Check the spelling, the dimensions in your own units, and the cable exit position. Those three account for most of the regret.
Approval is the point of no return, and it is also where the production clock starts. Revisions before it are unlimited and free.
The checklist
1. Read the wording out loud, letter by letter. Names especially. You have looked at your own name so many times that your eye stops reading it. Get someone else to check it too.
2. Convert the dimensions to whatever you measure in. If the drawing says 90 cm and you think in inches, work out that it is about 35 inches and picture it against something real. A doorway is around 80 cm wide. A standard pillow is about 50 cm.
3. Find the cable exit on the drawing. It usually leaves from one edge or the back. Check that it is on the side your outlet is on, because moving it after the fact means a visible run of cable across the wall.
4. Confirm the backboard shape. Cut to Sign Outline follows the shape of the wording; Cut to Rectangle is a full rectangle behind it; No Backboard means the letters mount individually. They look very different on a wall.
5. Check the color is named, not just drawn. The drawing is a rendering, not a photograph. Make sure the tube color is written down by name.
What not to worry about
- ✗ The glow looking artificial. A drawing is a rendering. Real tube is softer and more even than any mockup.
- ✗ The exact shade on your screen. Every monitor shows it differently. Trust the color name, and ask for a photograph of the actual tube if a specific shade is critical.
- ✗ Small kinks in the drawn path. Those are artefacts of the drawing, not of the bending.
Approving is what starts the clock
Your sign is made and delivered in 7 to 12 days with express shipping, or 18 to 25 days with free shipping, and it is counted from approval rather than from order. A drawing sitting unread in an inbox is the single most common cause of a missed date, so if you are working to a deadline, reply even if the answer is a question.
Spend ten minutes on the drawing and involve one other person. The mistakes that get through are never the complicated ones; they are a doubled letter in a name and a sign that turned out smaller than the wall it was bought for. Both are visible on the drawing and both are free to fix at that moment.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before approving a neon sign design?
Spelling read out letter by letter, the dimensions converted into units you actually think in, the cable exit position against where your outlet is, the backboard shape, and that the tube color is written by name rather than only shown. Those five cover almost every problem we see.
Can I change the design after approving it?
Approval starts production, so changes after that point are not free and may not be possible depending on how far the build has gone. Before approval, revisions are unlimited and cost nothing, which is why it is worth asking questions rather than approving and hoping.
Will the finished sign look like the drawing?
In shape, size and layout, yes, exactly. The glow will look better than the drawing, because a rendering cannot reproduce how even real tube light is. The color may read slightly differently from your screen, which is why we name the tube rather than relying on the rendering.
How many revisions do I get?
Unlimited, and there is no design fee at any point. You only pay once you have a drawing you are happy with and a firm price you have accepted.
Does the production time start when I order or when I approve?
When you approve. Your sign is made and delivered in 7 to 12 days with express shipping, or 18 to 25 days with free shipping from that moment. Large or complex pieces sit at the top of that range. Nothing is built beforehand, so an unapproved drawing is a stopped clock rather than a slow one.
We have made neon since 1998, and we still make it ourselves. If something here does not answer your question, ask us.
