the pattern and exits the panel via the front face, thus illuminating any poster or graphics placed on that face. Effective light patterns operate using algorithms that have been calculated to distribute the light evenly across the panel. In essence these patterns reflect less light near the edge of the acrylic panel, where the light source is applied and light levels are at their highest, and more light at the centre of the panel where levels are at their lowest. Without an effective diffusion pattern the perimeters of the acrylic panel would be brightest, whilst the centre would be dim. And let me take this chance to warn you: there are plenty of cheap slimline light boxes on the market using sub-standard light patterns which produce exactly this result. Be sure that your supplier understands the workings of matrix patterns in slimline light boxes and can assure you that the product you are purchasing uses a legitimate pattern.
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As mentioned above, electricity consumption and maintenance are significant operational costs associated with traditional back-lit light boxes. These costs are in fact two sides of the same coin, in that they are a direct result of the number of fluorescent tubes required to effectively illuminate any given light box. A high tube count clearly equates to higher power usage, but this number also dictates the regularity of maintenance procedures by multiplying the probability of faults. Slimline light boxes reduce the tube count by 50 - 70% thus reducing maintenance cost by a comparable percentage. The exact figure varies dependent upon the size and proportions of the light box in question, but if we take the example given above of the 6m x 3m light box using 45 fluorescent tubes, a slimline light box of the same dimensions would achieve equal illuminance using only 12 tubes - a reduction in tube count of over 70%.
The future is clear Jeff Parry works with light boxes and retail displays for Slimline Warehouse Australia.
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