A dying art form?

The neon sector of signage has always attracted a lot of interest. At exhibitions such as Sign and Digital UK and Viscom, it is the neon stands that really draw in the visitors. The bright, eye-catching designs can ignite a sense of nostalgia, as these type of signs were introduced around 50 to 100 years ago. This makes them popular now at throw-back restaurants such as American-style diners, stylish clothes shops, and clubs.



In a recent interview with SignLink, Macer Bridges, general manager of Vink Lighting, says that the neon sector has seen a resurgence.

Bridges comments: “The sign industry is a curious mix of tradition and innovation. Five years ago, neon (or cold cathode) was considered to be ‘dead in the water’, but of late this sector has seen a resurgence. The neon retro look is once again becoming popular, and it is not uncommon to see, for example, a new restaurant/diner open up with lots of exposed neon features, LED back-lit letters, and digital screen menu boards.



“Vink is the only company in the UK who can supply a full range of modular LED systems, high voltage neon transformers, glass, gas, and electrodes, and from the same warehouse a full range of high quality digital screens and software. This ‘one stop shop’ approach has proved to be very popular with our clients who know that they can rely on us for pretty much all of their sign lighting needs.”

Although the company had to let some manufacturers go and not further evolve certain products, Vink Lighting’s relationship with Fabbrica Apparecchi Radioelettrici Treviso (F.A.R.T), on the neon side, has proved strong.

Clock is ticking

However, the use of neon is set to change drastically in four years’ time as European regulators want to ban the substance used in the making of neon, mercury, on the grounds of it being a hazardous material. The British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA) earned an exemption for the use of mercury until 2020, giving them a few more years to lobby for a further extension or to find alternatives to the metal.

Despite regulation that could spell the end for neon, the ‘neon look’ is one that has not faded in its popularity.

Neon signage regularly makes its way into popular culture. For example, UK band Blur turned to the medium for the artwork on its most recent album The Magic Whip, created by an East London signage firm. Also, Neon Creations worked closely with a design agency to transform illustrations into neon art pieces for the set of morning television programme, Sunday Brunch.

Technology manufacturers are also thinking of new ways to incorporate the trend. Due to its popular look and feel, even wide-format printer manufacturers are getting in on the action by creating technology that can reproduce the pop of neon colours through CMYK. OKI added the Pro6410 NeonColor printer to its Pro Series earlier this year with the option of using neon white toner as a security mark which is only revealed under UV black light.



Dave Willcox, product marketing manager at OKI Europe, says: “These new printers will unleash the full creative and commercial potential of print houses and graphic arts businesses. The Pro6410 NeonColor is another OKI first, electrifying conventional graphics with bursts of high-voltage, fluorescent colour on almost any medium. This is part of OKI Europe’s continuous commitment to innovation that opens up new, practical, revenue-generating opportunities for customers.”

The new printer was just one of OKI’s devices on display at this year’s Drupa, alongside a rack of t-shirts, mugs, and other products with neon features—showcasing the many avenues possible with this technology.

Be alternative

One company that has a wealth of knowledge on all things neon, LED, and signage is The Sign Group. Its brand NeonPlus has 18 experienced staff, two CNC machines, and one laser cutter at work to put a personal touch to every sign it produces. NeonPlus has recently been given prestigious CE approval by the BSI Group, which means it can distribute the product within the European market as it is compliant with regulation.



Graeme Hoole, production manager of The Sign Group explains the problems with traditional neon that have led to the creation of an alternative: “The problems with traditional neon are that it’s fragile, which means it’s potentially difficult to fit but also it’s not something that can be sent on a courier without fear of it ending up getting broken.

“It’s quite specialist so there are long lead times on it usually when it’s ordered. It’s not unsafe but there are elements of it that you need to be careful of, in some instances it needs to be out of reach so people can’t touch it, and in some instances you need to use a fireman’s switch; not all, but some.

“The main downside to neon now is the impending heavy restrictions that are to be placed on it in 2020, which will heavily restrict the use of mercury. It could mean you only get neon in a red colour, as you need the mercury to get the other colours.”

Although NeonPlus was not developed to replace traditional neon, it offers customers the opportunity to have a neon looking sign without the disadvantages of traditional neon.

Hoole continues: “There are areas where people can’t have proper neon because of insurance reasons and the only alternative was to have neon flex, which is a flexible rope neon, but that is generally a low quality product.
 
NeonPlus is a finished product and you can have what you like. The intricacies that you can get with it are much better than with traditional neon and you can get really accurate outlines as it’s all computerised.

“There are eight different styles of NeonPlus in the range, one of them is the neon equivalent and the rest are just slim line illuminated letters. This means customers have the option of having a sign created to look like neon or you could just have the letter 100 percent illuminated—similar to how you would make a built up letter but only be 30ml deep, with perfect even illumination. We have the brightest illuminated letters available in the UK today.”

O Factoid: Neon lighting consists of electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Traditional neon gives off an orange/red light, but other gases and chemicals are used to produce other colours such as helium (yellow) and mercury (blue). O

NP8R is NeonPlus’ neon replacement model, which Hoole says is particularly popular with creative and artistic types looking for one-off, bespoke solutions. He notes that the NP1 face illumination model is also popular, being used in almost every high street shop and for much repeat work.

In terms of whether neon will become completely redundant in the future, Hoole hopes this will not be the case. He says: “We love neon. We don’t manufacture it ourselves but we do organise it for customers from time to time.

My hope is that, if they’re going to restrict it, there are still people out there that will be busy enough.

“The restriction means there will be a cost somewhere for the neon manufacturer, which will rule out about half of the manufacturers who won’t want to do that. If the restriction comes down to a cost factor, and people can still make neon, I think this will put the price up. If the regulation goes ahead there will be fewer neon manufacturers, the price will go through the roof, and it will be a very restricted market. I don’t think neon will stop being used but it always comes to cost, and I think it will cost more.”

Stable position

Coming to the end of this feature, there is hope for the neon signage sector yet. An article in SignLink last year revealed that Sign-Tec Services had, over the last 18 months, seen a ‘remarkable upturn’ in sales volumes for neon. I followed up with Graeme Browse, director of Sign-Tec Services, a year on to find out how sales have been in 2016.

Browse says: “This year’s sales I think have been quite constant. I think the reason for that has been much the same as we’d had before, an upturn in interest from the designers and specifiers who are looking for something a bit retro, or for something vibrant and bright, and something that has a quality feel to it.

“That feeling of quality comes from the fact that it’s hand-made, custom-made, and using what is a traditional material, and I think that’s what’s keeping people interested. Barring one big lighting contract which was in the Middle-East, our sales are almost exactly the same as last year, which was a good increase on the year before.”

Browse explains how Sign-Tec Services contributes to the neon sector: “We sell all of the materials and components that are used to make or install neon and cold cathode lighting. That goes from the raw glass tubing that they use to make neon lamps, the electrodes that are welded onto the end of the tubing to run the lamps, through to transformers to run them, cables, tube supports to hold the lamps, everything really.”

With reports that sales for neon are still strong, it is not surprising that Browse sees a bright future for neon. He notes that there have been always been doubts over neon’s longevity, but the fact that it is still around says a lot.

He comments: “I think there is very much a place in the market for neon. We were talking to one of our customers this morning and he was saying he can remember people writing off neon in 1969, so people have always been saying this, but it’s still here. I think it will continue, I think the industry contracted over the last ten years, and certainly in the UK I think it’s reached a stable position now.”

Browse also highlights the impending regulatory issues alongside the uncertainty of the country’s association with the European Union at the time of writing: “There are more regulatory things on the horizon from the EU, and whether we’ll still be in the EU in a week’s time I don’t know, but at the moment there are exemptions in place for hand-made neon lamps.

“A lot of people I speak to in industry bodies think that those exemptions will get extended in due course. It is such a small industry compared to European-wide lighting sources that to legislate it out of existence would not actually create much of a benefit for anybody.


“To a degree we’re at the mercy of fashion. If designers decide it’s yesterday’s news, they’ll move onto something else but we still have artists that are producing neon sculptures at quite a rate at the moment. There’s a huge neon sculpture that has been installed in a park in Brooklyn, New York that was designed by a British artist and made by British neon companies, called ‘Understanding’, and that’s just one example, there are many around.”

The 25-foot-tall rotating, red neon sculpture that reads ‘Understanding’ in capital letters was created by London-based artist, Martin Creed. The simple word has a complex message, and the fact that it has been designed with neon shows what an evocative medium it is. With experts in the industry both hoping and predicting that the ban on mercury will be extended beyond 2020, it is clear that neon is here to stay—much to the delight of the industry and the public.

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