When walking through the grocery store, it’s easy to compare prices and products.  There they are, all lined up in a row by brand, flavor, and quality with a barcode and price.  Many of us know the learning curve that comes with buying a new vehicle, house, or computer.  Throw in some hardwood floors, stainless appliances and move your house to that gated subdivision across town and all of the sudden you can’t afford it anymore. Same house, same shell, different specifications.

Many people miss a good deal when buying an LED marquee sign by not examining the specifications and comparing “apples to apples”. The most important variable when buying an LED marquee is the “resolution” or “pitch” of the LED message units. These terms refer to the amount of distance from one LED to the next. Pretty geeky thing to worry about, right? The “pitch” is measured in millimeters. A 17mm sign is able to show more lines of text, and higher resolution/sharper animations than a 36mm sign.  The LED’s are twice as close together. Consequently, if both signs are the same size (ex. 2′ tall x 6′ long) the 17mm sign will have twice as many LED’s as the 36mm sign.  The 17mm sign will then be more expensive (generally not twice as expensive). Be se sure to either compare or specify the “pitch” of the LED message board you want to have in your marquee so that you don’t get fooled by a competitor who uses a lower resolution LED message board to keep his price low.

The key to avoiding this delimma is to partner with a reputable LED sign manufacturer who is willing to work with you, understand your location details, offer pricing BEFORE you offer a budget and most importantly disclose all specifications about the sign so that you can use that information to compare apples to apples.