Channel letters are individually fabricated, three-dimensional letters mounted to the face of a building — the standard for storefront and building identification across retail, restaurant, office, and industrial properties. They are almost always illuminated with LEDs, and they are the single most common sign type we build.
BSC Signs fabricates channel letters in-house at our 21,000 sq ft facility in Broomfield and installs them with our own crews across the Front Range. We have been building them in Colorado since 1999 for clients including BrewDog, Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, Cherry Cricket, Credit Union of Colorado, and Giordano’s.
How the letters attach to your building affects cost, appearance, permitting, and whether your landlord will approve it:
Two separate approvals usually stand between you and an installed channel letter sign, and they do not always agree with each other.
The municipality issues the sign permit and, because the letters are illuminated, an electrical permit. Most Front Range cities calculate your allowable sign area from the width of your storefront or building frontage, and many also regulate letter height, projection from the wall, and brightness. Historic districts and design overlay zones add another layer.
Your landlord or property manager enforces the center’s tenant signage criteria, which frequently dictate letter style, color, mounting method, and maximum size — sometimes more strictly than the city does. We prepare and submit both packages. BSC Signs is a licensed sign contractor in more than 70 Colorado cities, towns, and counties, so we already know how each jurisdiction handles review.
Most channel letter projects run 4 to 8 weeks end to end. If you are working toward a grand opening or a lease commencement date, start the sign early — permitting is the stage that cannot be compressed.
Channel letter pricing is driven by a specific set of variables rather than a flat rate. When we quote your project, these are the factors:
We quote firm numbers after a site survey so there are no surprises at install.
We have fabricated and installed channel letter signs for restaurants, retail, churches, credit unions, and entertainment venues throughout Colorado. See our channel letter portfolio.
Yes. Every Front Range municipality requires a sign permit for wall-mounted channel letters, and because they are illuminated they also require an electrical permit. Most cities limit total sign area based on the width of your storefront or building frontage. If you lease space in a retail center or business park, your landlord’s tenant signage criteria apply on top of the city code — and the two often conflict. BSC Signs is a licensed sign contractor in more than 70 Colorado jurisdictions and handles both approvals for you.
Front-lit (or standard) channel letters have translucent acrylic faces that glow outward — the most common and most legible option at a distance, especially from a road. Halo-lit (also called reverse or backlit) letters have opaque metal faces with LEDs behind them, casting a glow onto the wall so the letters read as silhouettes. Halo-lit is more architectural and upscale but generally less visible from far away. Some signs combine both, which is called a combination or dual-lit letter.
A raceway is a metal enclosure that houses the wiring and power supplies, with the letters mounted to it. It installs as a single unit, which means fewer wall penetrations and easier removal — landlords often require it for exactly that reason. The alternative is flush or direct mount, where each letter attaches individually to the wall and the wiring runs behind it. Flush mount looks cleaner but requires more wall penetrations and more prep. A backer panel is a third option, mounting letters to a decorative panel that then mounts to the building.
Typically 4 to 8 weeks. Design and landlord approval take about 1–2 weeks, city permitting runs 2–4 weeks depending on the municipality, fabrication takes 2–3 weeks in our shop, and installation is usually a single day. Tenant improvement projects on a deadline should start the sign process as early as possible, because permitting is the stage you cannot compress.
Quality LED modules are generally rated for 50,000+ hours, which works out to roughly 10 years of nightly operation. The power supplies typically fail before the LEDs do and are straightforward to replace. Acrylic faces and trim cap will eventually show UV fading in Colorado’s high-altitude sun — usually well past the ten-year mark. Our service department handles LED retrofits and repairs on existing signs, including signs we did not build.
Most, but the wall construction matters. Brick, block, EIFS, metal panel, and tilt-up concrete all require different mounting hardware and approaches, and some require engineering review. Historic districts and certain overlay zones in Colorado restrict illuminated signage entirely or limit brightness and lettering style. We survey the building before design so mounting and code issues surface early rather than on installation day.
Ready to start? Contact us today or call 720-806-6210 for a free consultation and site survey on your channel letter sign project.
