Neon signs, which initially appeared in the early 20th century, are almost 100 years old. Today, they are the most widely used signs in the outdoor advertising industry. They are produced in all countries with different technologies, materials and procedures.

China, The Paradise for Neon Signs

Establishing a Neon Sign Manufacturing System Characterized by Work Process Specialization and Mass Production. Neon signs, which initially appeared in the early 20th century, are almost 100 years old. Today, they are the most widely used signs in the outdoor advertising industry. They are produced in all countries with different technologies, materials and procedures. The Korean neon sign industry, which is basically influenced by Japan, is generally characterized by small-scale household production. The Chinese neon sign industry, on the other hand, is largely influenced by the European neon manufacturing system of mass production and work process specialization. Neon Signs: Affecting the Landscape of Downtown China The 2008 Beijing Olympics is expected to propel China into the roster of developed nations. This international sports event highlights China's reformed open-door economic policy, which has allowed many multinational corporations to make inroads into its leading cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. Foreign sign companies, for their part, are ready to aggressively enter the Chinese market, what with such a huge nation requiring a large quantity of sign systems to reach its equally huge market. Indeed, the demand in the country for roof signs and billboards, as well as store signs, is increasing, a sure sign of its steady progress towards economic development. Like Korean streets, which are mostly lined with signs bearing digitally printed graphics, colorful graphic neon signs are displayed in downtown Beijing and Shanghai. Dowon Seo, president of Panalox Ltd., observes "China's skyline, which is dotted by high-rise buildings, is rapidly changing everyday, especially with Beijing authorities embarking on improving the city's landscape for the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics." The lighting systems of the city's buildings, bridges and roads have been replaced with new lighting systems, including LED, cold-cathode and neon lighting systems. 12-mm Neon Tube Application in China Even though there is seemingly no big difference among neon signs, neon lighting systems in China have subtle distinctions depending on their subsidiary materials, such as electrodes and transformers, and their manufacturing process. Whereas neon tubes with lengths more than 15 mm are primarily used in Europe and 14-mm-long neon tubes are generally used in Korea, 12-mm-long neon tubes are commonly used in China for store signs and billboards. While high-performance soda glass is the most commonly used neon tube material in Germany, lead glass is primarily used for neon tubes in China and Korea. Electrodes for neon tubes, the capacity of which depends on the tube's surface area, are generally cone- or cylinder-shaped. The Chinese neon sign industry uses mostly cylindrical electrodes, whereas the Korean sign industry, although it applies cylindrical electrodes onto cold cathodes, generally uses cone-shaped electrodes for its popular 14-mm neon tubes. Mass Production System through Specialization Chinese neon factories have very extensive production capacities. Their neon-manufacturing processes are divided into three stages: coating, bending and bombarding. Each factory worker specializes in one stage. Hyeongjung Chae, manager of Yeil Art Co. which has established a factory in China, says that in Korea, each factory worker performs the entire neon manufacturing process, from bending to aging, while Chinese neon factories have specialists for each stage of their production process. A bender even specializes in a specific letter, and some workers do nothing but install electrodes on neon tubes. Such specialization and division of labor helps increase production efficiency. In the case of the Korean neon industry, most of the neon signs it produces are used in the domestic market. Chinese neon companies, on the other hand, export their products to the world market. A neon sign company of China says, "We can produce high-quality products and sell them at competitive prices because we have workers with 5 to 10 years of experience who specialize in just one aspect of neon manufacturing work."