Frequently Asked Questions
Commercial terms, lead times, documentation and the technical questions that come up most often before a first order. If your question is not here, ask it directly — a specific answer is more useful than a general brochure.
Minimum order: 5 reels (25 m) stocked, 500 m custom. Quotation: 24 hours. Lead time: 10–18 working days, 3–5 days for stock. Payment: 30% deposit, balance before shipment. Shipping: EXW, FOB, DAP or DDP. Colour: SDCM ≤ 3 on every reel with a bin record held five years. Samples: 500 mm in 3 working days.
Ordering and terms
What is the minimum order quantity for LED strip?
Five reels of 5 m, or 25 m, for stocked configurations. Custom CCT, custom FPC design or OEM labelling starts at 500 m because the phosphor batch, stencil and programming are fixed costs. Samples of 500 mm ship within 3 working days.
How long does a quotation take?
Within 24 hours for a specification that states wattage per metre, voltage, CCT, CRI, IP rating and run length. Projects needing a driver and profile recommendation, or a custom FPC design, take 2–3 working days. Every quote states the maximum run length per feed.
What is the production lead time?
Stocked strip ships in 3–5 working days. Production runs take 10–15 working days for COB and SMD, 12–18 days for neon flex and lightbox modules, and 15–20 days for pixel strip. OEM labelling and custom reel lengths add 2–3 days.
What are your payment terms?
30% deposit with the balance before shipment for new customers, and Net 30 for established accounts after three completed orders. Payment by bank transfer in USD or EUR. We do not accept letters of credit below USD 50,000 because the fees exceed the risk reduction.
Which shipping terms do you offer?
EXW and FOB Shenzhen by default, with DAP and DDP where a landed cost is preferred. Air freight for samples and urgent orders, sea freight above roughly 500 kg. We provide the HS code and country-of-origin declaration for customs entry.
Can you sign an NDA?
Yes, before technical data is exchanged. We do not display customer drawings, FPC designs, logos or project names in marketing material without written permission, and we do not resell a customer-specific FPC design to another buyer.
Can I get samples before a production order?
Yes. A 500 mm sample of any stocked configuration ships in 3 working days, and custom CCT or CRI builds take 7–10 working days. Sample cost is credited against the first production order above 500 m.
What information do you need to quote?
Run length, power per metre or target flux, voltage, CCT with tolerance, CRI and R9, IP rating, installation conditions, reel length and connector type. If you have a photometric target or an existing strip to match, send the reel label — the bin code is more useful than any description.
How do you handle a specification change mid-project?
Each revision gets a new part number with its own bin record and test data. Previous revisions are archived rather than overwritten, so a second store or a second phase can be reproduced exactly from the original record.
What happens if the strip is out of specification?
We replace or credit it and issue a root-cause report rather than only a replacement. Sorting at your facility, expedited replacement freight and line-stoppage costs are covered where the nonconformance is ours, as stated in our terms of sale.
Colour, voltage and sealing
How long a COB strip can I run from one power feed?
Ten metres at 24 V on a 3 oz FPC, feeding both ends. Beyond that the copper resistance produces a visible brightness gradient: a 20 m single-ended run drops about 11% in flux at the far end, which is above the 5% threshold most lighting designers accept.
Can I cut a COB strip anywhere?
No. COB strips have marked cut points every 25 mm at 480 chips/m and every 50 mm at 320 chips/m. Cutting between marks breaks the series circuit and the segment beyond the cut goes dark — this is the single most common installation error we see.
Should I choose 12 V or 24 V LED strip?
Choose 24 V for any run above 5 m and for commercial installations. Doubling the voltage quarters the voltage drop for the same power, so a 24 V strip runs 10 m from one feed where a 12 V strip manages 5 m. 12 V remains sensible for short runs, vehicles and small decorative work.
How many lumens do I get per metre?
A 2835 strip at 120 LEDs/m and 14.4 W/m produces roughly 1,600–2,100 lm/m at CRI 80, depending on the bin; the same strip at CRI 90 loses 10–15% of that flux. Efficacy above 180 lm/W requires a 0.5 W package and a 24 V design, and costs about 25% more per metre.
Can neon flex follow a tight corner?
The minimum bend radius is roughly three times the profile width on top-bend versions: 30 mm for 8×16 mm and 45 mm for 10×20 mm. Tighter corners need a pre-formed section or a side-bend profile, and bending below the radius cracks the phosphor even when the light still appears to work.
How many pixels can one controller drive?
A typical SPI output drives 1,024 pixels at 800 Hz, and controllers are specified by output count rather than by pixel total. A 60 px/m strip on a 20 m facade is 1,200 pixels, which needs two outputs or a 24 V WS2815 build with a higher pixel-per-output limit.
Deeper explanations live in the knowledge base and the glossary. Specification-specific questions are answered in the quotation, which is free and does not commit you to an order.
Send a specification, get a quotation in 24 hours
Tell us the product type, run length, wattage, CCT, CRI and IP rating. You will receive a fixed price, a lead time, and the feed and driver arrangement in writing — no obligation, and no sales call unless you ask for one.