Stocksigns’ sister company Messagemaker has completed a high profile project at JD Sports flagship store.

Messagemaker have created a full colour display and looping video content is designed to capture the attention of passers-by on both sides of the street, helping to promote the JD Sports brand 24/7 while drawing attention to current promotions and offers.

Messagemaker stepped in to assist JD Sports who were looking to maximise brand awareness and boost the store’s presence at this prime shopping location during one of their busiest trading periods. The installation, including the initial site survey and system training, was completed in just six weeks.

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Six-times winner of the prestigious Gold award for Occupational Health and Safety from RoSPA, the Pitsea site took the decision to install the new LED signs as a means of delivering heightened safety awareness through a permanent visual reminder that is regularly refreshed to capture and retain people’s attention.

The Pitsea landfill site has been operating for the last 100 years, during which time the local population has greatly expanded.  Currently, the Pitsea site now handles anywhere up to 800,000 tonnes of waste per annum and employs around 50 staff, who are engaged in a number of operations, from composting and landfill gas treatment to energy generation.

Pole mounted with acrylic vinyl lettering and branded with the company’s logo, the 1200 mm square signs offer a positive first impression with clear visibility across the site.  A series of bright red LED displays, readable from distances of up to 40 metres, convey key information to site personnel.

In addition to displaying the current date and time, a four-digit data window displays up to date information on the site’s safety record, expressed as elapsed time since the last logged incident (LTA). A scrolling text window running along the whole width of the sign allows key safety messages to be displayed.  Used to draw the attention of site workers and visitors to different types of risk – from the presence of reversing vehicles to a reminder to wear hard hats – these displays can be updated remotely at any time from the main site office via a remote wireless link, using the software provided with the system.

Following the success of the LED signs at Pitsea, the company is now considering rolling out the technology to other sites across the UK.

Shaun Taylor, landfill and recycling manager at Pitsea for Veolia Environmental Services said: “Both as a company and here on site we take safety seriously and we are proud of our award-winning track record.  The brightness and readability of the new LED signs attracts attention, even at a distance.  The constantly changing messaging keeps people’s attention as well as enabling us to draw their attention to a whole range of safety issues, all equally important in protecting staff and visitors.”

Since our announcement that Stocksigns had acquired Messagemaker Display we have been asked by many of our customers why they should use LED signs. With that in mind we have put together a few of the benefits of using LED Signage.

  • Long Life Signs – Only high quality LED’s are used from reputable manufacturers who offer products with a typical life to half brightness of not less than 100,000 hours (11.4 years) continually on.
  • Broad Viewing Angle – Viewing angles will vary depending on the application, typical viewing angles for Internal Displays are 160 degrees, whist typical angles for external LED’s would be 60 – 90 degrees as a more focused light is required under higher ambient light conditions.
  • Ultra Bright – The brightness of an LED will depend on its viewing angle and colour, but the typical MCD values used in our displays is not less than 20 and rises to over 3000 for specific bright applications.
  • Extended Viewing Distance for Text – As a general rule if you take the character height of the font being displayed in mm and half this value this typically represents the maximum recommended viewing distance i.e. a 100mm font height can be read at up to 50metres away.
  • Extended Viewing Distance for Images – The viewing distance for an RGB screen displaying images is normally calculated as the pixel pitch (mm) multiplied by 1 or 1.5 giving the minimum viewing distance in metres.
  • Low Maintenance – All products are designed to be maintenance free, there are no end user serviceable parts, the only maintenance required is the occasional cleaning of the screen with a non abrasive cloth and a light detergent.
  • Peace of Mind – All products come with a 2 year return to factory warranty from date of original purchase as standard. In the unlikely event of any defect arising due to faulty materials or workmanship you will be required to return the unit to our factory where we will, at our discretion, either replace or repair the display free of charge. On site and 5 year warranty options are available, please speak to our sales team for details.
  • Compatible –The most typical form of interface for signs is either serial using RS232/ RS485 or via Ethernet using TCP/IP protocol over a local area network. Alternative methods of communication including SMS, Modem, Radio, Bluetooth and PLC interfacing are also available on request.
  • Plug and Play Installation –The majority of signs are designed to be plug and play, thus most customers carry out their own installation of product and loading of software using the comprehensive instructions provided with each display. However, if required Messagemaker do offer a dedicated installation and or commissioning service.

“As technology moves ever forward it has become increasingly more confusing as LCD displays are using LED for back-lighting and are being termed LED displays, they are not, they are simply LCD displays with LED-backlighting” emphasises Harry Filer, managing director of Messagemaker Displays, which manufactures a range of full colour and variable LED signage displays.

What are the differences between LCD Display and LED Display

Filer continues’ “A ‘pure’ LED display is using LED’s to create pixels. LED is a much more flexible technology that can handle different size screens, larger formats and brighter screens. LCD screens on the other hand are the preserve of huge multinationals, so if we got involved in them we would just be a value added reseller at best. We are in more control of our product and destiny with LED”

Filer also believes that LED and LCD when properly defined will remain as separate display mediums explaining “Occasionally LED and LCD will compete for digital signage application and the main overlap area is in large-format internal screens, but there are surprisingly few areas of overlap. Sometimes we will see a client initially specify an LCD screen for an application, for example digital foreign exchange rate-boards, then switch to LED”

Which Digital Display System is Right For me?

Filer also points out that when LCD and LED vie for custom, the project planning can often lead to some previously unconsidered factors: “The thought process goes something like this: ‘I need a screen, a large-format LCD/Plasma is cool, let’s have one of those, they’re for sale at Curry’s for about £500 how can I go wrong?’ Then they realise they need a dedicated PC or player and dedicated software.

“Furthermore, if they are going to do it properly they need high quality content, and if it’s a professional application they need high quality content, and if it’s a professional application they need a professional quality screen which is more expensive, and a decent quality bracket system. Then they realise they need the screen bright enough to deal with window light and so it will be more expensive still. Suddenly the project is £1,500 to £2,000 per screen, double what an LED alternative would have cost.”

“A rough rule of thumb I give to clients looking to use LED for a big video or digital signage screen is that if they are indoors, and the screen is a standard size and under 2sq m, then they are better off with LCD, any other application really requires using an LED array” concludes Filer.

Messagemaker Displays are now part of the Stocksigns Group.