Pharmacy cross: characteristics and description

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

For both visitors and owners of pharmacies, a green cross above the entrance to this speci alty store seems familiar. It would be nice to know the origins of the use of this symbol, the advantages and features of using one or another type of such a sign, options for its self-assembly.

Why the cross is used

The pharmacy cross familiar to us (you will find a photo of its various variations in the article below) was chosen as a symbol of the Association of French Pharmacists in 1919. In 1984, he became the badge of the French National Order of Pharmacists. The association does not force all drug stores to use this cross, but markets selling non-pharmaceutical products are not authorized to use this symbol.

Following the example of France, European and Indian medicine stores began to use the pharmacy cross. But Austrian and German pharmacies put the red letter "A" in their signs. The green cross, therefore, is not an identification mark by which you can identify a pharmacy in any corner of the world. Somewhere a caduceus is used, somewhere a mortar and pestle, somewhere a bowl entwined with a snake. In ourcountry, by the way, until recently, pharmacy owners everywhere used the last sign, it can be found on shop windows and signs even now.

Why is the symbol green

The shape of the symbol copies exactly the Red Cross - the emblem of the International Humanitarian Committee, formed in Geneva in 1864. It was an identification mark of the points where the victims of military conflicts and the wounded were guaranteed medical care. The symbol "took root", drug stores continued to use it in peacetime, highlighting their shop windows with it.

However, in 1913, the French government imposed a ban on the exploitation of the red cross for commercial purposes. Then pharmacists made the pharmacy cross green. The choice is not accidental, because it is the color of rebirth, new life, he alth. Green is a "potion" (at the time of the birth of medicine, herbal infusions and decoctions, which have a characteristic greenish tint, were widely used for treatment).

LED pharmacy cross

Each of the companies that sell something or provide services strives to attract the positive attention of consumers to itself as much as possible. Pharmacies are no exception, they also use advertising and promotion tools on an equal footing.

If the buyer is faced with LED and simple pharmacy crosses, then it is more likely that he will pay attention to the first one because of its brightness, unusualness, and colorfulness. After all, the perception of a person is such that, first of all, it"pulls out" something moving, dynamic from what he sees.

A modern LED pharmacy cross, compared to a stationary sign, has a number of undeniable advantages:

1. Long service life (up to 10 years) coupled with an affordable price.
2. Weather resistant.
3. Keeping brightness in direct sunlight.
4. Wide viewing angle (depending on design).
5. Continuous operation from 10% to 90% humidity.
6. Able to operate in temperatures ranging from -40 to +50 degrees Celsius.
7. Auto on/off.

In addition, some manufacturing companies can provide an LED pharmacy cross (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and other large cities of Russia, in particular, are full of such offers) with additional functionality:

• non-standard object mounts on poles, roofs, signs;
• adding a built-in temperature indicator, electronic clock and other information;
• development of an animation track according to the wishes of the customer;
• production of a character according to individual parameters;
• embedding a pharmacy cross into another sign;
• choice of body color based on the corporate identity of the pharmacy;
• quick production and installation of products.

Types of LED pharmacy crosses

The light pharmacy cross has several varieties.

By the number of work surfaces:

• one-sided;
• double-sided.

By type of LED:

1. Monochrome. LEDs of the same shade are used, it can be either one-sided or two-sided. Such advertising signs are capable of broadcasting text, images or video. The pharmacy owner chooses the color of the cross based on his corporate design.
2. Full color. The use of several colors in the sign, which, according to manufacturers, increases the ability to capture the attention of the buyer by 15%. The multi-colored pharmacy cross also has great opportunities in broadcasting media files.

By size - the standard parameters of such signs are as follows:

• 900х900 mm;
• 700х700 mm;
• 500х500 mm.

LED cross device

The most common types of LEDs for such signs are green, red and white. They are installed both open and with an additional protective layer of acrylic glass.

The body of the product can be made of:

• plastic and PVC;
• powder-coated aluminum profile;
• composite material.

The case contains a sealed transformer, a controller that controls the light dynamics.

Diy pharmacy cross

For a green cross with parameters 1000x1000 mm with a "thermometer" you need:

1. Modules P10 green glow size 320x160 mm - 20 pcs. (ten on each side of the cross). Based on this,the dimensions of the cross are obtained in modules of 960x960 mm. 40 mm - on the insert of the "marquee".
2. Four 200W power supplies (one for five modules).
3. Controller. You can use both specialized for this kind of signs, and less expensive ones - BX-5UL, BX-5U0.
4. The most suitable material for the outer frame would be black composite (thickness 3mm). To work with it, you will need a milling cutter - manual or machine. The double-sided profile for a thermometer is much easier to process - it can be formed with a hacksaw.
5. The inner body of the advertising device is a square tube 25x25 mm. The modules are fixed on the frame with self-tapping screws.

Lay out the zones in the program and on the cross should be something like this.

From the very beginning of its history, the green pharmacy cross has been used to attract attention. Nowadays, its most effective variety from this side is the LED version, which has many variations and types of performance.