Text is where LED signs succeed or fail. A shop name, an opening time or a “Welcome” ticker has to be readable from across the street on a few dozen pixels. LEDEdit Pro 2026 renders text directly on your LED layout — no pre-rendered video needed — and lets you check readability in the per-LED preview before you export.
Add a text clip
- Select the layer that covers your sign area.
- Choose Create → Add Clip → Text Clip….
- Set its start and length on the timeline, then open the settings with Edit.
Text settings explained
Text
- Content — one or more lines of text.
- Font and Font Size (pt).
- Style — Bold and Italic toggles.
- Letter Spacing (%) and Line Spacing.
- Text Color.
Position
- X % and Y % place the text on the canvas.
- Alignment — left, center or right.
- Presets — one click for Center, Top or Bottom.
Animation
Pick one of 22 animation types:
| Group | Animations |
|---|---|
| Static & fades | Static, Fade, Blink, Pulse |
| Scrolling & sliding | Marquee, Slide Left, Slide Right, Slide Up, Slide Down, Drift |
| Zoom | Zoom In, Zoom Out, Zoom Pulse |
| Playful | Bounce, Shake, Wobble, Wave, Typewriter |
| Rotation | Spin, Orbit, Spiral, Rotate Swing |
Set the Speed and, for moving text, the Direction: left to right, right to left, top to bottom or bottom to top. For a classic ticker use Marquee with Right to Left.
Text Gradient
Enable Gradient to fill the letters with any palette (Colormap), choose Horizontal, Vertical or Diagonal, and give it an Animation Speed to make the colours flow through the text.
Outline
Enable Outline, pick the Outline Color and Outline Width. On LEDs a 1-pixel dark outline around bright text often matters more for readability than a bigger font.
Readability on low-resolution LEDs
- Think in pixels, not points. A letter needs roughly 5–7 LEDs of height to be legible. Check it in the Per LED preview, not just on the canvas.
- Bold and simple fonts win. Thin serifs disappear between pixels.
- Open up letter spacing a little on coarse pixel pitches so letters don’t merge.
- Slow down. A ticker that feels calm on your monitor is often too fast on the street. Give people time to read each word.
- Contrast beats colour. White or yellow text with a dark outline over a moving background stays readable; saturated text on a busy effect does not.
- Put text on its own layer above the effect layers, so you can change the background effect without touching the text.
Logos and graphics: image clips
For logos use Create → Add Clip → Image Clip… (PNG, JPG, BMP, WebP or GIF). The image settings help fit artwork onto an LED layout:
- Positioning — Center, Fill, Fit, Stretch or Custom (manual X / Y), and Fit Mode Cover or Contain.
- Wrap Mode — a single image or a Pattern Tile that repeats it across the canvas.
- Scale and Offset X / Y for exact placement.
- Black = Transparent with Threshold and Softness — perfect for logos on black backgrounds.
- Color Mask with Normal Tint, Multiply or Screen blending to recolour artwork in your show palette.
- Image Animation options and a Playback Speed for animated GIFs.
Tip: Export logos at the size of your LED area and use pure black for “off”. With Black = Transparent the effect layer below shows through around the logo.
A simple shop-sign timeline
| Time | Layer | Clip |
|---|---|---|
| 0–8 s | Background | Effect: slow Aurora Panel in the brand palette |
| 0–8 s | Logo | Image: logo with Black = Transparent |
| 8–20 s | Text | Text: “OPEN 9–19” with Marquee, Right to Left, outline |
| 20–24 s | Text | Text: “WELCOME” with Zoom Pulse and animated gradient |
Loop it, preview it per LED, and export it to the SD card.
