Neon is back. Cafés, salons, restaurants and showrooms use it to set a mood and to give people something to take a photo of. Order a neon sign today, though, and you're really picking between two quite different technologies that look alike from across the room.

What each one is

Glass neon is the original. Glass tubes are heated and bent by hand into letters and shapes, filled with a gas like neon or argon, and lit by a high-voltage transformer. The gas itself glows, so the light is smooth and even all the way along the tube.

LED neon, often called neon flex, is the modern copy. A strip of small LEDs sits inside a flexible silicone or PVC sleeve that spreads the light into one smooth line. It runs on low voltage, usually 12 or 24 volts.

How they compare

Look. Glass neon has a deeper, richer glow, and a lot of designers love it for vintage or handmade concepts. Good LED neon gets very close, and most people can't tell the two apart in a photo. Cheap LED neon gives itself away with visible dots or patchy brightness.

Safety. Glass neon needs a high-voltage transformer and fragile tubes. LED neon is low voltage and only gets slightly warm, so it's the safer pick anywhere people can touch it, like by the counter or in a kids' area.

Durability. Glass breaks if it gets knocked, and it's a pain to move or ship. LED neon bends and survives being handled, which counts for events, pop-ups and any sign you might move later.

Power. LED neon generally uses less electricity than a glass sign of the same size.

Repairs. A broken glass tube has to be remade by a skilled neon bender. A dead section of LED neon can usually be cut out and replaced.

Outdoors. Both can go outside if they're built properly. For LED neon, make sure it's rated for outdoor use, with sealed end caps and connections. Indoor silicone goes yellow and cracks in strong sun, and a Gulf summer is hard on cheap materials.

Arabic neon needs extra care

Arabic letters join up and carry dots and small marks, and those can get lost in a single continuous line. A good neon designer simplifies the script so it's still readable without losing the feel of the calligraphy. Always ask to see a full-size line drawing before anything is made.

Which should you choose?

Go for LED neon if you want lower running costs, a safer install, a sign outdoors, or something you might move one day. That covers most cafés, shops and offices.

Go for glass neon if that authentic glow is central to your concept, the sign will be out of reach, and you're fine with handling it carefully.

Either way, decide where the dimmer and power supply will go before installation day. A dimmer lets you turn it down for a softer evening feel, and a power supply you can reach makes any future repair simple.

Have a logo or a phrase in mind? Send it over and we'll show you what it would look like as a neon line drawing.