FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2003

UL 879 Working Group Reports On STP Discussions

Alexandria, VA (September 9, 2003) According to Muhammad Khan, director of technical services for the International Sign Association (ISA) and chairman of the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Standard Technical Panel (STP) 879, Working Group 2, the group has completed its discussions of the characteristics of blackout and other paints used in neon signs, and is prepared to report on the results.

“We came to the conclusion that painting of polymeric components did seem to have an effect on the performance characteristics of the sign components,” said Khan. “The recommendation of the working group is that those components should not be painted.” Khan was appointed chair of the working group at the May 2003 meeting of the STP 48/879, and has led subsequent meetings.

Khan says that the working group has reported its findings to the full STP. “We were able to finish our discussions and present our findings to the STP 48/879 on August 18th.”

The entire STP 48/879 panel plans to meet again in January 2004, when they will review proposals from all of the working groups, and make necessary assignments to allow the group to complete its review of the remaining sections of the UL 879 proposal.

Khan is a member of the STPs that review UL 879: Standard for Safety of Electric Sign Components and UL 48: Standard for Safety of Electric Signs.

ISA is a 2,200-member organization composed of manufacturers, users, and suppliers of on-premise signs and sign products produced by more than 400,000 employees in all 50 states and 69 countries. ISA exists to support, promote and improve the $30 billion-a-year sign industry, which sustains the nation’s nearly $3 trillion-a-year retail industry.

International Sign Association
707 North Saint Asaph Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-836-4012
Fax: 703-836-8353
E-Mail: janay.rickwalder@signs.org
Website URL: www.signs.org