When LED signs were first intoduced to the general public, it came in a form that is very different to what current signs look like. These used a technology known as Dual In-Line Package (DIP) LED and is characterised with the dome top LED. 

P20 DIP LED Message boards were first introduced as a cost effective way of dispalying messages for  the likes of road side work signs and school message boards. However P20 meant messages were very restricted and the most common way of stating the size of the sign were the number of rows of text that a message board was able to display. 

P10 and P8 LED signs first used DIP LEDs as the technology was robust and current, even till this day, single colour signs, message boards still use the same DIP technology. There are still numerous signs that are still using the DIP modules and many are dated 10+ years in service.

SMD technology soon appeared and soon became the industry preferred technology as its ability to render images outperforms that of DIP. In comparison DIP were not able to create the level of colour depth as that of SMD, as the size of each emitting light source (red, green and blue) played a crucial role in how each pixel was represented. 

The marketplace were soon flooded with SMD modules allowing for vibrant images and videos to be displayed. However P10 and P8 were still not satisfactory in presenting a sign to be viewed from close range. Advancements were then made to reduce the pitch to what can be seen in the market place today.