We proudly serve Central and Eastern North Carolina, including Raleigh, Cary, RTP, Raleigh-Durham, Durham, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Burlington, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Greenville, New Bern, Wilmington ... and all points between!
Please use our contact form or call us at (919) 832-6878 for the very best professional sign design, manufacture, installation, maintenance, service, repair, or removal.
Scroll down to learn about different types of signs, and visit our gallery pages to see photos of some of our projects.
Harrell Sign Company in Raleigh, North Carolina — manufacturing and installing custom business & commercial signs since 1927. Modern technology combined with personal craftsmanship and 86 years of experience as sign makers provides our customers with the best quality signs and most cost-effective solutions for outdoor & indoor signage needs. While our specialty is helping local businesses develop an effective on-site identity, we also manufacture and install signs for many larger corporations and chains.
Harrell Sign Company is a full-service sign shop located in Raleigh, NC. We manufacture or can provide the best type of exterior or interior, unlighted or electric lighted signs, including electronic digital LED message displays,
for your business, restaurant, store, shopping center, church, school or neighborhood.
Internally lighted letters are frequently utilized as storefront signs in shopping centers and for corporate identity on office buildings. They may also be referred to as channel letters, raceway letters or face-lit letters. Illumination historically has been by neon tubing, though most letters now are lighted with low-voltage, energy-efficient LEDs. Existing neon-lit letters can be retrofitted with LEDs for brighter lighting and much lower electricity usage.
Backlit letters, also known as backlighted letters, silhouette letters. or halo letters, are made so that light shines from within the letters toward the wall on which the letters are mounted, creating a halo of light on the wall. As with face-lit letters, they are also very popular as shopping center storefront signs & corporate ID signs. Most backlit letters are now illuminated with LEDs. The color of the light is frequently white, but other colors are available.
Non-illuminated letters — dimensional or 3d letters — can be of many types, including reverse channel or cut-out plate metal letters (aluminum, stainless steel, copper, brass, bronze or titanium) plastic letters (sometimes referred to as Gemini letters) acrylic and PVC letters. These can be mounted on a building wall, or on a free-standing sign, and are frequently illuminated with floodlights.
Internally illuminated wall signs (also known as cabinet signs or box signs) usually have a translucent face and fluorescent lighting. Sign faces may be flat, pan-formed, or embossed, and the face material can be Plexiglas (acrylic), Lexan (polycarbonate), or Panaflex (flexible substrate). Another type of lighted wall sign has routed aluminum faces, with translucent acrylic behind the routed copy. Wall signs are normally mounted flat on the wall, but a projecting sign may be mounted perpendicular.
Non-illuminated wall signs are frequently made of aluminum, with flat painted or vinyl decoration, or with any of raised letter types mentioned above (aluminum, stainless steel, plastic or PVC.) The aluminum background may be flat, or it may have some depth, a type of sign referred to as an aluminum pan sign. Unlighted wall signs may also be sandblasted, routed, or carved from HDU (dense urethane) or redwood. Banners are used as temporary wall signs, though many municipalities restrict the length of time that banners may be displayed.
Many people call any lighted sign a neon sign, but we usually reserve that name for a sign with exposed neon, or for a neon window sign (typically, an “OPEN” type sign, a listing of products or services for that business, or perhaps a company logo.) Neon window signs are usually mounted on a PVC or clear acrylic background. Also included in this category are open-face channel letters, which can be mounted to a building fascia, or to a free-standing sign.
For pedestrian and sidewalk traffic, blade signs, hanging signs or undercanopy signs can be appropriate. They may be internally lighted, but are more often unlighted, and are fabricated from aluminum, or are sandblasted or carved from PVC, redwood, or HDU (dense urethane.)
Internally Illuminated free-standing signs may be referred to as ground signs, monument signs, pylon signs, or pole signs. They are typically lighted with fluorescent tubes, and may have flat, pan-formed, or embossed Plexiglas (acrylic) or Lexan sign faces, or they may have routed copy with translucent acrylic behind the openings. They may identify a single business, church, school, office park, or shopping center, and may list individual tenant names or logos. These signs might also display changeable copy, or contain electronic digital LED message boards.
Non-illuminated free-standing signs may be referred to by the same names as the lighted versions above, and are sometimes illuminated by floodlights, or not at all. These signs are more typically used for neighborhood subdivision entrance signs, directional signs, wayfinding signs, tenant directories, and any place where internal lighting is not needed or desired. Post and panel signs are in this category. Signs may be aluminum, but may also have a stone or brick base, with lettered panels or raised letters or logos. Sign panels may also be sandblasted or v-carved from PVC, redwood or HDU (dense urethane.)
Sandblasted, Routed & Carved Sign Panels add a handcrafted look to a free-standing sign, wall sign, or hanging sign. Background material these days is usually HDU (high density urethane, also called sign foam) or expanded PVC, but can also be natural cedar or redwood. HDU & PVC have the advantage of being impervious to insects and rot. HDU is also much lighter in weight, simplifying installation. Sign backgrounds can be sandblasted to leave raised logos, letters and borders. Alternatively, logos, letters and borders can be carved or routed into a flat background.
Cast bronze plaques and cast aluminum plaques are frequently used for special recognition, commemoration and dedication, but may also be project a very upscale look when identifying a business, a school or a church. They may be used indoors or outdoors. Plaques can also be etched in stainless steel, brass, bronze or copper. Etching allows for more detailed text or images than is possible with casting.
Interior signs may be letters or corporate logos, cut or fabricated from a variety of materials. They may be reception signs, office signs or door signs, identifying a business name or displaying a logo. They may be ADA room signs, with raised letters and braille where appropriate, or they may have engraved or subsurface lettering. The interior signs category includes interior room signs or tenant directories (illuminated or not) and wayfinding signs, as well as vinyl window lettering and door lettering.
Construction signs and real estate signs include job site signs for commercial projects. It also includes “for sale” signs and “for lease” signs, or "management by" signs, typically displayed in front of commercial property. These signs can be fabricated from aluminum, MDO plywood, or Scooterboard.
North Carolina Cities Served
Raleigh • Cary • Wake Forest • Garner • Apex • Morrisville • Durham • RTP • Chapel Hill
Raleigh-Durham • Wilson • Goldsboro • Fayetteville • Rocky Mount • Jacksonville • New Bern • Wilmington
Sanford • Burlington • Greensboro • High Point • Winston Salem • Charlotte
…and all points between!
© 2013 Harrell Sign Co., Inc. • 512 Pershing Road • Raleigh, NC 27608 • (919) 832-6878