Everyone wants the most economical lightboxes they can get for their needs, but what are the main factors that drive the pricing of various lightbox models?

For example, Blue River Digital’s EdgeLyte Econo 24 x 36” is Internet-discount priced at $335.00 US each, and the EdgeLyte Premium model of the same size is $595.00 US each. Both are aluminum construction snap-frame models at the same display size, using edgelit T5 fluorescent lamps, and come with sandwich lens design. But the Premium is over 75% more of an investment, so what case is there for going with the Premium model over the Econo?

Let’s take a look at a short list of the main factors that influence price, across various models of Backlit Display Light Boxes

1. FRAME CONSTRUCTION. The basic materials used to fabricate the frame of a lightbox, are most commonly aluminum or plastic. Clearly an aluminum-constructed lightbox is going to involve more expensive raw materials, but also yield better rigidity and durability. Plastic lightboxes are often entirely adequate for short-term usage, residential or hobby, and/or other budget environments such as fast food display.

2. UL LISTING. For a plant to acquire legitimiate UL-listed electric sign status, the investment is relatively high, but many installations require UL listing for any appliances being installed.

3. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. “Made in USA” is always going to involve a higher labor cost, so why buy American? Most of our stateside models offer better construction, tighter corners, longer warranties and shorter lead times than imported models. Also, US-built models offer more customization, still in a much faster turnaround such as 1-2 weeks as compared to 6-8 weeks for imported.

4. DISPLAY SIZE. That an increase or decrease in the display size of a backlit lightbox seems obvious on the surface, but keep in mind that “square” areas increase and decrease exponentially, not arithmetically – meaning for example, that a 48” x 48” lightbox is four times as large as a 24” x 24” lightbox, not two times. Therefore, as both dimensions increase, the quantity of materials needed to produce the lightbox increases twice as fast as the average of each of the two dimensions.

5. LENS CONSTRUCTION. There are quite a few different materials that are considered “acceptable” across the quality spectrum in the graphics lightbox industry, as follows:

5. 1. styrene – inexpensive plastic that is neither durable nor UV-resistant

5. 2. PETG – a suitable and relatively inexpensive alternative to styrene or acrylic, with increased crack resistance.

5. 3. acrylic (aka Plexiglas) – the most common lens material, with moderate durability and scratch-resistanc
      

5. 4. polycarbonate – a shatter and scratch-resistant upgrade to acrylic, good for outdoor and/or high-traffic applications. Also available in larger sheet sizes than acrylic, for jumbo display sizes.

5. 5. tempered glass – some applications require glass, which is even more scratch-resistant than polycarbonate, and the most expensive and heaviest alternative.

6. WEATHERABILITY. Backlit display light boxes that are designed for outdoor use and/or weather resistance are going to involve more of an investment than their indoor counterparts, for several reasons:

6. 1. UL listing – most outdoor building codes require electric signs (including backlit display lightboxes) to carry full UL listing, which increases the price of the lightbox.

6. 2. weather-resistant finish – paint processes that are more durable such as powdercoating, are recommended for outdoor applications.

6. 3. spaced lenses – outdoor lightboxes often benefit from an extra air space being designed to stand between the white diffuser lens and the clear front protective lens, in order to allow incidental condensation to dissipate.

6. 4. UV-resistant clear lens – upgrades are often available to the clear front lens material, to enhance the material’s UV resistance and thereby lengthen the color life of the backlit graphic or Duratrans being displayed.

6. 5. silicone sealing – some models of outdoor light boxes include silicone corner and edge sealing to further protect the interior from the elements.

7. OPTIONS AND FINISHES. Of course there are always upgrade options and finish colors that can impact the unit price of a backlit display lightbox. Common upgrades include universal or dimmable ballasts, on/off switch, eyebolts for hanging, longer power cord and/or daisy-chain power, and custom paint and/or plating colors.

8. ORDER QUANTITY. It goes without saying that there’s an economy of scale with backlit lightbox fabrication as with any durable goods. Within the lightbox fabrication industry, there are basically 3 categories of lightboxes, with regard to discountable quantities due to economy of scale:

8. 1. pre-fabricated lightboxes – these are fully assembled and individually cartoned, ready to ship from a warehouse. Since there are no optional configurations, economy of scale can be the most significant with this category.

8. 2. partially-fabricated lightboxes – some lightbox models are most efficiently produced by mass pre-fabrication of the frame, but then final assembly does not take place until a customer order is received. This hybrid manufacturing method lends the economic benefit of mass-producing most of the components, but also enjoys the flexibility to customize the product to the customer’s requirement, during final assembly, since this step takes place after the customer has placed their order for lightboxes.

8. 3. built-to-order lightboxes – these units are pre-warehoused in only component form, which allows the customer to order in any display size possible within the engineering specifications. For example, a customer may have a pre-built space that can accommodate a lightbox of the exact, non-standard size of 49” x 77”. With built-to-order light boxes, this customer can order the exact size, and the lightbox is built to spec.

9. WARRANTY. This is a circular logic, because longer warranties befit better-quality products, and better-quality products condone longer warranty terms. So with the longer warranty / better quality combo, you usually have a higher investment and of course, a longer life expectancy for the product and its performance.

So in the case of the EdgeLyte Premium ($595.00) vs. EdgeLyte Econo ($335.00) lightbox models, as our example, you’ve got these price differentiators:

1. showcase-grade construction quality vs. economy construction quality

2. full UL listing vs. non-UL

3. made in USA vs. made in China

4. 2-year vs. 1-year warranty

5. custom-sizeable vs. not custom-sizeable

6. numerous orderable upgrade options vs. no available options

In conclusion, qualified lightbox fabricators such as Blue River Digital strive to help customers identify the ideal blend of features and specs for their particular applications, and use that as a reference point from which to target the customer’s budget requirements, so as to deliver the optimal backlit display solution, all things considered.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 12:40 pm and is filed under Light Boxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.