FAQ

In five steps. First a conversation and a site visit, during which we take measurements and assess the facade or the site. Next a design proposal with a visualisation, so you can see what it will look like in reality. Then the technical engineering: dimensions, materials, fixings and electrical connection. After that, production in our own workshop in Antwerp. And finally, installation by our own fitting teams. Design, engineering, production, installation and maintenance are all under one roof, so there is no hand-over between parties where information gets lost.

Photos of the facade or location, and the dimensions of the area where the sign is to go. If you have a logo or brand identity in vector format, please include it. With those three things we can prepare a no-obligation quote. If you don’t know the dimensions, we will come by and measure up ourselves. For larger projects, such as a branch network or a wayfinding assignment, we always start with a site visit.

There is no catalogue price, because every project is made to measure. The price depends on the dimensions, the material, whether the sign is illuminated and with which technique, the complexity of the structure and how difficult the installation is — a facade on the fourth floor requires an aerial work platform, a ground-floor shop window does not. What we always do: a no-obligation quote with a fixed price, so you know exactly where you stand up front.  For an average illuminated sign, expect between €3,000 and €5,000.

For a standard facade sign, allow 4 weeks between design approval and installation. That time goes into the technical engineering, production in our own workshop and scheduling the installation. If a permit is required, the municipality’s processing time comes on top of that — this is beyond our control and can typically take up to several months. For large projects such as a complete wayfinding system, we work in phases, with a schedule agreed in advance.

Both. If you have a brand identity or a design by your architect or designer, we develop it technically and make it buildable: choice of materials, construction, fixings, lighting. If all you have is a logo and a facade, we design the whole thing. Either way, you get to see a visualisation in advance

Yes. We create a visualisation on a photo of your own facade or site, so you can judge the proportions and legibility before anything is produced. For illuminated signs we also show a daytime and a night-time view, because they differ considerably.

el of site, zodat u de verhoudingen en de leesbaarheid kunt beoordelen voordat er iets geproduceerd wordt. Bij verlichte reclame tonen we ook een dagbeeld en een nachtbeeld, want die verschillen sterk.

Often, yes. In Belgium, advertising installations frequently require a permit, and the rules differ by region and by municipality. Deciding factors include the dimensions, whether the element projects over the public domain, whether it is illuminated and whether the building is located in a protected townscape. Some municipalities have their own advertising regulations with additional conditions. We check this for your specific address before anything is produced.

Yes. We put together the file — site plans, technical drawings, visualisations and the necessary documents — and follow up the application until a decision is made. Where the municipality provides for preliminary consultation or a quality review board, we take part. You don’t have to deal with the paperwork yourself.

Usually, yes, but with stricter conditions and an additional advisory round. With protected heritage, what matters most is how the element is fixed and whether it is reversible: fixings that spare the facade and can later be removed without a trace make an application much more likely to succeed. We have experience with signage in historic buildings and take this into account from the design stage onwards.

Yes. Many municipalities impose limits on light intensity, and sometimes on the hours during which signs may be lit. Additional rules also apply along regional roads and near junctions or airports, to avoid confusion with traffic signals or nuisance. Our lighting is dimmable and can be controlled automatically, so those conditions are met.

With built-up letters, each letter stands on the facade as a separate volume. This looks more refined and lets the facade show between the letters. A light box is a single continuous frame containing the message, which gives a fuller, more unified impression and often works better with a lot of text or a logo with a complex shape. Built-up letters are usually the more expensive solution, because each letter is made and fixed individually.

We make four. A light box with a panel, where the message sits within the face. A light box with a profile, with a sleek framed look. A light box with built-up letters, where the letters stand out from the face and the box serves as a carrier. And a fully illuminated light box, where the entire surface lights up. Which one suits depends on the facade, the viewing distance and the amount of information.

A channel letter is a letter built as a closed volume: a face, a return and a back panel, with the lighting inside. This makes the letter deeper than a flat letter and allows it to give off light in different ways — through the face, through the back, or both.

Front lighting gives the most visibility and legibility at a distance; it is the classic choice for retail along a busy road. Back lighting (halo lighting) keeps the letter itself dark and creates a halo of light on the facade — more subtle, more upmarket, and often the better choice in a residential area or on a historic facade. A combination of both adds depth. The choice depends on how far away the sign needs to be read and on the atmosphere you are looking for.

That depends on how it is built. With a panel prepared for lighting from the start, with a cable duct and a power supply, lighting can be added later. With a simple flat panel, replacement is usually cheaper than conversion. If you think lighting may be added later, let us know in advance — we will then take it into account in the construction.

A canopy is a projecting structure above a shop window or entrance that provides shelter, structures the facade and serves as a carrier for your name, all at once. It is often chosen by hospitality and retail businesses with a terrace or shop window. A canopy can be illuminated and finished in fabric or fixed cladding.

Yes. The illuminated pharmacy cross is a separate product with its own technical requirements: it is double-sided, must be legible from far away and often shows changing information such as on-call pharmacy details, the date or the temperature. We supply and install them, including the control system.

Yes. Real neon is glasswork: tubes bent by hand and filled with noble gas. It has become a rare craft, but it remains part of what we do. It produces a quality of light — the glow, the depth of colour, the warmth — that LED can approach but not exactly replicate.

Real neon is a glass tube with gas that lights up; LED neon, also called look-alike neon, is a flexible light tube with LEDs that imitates the appearance of neon. Real neon gives the authentic glow and each piece is handmade. LED neon uses less energy, is lighter and more robust, allows tighter bends and is usually cheaper. For a facade at height or a location where maintenance is difficult, LED neon is often the sensible choice; for an interior or a facade where character matters, real neon remains unrivalled.

Four. Exposed neon, where the tube is visible on the facade or in the interior. Neon in channel letters, where the tube sits inside a letter housing. Light lines, where neon or LED neon traces a shape or facade accent as a continuous line. And look-alike LED neon, for those who want the look with the benefits of LED.

A properly installed neon tube lasts many years; the transformer is usually the first component that needs replacing. Neon also ages gradually rather than failing suddenly. LED neon has a different life cycle: the LEDs slowly lose brightness, with a typical lifespan in the order of tens of thousands of operating hours.

Yes, provided it is the right version. Outdoor use places demands on the protection rating of the housing, on the fixings and on the protection of the glass. We always fit outdoor neon with the necessary protection and an accessible connection, so maintenance remains possible later without having to open up the facade.

When your building is set back from the road, when you need to mark a site or car park, or when several companies share the same entrance. A free-standing pylon works as a beacon: it is visible before visitors see the building and immediately creates a professional impression. For business parks, car dealerships, healthcare campuses and retail parks, it is often the first element people see.

Four forms. The classic vertical pylon, which stands out from afar. The horizontal totem, wider and lower, with a calmer appearance. The totem pole, tall and slender, legible from a distance along regional roads. And the totem with a scrolling LED ticker or LED screen, for information that changes.

Through software that lets you change the message yourself, usually from a computer or smartphone. We take care of the installation, the connection and the training, so you are in control of managing it afterwards.

The software is by Novastar and Navori

Signage is the signs; wayfinding is the system behind them. Wayfinding starts with the question of how visitors move through a building or site, where they hesitate and what information they need at that moment. Only then is it decided which signs are needed. You can see the difference in the result: a good wayfinding system has fewer signs than a poorly thought-out sign plan, and works better.

Hospitals and healthcare campuses, museums and heritage sites, university and college campuses, office buildings, business parks, retail parks and public buildings. Our projects include the wayfinding for AZ Groeninge in Kortrijk, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg in Genk, AZ Zeno in Knokke-Heist, Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen and the Gruuthuse Museum in Bruges.

By including accessibility from the very first sketch rather than correcting it afterwards. In practice: a clear sans-serif typeface, letter height calculated against viewing distance, strong light-dark contrast, consistent and ergonomic mounting heights, recognisable pictograms that work without language, and tactile lettering or braille where needed. Just as important is what we leave out — limited information at each decision point reads better than a sign full of arrows.

No, if the system has been designed for it. Wherever possible, we build wayfinding modularly, with the carrier and the information separate from each other. If a name or number changes, the content is replaced, not the element. That is why, on large campuses, we consider adaptability from the outset: a hospital or campus is always changing.

Yes, and that is more often the assignment than a completely new building. We then start with an analysis of the existing situation: where do visitors get stuck, which signs contradict each other, which information is out of date. Renewing rarely means replacing everything — often it involves restructuring the information and selectively replacing what is no longer correct.

More than most people think. Shop window lettering with opening hours and logo, full window graphics with images, frosted film for privacy in meeting rooms, vehicle lettering, floor stickers, and temporary promotions that are removed again after a period. Vinyl is the fastest and cheapest way to make a message visible, and it is reversible — which is handy in a rented property.

A banner is the choice for temporary communication or for large surfaces on a limited budget: a construction site banner, an opening, a promotion, a full-facade image. A panel is more durable and looks more premium, and is the choice for permanent identification. A tensioned banner on a frame sits in between: the sleek look of a panel, with the option of replacing the fabric when the message changes.

Yes. Frosted or sandblast-effect film provides privacy without blocking daylight — the classic solution for meeting rooms, practice rooms and ground-floor offices. There are also solar control films that reduce heat gain. Both can be combined with lettering or a pattern in your brand identity.

Yes. Alongside signage, we also clad facades in aluminium, wood, expanded metal, and more. The two often go together: a facade being refurbished is the natural moment to also reconsider the identification. Because we do both, the signage is integrated into the construction from the start instead of being screwed on afterwards.

Yes, and that usually gives the most interesting result. When cladding and lighting are designed together, the lighting can be integrated into the facade itself: recesses, light lines, illuminated volumes. Cables and power supplies are then concealed within the construction instead of being visible on the facade.

Considerably less than it used to. Our lighting uses energy-efficient LEDs, which consume a fraction of the energy of traditional fluorescent or incandescent lighting for the same light output. The exact consumption depends on the surface area, the type of lighting and the number of operating hours. We can calculate this for your specific design, so you know what it will cost per year.

Yes. We fit the control system with an astronomical timer or a light sensor. An astronomical timer switches in step with sunrise and sunset throughout the year, so you don’t need to set anything. A light sensor responds to the actual ambient light and dims the sign at night. This reduces energy use, extends the lifespan of the LEDs and helps comply with local rules on light pollution.

LED modules for signage typically have a lifespan in the order of tens of thousands of operating hours. They rarely fail suddenly; they gradually lose brightness. In practice, lifespan is more a matter of heat dissipation and power supply quality than of the LEDs themselves — which is why we work with components that are replaceable and accessible.

Materials that last for years outdoors: Dibond, aluminium, Plexiglas and acrylic, stainless steel, Corten steel, and wood where appropriate. The choice depends on the location. On the coast or along a busy road, corrosion resistance and ease of cleaning carry more weight; in a historic interior, appearance and reversible fixing carry more weight.

We calculate that in advance. Letter height is determined by the distance from which the message needs to be read — from across the street is different from a moving car on a regional road. Contrast and brightness also play a role. We show the reading distance in the design proposal, so you don’t find out afterwards that the letters are too small.

The structure and fixings are calculated for wind loads, which is precisely why the foundation and fixing principles are part of the technical engineering. Damage caused by storms or vandalism is usually covered by your insurance; we can carry out the repair and hold the technical files for your installation, so a replacement part matches exactly.

Our own fitting teams. That is a deliberate choice: whoever makes it also installs it, so there is no hand-over point where information or responsibility gets lost. For work at height we have the necessary equipment; where an aerial work platform or a traffic management permit for the public domain is required, we arrange that too.

Very little. We take care of the survey, design, production, transport, installation and documentation. What we need from you: access to the location at the agreed time, and a power supply in the right place for illuminated elements. If there is no power supply, we work out what is needed together with your electrician; we specify where it should go and what capacity it needs.

Yes. Maintenance keeps your signage in top condition: cleaning, checking the fixings, replacing failed components and inspecting the control system. For branch networks and large sites we work with periodic inspections, so a faulty letter doesn’t stay unlit for months.

There is a 5-year warranty on LEDs, power supplies and structures alike

Yes. You receive the complete documentation for your installation: technical data sheets, electrical diagrams, material and finish specifications and installation drawings. This is not only useful for a repair or extension years later, but is often also required at the handover of a construction project.

Yes, and that is a significant part of our work. With a network, it is not just about production, but about consistency and planning: the same look across dozens of locations, with different facades, different municipal rules and different opening dates. For this, we define a standard that can be applied to every facade, and plan the rollout location by location.

Regularly. For new builds and renovations, it is better for us to be involved early: fixing points, cable entries and power supplies can then be included in the construction file, instead of being drilled into a finished facade afterwards. We supply technical data in the format the construction team needs.

Yes, in the Benelux. For projects further afield, we assess each case individually, depending on the size and nature of the assignment.

In 2011 we installed around 4,000 m² of solar panels on our own workshop. In addition, LED makes our signage considerably more energy-efficient than the previous generation, we work with recycled and reusable materials wherever possible, and we design modularly so that a change doesn’t mean the entire element ends up in the skip.  We have also started an EcoVadis assessment process and have already cleared the first hurdle.

We dismantle and remove it. Materials are separated so that metals, plastics and electronics end up in the right waste stream. Where an element still contains usable parts, we look at whether they can be reused.

Our project pages feature work for clients including Brussels Airport, the Ghelamco Arena, Argenta, Telenet, DPG Media and AS Adventure. We also have a showroom where you can see materials, finishes and lighting techniques in real life — a difference that never quite comes across in a photo.

Yes, in Wommelgem near Antwerp, by appointment. There you can see the different typefaces, materials and lighting types side by side, and judge the difference between front and back lighting with your own eyes.

Call us on +32 3 321 28 77, email info@neopaul.com or request a no-obligation quote via the website. Include photos and dimensions with your request, so we can give you a substantive answer straight away.