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(February 2006) posted on Thu Feb 09, 2006

A look at neon's diversity

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By Marcus Thielen

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Neon usage worldwide is diverse due to differing electrical regulations, materials and fabrication techniques. This month, I'll examine such differences in Europe and the Far East.

Traditional techniques

Although Europe is small compared to the United States, its neon-sign techniques are more bountiful, but also traditionally based.

One aspect of traditional thinking is having different interpretations for the same product. For example, in the United States and the Arab world, "cold cathode" has traditionally been a term used to imply high-quality lighting products, whereas "neon" refers to cheap luminous advertising. Both products are identical, except for their size. In Europe, this difference doesn't exist, and the double terminology is unknown.

Neon, being a French invention (see ST, December 2001, page 20) and having spread around the world quickly, was kept in a closed, tightly organized society for decades. Knowledge was passed down from grandfather to father to son, and there was little opportunity to learn different techniques from abroad -- no one was willing to share his secrets. Today, local tradition still rules the neon business in many parts of the world.

Tool types

Traditionally, different glassworking tools have been used for the typical, American glassworking style, which features the glass tube being bent in a radius to achieve rounded corners (Fig. 1).

For example, the freestanding "crossfire" burner is used only in the United States. The Dutch use a bench-mounted, gas/air/oxygen cannon torch (like those used worldwide by scientific glassblowers) to achieve the same results. The Italians, in addition to the bench torch, use a gas/air-fired, singe-point handtorch. And the Japanese do all work in a bench-mounted, single-flame torch pointing straight up. $image1

In contrast, a typical German or British neon sign shows sharp glass corners, making the tube look like it was cut at a 45° angle and welded back together (Fig. 2). Sometimes called "miter" bends, these bends are made in a single heat from one straight stick of glass tubing with a single-point hand torch -- no cutting, welding or splicing is involved. $image2

Glass types

Not only do working techniques vary worldwide, but so do materials -- especially glass. Today, more than 40,000 different types of technical glass are known. Of these, lead glass is the most popular glass used for neon signmaking and is used worldwide, with the exception of a few European and former Soviet Union countries.