Digital & LED Signs

What pixel pitch do you need for your viewing distance?

Pixel pitch is the distance in millimeters between the centers of neighboring pixels. The finer the pitch, the closer people can view the display before they see individual dots, and the more it costs, because pixel density rises. Choose pitch from your closest regular viewers, not the farthest.

A display beside a drive-through lane or sidewalk needs a finer pitch than one on a pylon 60 feet back from a highway.

AVIXA, the audiovisual industry association, gives a visual acuity distance formula: pitch times 3,438 is the distance at which a viewer with 20/20 vision no longer sees individual pixels. That is a strict smooth-image test. Closer viewers can still read large text; photos and fine graphics are what suffer. Pitch also sets text size: a character seven pixels tall is seven times the pitch. Look at a sample at the real distance before you choose.

Sources: AVIXA (Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association) Xchange - What is Pixel Pitch? How to Calculate Pixel Pitch

How bright should an outdoor LED sign be, and what does auto-dimming do?

Bright enough to read in direct sun, then dimmed hard at night. USSC Foundation guidance notes message centers may approach 10,000 nits in daylight and should drop to 300 to 700 nits at night. The International Sign Association recommends no more than 0.3 footcandles above ambient light at night.

A nit is one candela per square meter, a measure of luminance. ISA notes that most message centers are built bright enough for daylight legibility, and that daytime settings are usually wrong for night viewing. USSC recommends a nighttime maximum of 700 nits for all signs.

Dimming is what keeps a sign legal and neighborly. Displays use a photocell, a schedule or both, and USSC guidance says message centers must be dimmed at night to only 2 to 8 percent of daytime brightness. More than 200 localities have adopted the footcandle method ISA recommends.

Sources: USSC Foundation - On-Premise Sign Standards: Sign Lighting (Feb. 2018); International Sign Association - EMC Brightness Level Recommendations; International Sign Association - Night-time Brightness Level Recommendations for On-Premise Electronic Message Centers (updated August 2016)

Full-color or monochrome?

Full-color displays can show logos, photos and graphics in brand colors; monochrome shows text in one color. Monochrome can carry plain text. Suntronix's message centers are full-color, so the display can carry the same colors, logos and photos as your permanent sign and your other advertising.

Full color matters most when the message depends on an image: food, vehicles, products, event graphics. It also lets the display match the colors of the permanent sign above it. Whatever the display, test content at its actual resolution; a detailed image can turn to noise at a coarse pitch.

Single-sided or double-sided?

Double-sided when traffic approaches from both directions and the sign stands perpendicular to the road. Single-sided when the sign faces one approach or mounts on a wall. Count real traffic on each approach before paying for a second face; a side road with little traffic may not need one.

Two faces roughly double the display hardware, so check whether the second approach carries real traffic. A V-shaped layout can serve two approaches on a corner.

How do you update the sign, and who runs it?

Content is created and scheduled in software and sent to the sign over a wired, wireless or cellular link. Common links are a cable from the building, a wireless bridge or a cellular modem. The harder question is who will keep the schedule current every week.

Pick the connection by site: a sign far from the building may need radio or cellular, while one close by can take a cable. Ask who pays for any cellular or software subscription and what happens to scheduled content if the connection drops.

Every Suntronix digital sign order includes on-site training for the software, communication setup and scheduling. Train two people so the sign does not go stale when one leaves.

How long do LED signs last, and what maintenance do they need?

LEDs rarely fail outright; they dim. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that LED life is usually rated at L70, the point when light output has dropped to 70 percent of the original. Ask for the L70 rating of the display's LEDs, and plan for service on power supplies, controllers and modules.

DOE also points out that any part of an LED system can fail, including electronics, thermal management, connectors and seals, and that color shift can matter more than dimming in some uses. On a full-color sign, uneven aging shows up as off-white whites. Ask what LED components are used and how they are tested.

Suntronix provides maintenance and repair support for products it sells; travel, parts, labor and warranty coverage depend on the project terms.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy - Lifetime and Reliability, Solid-State Lighting Technology Fact Sheet

What local rules apply to electronic message centers?

Expect your code to set a minimum time each message must stay up, a night brightness cap and a dimming requirement; some also limit display size, hours or zones. The numbers vary widely: minimum hold times range from 2 seconds in Spokane, Washington to 15 seconds for multi-business signs in Clemson, South Carolina.

Size limits are common too. Spokane caps message centers in several zones at half the allowed sign area or 48 square feet, whichever is less, and limits any video portion of a sign to segments of two to five seconds. Treat the table as examples. Call your planning office with the address before you design content or size the display.

Sources: City of Spokane, WA - Municipal Code 17C.240.247, Electronic Message Center Signs (one city's example); City of Clemson, SC - Code of Ordinances, sign standards (online page 505; one city's example); Panguitch City, UT - Signage Permit and sign requirements (one city's example); USSC Foundation - Model On-Premise Sign Code (a model, not law)

What does an outdoor LED sign cost?

National guides put outdoor LED and digital signs at $750 to $30,000, and typical electronic message signs at $5,000 to $10,000 or more. Display size, pixel pitch, one or two faces, the structure and electrical work drive the price. These are third-party estimates, not Suntronix pricing.

• Display area and pixel pitch; finer pitch means more LEDs per square foot.
• Single or double face.
• New structure or retrofit into an existing sign.
• Distance to power, and trenching.
• Communication method and any subscriptions.
• Permits, and engineering if the structure changes.

Sources: AVIXA (Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association) Xchange - What is Pixel Pitch? How to Calculate Pixel Pitch; HomeAdvisor - How Much Does Commercial Sign Installation Cost? (updated June 20, 2026); HomeGuide - How Much Does a Business Sign Cost? (Dec. 19, 2023)