2025-12-08
Advertising light boxes, as a prominent medium in commercial promotion and brand display, owe their performance, durability, and visual effect largely to the careful selection of raw materials. From the structural framework that ensures stability to the light-transmitting panels that enhance visibility, each material plays a unique and irreplaceable role. This article categorizes and elaborates on the core raw materials of advertising light boxes, providing insights for both manufacturers and buyers in material selection.
The structural framework bears the weight of the entire light box, supports internal components, and resists external environmental impacts (such as wind and rain for outdoor models). The choice of framework material directly determines the light box’s load-bearing capacity, service life, and installation adaptability.
Aluminum alloy is the most widely used framework material for modern advertising light boxes, especially for indoor and medium-sized outdoor applications. Its key advantages include: lightweight—with a density of only 2.7g/cm³, it reduces installation difficulty and transportation costs;excellent corrosion resistance—the natural oxide film on its surface prevents rust, making it suitable for humid or coastal environments;good processability—it can be easily cut, bent, welded, and polished to form various framework structures (such as rectangular, circular, or irregular shapes); cost-effectiveness—compared with stainless steel, it has a lower price while meeting most structural requirements. Common aluminum alloy grades used in light boxes are 6061 and 6063, which balance strength and ductility.
Stainless steel is preferred for large-scale outdoor advertising light boxes or those used in harsh environments (such as industrial areas or areas with high air pollution). Its main characteristics are: superior strength—it has higher tensile strength and hardness than aluminum alloy, able to withstand greater wind pressure and load; extreme corrosion resistance—grades like 304 stainless steel contain chromium and nickel, which form a dense passive film, effectively resisting acid, alkali, and salt erosion; long service life—under proper maintenance, stainless steel frameworks can last for more than 15 years. However, its drawbacks are high density (7.93g/cm³) and high cost, which increase transportation and installation burdens, so it is rarely used in small and medium-sized light boxes.
Galvanized steel is a cost-effective alternative to stainless steel, suitable for budget-sensitive large outdoor light boxes. It is made by coating a layer of zinc on the surface of ordinary steel, which acts as a sacrificial anode to protect the steel substrate from corrosion. Its advantages include low cost and sufficient strength for general outdoor use. However, the zinc coating is prone to wear or peeling over time (especially in areas with frequent friction or strong UV radiation), leading to rusting of the underlying steel. Therefore, it usually requires additional painting or powder coating for protection, and its service life is shorter than that of stainless steel (generally 5-8 years).
The light-transmitting panel is the front face of the advertising light box, responsible for diffusing the light from internal sources evenly, displaying advertising content clearly, and resisting external impacts. Its light transmittance, haze, and physical strength are core performance indicators.
Acrylic is the dominant light-transmitting material for advertising light boxes, known as "organic glass." Its outstanding advantages are: high light transmittance—up to 92% or more, close to glass, ensuring bright and uniform light emission; excellent weather resistance—it can resist UV radiation without yellowing or brittle cracking for a long time (outdoor service life of 3-5 years); good impact resistance—10-12 times that of ordinary glass, not easy to break, safe to use; versatile processing—it can be cut, bent, engraved, and printed (screen printing, UV printing) to realize various advertising designs. In addition, acrylic panels are available in transparent, semi-transparent, and colored types, meeting different visual needs. The only limitation is that it has poor resistance to strong solvents (such as actone) and is prone to scratching (so it is often coated with a protective film).
Polycarbonate panels are widely used in high-demand scenarios such as outdoor large-scale light boxes, road sign light boxes, and high-altitude advertising boxes. Their biggest feature isextreme impact resistance—they are unbreakable under general impacts, making them ideal for areas prone to vandalism or harsh weather (such as strong winds and hailstorms). Other advantages include: good light transmittance (80-85%), excellent high and low temperature resistance (can work normally in the range of -40℃ to 120℃), and flame retardancy (reaching UL94 V-2 level). However, PC panels have high shrinkage during processing, are prone to warping, and have higher costs than acrylic, so they are not the first choice for ordinary indoor light boxes.
Traditional glass (such as float glass) was once used in light boxes, but now it is only used in special scenarios (such as high-end indoor light boxes with strict aesthetic requirements). Its advantages are ultra-high light transmittance (up to 95%), smooth surface, and resistance to scratching and solvent erosion. However, its fatal drawbacks—heavy weight, poor impact resistance (easy to break and cause safety hazards), and difficulty in processing complex shapes—make it gradually replaced by acrylic and PC panels. In some cases, tempered glass is used to improve safety, but this further increases the cost and weight.
The light source is the "heart" of the advertising light box, determining its brightness, energy consumption, color temperature, and service life. With the development of lighting technology, LED light sources have basically replaced traditional light sources such as fluorescent tubes and neon lights.
LED (Light-Emitting Diode) light beads are the most widely used light source materials for modern advertising light boxes, mainly including SMD (Surface Mount Device) LED beads and COB (Chip on Board) LED beads. Their advantages are: energy saving—power consumption is only 1/5 of fluorescent tubes and 1/10 of incandescent lamps; long service life—up to 50,000-100,000 hours, reducing maintenance frequency; rich color options—monochromatic LEDs (red, green, blue, white) and RGB full-color LEDs can meet different advertising color needs; fast response speed—no warm-up time, can be turned on and off instantly; small size—easy to arrange evenly, ensuring uniform light emission of the light box. SMD LEDs are suitable for medium and small light boxes, while COB LEDs, with higher brightness and better heat dissipation, are used in large-scale outdoor light boxes.
LED light strips and tubes are assembled products of LED light beads, which are more convenient for installation and use. LED light strips are flexible, can be bent along the contour of the light box, and are suitable for edge lighting or irregularly shaped light boxes; LED tubes have a cylindrical structure, similar in shape to traditional fluorescent tubes, and are suitable for direct lighting of large-area light boxes. Both products have the same energy-saving and long-life characteristics as LED light beads, and are equipped with waterproof casings for outdoor use, ensuring stable operation in rainy and humid environments.
Auxiliary materials, although not the core components, play a key role in improving the overall performance and service life of the advertising light box.
For outdoor advertising light boxes, waterproof and sealing materials are essential to prevent rainwater from seeping into the interior and damaging the light source and circuit. Common materials include: silicone sealant—has good elasticity, high temperature resistance, and strong adhesion, used for sealing the gaps between the framework and the light-transmitting panel; waterproof gaskets—made of EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) rubber, placed between the panel and the framework to enhance the waterproof effect; waterproof connectors—used for the connection of LED light sources and power lines, preventing water from entering the circuit.
LED light sources generate heat during operation. Excessive heat accumulation will reduce the light efficiency and service life of the LED. Therefore, heat dissipation materials are necessary for large-scale or high-power light boxes. Common materials include: aluminum heat sinks—lightweight and good thermal conductivity, installed behind the LED light source to quickly transfer heat; heat-dissipating silicone pads—used to fill the gap between the LED module and the heat sink, improving heat transfer efficiency; heat-dissipating fans—used in ultra-large light boxes, enhancing heat dissipation through forced air cooling.
Adhesives are used for bonding the light-transmitting panel and the framework, as well as fixing the LED light source. Common types include acrylic adhesive and epoxy resin adhesive, which have strong adhesion and good weather resistance. Fasteners include expansion bolts, self-tapping screws, and stainless steel rivets, used to fix the framework to the wall or bracket. The material of fasteners should match the framework material (e.g., stainless steel fasteners for aluminum alloy frameworks) to avoid galvanic corrosion.
The selection of advertising light box materials should be based on comprehensive considerations of the following factors:
The raw materials of advertising light boxes are diverse, and each material has its unique characteristics and application scenarios. The rational combination of structural framework materials, light-transmitting panel materials, light source materials, and auxiliary materials is the key to creating high-quality, durable, and visually appealing advertising light boxes. With the continuous advancement of material science and technology, new materials with better performance and lower cost will continue to emerge, promoting the continuous development and innovation of the advertising light box industry.
