Channel letters vs cabinet signs: what to ask

Most lit storefront signs are one of two kinds. Neither is always better: the right one depends on your brand, your landlord’s sign criteria and your budget. Here is how they differ and what to ask so two quotes line up.

Channel letters

Each letter or logo shape is its own box, usually with LED lighting inside, mounted to the wall directly or on a raceway (a slim box that holds the wiring). They can be lit from the front, from behind for a halo effect, or both. They tend to read as a premium look and many shopping centers ask for them.

Cabinet (box) signs

One box with a printed or vinyl face lit from inside. The face can often be replaced on its own, which helps when the brand or the tenant changes. Shaped and pushed-through-letter versions sit between the two.

Questions that make quotes comparable

• Letter height or cabinet size, and the materials of the returns and faces.
• Lighting: front-lit, back-lit or both; LED modules and power supply; timer or photocell.
• Mounting: direct or raceway, and what happens to the wall behind it.
• Is the electrical connection included, and under whose licence?
• Design, landlord drawings, permit, install and removal of the old sign: in or out?
• Warranty on the sign and on the lighting, and who services it.

94 sign companies in our directory list storefront and channel letter signs (as of November 6, 2026), and 61 sign companies list sign repair and maintenance.

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