Lit cabinet signs
Light Box Signs in Los Angeles
8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley · Open daily 7 AM–10 PM
Send a photo. We place the light box on it at the proposed size. The first mockup and one round of changes are free for business-sign requests, per location. Extra rounds are billed.
What is a light box sign?
A light box, also called a cabinet sign or can sign, puts all of your copy on one lit panel. LED modules inside the box shine through the face from behind, so colors, small type and detailed artwork read at night as well as by day. That makes an LED light box sign the practical choice for a logo that would lose its detail if it were cut into separate letters.
Outdoor light box signs hang flush on a fascia, stick out from the wall on brackets as a blade sign, or sit as the lit cabinet on a pole or monument. Indoors, the same box works as a lit menu board or a logo behind the counter. The face sits in a frame that opens, so a new owner or a new logo means a new face, not a new sign. That's why illuminated cabinet signs line strip centers from the Valley to the Westside: tenants change, and the cabinets stay.
Mockup first
See the light box on your building before it's made
A light box is a bright rectangle on your wall, so its size and colors matter. You and your landlord judge it on a photo of your own storefront before any face is printed.
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Photo of your wall
A straight-on phone photo of the fascia, or of the cabinet you have now. Add an evening photo if your street is dark at night.You do this
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Light box at proposed size
We draw the cabinet on your photo at a proposed size, with your logo and colors on the face.We do this
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Mockup and quote
The mockup comes back to you with a quote. Spend your round of changes on another size, face or color.We do this
Free for business-sign requests: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location. Extra rounds are billed. No payment details.
How a light box sign is built
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Cabinet
An aluminum box, single- or double-sided, painted to match the building or your brand. Its depth depends on the size of the sign and the kind of face. -
Face and retainers
Translucent acrylic or polycarbonate on small and mid-size boxes, a stretched flex face on large ones. Retainers hold the face at the edges and open when it's time for a new face. -
LED modules
Rows of LED modules on the back of the cabinet, spaced so the whole face glows at one brightness. A power supply inside the box runs them. -
Mounting
Flush on the wall, on brackets as a projecting sign, or as the lit cabinet on a pole or monument base. The mount sets most of the install work and which permit rules apply.
Already have a cabinet?
New faces for the light box you already have
Taking over a space with a working cabinet, or changing your logo? If the box is sound, new faces change the sign without a new cabinet, new power or new wall work. We make the faces to fit your cabinet: UV-printed or vinyl-on-acrylic, or a routed aluminum face with push-through acrylic letters. Tenant panels in a pylon cabinet work the same way.
In the City of Los Angeles, changing the copy on a sign is a non-structural face change, and it needs no permit. If the cabinet itself comes down, LADBS requires a permit and full compliance with current code for whatever goes up. Our licensed sign-contractor partner swaps the faces on site.
Send a photo of the whole cabinet, its outside size and a close-up of one corner. We confirm exact sizes before anything is cut.
Pylon tenant panelsLight box, push-through or channel letters?
| Feature | Light box | Push-through cabinet | Channel letters |
|---|---|---|---|
| At night | The whole face glows, background and all. | Only the letters and logo glow. The background stays dark. | Each letter glows on its own. The wall between stays dark. |
| By day | A flat printed panel in a frame. | A painted metal face with acrylic letters standing out of it. | Separate 3D letters that read as part of the building. |
| Detailed logos | Prints gradients, photos and fine type. | Detail is limited to what can be routed from metal. | Thin strokes and small type are hard to build as letters. |
| Changing the name later | Swap the face; the cabinet stays. | Route a new face; the cabinet stays. | New letters, and often patching the wall. |
| Wall area in the City of LA | Standard wall-sign area. | Standard wall-sign area. | 20% more area allowed if the wall color behind them stays the same. |
| Usually costs | Less than channel letters of the same size. | More than a plain light box: routing the face adds work. | More than a light box of the same size. |
Wall-area row: LADBS Sign Manual P/BC 2023-078, City of Los Angeles. Information, not an approval. Cost row: a general comparison. HomeAdvisor's national references are $500–$5,000 for outdoor lighted signs and $4,000–$20,000 for channel letters, not our prices.
What a light box sign usually costs
Two light boxes of the same size can be priced far apart: the face, the number of sides and the way the box mounts make the difference. HomeAdvisor doesn't price light boxes on their own. Its closest national reference, outdoor lighted signs, runs $500 to $5,000 (HomeAdvisor, updated June 2026). That's a national figure, not our price.
New faces in a cabinet you already have usually cost less than a whole new light box, because the box, the power and the mounting stay where they are. For outdoor lighted sign boxes, a photo of the wall and a rough size are enough to start a real quote.
Send a photo for a real number. Any range shown is a national reference, not our price.
What a complete quote includesLA permit note
Light box signs and Los Angeles permits
In the City of Los Angeles, a new light box, an altered cabinet or a removed one needs a sign permit. Because a light box is lit, LADBS issues that permit only to a C-10 electrical contractor or a C-45 electrical sign contractor. Our licensed sign-contractor partner files it, and we prepare the drawings. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number.
Rules that shape a cabinet:
- Depth on a wall: a wall sign can't project more than 24 in from the face of the building.
- Materials: a wall sign over 40 sq ft has to be built entirely of metal or another approved noncombustible material, and approved plastic can still be the display face. No single plastic face on an electric sign may exceed 200 sq ft.
- Projecting cabinets: a box on brackets is a projecting sign. It needs at least 8 ft of clearance over the sidewalk, a lot with 50 ft or more of street frontage, and 15 ft of distance from any other projecting, pole or monument sign.
- Copy on the sides: a message on the edge of a wall cabinet is regulated as a projecting sign.
In the City of LA, new, changed, removed and lit signs usually need a permit. A face change alone usually doesn't.
Read the Los Angeles sign permit guideCity of Los Angeles: when a light box needs a permit
Usually needs a permit
- A new light box, flush on the wall or on brackets
- Any lit cabinet The permit is issued only to a C-10 or C-45 licensed contractor.
- Changes to an existing cabinet Anything beyond a new face or new copy.
- Taking a cabinet down What replaces it has to meet current code.
Usually doesn't
- New copy or a new face in the cabinet you have A non-structural face change, with the cabinet left up.
From the LADBS Sign Manual, P/BC 2023-078: permits, wall and projecting signs, materials. Specific plans and other zoning rules can add limits; ZIMAS shows which apply to your lot. Information, not an approval.
Pasadena note
Pasadena limits cabinet signs
Pasadena writes its own sign code, and light boxes are where it differs most from the City of LA. A cabinet mounted flat on a building wall is prohibited there unless it's a corporate logo, and wall signs have to be individual letters. A cabinet can still go up as a projecting sign, but only with an opaque background and lit letters: any internally lit projecting sign needs opaque face panels.
Inherited a wall cabinet in Pasadena? It can take a new face if the background is opaque, only the letters, numbers or symbols light up, and the sign area stays the same. A routed face with push-through letters is one way to get there. Every new or altered permanent sign needs a Pasadena building permit, and some also go through design review.
Information, not an approval. Source: Pasadena Zoning Code, Chapter 17.48 (17.48.030, 17.48.110, 17.48.130, 17.48.140), read November 2026.
What we need for a quote
Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. No payment details. No obligation to order.
- A straight-on photo of the wall, or of the cabinet you have now
- The address, so we know which city reviews the sign
- Rough size of the sign area, or the cabinet's outside size
- Your logo file and the words you want on the face
- One face or two, flush on the wall or on brackets
- Your landlord's sign criteria, if you rent
- Whether there's power where the sign will go, if you know
Dark street at night? An evening photo helps us judge how bright the face should be.
Send photos any time
Email hello@angelssigns.com with your business name in the subject.
Made in Sun Valley
Light box faces made on Lankershim
Light box faces and their graphics are made at Angels Print, 8511 Lankershim Blvd in Sun Valley: UV-printed and vinyl-on-acrylic faces, routed aluminum faces with push-through acrylic letters, and the LED module layout for each cabinet. Stop by to compare acrylic and vinyl samples before you pick a face. The shop is open daily, 7 AM to 10 PM.
Who builds the cabinet depends on its size and mount, and your quote names them. Installation is done by a licensed sign-contractor partner.
Related sign types
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Channel letters Individual 3D letters, lit from inside or behind.
See channel letters
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Halo-lit letters Solid letters that throw a soft glow on the wall behind them.
See halo-lit letters
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LED neon signs The look of glass neon in flexible LED on a cut acrylic backer.
See LED neon signs
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Storefront signs The main sign over your door, lit or unlit.
See storefront signs
Sign-type photos are illustrations, not our projects.
Light box sign questions
Still deciding? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo and ask.
Light box or channel letters: which suits my storefront?
What do you need to make new faces for my light box?
Acrylic, polycarbonate or flex face: which do I need?
Does a light box sign need a permit in Los Angeles?
I'm opening in Pasadena. Which light box options work there?
What logo file works best for a light box face?
See your light box on your storefront
Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. Or bring your logo to the shop, open daily 7 AM–10 PM.
What to send
- A straight-on photo of the wall or the cabinet.
- The address, so we know which city reviews the sign.
- Your logo file, if you have one.
Replacing faces? Add the cabinet's outside width and height.
8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352Open daily 7 AM to 10 PMGet directions