Sign Builder Illustrated: March 2012 Issue

How-To

profit boom

Managing your projects

www.signshop.com

March 2012

Rev up vehicles

Number 201

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Nu mb er 201

SIGN BU

Sign Builder Illustrated

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Sign Bu i lder I llu str ated

This digital edition is brought to you by ClearPath

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Welcome to the March 2012 issue of

Wrap Design

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Legibility on Display

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Rock the Green Awnings

Visit us at ISA Booth #2918 25% More LEDs LED Signs in Stock in Atlanta, GA USA Technology Easy to Use Software We Sell Through Sign Companies Best in Industry Customer Support

1-(800)-FORMETCO | www.adtechintl.com | 2963 Pleasant Hill Road | Duluth, GA 30096

March 2012

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56 38

2012 ISA International Sign Expo Preview

The latest products at ISA Sign Expo in Orlando.

42

Legible Design for Exterior Media Displays BY craig berger

As technology improves, so too must a display’s legibility.

52 Furnishing an Identity Sign 56

Engraving Accents BY Jan fletcher A sign shop make an impression with its engraver.

BY ashley bray

High-end signage for high-end clients.

Sign Builder Illustrated (Print ISSN 895-0555, Digital ISSN 2161-4709) (USPS#0015-805) (Canada Post Cust. #7204564) (Bluechip Int’l, Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Agreement # 41094515) is published monthly

by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 345 Hudson Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10014. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices.

Pricing, Qualified individual working in the sign industry may request a free subscription. Non-qualified subscriptions printed or digital version: 1 year US $105.00; foreign $197.00; foreign, air mail $297.00. 2 years US $149.00; foreign $267.00; foreign, air mail $497.00. BOTH Print & Digital Versions: 1 year US $158.00; foreign $296.00; foreign, air mail $396.00. 2 years US $224.00; foreign $400.00; foreign, air mail $600.00. Single copies are $36.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only.

Copyright © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2012. All rights reserved. Contents may not be

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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61 64

BY Ashley Bray

A sign company explains what’s steering their vehicle wrap designs.

Wraps on the Edge BY JEFF WOOTEN

Designing some truly wild wraps—for semi-trucks, boats, and even amusement park rides.

70 78

Wrap Design That’s “Awthentik”

Rocking Out to Green Signage BY jeff wooten

Sustainability and recyclability play a big role for a graphics provider at a rock concert.

Awning Multi-tasking BY Jim richman Taking on third-party support for first-class awning results.

reproduced without permission. For reprint information contact: Art Sutley, Publisher 212-620-7247 or asutley@sbpub.com.

For Subscriptions, & address changes, please call (800) 895-4389, (402) 346-4740, Fax (402) 346-3670, e-mail circulation@sbpub.com or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010.

Instructional information provided in this magazine should only be performed by skilled crafts people with the proper equipment. The pub­lisher and authors of information provided herein advise all readers to exercise care when engaging in any of the how-to activities pub­lished in the magazine. Further, the publisher and authors assume no liability for damages or injuries resulting from projects contained herein.

signshop.com

Boldly going where no other sign lighting company has gone before.

And leaving the competition in the stardust.

Who’s chasing AgiLight now?

At Sign Expo 2012, we’re launching a whole galaxy of new products that are light years ahead of the competition. So, “beam” on over to Booth 2214 and we’ll introduce you to our latest stars: • Mini The tiny module that packs a premium punch. Smaller foot print than our industry-leading ThinRayz product.

• Power Supply A user-friendly and reliable IP68-rated power supply that cuts material and labor costs.

• Bold Cabinet Sign Lighting that ramps up the light output.

• SignRayz G2 A new generation of SignRayz offering superior performance and even greater face coverage.

• ALE (Area Lighting Element) A new retrofit kit for undercanopy lights that opens up new market opportunities for installers.

We’re exploring the final frontiers of sign lighting.

Visit us at Sign Expo 2012 Orlando, Booth 2214 866.482.0203

AgiLight.com

info@AgiLight.com

How-To Columns

28

Look Out for the “FREE BIRDS!”

Agenda MARCH 2012 March 6-9: Digital Signage Expo (DSE) 2012, the world’s largest tradeshow and conference dedicated to digital signage, interactive technologies, and DOOH networks, will be occurring in Las Vegas, Nevada. For additional details, log on to www.digitalsignggeexpo.net.

March 21-24: ISA International Sign Expo 2012 returns to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

For further information, check out www.signs.org.

May 2012

34

Designing Vehicle Wraps That Sell

20 Making a Contact Reliably & Economically

BY DEL WILLIAMS The smallest parts make the biggest difference.

24 Shopping for a Heat Press

BY JIM HINGST Tips for buying a heat press.

28 Look Out for the “FREE BIRDS!”

BY MARK ROBERTS Ten essential steps to maintain prosperity.

34 Designing Vehicle Wraps That Sell

BY LORI SHRIDHARE Rev up your wrap designs.

How-To

Wrap Design

profit boom

managing your projects

www.signshop.com

25

6 UpFront

March sanity! The clock is ticking, and Editor Jeff Wooten takes aim and tries to score the winning basket regarding issues affecting the industry.

8 Dispatches

The latest news from around the industry.

14 Sign Show

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

84 SBI Marketplace

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

88 Shop Talk

Jan Fletcher profiles the hand-crafted signage of Starr Studios.

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May 15-16: The second SGIA 2012 Business Development Conference, designed to facilitate partnerships between the graphic and sign community and brand managers at retail establishments, is scheduled to take place at the Westin Downtown Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.sgia.org.

May 17-19: The Illinois Sign Association and the Wisconsin Sign Association will co-host a Joint Spring Conference and Table Top Trade Show at the Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin. To learn more, log on to www.isa-sign.com.

June 2012 June 7-9: The 2012 SEGD Conference, the only international conference focused on communication design in the build environment, will be taking place in New York City/Brooklyn. For more information, go to www.segd.org.

July 2012

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Legibility on Display

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Departments

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May 9-11: The 2012 LIGHTFAIR Tradeshow and Conference will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. To learn more, log on to www.lightfair.com.

Rock the Green Awnings

On the Cover The heart of Times Square in New York City plays host to some of the biggest and most legible LED displays in the world. Photo by Dave Forrest.

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

July 26-28: The Mid South Sign Association (MSSA) Convention & Trade Show is scheduled to take place at the Riverview Plaza Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. For further details, click on the “Calendar of Events” link at www. midsouthsign.org.

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Up

by jeff wooten

March 2012, Vol. 26, No. 201

March Sanity

Sign Builder Illustrated (ISSN 0895-0555) print, (ISSN 2161-0709) digital is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation executive offices

T

his is turning out to be a pretty busy March. For starters, since we’re celebrating our twenty-fifth anniver sar y this year, we’re premiering a new, energetic look for this magazine.You’re going to notice brandnew layouts of our features, how-to columns, news items, product announcements, and more.

We’ve also set up “Shop Talk” in the back of the book that spotlights backstories and additional aspects to running a sign shop.

We’d like to thank Tom Morrell, creative director of Swell Media Group, for his efforts in creating this dynamic redesign. We believe these new layouts will make it much easier (and more appealing) to find and digest our content. It also sets us up for even more success over the next twenty-five years starting now. As always, we appreciate any feedback, so be sure to let us know your thoughts about our new look.

It’s also time to start packing for the annual ISA International Sign Expo (being held this year in Orlando, Florida). This timing seems apropos, since this month also plays host to the NCAA’s March Madness™ basketball tournament, and trust me, my attempt to get to the dry cleaner in time to have my best duds cleaned and pressed always feels like one of those tourney-trademarked last-second, desperation, half-court heaves. (“That’s ‘wrinkle’ with a capital ‘W,’ baby!”).

It doesn’t take a Bracketologist™ degree to figure out that one of the most exciting things about going to any tradeshow is being able to check out all the newest products and technologies on display in the exhibit hall. So to help those of you attending this year’s event find some of these latest-and-greatest media and equipment, you’ll find write-ups about some of the notables in our “ISA Sign Expo Preview” on page 38. And be sure to visit our link for more hot-off-the-press entries here at www.signshop.com. Even if you’re not going to be attending this year’s show, this preview should give you a good idea of the materials and hardware that’ll be available for your shop soon (if not sooner).

6

And if you’re about to fill out tradeshow brackets in your shop, you can never go wrong picking educational sessions. One at this year’s ISA Sign Expo that caught my eye: “The Basic Principles of Estimating and Pricing Signs.”

Maybe the reason is because we recently posted a question on our Facebook page (www.facebook. com/sbimag) about how much your shop takes low-ball competitors into mind when pricing your work, and several answers were slam dunks.

For instance, reader Trevor Rood posted, “[All of the sign makers in my area] are very good at what they do and price their work right in line with where it needs to be to stay competitive without low-balling the others. We each have our own niche market that we deal with, so I think that helps.”

Reader Andrea “Sign-Goddess” Craig added, “In our area, the low-ballers are the ones using the absolute cheapest materials. I explain to my customers the benefits of higher quality materials and how we stand behind them. The cost may seem like more now, but they’re getting a product that will far outlast the competitor. When you break it down so they see more than a number, they’re more willing to trust you with their job at the price that is higher than the competitor.”

Nothing but net! It feels good to read sign makers finding success by valuing their work instead of under-bidding in a game of competitive desperation.

If you’ve decided to hold off reading this month’s column until the end of this year’s tourney (and ISA Sign Expo), then you already know that to the victor go the spoils—such as a shiny, engraved trophy. Speaking of engraving, on page 52, we show how one sign maker is literally making an impression through engraving. And if you’re interested in learning more about maintaining an engraver, check out our Web site for details about this care.

However, in my haste to fill out brackets before leaving for the show, I ended up picking Wide Format Printing to defeat Kentucky in the finals. But then again, maybe I just won the office pool!

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

President and Chairman Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher arthur j. sutley 345 Hudson Street, 12th floor New York, NY 10014 212/620-7247; fax: 212/633-1863 editorial editor

Jeff Wooten

323 Clifton Street, Suite #7 Greenville, NC 27858 252/355-5806; fax: 252/355-5690 jwooten@sbpub.com associate editor

Ashley Bray

345 Hudson Street, 12th Floor New York, NY 10014 401/722-5919; fax: 212/633-1863 abray@sbpub.com contributing writers

Butch “Superfrog” Anton, Mike Antoniak, Jim Hingst, Peter Perszyk, Mark Roberts, Lori Shridhare, Randy Wright art

Corporate Art Director Wendy Williams Associate Art Director Phil Desiere production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney advertising sales east coast regional sales director

Jeff Sutley 212/620-7233; fax: 212/633-1863 jeffsutley@sbpub.com west & midwest regional sales manager

Kim Noa

212/620-7221; fax: 212/633-1863 knoa@sbpub.com

For reprint information contact Art Sutley 345 Hudson St 12 Floor New York, NY 10014 212/620-7247; fax: 212/633-1863 Circulation Dept. 800/895-4389

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Dispatches

A Wrap at the Top of the

Food Pyramid Orlando, Florida—The Orange County Public Schools are on a roll with nutrition thanks to a savory wrap for a Utilimaster food truck, which was created and installed through the efforts of national print provider SuperColor™ Digital (www. supercolor.com) and its team.

The wrap is par t of a nationwide school nutrition program. “Public schools around the country are rebranding their cafeterias and trying to promote healthy eating,” says Susan Bradshaw, account executive at SuperColor Digital’s location in Orlando, Florida. (Note: For almost twenty-five years, the Irvine, California-headquar tered SuperColor has been providing print services for everything from tradeshow displays to retail signage to vehicle wraps, and much more.)

After taking on the job, SuperColor almost immediately ran into its biggest challenge—there was no template for the truck. And to make matters even more complex, the vehicle fe at u re d a n u m b e r o f p ro b l e m a re a s, including vents, grates, and recessed headlights. “We spent a lot of time putting together how we were going to do it, because we did not have a template,” says Bradshaw. “I was working from a one-dimensional engineering drawing.”

SuperColor and its team worked with Utilimaster to take measurements and photos of the truck. “I pretty much laid it out based on overall dimensions endto-end and then my pictures I took,” says Designer Steve Macfie of Macfie & Associates and Vinca Marketing.

Macfie’s design features an image of a salad on the front of the truck that ties the two sides together. The rest of the wrap includes children and healthy food options. (Note: When designing, MacFie could only include food that was nutritious and served in schools—options that stayed “within the confines of ‘school food.’”)

When the design was complete, SuperColor made some final adjustments to the measurements and printed it out on a H P Designjet Latex 25500 printer using Avery MPI 1005 Supercast Easy Apply vinyl with a DOL 1360 Gloss overlaminate.

The wrap then went to John Moser and his team at Moser Graphics, Inc., for installation. Since the truck would be at school events and kids would see it up close, the install had to be flawless. Using ladders to reach the higher portions of the truck, the installers took squeegees and a Rolle Pro tool for installing over rivets to complete the job in just a day.

—Ashley Bray

all photos courtesy of avery graphics.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

signshop.com

DSF 2012 Board Warrenton, Virginia— The Digital Signage Federation (DSF) has announced the election of its 2012 Board of Directors. Alan Brawn of Brawn Consulting has assumed the chairmanship, and Robert Stowe of Wendy’s International is now pastchairman.

“My focus as DSF Chairman for 2 01 2 w i l l b e t o e x p a n d o u r membership, add to the number of DSF College Chapters, and lead the drive to establish National Educational Standards for the digital signage industry,” says Brawn.

Philip M. Cohen of Care Media Holding Corp., has been elected vice-chairman, and Kimberly “Kim” Sarubbi, president of Saddle Ranch Digital, was elected treasurer/ secretary.

Re-elected at-large directors include: Jeff Dowell of 3M and Golf Tournament Committee co-chair; Brian Dusho of BroadSign and Golf Tournament Committee co-chair; Ken Goldberg of Real Digital Media and Standards Committee chair; Jack Sullivan of StarCom World Wide and Advocacy and Outreach

Committee co-chair; Jennifer Bolt of rVue and Membership Committee co-chair; and Carre Dawson of Harris Corp. Broadcast Communications and Membership Committee co-chair.

The three new at-large directors are Angela Tang of AOpen, Ian Stone of Respario LP, and George Yunis of ARAMARK.

signshop.com

March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

9

Photography by Howard Schatz Š Schatz Ornstein 2011

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Dispatches +

Cook Earns USSC Award

photo courtesy of ussc.

Bristol, Pennsylvania— The United States Sign Council (USSC) recently chose Perry Cook of Perry Cook Signs in Richlands, Virginia to receive the prestigious Fred Wieder Memorial Award for Service Above Self.

The award is only presented when outstanding service needs to be recognized. Cook (pictured, right, with USSC’s Richard Crawford) is the eleventh recipient of this award that honors the USSC member who has shown extraordinary service to the organization and whose work has made a significant contribution toward the betterment of the sign industry.

Cook truly exemplifies the term “service above self.” He was one of the first members to join the USSC, recognizing early on the importance of a national organization that would be there to serve the many independent sign shops across the country. Cook was initially elected to the Board of Directors in 1997 and served two terms until 2002. In 2006, he was once again elected to the Board and served as both Vice President and President of the Board of Directors.

Cook has helped on numerous projects undertaken by the board—including the recent Finance Committee. But his most notable accomplishment is his work in the BullPen with the Boys & Girls Clubs.

All of this effort is done on a volunteer basis, and Cook does it with a big smile and a warm southern welcome.

12

Video Displays Provide Divine Inspiration Cyress, California—Christie® MicroTiles® (www.christiedigital.com) are welcoming guests to the Church History Museum in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah with videos highlighting The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ history from its founding in the early 1800s to today.

Located at Temple Square, the museum maintains both permanent and temporary galleries, including local artists celebrating the spirit and beauty of Utah deserts and human relationships through the medium of quilts and other displays.

Positioned in the lobby, the sixteenfoot-wide-by-six-foot-tall 12-by-6 Christie MicroTiles array shows two displays simultaneously. On the right side, videos play continuously, while on the left side, features of current and upcoming exhibits are shown.

“The museum wanted to bring in new technologies, [so] we were looking for a high-performance, high-brightness television-type screen. When we were at a museum conference in California, we were introduced to Christie MicroTiles,” s a i d Pa t r i c k D u n s h e e , m a n a g e r, marketing & communications, The

photo courtesy of christie.

Church History at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

According to Museum Director Kurt Graham, the MicroTiles also serve as a point of reference for groups who gather in the lobby to begin their tour. “They are the first thing you see when you walk in,” he said.

Graham states that the MicroTiles were an important investment for them in terms of their re-conceptualization. “I wanted to use the MicroTiles as a window into the rest of the galleries,” he says. “We have thematic vignettes that show content to get people hooked on the topic.”

In addition to generating enthusiasm for current and future possibilities, both Dunshee and Graham are impressed that Christie MicroTiles are almost seamless (with a 1 mm seam between each tile).

“The tiles are so close together that there really aren’t any borders,” said Graham.

“Christie MicroTiles are a very flexible and versatile digital canvas on which we can change up (the content) regularly. Their versatility, the very high resolution, and the fact that they don’t put out much heat make MicroTiles a very good product.”

LORD at NSSA Cary, North Carolina—LORD Corporation (www.lord.com), a leader in developing structural adhesives for industrial markets, announces that Michael Verdi, senior technical service representative, Americas, will speak at the Northeast States Sign Association (NSSA) Sign Expo (www.nssa.org). Verdi has over six years of experience as a senior scientist at LORD Corporation.

The meeting will be held April 25, 2012 at 9:45 am at the TURF VALLEY Golf Resort and Conference Center in Ellicott

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

City, Maryland.

Verdi will give a presentation titled “How to Effectively Utilize Structural Adhesives in the Sign Industry,” which will cover the different adhesives chemistries that are currently available, as well as review several different adhesively bonded sign applications.

The discussion is timely considering the usage of structural adhesives in the sign industry continues to increase as a variety of new materials and designs are introduced.

signshop.com

SignSHOW D I G I TA L P R I N T I N G E Q U I PM E N T/ S U P P L I E S One for Two (or More): Mutoh’s New ValueJet 1638!

Mutoh America, Inc., launches the new ValueJet 1638-64-inch high-production eco-solvent printer. This hardware replaces the previous ValueJet 1618-64-inch printer, and it includes a staggered, dual-head print technology that allows users to print jobs that typically call for the production capacity of two or more printers. The 1638 prints durable graphics on coated and uncoated roll-to-roll substrates. Mutoh’s SpectroVue VM-10 spectrophotometer can be equipped to utilize the onboard and Internet-based ColorVerify process control systems (including an on-printer ICC profile creation.) Standard on all ValueJets, the 1638 includes Mutoh’s i2: Intelligent Interweave print technique, which lays down the four-color (CMYK) eco-solvent inks in a wave pattern—virtually eliminating banding. (800/996-8864; www.mutoh.com)

Mimaki Introduces the JV400 Family of Inkjet Printers Mimaki USA’s brand-new JV400 product line achieves faster print speed and higher print quality without compromise. The JV400-130LX (fifty-four-inch) and JV400-160LX (sixty-four-inch) latex ink printers support six colors and are the world’s first latex printers to use white ink (meeting the needs of a wide range of printing requirements and substrates). Mimaki latex inks are fast-drying, and the drying process is additionally supported by three heaters integrated into the printing system (pre, print, and post heaters) as well as drying fans that ensure products are ready for processing and finishing as they exit the printer. Meanwhile the revolutionary JV400-130SUV (fifty-four-inch) and JV400-160SUV (sixty-four-inch) printers blend the flexibility of solvent printing with the durability of UV-cured inks. Both new models are front-ended by Mimaki’s userfriendly RasterLink6 RIP that allows the deposition of three layers of ink in one pass (including a base layer of white ink for printers that support white ink). (www.mimakiusa.com)

LED MODULES/TUBES/STRIPS Newest Tetra® LED Lighting Systems for Channel Letters Create Substantial Energy Savings and Brilliant Light Uniformity The next generation of GE Lighting Solutions’Tetra® LED lighting systems for channel letters provides outstanding uniformity and uses fewer modules than previous models. GE’s enhanced Tetra LED lighting systems include: Tetra miniMAX for small channel letters, which is 43 percent greater than the previous Tetra miniMAX with 81 lumens per watt compared to 57 lumens per watt. It uses 26 percent less energy and has 80 percent wider stroke spacing in a 4-inch sign. Tetra MAX for medium channel letters is 25 percent brighter at 75 lumens per foot, and its efficacy is 33 percent greater at 59 lumens per watt. Tetra MAX High Output for medium channel letters is 92 percent brighter at 115 lumens per foot with 36 percent greater efficacy and uses the same layout rules as the new Tetra MAX. Tetra PowerMAX for large channel letters increases brightness by 25 percent over its predecessor at 182 lumens per foot and decreases costs by increasing stroke spacing by 50 percent in a 4-inch-deep sign. (www.ge.com)

PA N E L S AW S Saw Trax: “Cuts Everything but Glass”…Well Now It Cuts Glass Too! New for 2012, Saw Trax now offers a glass cutting insert. Originally the Saw Trax panel saw was just that—a panel saw.

With a breakthrough carriage in 2001 that allowed for easily interchanging cutting inserts, that panel saw has turned into a sheet cutter. The cutting inserts include a Universal saw, a Makita saw, a spinning Makita saw, a floating router, a fixed knife, a pivoting knife, a rolling shear, a worm drive saw, a ten-inch saw, and now a glass cutter. This glass cutting insert uses a modified glass scoring tool, mounted in a pivoting insert with a bumper bracket to score glass up to 0.25-inch-thick. Changing out inserts takes about ten seconds. A demonstration video is also available on the Saw Trax Web site. (770/974-0021, 888/729-8729; www.sawtrax.com)

ROUTERS/ENGR AVERS Trotec Laser’s Speedy 300 flexx Combines Fiber and CO2 Trotec Laser has introduced the revolutionary Speedy 300 flexx, which brings extra speed and unlimited flexibility to your business. Choose between a CO2 or fiber laser source—or both. There is also the option to upgrade later on. Mark and engrave virtually anything (from plastic or wood to glass or metal). Mixed materials can be processed in a single job without the need to send multiple files or to change the focus manually—be prepared, wherever your business may develop. (866/226-8505; www.troteclaser.com)

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

signshop.com

Latex Unleashed.

Mimaki’s new JV400LX Series of wide-format latex printers brings you boundless printing freedom.

I N N O V A T I V E Engineered with Mimaki’s Green Technology, the JV400LX Series utilizes the latest in latex ink formulation. A wider range of media choices are available now with the use of WHITE ink and lower operating temperatures. E C O N O M I C A L The JV400LX only requires standard 110 volt electrical connections for operation.

It saves you money due to lower power consumption and installation costs – great for your bottom line. Realize lower production costs with long lasting piezo print heads that output at a speedy 194 sq.ft/hr. E C O - F R I E N D L Y

A better workplace environment is always a plus. With low VOC latex inks, these printers can operate anywhere. Another eco-plus are the convenient, reusable 600ml ink cartridges.

OUTDOOR SIGNAGE

VEHICLE GRAPHICS

EXHIBITION & EVENT

RETAIL POP

UNVEILED & UNLEASHED!

INTERIOR DECOR

ISA BOOTH 1944

Discover better ways to utillize latex ink for your business. Come to the 2012 ISA Sign Expo in Orlando, March 22-24 to experience the JV400LX firsthand.

EMAIL INFO ATL

888-530-3988

BOS

888-530-3986

CHI

info7@mimakiusa.com

888-530-3985

LA

888-530-3987

www.mimakiusa.com

© 2012 Mimaki USA, Inc.

SignSHOW SIGN ACCESSORIES Get a Hold on Substrates with ClearPath’s Fisso® Clamper ClearPath Signage Systems’ Fisso® Clamper is a creative, contemporary alternative to stand-offs and systems that require drilling holes in signage. The Fisso® Clamper is very easy to mount and securely holds substrates in place, permitting a wide range of material thicknesses from .118-inch to .394-inch (3-10 mm). No holes are required! It can be mounted singularly or in pairs (one fixture on top and bottom) to complement a variety of looks. Made of anodized aluminum, this mounting fixture is suited for both interior and exterior applications, complete with a tamper-resistant feature. The Clamper is available in six different lengths in a silver matte finish. An assembly kit is also included. (866/953-2777; www.clear-path.com)

Don’t Slam That Door! Outwater Introduces Soft Closing Door Lifts and Stays You no longer have to contend with slammed doors! Outwater Plastics has added Soft Closing Door Lifts and Stays for Cabinet Doors to complement its ever-increasing line of standard and specialty application hinges and accessories already being offered. Cost-effectively priced to provide great value, Outwater’s vertical and lateral door Soft Closing Door Lifts and Stays are not only appropriate for use with wood and aluminum cabinet doors, but they require no lubrication and can be used with cabinet doors of varying weights. Comprising sleek, compact designs, Outwater’s Soft Closing Door Lifts and Stays enable left and right cabinet door installation with specific degrees of opening and rates of closing that can be readily set by end-users with just the turn of a screw. Furthermore because of their patented damper equipped technology, Outwater’s Soft Closing Door Lifts and Stays provide smooth and quiet operation. (www.outwater.com)

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CAPTIVATE

When they are printed on GRAPHIC DISPLAY MATERIALS WHERE QUALITY MEETS PERFORMANCE

1 8 0 0 2 35 8 3 2 0

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VINYL/VINYL FILMS/SUPPLIES Value Vinyls Offers Rio Max 16-oz. FR Value Vinyls has announced the availability of the extremely durable, coated 16-oz. FR Frontlit material developed for heavy-duty use. The material holds up against vigorous winds and cold weather, and it is resistant to tearing and fraying. Its smooth matte texture creates consistent images, and it can be used for printing on one side with screen printing, digital printing, and pressure-sensitive lettering. The product is ideal for applications such as street banners, billboards, point-of-purchase signage, and more. NFPA-701 Fire Retardant-Certified for indoor use, the material is available in 54-, 98-, and 126-inch widths. (800/406-8845; www.valuevinyls.com)

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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HOW-TO

By Del Williams

Electrical

Making a Contact Reliably and Economically

The smallest parts of an electronic sign often make the biggest difference.

T

The five grounding clips for PCB sub-assemblies.

20

tant for Salt Lake City-based YESCO (www. yesco.com), set out to design a group of grounding clips for printed circuit board (PCB) subassemblies, he knew that custom-designed and manufactured parts would be required.

“At first, you look for an off-the-shelf part that’s manufactured in higher quantities, but unless it’s a very common application, you typically end up having to design it yourself,” says Brown. “An off-the-shelf part seldom works as well as if you designed it for the purpose, and in this case, it had to be custom.”

Some of YESCO’s largest displays have over 10,000 PCB sub-assemblies in them controlling computer-sequenced LED lights.

For instance, YESCO’s Wynn Las Vegas sign is 135 feet tall with a double-faced 100-by-50foot LED message center and a first-of-its-kind “moving eraser” that glides silently up and down over the EMC, appearing to change the graphics as it goes. “Since the displays are typically in service for ten to fifteen years outdoors, quality, corrosion, cost per part, spring tension, and spring-back were among the issues considered for these contacts,” explains Brown.

After Brown defined the first part—a surfacemounted grounding contact to be soldered onto PCBs on tiny pads—he next talked to a variety of companies and emailed them concept drawings to find out who had the expertise to help with its design and manufacture.

“We had a number of companies quote the part and tooling—including those using hard, dedicated tooling such as power press progressive dies. But the tooling and Fourslide manufactures a number of parts. parts were too expensive.”

he smallest metal parts can often be among the most critical components in larger products, and how they’re specified, designed, and manufactured can play a vital role in overall product reliability and cost.

While small and seemingly insignificant, for instance, electrical grounding contacts keep sophisticated electronic or electrical equipment (such as electronic message centers) operational by conducting stray electricity safely to ground.

For this reason, even the lowly electrical contact requires the proper design and manufacturing considerations when designing the larger system.

When it comes to electrical contacts, variability in requirements from part dimensions and materials to contact area, location, and spring quality can make ordering from a parts catalog difficult. Complicating matters, the design engineer doesn’t necessarily know what features are going to be a manufacturing problem or will add significant expense.

This is when working with the right manufacturing partner and using the best manufacturing technology for the job can have big payoffs in design reliability and cost.

When Brent Brown, an engineering consul-

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Brown, however, soon found a willing partner in the design and manufacturing process when he contacted Jim Richards, director of Sales and Marketing at Fourslide Spring and Stamping, Inc. ( w w w. f o u r s l i d e . c o m ) , a B r i s t o l , Connecticut-based parts supplier specializing in the integrated stamping and forming parts operation called fourslide.

The fourslide part-making process’ unique integration of stamping and forming operations cuts typical tooling costs to as little as $3,000, halves tooling lead times, and eliminates after-production adjustment to meet specifications.

The process begins with the raw material in flat strip form off a coil, which is stamped or blanked in the progressive die section of the fourslide machine. This section is a fully functional but lighter version of the progressive die found in most power presses.

Where high-speed power presses can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, fourslide machinery typically costs just a fraction of that, which enables greatly reduced shop rates. Fourslide production at up to 15,000 pieces per hour can

be achieved depending on part size and complexity. And since the process typically starts with material the width of the finished part, it usually generates less scrap than power press machinery, so material costs are often lower as well.

Each time Brown emailed Richards a

“An off-the-shelf part seldom works as well as if you designed it for the purpose, and in this case, it had to be custom.” concept drawing or sketch of the part he wanted, Richards replied back suggestions and minor tweaks to help with part manufacturability and cost. To provide a good combination of spring properties and electrical conductivity for the grounding clip at reasonable cost, for

example, Richards suggested using phosphor bronze as a material.

“Many design engineers request expensive options such as beryllium copper because it has good spring properties and electrical conductivity,” says Richards. “That’s true, but it’s up to four times more expensive than some alternative materials with good spring properties and electrical conductivity such as phosphor bronze.

“Beryllium copper is a very expensive base material that typically requires a heat treating process to add its spring properties—a rather expensive process since it must be heat-treated in a controlled atmosphere.”

Through testing, Brown determined that half-hard phosphor bronze was sufficient for the application. “The material also provided corrosion resistance, which helps with our outdoor weather requirements,” he says.

Satisfied with the first product, Brown designed two additional types of surfacemounted grounding contacts, plus two types of pin-mounted grounding contacts whose pins go through holes in PCBs

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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The fourslide process offers lower tooling costs, reduced lead times, and design flexibility. perpendicular to its pads. “Depending on which configuration of grounding contact it is, the tab that sticks up from the circuit board is the spring and conductor at the same time,” says Brown.

From order to shipment, it took about eight weeks to complete all five types of parts. Many progressive dies can take twelve weeks or longer since power press progressive die work requires more complex tooling changes and is typically done overseas with substantially longer

lead times.

In testing, Brown mounted the prototype grounding contacts on circuit boards and put them into the subassemblies. He checked for compression to see whether the parts yielded or not, whether they were hard enough to maintain contact strength, and if they met additional requirements.

“The prototypes and products worked the first time, and we haven’t had any t r o u b l e w i t h t h e m ,” s ay s B r ow n .

“

“Because the grounding clips resist corrosion and don’t lose spring, they should be good for many years. If we do another sub-assembly that requires a different grounding contact, it would be relatively easy and inexpensive because the fourslide process is so versatile in building different par ts with minor tooling changes.”

Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California.

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

23

HOW-TO

By Jim Hingst

Printing

Shopping for a Heat Press buying a heat press.

Start by asking the right questions  The most important one revolves around your p r o j e c t i o n s f o r b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t y. H o w frequently will you use the heat press? If you anticipate a steady stream of business, you’ll need a higher end, very dependable heat press from a reliable manufacturer to satisfy your capacity requirements.

If you intend to use the heat press frequently for long periods of time, you will need to turn your attention to an automatic press rather than a manual one.

One of the critical variables in heat pressing is pressure. On a manual press, pressure is regulated by turning a knob.

An automatic press features pneumatic cylinders, which precisely control pressure in pounds per square inch. photo courtesy of geo knight

24

&



co.

pressure of

P

Electrical requirements

On the higher end of the product range, heat presses are generally 220-volt. These units consume less energy, but cost more.

Other heat presses are 110-volt and will plug into a standard wall socket. That could be important if you’ll be transporting a press from one industry event to another. &

alleviate the

lotter-cut and print-and-cut heat transfer films are cost-effective alternatives to screen printing for shorter production runs and the personalization of garments.

Many sign makers have discovered that making customized T-shirts and sweatshirts for their local sports teams, church groups, fraternities, and sororities is a great way to ignite their revenues at high-profit margins.

What’s more, the investment to tap into this market is minimal. If you already have a printer or plotter, you need little more than a heat press.

And you will need to do some homework.

With so many makes and models of heat presses, selecting one is usually confusing. To make the right purchasing decision for your business, you need to thoroughly investigate your options.

photo courtesy of geo knight

Tips to

The wiring inside a heat press.

Platen size



For most T-shirt work, a medium-size 16-by-16inch press is adequate. It’s big enough to do most jobs yet small enough to transport, if you’re going to fairs, tradeshows, or industry events.

The best advice when selecting a heat press is to buy the biggest one that you can afford and

co. (www.geoknight.com).

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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25

The Questionnaire Checklist To select the right heat press for your shop, do your homework. This requires asking plenty of questions and carefully s t u dy i n g t h e ma nu f a c t u r e r s ’ specifications. Then compile all of the data in a spreadsheet, so you can compare the various heat press models and make an informed buying decision.

A list of questions that can help you in your conversations with a dealer are:

 What thickness of garment will the press accept?

 Is the pressure adjustment manual or digital?

 What are the power requirements for the press? 220-volt or 110-volt? How many amps does the press draw?

 Does the press have a UL or CSA rating?

 What is the platen size of the press?

 Is the platen replaceable?  Does the press accept multiple size platens?

 Does the press open automatically at the end of the heat cycle?

 Is the temperature gauge digital or analog?

very small platens for mugs and caps.

W i t h t h i s f e at u r e , o n e p r e s s c a n perform the work of two.

photo courtesy of rtape.

Equipment controls

Shops can choose to purchase either a swing-away or clamshell heat press.

26

that satisfies your specific needs. If you’re shopping for an in-shop unit that you won’t move once it’s in place, a 16-by-20inch heat press makes the most sense.

The larger platen size will allow you to conveniently align and press larger T-shirts.

The downside: A press with a larger platen size will likely weigh more. In fact, some units weigh more than 150 pounds.

It’s great to buy a model that’s built like a tank, but when the heat press weighs as much as one and you need to transport it from place to place, you may want to take weight and size into consideration.

You may also want to inquire if the lower platen is removable and replaceable. Some swing-away units, for example, have removable platens with

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012



Different heat transfer films require different time, temperature, and pressure settings. With this in mind, it’s easy to screw a job up, especially on a busy day or when layering different types of films on a garment.

The more sophisticated heat presses have controllers that can be programmed to remember the right settings for the material that you’re using. Some of these intelligent controllers have as many as seventy programmable presets.

Equipment style



The two most popular heat press styles are the clamshell and the swing-away. On a clamshell unit, the lower platen is stationary, and the top platen moves up and down.

On a swing-away heat press, the top platen lifts straight up and then swings to

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Manual or pneumatic pressure

&

co.

A clamshell heat press weighs less, is more affordable, and opens as wide as 90 degrees.

photos courtesy of geo knight

the side. While small swing-away presses are available, a common size is in the 16-by-20-inch range.

Clamshell presses are popular for several reasons. Simple in design, these presses require less floor space, weigh less, and are more affordable than other designs. If you’re just starting out in the T-shirt business, a clamshell press could be a good choice for you.

In selecting the model for your shop, check to see how wide the clamshell opens. Some open as wide as 90 degrees, which is a good deal because it puts more space between your knuckles and the hot top platen.

So if a clamshell is such a great deal for sign shop owners, why would anyone consider a swing-away heat press? If you’re working with this style of equipment, your forearms aren’t exposed to the heat all day long (meaning you’re less likely to burn yourself). That’s a nice feature, but it will cost you more.

The swing-away design also provides for uniform pressure from the front of the platen to the back. Because of the design of some clamshell presses, the pressures can be greater at the back of the unit than the front. This usually isn’t an issue when pressing T-shirts. But uneven pressure could be problematic when pressing thicker garments, such as sweatshirts.

If you need a portable heat press, a swing-away model isn’t a good choice.

Even the lighter models can weigh as much as a hundred pounds.



An automatic pneumatic press sounds great because the pressure settings are consistent and their performance is reliable. Remember though that pneumatic means that the press needs air pressure. That means that you’ll need a compressor. Most sign shops may want to stick with a press that uses a manual pressure knob.

Warranty  While money is always a consideration, you should only buy a unit that best satisfies your production requirements and the one that you can afford. And don’t forget to ask the sales person about the warranty on the heating element, the frame, and the electronic controls. Warranties vary from one manufacturer to another and from one model to the next. signshop.com

March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

27

HOW-TO

B y M a r k R o b e r t s

Business Management

Look Out for the “Free Birds!”

Ten essential steps to maintain your personal and sign business prosperity.

28

“No,

I’m not talking about the Lynryd Skynrd free birds here. I’m talking about the prospects who call you out of the blue and ask for a “few free ideas” about a sign.

Hmmm, free ideas? Sure I’ll stop what I’m doing and create three original art renditions for your proposed sign. I’ll also do this for free because I’m hoping that I’ll get a shot at your business!

If you haven’t yet faced this scenario, trust me, you will soon.

So here’s how to limit your frustration and

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

increase your bank deposits at the same time:

1 Listen to the prospect closely.

I’ve been making signs for thirty-two years, so trust me, you’ll eventually have the opportunity to engage in a conversation with a prospect who has no earthly idea what they want to accomplish with a new sign. They think they need a sign, but are they ready for a sign? (Note: By “ready,” I mean they’re serious about promoting their business, a new product, or perhaps a new service.)

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Do they have an idea, a concept, a plan, and (most importantly) a budget?

To this day, I seriously have prospects who, when asked about their budget for their new sign, suddenly get the “deer in the headlights” look on their face.

We l l , g r e a t s i g n s a r e a g r e a t investment, and they’re priced that way.

2 Will the customer take the sign with them?

Suggest and show the client examples of the various range of available substrates.

Can they legally install it? Do they need a plot plan for a ground-mounted sign?

Are surveys required? What types of permits are required for this sign?

You need to ask these questions before any discussion about a price. If you tell a prospect that your four-by-eight-foot aluminum panel signs run anywhere from $350 up to $1,000 or more, are they able to pay the price for the level of sign they desire?

Perhaps they want a digitally printed aluminum pan sign for the price of a coroplast sign. Well, that just isn’t going to happen today or tomorrow.

Suggest and demonstrate examples of various substrates. Show them the range you offer. Point out the difference between cut vinyl graphics and full-color laminated digital prints.

Will coroplast fill the bill? Or how about PVC, Sintra®, or other semi-rigid plastics?

3 What is the price range

they’re comfortable with?

4 The decision is made: The

prospect wants a four-byeight-foot aluminum sign.

Fantastic! Now that the substrate has been selected, what about the base color? We have several nice choices to

30

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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photo by dave forrest.

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Isn’t that a “nice way” to ask the prospect, “How much money are you carrying, bub?”

My advice: Get this question out of the way within the first minute or two of your initial conversation. You don’t have all day to play Let’s Guess How Much the Client is Willing to Spend!

Signs are priced from the very basic to the most extravagant, and somewhere in that puzzle is your sales price. Let them know quickly because if this prospect is reluctant to buy, then you need to find another prospect who is willing to buy.

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31

choose from. How about the thickness of the sheet? Will .040-inch work or .125-inch?

Ask where the sign will be installed— attached to a corrugated metal wall with sheet metal screws or rivets? If so, then a .040- or .050-inch-thick aluminum sheet will do the trick.

Aluminum signs installed between posts should be pan-formed in a sheet metal brake (typically with 1.50-inch returns/edges). These pans are attached to horizontal aluminum or steel angles with screws or rivets. Pan-formed signs are far more durable than flat sheet aluminum signs, and this is an excellent sales point to bring up when “closing the sale.”

5 Material for the message.

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We have computer-cut vinyl, full-color dig ital pr ints, hand-letter ing with enamels, or screen process printing.

They all have their niche in sign fabrication, and you should base your decision on your personal level of experience for each one.

Obviously cut-vinyl is the basic way to letter a flat sign; however many sign professionals still letter their signs by hand with enamels and sign painter’s brushes. Still others screen print their “high copy count” signs to achieve the most profit per unit. Your choice should be the best one for your work

environment and the client’s budget.

6 Getting the message to the substrate.

My preferred method is digital printing with my faithful Roland VP-540 printer/ cutter. Since I’m a no-bubbles kind of guy, my go-to printing material has the air-release feature. I squeegee it onto my favorite substrate—pan-formed 0.063inch aluminum sheet.

After that operation is finished, we punch holes along the top bend and the bottom bend to accept either the rivets or sheet metal screws.

7 Call the client to let them know their new “moneymaking” sign is ready.

Use the exact wording “money making” because that sounds enticing. Not only are you selling the sign and all the value it will create, you’re making one final sale to the client.

8 When the client arrives, act enthusiastic!

Tell them, “I’m glad you’re here! I’ve been waiting to show you how great your sign turned out!”

Think about it: When’s the last time someone told you they were glad you

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32

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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were in their presence? It does make you feel good to hear those words. Showing acceptance to your clients will make them return over and over again!

9 When helping your client load their sign, ask for another sale!

a division of

Now’s the time to mention ancillary signs t h at c o u l d c o m p l e m e n t t h i s n e w purchase. Perhaps six, eight, ten, or more personalized reserved parking signs?

What about fleet graphics? Promotional banners? Happy clients are an easy sale, so by all means sell!

Let the customer know your price quickly because if this prospect is reluctant to buy, then you need to spend the time finding another prospect who is willing to buy.

10 B efore they drive away, ask about their inner circle of friends and associates.

These are the happy people who buy or use the services of this particular client of yours.You have to ask because you want to offer the same level of quality and service to your customer’s associates, as well.

Work this list, deliver the products, follow up with in-person calls, or use the telephone if the mileage poses a problem for you. signshop.com

by

March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

33

HOW-TO

B y LO R I s h ri d h a r e

Vehicle Graphics

Designing Vehicle Wraps That Sell With careful planning, shops can rev up vehicle graphic

than most people think, and few people want to read a lot of verbiage.”

In a seamless vehicle graphics project, careful planning is paramount to achieving sound design and effective advertising. If the client is simply showcasing their logo and contact information, the messaging and graphics may serve as brand identity, without including a tagline or headline.

However if the client wants to create something more like a print ad, both product and text may need to be highlighted.

Shops should also keep in mind that more complex g raphics can create installation problems. “The busier the message, the more chances there are of having a key line fall on a door, a hood edge, a crevasse, or another obstruction,” says Executive Vice President and General Manager of Merritt Graphics Pat Freer.

To avoid these problems, an important part of planning is to do a complete site survey and measurement. “Convincing customers to have accurate measurements goes a long way in avoiding an uncomfortable situation during the installation process,” says Freer.

Photo Courtesy of merritt graphics.

designs.

W

hen considering vehicle graphics as rolling billboards, the focus shifts to creating not just beautiful designs but graphics that can effectively sell the product or the business being advertised.

“Bold has a whole new meaning with vehicle graphics,” says Ollie Parker, owner of Speedpro Boston North (www.speedprobostonnorth.com). “For example, we designed vehicle graphics for a dog walking business where the dogs are literally jumping out of the door. With the digital printing process and its resolutions, you can easily embellish graphics or use 3D-like techniques to provide a variety of effects that aren’t too common.”

H a r t f o r d , C o n n e c t i cut-based Mer r itt Graphics (www.merrittgraphics.com) also works on its share of bold graphics, but Ed Perry, president and CEO, believes that vehicle graphics should primarily be pertinent and c r e at i ve . “ T h e l o o k will depend on the company’s marketing objective, but the graphics should be memorable,” he says. “Always keep in mind that less is more, when it comes to the text. The view time of a passing vehicle is less

Always keep in mind that less is more when it comes to the text on vehicle graphics.

34

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Perry agrees. “No matter whether it’s a sign installation, a vehicle graphic wrap, or pole banners, you’ll find barriers to success if a site survey isn’t complete—and completed properly,” he says. “We find that by sending the actual installer to perform a site inspection, all parties concerned will get accurate info/measurements. This value-added service should be negotiated into the wrap quote.”

Merritt Graphics was able to pull off a recent rebranding job thanks to diligent preparation. The job required de-installations before the new brand identity graphics could be installed. Working on over 125 vehicles for a company with locations throughout the Northeast, Merritt Graphics faced a tight schedule. “The goal was to quickly convert their old

Photos Courtesy of speedpro boston north.

Always do a site survey and measurement first.

De-installation is necessary on some rebrands. graphics and messaging to the new,” says Craig Perry, vice president and director of operations. “We were able to quickly print the different graphic packages and have them kitted and shipped to our installation team members.”

To expedite the project, install teams were sent to the individual region locations to complete the de-installation of existing graphics. “This also helped minimize travel and expenses for the client,” says Perry.

(Note: Trusted tools for Merritt Graphics included propane torches, Geek Wraps squeegees and magnets, knifeless tape, Olfa knives, and ample ladders and scaffolding. Their preferred materials of choice are 3M 180Cv3 vinyl as well as Scotchcal 8518 Overlaminate.)

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Photo Courtesy of merritt graphics.

Photo Courtesy of speedpro boston north.

Vehicle wraps are a growing sales tool.

Digital printing allows for interesting designs.

Parker thinks that the many benefits When working on new vehicle graphics provided by vehicle wraps will continue to projects, careful planning is also essential— impress clients. especially when designing. Speedpro “I suppose vehicle graphics are just Boston North allocates a generous With the digital technology like rolling billboards and no different amount of cost time to design because from traditional advertisements; they’ve realized it takes a tremendous that exists today, businesses however I think they often have a time investment to create a printhave a lot more opportunity better ‘shock value’ than most ready vehicle wrap design. and freedom with their common forms of media,” he says.

Using advanced templates that “You can really surprise people with include a variety of dimensions, the vehicle advertising. clever vehicle wraps and make them company’s on-staff graphic designer more attractive than the advertising people utilizes his art background and experience are used to seeing.” to design custom vehicle wraps. The company also works with several local ad agencies that provide the finished graphics.

Many elements go into creating unique vehicle graphics nowadays, including new materials and finishes.

“We were recently asked to create a design for a twenty-eight-foot-long powerboat, not for adver tising purposes, but to stand out from the other boats on the lake,” says Parker.

“We accomplished this using some of the newer high-tech mater ials including reflective and carbon fiber graphics.”

What has really allowed vehicle graphics to take off, however, is digital printing and its recent advances.

“Vehicle graphics have come a long way since they were hand-painted,” says Parker. “With the dig ital technology that exists today, businesses have a lot more oppor tunity and freedom with their vehicle advertising, and they crave creative minds to help accomplish their visions.

“With the digital printing process and resolution, you can really embellish graphics or use 3-D-like techniques to provide a variety of effects that aren’t too common.” signshop.com

March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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ISA Preview ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

2012 ISA International Sign Expo Preview 3M Commercial Graphics: Booth #2001

The latest and greatest in signage at the 2012 ISA Sign Expo!

The ISA International Sign Expo (www.signexpo.org) was recently

Changeable Window Graphic Film IJ61 from 3M Commercial Graphics is a diverse, low-tack printable window film that is easy to install either wet or dry on first or second surfaces and is removable for up to six months without the use of heat, leaving little or no adhesive residue.

Ideal for vertical, transparent substrates (such as building windows and interior dividers), this is a durable 3-mil vinyl material that requires no overlaminate.

Unprinted areas of Changeable Window

named one of the fastest growing tradeshows, and this year, it returns to Orlando, Florida (March 21-24). Last year’s edition in Las Vegas attracted more than 19,000 attendees and 1,900 exhibit booths showcasing the latest trends and technologies—and this year promises even more exhibitions, educational seminars, and networking opportunities.

The following pages feature a sampling of some of the newest products, media, and equipment that will be on display on the exhibit hall floor.

For more in-depth coverage of the products featured here (as well as an updated list of product announcements made after our issue went to press), check out our “ISA Sign Expo Preview” link at www.signshop.com.

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Agilight: Booth #2214 The new generation SIGNRAYZ™ G2 family of LED lighting products offer improved brightness and a wider viewing

Arlon: Booth #2036 Arlon Graphics offers several new digital removable and wall wraps films for interior and exterior use. The removable products include DPF 4300, DPF 206, and DPF 50WD Clear and White. In addition to these new products, Arlon will have daily

Graphic Film IJ61 remain optically clear, and designers and architects can utilize white ink technology on the material to deliver increased visual dimension to their promotional displays. (www.3Mgraphics.com) angle of up to 172 degrees. This new series combines simplicity and flexibility to deliver bright, vivid, and uniform illumination. SIGNRAYZ G2 adds glow to channel letters and cabinet signs and transforms architectural environments with cove and accent lighting. These energy-efficient products are available in seven color temperatures of white, as well as in a variety of LED colors. (www.agilight.com) vehicle wrap and wall wrap demos going on in their booth throughout the show. Eight concrete columns will also be wrapped all over the show floor with DPF 8000 and DPF 6700, which is used for exterior surfaces such as brick, stucco, and concrete. (www.arlon.com)

Bitro Group: Booth #2058 The Lattice is a cabinet lighting product that offers easy installation.

The product is scalable and available in 171lm, 228lm, 342lm, 356lm, 513lm, and 534lm per square foot.

It is characterized by a hot spotfree illumination for white faces at a clearance of 2.25 inches and colored or graphic faces at 2 inches. Offered in the industry standard white at 6500K,

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

the Lattice’s constant-current system is a solder-free, wire-to-wire design for a more efficient system and has the same power at 24 VDC for S/F and D/F. (www.bitrogroup.com) signshop.com

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Clear Path Signage Systems: Booth #1014

Component Signage: Booth #863 The CSI-300 series, the company’s benchmark post-and-panel signage line, includes three-inch depth and three post designs (square, half round, and beveled). The CSI-600 series features the same post designs with six-inch depth and an option for back lighting. Both series are fabricated from extruded aluminum and have slide-in removable panels that allow for easy sign maintenance. (www.ComponentSignage.com)

The ColorHues™ cell cast acrylics line provides a brilliant color substrate or accent element for any architectural signage, interior décor, or awards and recognition masterpiece. With the smooth, clean look of glass, ColorHues features a matte finish on one side and gloss on the other. This lightweight product is well-suited for tactile signage applications or is easily embellished with stand-offs or other decorative

Delcam: Booth #302 ArtCAM Insignia 2011 R2 is a new, introductory 3D modeling package that allows sign makers to go beyond 2D signage with 3D modeling functionality.

The sign maker can either import a precreated 3D model into the software or instantly transform their vector artwork into 3D shapes with some of ArtCAM Insignia’s shape creation tools. A variety of editing tools allow for the addition of textures, smoothing, and flattening. (www.artcaminsignia.com)

Gemini, Inc.: Booth #1802 Specifically designed for interior wayfinding plaques and display signage, beautiful, new Translucent Giclée Panels are ideal for museums, health clubs, hospitals, universities, zoos, and almost any place where the added touch of light and color not only illuminates the signage or plaque application, but makes the entire facility shine. Made from clear polycarbonate material, these Translucent Giclée Panels are rigid, weatherable, and nearly indestructible.

The 1200-dpi printed image is preserved between two sheets of premium allweather grade sheets of polycarbonate and scratch-resistant coated so they are able to stand up to thousands of fingers touching and scratching at them for years. (www.geminiplaques.com)

Epson America, Inc.: Booth #1547 Epson will be showcasing its new SureColor S30670 printer, which delivers an unparalleled combination of value, quality, and performance to the signage, vehicle graphics, and fine art markets. The SureColor S30670 is a four-color (CMYK), solvent-based printer that introduces Epson’s new, exclusive UltraChrome GS2 and UltraChrome GSX solvent-based ink technologies (featuring no Nickel compounds and delivering virtually odorless printing). These revolutionary inks are capable of using up to ten colors—including an optional highdensity White and true Metallic, as well as Light Black for improved

Hendrick Manufacturing Corp.: Booth #1046 Weighing less than sixty pounds, GoSaw is the world’s first truly fully portable vertical panel saw. The GoSaw can be set up or stowed away in seconds. When stowed, it is small enough to be transported in the back of a small pickup truck. signshop.com

mounting hardware. Offered in an array of nineteen popular translucent and opaque colors, ColorHues™ is produced in 24-by-29-inch sheets in 1/8-inch gauge and is laser, rotary, and Braille engravable. (www.clear-path.com)

grayscale and reduced metamerism.

The SureColor S30670 is the firstever solvent-based printer to use the Epson MicroPiezo® TFP printhead.

Capable of droplet sizes as small as 3.5 picoliters, MicroPiezo TFP has double the nozzle density of previous solvent printers, making the SureColor S30670 possibly the fastest solvent printer available today (with speeds up to 320 square feet per hour). (www.proimaging.epson.com)

The GoSaw provides excellent support for sheets up to four feet-by-eight feet and can accurately cut pieces down to just a few inches in size.

Complete with a Festool TS-55 circular saw, the machine supports cross cutting, rip cutting, and bevel cutting of up to 45 degrees. (www.hendrickmanufacturing.com) March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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ISA Preview ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

MACtac: Booth #1585 MACtac® Graphic Products has expanded its MACmark® line to include three new adhesive-backed vinyls designed for creating unique window decorations and functional applications.

MACmark Glass Décor 600 is a transparent indoor film featuring four designer, printed styles suited for interior glass surfaces. MACmark Glass Décor 700 is a translucent, highperformance indoor and outdoor film ideal for the decoration of windows and glass décor for an etched, frosted, or sandblasted effect. MACmark 8400 is a transparent vinyl film designed for use as a window decoration and in illuminated signs made from opaline acrylic sheets. (www.mactac.com)

Mimaki: Booth #1944 Mimaki will again be demonstrating its popular line-up of solvent, UV, and dye-sub wide format and flatbed printers. The CJV30 Series will highlight eco-friendly ES3 inks (including silver for eye-catching metallic effects). Also showcased will be the super-format JV34-260 for under $60,000.You will also see an outstanding collection of UV flatbeds: the UJF-3042FX (featuring expanded media versatility), the UJF706, and the award-winning JFX1631plus. Anticipate the centerpiece of Mimaki’s booth to be the unveiling of an evolutionary new printer (see page 14). (www.mimakiusa.com)

Mutoh: Booth #2133 The new ValueJet 1204GA eco-solvent printer, designed to print on Mutoh’s Ready2Print pre-grommeted and prewelded banner material, reduces time and saves money by eliminating the manual grommet and hemming stages of banner production. By printing on both pre-grommeted and a variety of roll-to-roll media types, the printer is a perfect fit for traditional sign shops, retailers, quick printers, and distributors.

(800/996-8864; www.mutoh.com)

Roland DGA: Booth #2072 In addition to live theater-style presentations and vehicle wrap demonstrations, catch some of Roland’s most innovative new print technologies—including the VersaStudio BN-20 inkjet printer/ cutter, revolutionary VersaUV LED printers (featuring CMYK, white, and clear inks for premium varnishing and embossing effects), the sixtyfour-inch VersaUV LEJ-640 hybrid flatbed model, and the twelve-inch VersaUV LEF-12 flatbed printer that prints directly on three-dimensional objects up to 3.94 inches thick. Also view the award-winning VersaUV and VersaCAMM VS wide format inkjet printer/cutters, as well as VersaArt sublimation printers, GX cutters, and EGX engravers. (www.rolanddga.com) 40

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Orbus: Booth #1523 Among the forty new products Orbus Exhibit & Display Group will be exhibiting are: Illuminated backlit hopup fabric displays that help make any graphic “pop” and stand out; the Blade Lite series of retractable banner stands that incorporate sleek aesthetic features; the new, functional Start and Freedom banner stands that are simple to assemble and come with carry bags; a new series of Linear Monitor Kiosks that add function and flare to any space; the new line of Linear Tabletop displays featuring tension fabric center graphics; and a new series of Linear Standard & Pro ten- and twenty-foot exhibit kits that provide a modern and stylish appearance. (www.orbusinc.com)

Oracal: Booth #1672

Visual Magnetics: Booth #2846

The Visual Magnetics Graphic System™ matches magnetic-receptive technologies with the highest quality print media, enabling the creation of high-quality signage and graphics that can be applied to virtually any surface, incorporated into frames and fixtures, or simply mounted directly to a wall. Visual Magnetics’ MagnaMedia is so thin that when combined with the properties of the InvisiLock ® magnet, it is possible to create multi-layer graphics to update images instantly for specific promotions without the use of frames, fasteners, or adhesives. (www.visualmagnetics.com)

New ORAJET® Series 3751RA Wrapping Cast with RapidAir® Technology is a 2.25-mil. cast film that features a low initial tack, a repositionable adhesive, and an advanced air-release system for impressive performance over curves, corrugations, and rivets. With an eight-year durability, Series 3751RA also offers exceptional print quality and vivid, life-like prints. Use ORAGUARD® Series 290, 290F, or 293 laminating films for extended protection of graphics.(www.oracal.com)

Watchfire: Booth #502

Roland_ADA_Knocks_SBI.pdf

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The 12mm XVS on-premise sign with 12mm digital billboard is geared toward businesses that require outdoor signage with high-resolution LED images and full-motion video. It delivers full video at sixty frames per second and offers an optional live camera feed. The 1/11/12 10:56 AM 12mm digital billboard provides high

resolution and superior brightness with low power requirements for outdoor operators in high-density metro areas.

Both products offer 73.7 quintillion colors with whole-sign calibration and automated diagnostics. (www. watchfiresigns.com/12mm)

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LED Displays / By Craig Berger //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Legible Design for

Exterior

As technology improves, so too must a display’s legibility.

With the rapid pace of technological advances, signs can be developed using an endless series of approaches—from incredibly high-resolution displays that can show photo-reality from inches away to low-resolution architectural lighting solutions that can apply media to entire buildings.

While technology can change rapidly, the design and application approach to these systems remains the same. Every media system must contain three fundamental elements:

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A visual component; Control and software systems that drive the media; and Integration into a sign, architecture, or landscape.

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

photo courtesy of dave forrest.

> >

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Media Displays

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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LED Displays / By Craig Berger ////////////////////////////////

THE MANY MOODS OF METAL.

800 807-7341 chemetal.com

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Chemetal is a massive collection of metal designs ideal for signagebackgrounds, letters and more. Call or visit to see them all.

Times Square includes many of the most-seen display signs in America.

photo courtesy of Dave forrest.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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With the cost of hardware and software putting technology in the hands of more and more people, creating a strategy for greater legibility in these three areas is crucial to project success.

Media Legibility LED sign hardware has come down exponentially in price, but with the reduction in cost has come an increased expectation that signs maintain a high quality and resolution (which can still require incredibly expensive signs).

Fortunately though, developing a strong legibility strategy can allow for high-level media while maintaining a set budget.

A strong approach to designing around media legibility is based on how people see signs in the environment.

For the American Eagle landmark store in Times Square, The Barnycz G r o u p ( w w w. b a r n y c z g r o u p. c o m ) implemented this strategy to save m i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s o n a bu i l d i n g completely wrapped in media. “We developed a prototype strategy where viewers were asked to comment on resolution of various LED components at different heights—ranging from inches away to one hundred feet in the a i r ,” s a y s D a n n y B a r n y c z , c h i e f creatologist at the company.

Based on these experiential observations, Barnyzc specified LED signs that balanced value and resolution in perhaps the most-seen piece of real estate in America.

In the outdoor foyer, the ceiling is comprised of 1,665 Barco OLite 612 modules (specially designed for optimum viewing at very close distances). For viewing at greater distances, the building is wrapped in 1,441 Barco TF-20 LED panels at varying resolutions. All of these screens are tied together into one cohesive software system that recognizes and responds to the varying resolution levels within the graphic design, thereby creating a cohesive building media.

Following the success of building wrap models established by the American Eagle Store, companies such as Bitro (www. bitrogroup.com) and Barco (www.barco.com) signshop.com

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LED Displays / By Craig Berger ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The American Eagle store in Times Square led the way for building wraps with its successful model. photo courtesy of the barnycz group.

ROI Models With the cost of technology going down and the creative options going up, a number of experts believe that legibility should be approached using a more holistic, value-based model.

Jason Barak, sales and marketing manager at D3 LED (www. d3led.com), a company that provides and manages technology for many of Times Squares greatest spectaculars (as well as commercial media projects with design partners like the Gilmore Group), proposes a legibility strategy centered around return on investment (ROI). “Legible media design should

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

center around value approaches that are similar to those that are used to value real estate,” he states. “You wouldn’t build a low-quality building in a dense downtown area or high-traffic commercial corridor. The same goes for signs.”

Barak illustrates this strategic approach in another famous Times Square project, the Walgreens sign developed by Gilmore Group and D3. In strategizing the project, an ROI chart was established measur ing foot traffic, as well as viewer impressions on each par t of the building. These were correlated with ad rate data, and a measurable dollar per square foot formula was created. This allowed a design process that could justify a greater dollar investment in parts of the sign that demanded higher quality solutions.

Some settings have need for increased resolution within the architecture.

signshop.com

photo courtesy of cnp signs & graphics.

have created technologies that utilize low-resolution LED light netting. The netting can be turned into screens that display simple information through low-cost software and control systems. These technologies can fully integrate into buildings, sign components, and even buses—changing the very nature of what a screen is meant to deliver and bringing media systems to a broad commercial market.

At the same time, this technology can create the problem of lowering the quality of the environment, particularly with zoning codes that do not have a response to media directly integrated into buildings.

Software and Media While there has been a revolution in screen technology, a more silent (but no less important) technology change has been occurring in software and control systems.

Specialized sign software companies such as Omnivex (www. omnivex.com) and C-nario (www.cnar io.com) have advanced their software over the last five years to the point where designer s can control coordinated media across multiple screens.

B u t e ve n m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y, designers can also coordinate the quality of image resolution and media speed based on specific needs.

With technology in the hands of more and more people, a strategy for greater legibility in media displays is essential.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

For example, a designer can operate a ticker tape, time and temperature metrics, and a television show, all on the same sign board.

Of course, this can also change the modular approach to sign development. A seemingly singular sign element can instead be composed of multiple resolution boards or a one-resolution system can be adapted to multiple levels of information.

The other major change is with control systems. We’re all familiar with the complex server structures established for controlling media, but in the next three to four years, the technology running servers will be going away completely. This is what is occurring with the advent of cloud computing.

signshop.com

>

LED Displays / By Craig Berger /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

>

photos courtesy of Dave forrest.

Developing a strong legibility strategy can allow for high-level media while staying in budget.

Largest manufacturer of neon products and equipment including T12 HO lamps since 1930

High Brightness White VERITASTM Sign Lighting Modules Built using high specification LM80 compliant LEDs with the ability to handle high temperature environments for extended periods. On board current regulation and conservative drive currents for negligible brightness drop-off common with most LED systems. Tight “Energy Star” binning for minimal batch-to-batch color ™ SOLUTION variation. VeritasTM 1000 (1W) module delivers 180 lumens per footYOUR and isILLUMINATION perfect for larger channel letters and sign boxes. VeritasTM 500 (0.5W) with over 90 lumens per foot is one of brightest modules in its class.

Also available in high efficiency red, blue, green and amber.

Class 2 60W 12VDC High Efficiency LED Driver With an efficiency rating of over 85%, this driver is fully CEC Title 24 compliant.

Universal input (100-277VAC) eliminates the need to stock multiple units and the integral junction box features multiple knockouts for versatile wiring / mounting configurations.

ucing IntrodBoxStar ™ Superbright 24V linear LED system for sign cabinets and large channel letters.

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tness Back h g ri B e h t g in g n Bri The EGL Company, Inc. 100 Industrial Rd, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey 07922 www.egl-lighting.com 1-800-345-9010

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LED Displays / By Craig Berger ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

With the advent of cloud computing, Disney was able to link all of its screens—from small interior to large outdoor signs— for each of its stores in the world. photo courtesy of edwards technologies.

Explaining this shift, Roberta Perry, director of Marketing for cloud computing Edwards Technologies (www. edwardstechnologies.com), says, “Without the need for servers, companies can rethink how they even look at signs.

“Signs are no longer just stand-alone items or parts of a complex broadcast network. They can be easily modularized and packaged into expandable media systems.”

O n e g r e at e x a m p l e o f t h i s a r e worldwide Disney stores. Edwards Technologies was able to link all the screens from small-scale interior displays to large outdoor signs for each of these stores around the world.

The ramifications on legible sign design cannot be underestimated. Since the server systems are no longer going to be custom-designed for each installation, advanced software can allow designers to build their own multiple-resolution networks with little outside assistance.

Fabrication In establishing legible media design, one often-overlooked area is the construction of the sign enclosures themselves, particularly in light of the fact that most m e d i a i n s t a l l at i o n s g e n e r a l l y a r e replacements for earlier installed technologies. This produces difficult situations where the cost of fabricating the sign enclosure is more costprohibitive than the technology.

Fortunately digital sign companies h ave r e s p o n d e d t o t h i s i s s u e b y modularizing LED board components into smaller and smaller elements.

Bob McCar ter of CNP Signs & Graphics (www.cnpsigns.com) has seen modularity accelerate the pace of sign 50

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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“Legible media design should center around value approaches similar to those used for real estate.”

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replacement with higher-resolution elements. “Stadiums and racetracks, in particular, are faced with the constant need to increase resolution without comprising architecture,” he says.

Developing a modular media approach allows for a constant update strategy that can respond to increased legibility concerns. At the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Southern California, CNP replaced a single older board with sixtythree Daktronics modular components, allowing a recycling of existing structures while inser ting a new internal sign support.

Conclusion Advances in technology have both increased the accessibility of these systems as well as the standards for excellence. Fortunately designers can still fall back on their core skills of legibility strategy and media planning approaches to maintain and improve on high-quality environments. signshop.com

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/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / E n g r av i n g / By ja n f l e t c h e r / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Engraving

photo courtesy of accent signs, llc.

Accents

A sign shop makes an impression with its engraver.

Cincinnati, Ohio sign maker Julie Wentzel recalls her recent ascent up a ladder to the rooftop of the Moerlein Lager House microbrewery. As a signage subcontractor for architect Greg Tilsley of Tilsley Architects on a massive urban revitalization project in nearby Smale Riverfront Park, Wentzel made her way onto the roof—toting a bag stuffed with survey materials, a tape measure, and a camera. She turned to the all-male construction crew and asked, “So you guys don’t have a purse-holder up here?”

“I got some laughs,” recalls the intrepid sign maker, who launched Accent Signs, LLC (www.accentsignsohio.com) in 2009.

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Accent Signs & Tilsley Architects worked on the Moerlein Lager House.

photo courtesy of accent signs.

photo courtesy of tilsley architects.

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An engraved metal sign.

O

riginally a schoolteacher, Wentzel first ventured into the signage industry in 2000, when she accepted a seasonal clerical position in a sign shop during a summer school break. That’s when she discovered a love for the business and left her teaching vocation. “There’s just so much to the sign industr y,” she says. “So many different talents are needed, and there are so many different types of people.”

Wentzel says she has personally produced signage in ever y medium except neon (one of her employees provides neon signage for the company’s clients). Wentzel takes pride in applying creative problem solving to signage conundrums. Her perseverance is paying off, as her company is growing.

But her success only came after much patience. “I was knocking on every single door before this, to get everybody to know me,” Wentzel says. “After other companies saw my work—that I was able to complete a job and did it all very well—then they started giving me a shot,” she says.

Wentzel recently gained two employees through acquiring the signage company that formerly employed her, and her staff now numbers three. As a shop manager, she has learned she must “read the p e r s o n a l i t y o f t h e p e r s o n yo u ’r e interviewing so you know, ‘Is this going to be a good fit?’”

Her hands-on management approach, along with the desire to experience the challenges of sign manuf actur ing firsthand, comprise a vital part of her executive strategy and make her a better manager. “Don’t be afraid to want to go and change out a transformer. It’s great experience to get to know all the different

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photo courtesy of dave forrest.

E n g r av i n g / By ja n f l e t c h e r / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

applications, installations, and designs-—to experience all of it,” says Wentzel. “Then when you find where your talent is, develop it.”

One technology that Wentzel has been developing is engraving, which offers sign makers a unique tool for crafting a memorable sign. “You can get the design very detailed,” she explains. “[Engraving] just offers a very unique look compared to vinyl.”

Wentzel has been using a rotary engraver from Vision Engraving Systems (www. visionengraving.com), which also doubles as a CNC router, for over a year now. She was attracted to the rotary technology since it allows her to be more ver satile in the materials she can mark. “I use it to work on plastics and acrylics, but unlike lasers, I can also use [my machine] to etch on metals,” she explains.

And thanks to advances in technology, the possibilities are endless. “The engraving machine has

so many capabilities,” says Wentzel, “and we want all of this to flow when putting together the whole package.”

Wentzel finds that schools and healthcare fields are ideal clients for engraved work. “The one thing these fields have in common is that they want consistency with their signage,” she says, “especially places that have large campuses.”

When customers come to her for engraving projects, Wentzel uses the provided Vision Pro 8 software to work with the vector images.

Another bonus is that this program also works with her other equipment. “Previously I’d been using a particular software to work the plotter and another software for the router,” she says. “Now I’m able to combine this all with one simple program.”

Recently Wentzel used her engraver to creatively resolve an issue for a client with a botched sign. The client had ordered the sign

Thanks to the advanced capabilities of today’s engraving machines, it’s now possible to create a variety of signage.

Looking to catch some more business?

89% of our surveyed readers have contacted an advertiser after seeing their ad in Sign Builder Illustrated.*

Log on to www.signshop.com *According to the 2009 Readership Survey of our July issue.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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from another shop, but after having it mounted in a highly traveled hallway, he noticed a typographical error.

Observing the lettering featured on the client’s roof and using a piece of ClearPlex® and her engraver, Wentzel matched the exact layout of the botched sign. “I spray-painted the appliqué, placed it over the acrylic, and then routed out the letters. The acrylic was backed with a vinyl, which matched the existing background,” she says. “Then we glued this acrylic piece with the routed letters over a section of the old piece, which gave the sign a dimensional look.”

According to Wentzel, this engraved solution actually looked better than the original plain print. “Once routed, the sides showed through the white, while the top still reflected the paint, [thereby] adding dimension,” she says. “It was so cool because it had little specks in it; it was their colors that they had wanted, and that was fun.”

Wentzel loved seeing the customer’s expression when she delivered the repaired signage. And she loves the sign work she’s gotten from them since even more.

Wentzel prefers fun projects that make her think and have to use her imagination and ingenuity. For example, Accent

Signs recently used engraving to produce a metallic sign for nearby Solica Construction. “I engraved the letters out of the metal, added their logo in vinyl, [and] applied some faux bolt heads to accent the construction industry and hide the actual fasteners used,” she says.

Wentzel follows all the recommended maintenance instructions on her rotary engraver, such as keeping the guide rail lubricated, adjusting the synchronous belts, keeping the bearing filled with oil, and regularly inspecting the motor brushes. She finds that the most important aspect of making sure her engraver will operate as long and as efficiently as possible is to keep it clean! “I purchased a chip collector, and even as much as it collects, I still find myself cleaning this up quite a bit,” she says. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t have it.”

To aid in material placement, Wentzel also uses a multi-mat that makes the material stick down to the table so she doesn’t have to use any clamps. “It’s important that you keep this clean, as well,” she explains, “because if you leave any material on it, this will raise a portion of the plastic and affect the marking. And if you’re engraving a thin material, anything underneath it can lead to an uneven engraving.”

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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photo courtesy of dave forrest.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I d e n t i t y / B y A s h l e y B r ay / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Furnishing

an Identity Sign High-end signage for high-end clients.

Italian home design company Calligaris puts passion and creativity into its home furnishings, so it comes as no surprise that the company expected the same to go into the signage for its first U.S. showroom in New York City.

Calligaris contacted SignExpo Tribeca (www.signexpo.com), a custom signage and graphic solutions provider located in New York City. With just three weeks to create, fabricate, and install a signage solution that matched Calligaris’s high-end brand, SignExpo immediately got to work.

C

alligaris wanted a sign that would serve multiple purposes while being placed in the showroom’s large, curved window. “They n e e d e d a n i n t e r i o r s i g n t h at would show their brand and also act as an exterior sign,” said Evan Swartz, senior vice president of SignExpo. “They wanted to use the curved window so the sign would also be visible from the sides.”

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

SignExpo decided to mount channel letters and the Calligaris logo onto a curved wood wall that would match the curve of the glass window.

Using AutoCAD ® and Adobe ® Illustrator ® , SignExpo refined and finalized the design.

After constructing the curved, wooden wall, Sign Expo spray-painted it in their shop’s paint room with high-gloss, water-based, lacquer paint to match Calligaris’s signature red. The size of the wall presented a challenge because the painters

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all photos courtesy of signexpo tribeca.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

had to be careful to keep the paint even as they went along.

The letters, which measure eighty inches wide, ten inches tall, and two inches thick, were fabricated from stainless steel and painted white. The logo, which is twenty-eight inches in diameter, was fabricated in the same way. Letra LEDs were embedded in the letters and logo for front-lit illumination as well as back-lit, halo illumination. The LEDs were then filled with resin. (Note: The resin allowed for consistent illumination on the glossy, painted wall.)

With all of the pieces of the project ready to go, it was time

for installation. Once on site, the curved wall had to be brought up to the second floor—all in one piece.

Eight installers carefully worked to swing the wall up into the space between the stairs and the wall of the building. Once it was on the second floor, the installers secured it in place using brackets on the top and bottom.

Next two installers worked to mount the letters and logo.

Using custom threading, they were pin-mounted and spaced

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

57

off the wall to create the desired halo effect. The electrical components were fished through the interior of the wall to complete the install.

Thanks to the success of the project, Calligaris hired SignExpo to work on other interior signs for the showroom. “They loved it,” said Swartz. “We’re getting additional work from them.”

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / W r a p D e s i g n / B y A s h l E y B r ay / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Wrap Design That’s

“Awthentik” A sign company explains what’s steering their vehicle wrap designs.

Awthentik Graphics (Loring Studios) (www.awthentikgraphics.com) in Lake Elsinore, California takes its name quite seriously. The company, which opened its doors six years ago, specializes in custom graphic design in a variety of mediums—

all photos courtesy of awthentik graphics.

on the Web, in print, and especially on vehicle wraps. The shop offers

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everything from high-end digital artwork and vectorizing to custom character drawings from pencil sketches and colored pencils.

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W r a p D e s i g n / B y A s h l E y B r ay / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Awthentik Graphics used knifeless tape as a guide for the stripes.

The stripes were made using Oracal 351 Metallized Polyester.

The movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the inspiration for the wrap.

Awthentik typically begins the design process by consulting with the client on their needs and projected budget. The company then sketches out some ideas in pencil with the client.

Later these sketches are refined, and the client is emailed proofs. “Once the client approves the final sketch, we’ll [start] redrawing it in vector, which is a whole different thing, and it usually ends up really, really clean and nice by that point,” says Josh Tolbert, founder of Awthentik Graphics.

The company uses mostly Adobe ® Illustrator® and Adobe® Photoshop® for its computer design work.

When creating a concept, Awthentik stresses the difference in design goals between products such as brochures and vehicle wraps. “Brochures are much different than vehicle wraps. I think

that’s one thing people misunderstand a lot,” says Tolber t. “A brochure is something people have in their hands, they’re going to read it, so you can really put as much as you need to in there.

Whereas a vehicle wrap is so simple you have to think totally opposite of what you’re designing in a brochure.

“For vehicle wraps and anything that’s large format, we try to [follow] the KISS method: Keep It Simple Stupid.

Or a better analogy: If a four- or fiveyear-old can understand what it is, then it will work.”

Aside from keeping it simple, Tolbert also says it’s important to keep wrap designs properly aligned. “Any time you get a vehicle—whether you purchase a vehicle template or make your own—it’s crucial to triple-check the measurements,” he says. “Make sure

that once you do cut or print, that it’s going to install properly and fit right so you don’t end up having to reprint or lose costs in misdesigning.”

On one recent project, Tolbert used his design skills to create a partial wrap for a Chevrolet Camaro. Inspired by the blockbuster movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the shop put a new spin on the stripes found on the movie’s Camaro character, Bumblebee. Instead of black, Awthentik chose to install chrome stripes.

To prepare the car for the stripes— which run from the front of the hood to the back of the trunk—Awthentik used knifeless tape. “Instead of measuring it out and doing a vinyl cover version of it, we utilized knifeless tape,” says Tolbert.

“So it took about a couple hours to lay all the knifeless tape down, streamline

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// it, and make sure that it was all straight and measured out right.”

Awthentik then wiped the car down with isopropyl alcohol to remove any remaining dust, lint, and dirt.

Oracal 351 Metallized Polyester was chosen for the install, which is an actual, thin chrome film. “Since it’s thin, it’s able to do a little bit of the contouring and curving that we needed it to do,” says Tolbert. “It was a dry installation, which is very important because with

chrome you can’t use liquid or you’ll get rust underneath the material.”

Three installer s laid down the chrome stripes over the five-hour install using Geek Wrap squeegees with suede on one side. They kept the suede wet so it wouldn’t scratch the chrome. “The key is to keep tension on the material as you’re applying it so that no air gets underneath it,” says Tolbert.

The Transfor mers-inspired partial wrap was definitely an eye-catcher, and

Tolbert cites simplicity and impact as two of the most of important elements in design work. When done right, both of these elements should contribute to a memorable project.

“I generally think that if you can make someone remember it the first time they see it, that you’ve succeeded,” he says. “If it looks like everything else that’s on the road, then people will probably just pass it by and not take note.”

Sign shops should get out their notebooks and take note of this point—unique and “awthentik” graphics are what should be driving your vehicle wrap designs.

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Ve h i c l e G r a p h i c s / B y j e f f w o o t e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Wraps on the ////////////////////////////////////////

Designing some truly wild wraps.

Those of a certain age might remember those old television commercials that asked whether the singing voice you’d just heard was “live” or a “Memorex tape.” Wrap specialist Roy Nethaway, owner of EdgeWraps (www.edgewraps. com) in Ovid, Michigan, is following a similar strategem—instead asking if his vehicle designs are a “paint job” or a “print job.”

Home base in Ovid, Michigan.

all photos courtesy of edgewraps.

But you’ll have to think hard before answering because seeing the astonishing results make this a tough question to answer—and Nethaway wouldn’t want it any other way!

“I like it when people tell us that they think our digitally printed wrap looks like an amazing paint job,” he says. “It’s great to watch the expressions on their faces change when I’ll later tell them that it’s actually a wrap.”

Nethaway’s custom boat wraps look like precision paint jobs.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Edge E

dgewraps has nine employees and operates out of a twostory, 3,200-square foot facility, where most of their wraps are performed. “My father has a trucking facility four miles from us, so we’ll take some projects out there if we have wraps that need the extra room that we don’t have here,” he says.

Nethaway has been involved in the vinyl business for eleven years and wrapping for about six-and-a-half of those years. Before getting into this industry, he owned an automotive body shop and worked as a custom airbrush artist (two careers that prepared him well for the world of vehicle wrap designs).

When designing, EdgeWraps uses Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe Illustrator®, and FlexiSIGN™. The company outputs wraps via their two Roland SOLJET PRO III XC-540 printer/cutters and two Seal laminators. The company exclusively uses custom-profile Marabu inks.

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The sky’s the limit when it comes to projects EdgeWraps will work on—literally. He recently wrapped a brand-new helicopter, covering the entire body of it with a black carbon fiber textured film and then applying printed vinyl graphics over the top of this. “Our motto is: If it’ll stick, we’ll wrap it,” he says.

Probably the biggest wrap project Nethaway has ever worked on was a pendulum-swinging , 29-foot-tall-by-60foot-long pirate boat for an amusement park ride. The entire ride was housed on a semi-trailer and stood fifty-five feet tall when fully erected. “We were wrapping it out front of my business by the highway,” he says, “and you could

see it from as far as five miles away. The two huge towers cradling the pirate ship made it appear as if there was a blue bridge out front of my shop.”

Nethaway and his installers used the hydraulics on the truck to lift the pirate ship as needed. They wrapped the bottoms of it and its sides and used extensive 3-D gold inlays to really make it resemble

March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

65

Ve h i c l e G r a p h i c s / B y j e f f w o o t e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

A wrapped semi-truck on Nethaway’s father’s property.

Snowmobiles can be custom-wrapped as well.

something straight from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Over the past couple of years, real boat wraps have exploded in popularity for Nethaway. “I buy boats of all sizes, bring them into the shop, gut them, and redo the interior,” he explains. “We’ll also fix anything wrong on the outside of the boat. I’ll then wrap them and resell them, which brings in a lot of money.”

Nethaway prefers doing custom boat wraps because he finds they look like precision-painted works of art in the end. “Nine times out of ten, somebody’s already provided the idea, the company colors, the logos, and other multiple elements for an advertising wrap; you just print it out and put it on,” he explains.

You have to be on top of your game when doing custom

wraps however. “When all is said and done, people are going to be looking at the entire wrap and not just the message,” says Nethaway. “You can’t clutter your artwork with information, because information will take your eyes off the actual artwork.”

Nethaway credits his boat wraps designs (as well as his company’s other designs) to ideal preparation. He takes his own photographs of the vehicles in his shop to ensure a better fit in the end. “‘Close’ in the wrap industry is fine because you can stretch the vinyl a little here and there,” he says, “but I’m very picky and want everything to look like a perfect paint job.

“I draw a lot of extensive measurements to make sure that all our designs fit to where we don’t have any patterns butting

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Ve h i c l e G r a p h i c s / B y j e f f w o o t e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / up against each other and appearing like they don’t belong.”

Nethaway finds that the best designs always take into account how the boat is going to sit in the water and flow the entire length of the boat. “We wrap the whole side, the front, the back, and the top,” he says, “but not the bottom of the hull.”

The typical boat wrap process involves Nethaway printing out the graphic onto either cast or calendared vinyls and then applying a protective matching gloss laminate over it. When

printing wraps, Nethaway always allows the wrap to gas out a minimum of twenty-four hours (depending on the temperature, the humidity, and the conditions in the shop), after outputting ink onto the vinyl. “Once it’s gassed out enough, we’ll then laminate and install it,” he explains.

Once EdgeWraps is finished installing, they’ll go over the entire vehicle again and apply heat to it with a burner. “This helps accelerate the vinyl adhering process,” comments Nethaway. “Then after about six to eight hours out in the elements, we’ll turn it over to the customer.”

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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Don’t break into that piggy bank just yet.

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

69

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / G r e e n C o n c e p t s / By J e f f Wo ot e n

Rocking Out to

Green Signage Sustainability and recyclability play a big role for a graphics provider at a rock concert.

Last September, music acts The Fray, Ben Folds, Michelle Branch, and others took to the stage at Veterans Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront and rocked out for a good cause. This inaugural “Rock the Green” near-zero waste, one-day music festival was supported by fifty local and national businesses to build brand awareness as sustainability leaders in the community. It also spread the message of “merging music with sustainability.”

all photos courtesy of rock the green.

The goal: To inspire a more sustainable lifestyle toward a lighter eco-footprint.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

Bio-diesel fuel generators and solar panels powered a majority of the festival, while a competitive cycling team used its pedal power to offset the electricity utilized at one interactive area of the festival.

Organizers purchased used T-shirts from Goodwill and rebranded them by painting the “Rock the Green” logo over whatever old logo was on them. And reusable water bottles distributed at the event would help save the equivalent of 5,750 plastic water bottles from going to the landfill.

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InfoDirect # Company

Page

Page

InfoDirect # Company

1 3M Commercial Graphics. . . . . . . . 67 2 Action Lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

39 GWP/VYCOM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 40 Gyford Standoff Systems. . . . . . . . 54

77

3 ADA Wholesale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 4 AgiLight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

41 Hartlauer Bits Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 42 Hendricks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

79

5 Alpina Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . 84 6 Alpina Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . 84

43 Jasper Plastics Solutions. . . . . . . . 46 44 Justin Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

81

7 A.R.K. Ramos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 8 A.R.K. Ramos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

45 L&L Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 46 Lancaster Sign Company . . . . . . . . 86

83

9 Arlon Graphics LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

47 Lewis Direct Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 48 LMT Onsrud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

85

49 Magnum Magnetics Corp . . . . . . . . 63 50 Manitex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

87

51 Marabu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 52 Master Magnetics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

89

53 Master Magnetics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 54 Metal Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

91

10 Arris (APCO Products) . . . . . . . . . . 31 11 ASE Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 12 AXYZ International . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 13 Bayer Materials Science LLC . . . . . 32 14 Brinks MFG (Van Ladder) . . . . . . . . 51 15 CAO Group, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 16 Chemetal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 17 Chemical Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 18 Chief Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 57 19 Coastal Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 20 Computerized Cutters. . . . . . . . . . . 29 21 Delcam International. . . . . . . . . . . 40 22 Eagle Banners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 23 EGL Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 24 Elliott Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 25 Epilog Laser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 26 Epson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 27 Epson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 28 Fastenation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 29 Flexmag Industries Inc.. . . . . . . . . 35 30 Formetco Powered By Ad Tech. . . . . 1 31 Gemini, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 32 Gill Studios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 33 Gill Studios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 34 Grandwell Industries . . . . . . . . . . . 50 35 Graphic House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 36 Graphics One LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 37 Graphics One LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 38 GravoTech Inc/Gravograph. . . . . . . 48

72

InfoDirect # Company

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

55 Metomic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 56 Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

78 80 82 84 86 88 90

Signs By Benchmark. . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Signs By Tomorrow. . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 SloanLED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Small Balls .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Southern Stud Weld. . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Stimpson Company Inc. . . . . . . . . . 22 Superbright LEDS.Com. . . . . . . . . . 45 TriVantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Trim-lok . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Trotec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Universal Laser Systems . . . . . . . . 59 US LED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 USSC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Wilkie Mfg., LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Z-3 Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Companies in the Sign Show 92

57 Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 58 Multicam Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

93

59 National Banner Co Inc.. . . . . . . . . 85 60 Oracal USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4

95

61 Orbus Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 62 Orbus Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

97

63 Ornamental Post Panel. . . . . . . . . . 84 64 Pizazz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Page

94 96 98 99 100

ClearPath Signage Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . 16 GE Lighting Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Mutoh America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Outwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Platinum Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Saw Trax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Trotec Laser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Value Vinyls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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G r e e n C o n c e p t s / By J e f f Wo ot e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

A variety of recyclable banners spread the message about eco-facts and Rock the Green sponsors.

With all these actions, it should come as no surprise that the signage and display graphics would also fall under this green umbrella.

Big Systems (www.bigsys.com) of suburban Milwaukee, a value-added reseller focusing on the graphic arts segment of wide format printing, employed its HP Designjet L25500 Latex Printer using non-toxic HP Latex Inks to produce over 200 signs onto HP High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Reinforced Banner material (a lighter-weight, recyclable alternative to PVC scrim banner options) for Rock the Green. (Note: This fullservice company consults and recommends, installs work flow,

and provides after-care.)

When Joe Jones, owner of Big Systems, learned that his longtime friend, Rock the Green Founder and Organizer Lindsay Stevens-Gardner, had been out in the Milwaukee business community drawing up support for this event and driving its sustainability message, he let her know his company’s green initiatives could help make this signage a reality.

Big Systems printed and installed graphics (on-site banners, tent identification signs, etc.) featuring the Rock the Green and concert sponsor logos and graphics that had been drawn up by Stevens-Gardner’s team of experienced graphic designer

Signage printed on HP HDPE Reinforced Banner material makes it easy to identify the “Green.”

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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volunteers. Jones worked out a protocol where Rock the Green officials were able to post the files on his company’s Web site in a central data storage facility they had set up. “We had a pretty solid work plan about what we were going to receive, when we were going to receive it, and when we were going to produce it,” he elaborates.

Jones found that using the lighterwe i g h t H P H D P E R e i n f o r c e d Banner material aided in manageability for the volume of signage created. “This made it easier to ship out to the site in my car,” he says, “and then collect it all later and send it back to HP for recycling.”

In addition to fitting the environ-

Instead of heading to the landfill, seventyseven pounds of the nearly one hundred pounds of festival banners produced were recycled. Rock the Green and sponsors are keeping some for future use. mentally friendly theme of the festival, Big Systems also used water-based latex inks for their durability against any elements the graphics would come up against. (Note: This foresight came in handy as rainy conditions persisted throughout the concert day—but not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the attendees.)

From initial receipt of the artwork to completion, it took Big Systems three weeks to complete the job.

Jones strategically handled production in portions. “Because of the volume, we didn’t want to do it all at

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Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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G r e e n C o n c e p t s / By J e f f Wo ot e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

once,” he explains, noting that his company first started producing sample pieces of output for test-and-trial runs when handed the artwork. “We didn’t want to be handed thirty or forty files, doing all that work at once, and then finding problems.”

Big Systems finished production of all the signs and graphics three days prior to the half-day Saturday installation. “We wanted everything ready, in case there were any special emergencies or need for a re-run or if something didn’t fit on-site,” explains Jones.

According to results collected by Rock the Green, 92 percent of the waste generated at this event was reused, reduced, recycled, or composted. And instead of heading to the landfill, seventy-seven pounds of the nearly one hundred pounds of festival banners produced were recycled. Big Systems used the HP Large-format Media take-back prog ram (www. hp.com/recycle) to recycle the banners.

Even their grommets were recycled through a local facility. (Note: Quad/ Graphics’ Windhover Foundation of Sussex, Wisconsin provided ecofriendly collateral and onsite small format signage, as well as the backdrop on the stage.)

Rock the Green and select sponsors are even keeping some of the mater ials pr inted for future use.

“They kept branded signage that wasn’t date-specific, for re-use at a future concert or sponsor event,” says Jones. “This again relates back to recyclability and durability.”

More than 7,000 concertgoers were entertained and educated in the art of going green. According to sur vey results, 86 percent were likely to practice near-zero waste efforts in their personal life, while 75 percent said they would likely buy sustainable products from concer t sponsors (their names featured prominently on some of the banners and signage produced).

And 93 percent indicated they would likely return for the 2012 event—where you can bet some of this year’s signage will be there waiting for them.

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A sponsor tower by the stage printed on HP HDPE Reinforced Banner material.

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Awnings / By Jim Richman ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Awning

Multi-tasking Our economic destiny is tied to each other.

We’re inundated every day with news about a potential economic “double dip,” a second recession, and a new economy. Both political parties appear to have their own plans on how to avoid a sustained economic downturn. Though strong leadership from our government leaders is important, there’s something else that we can do on our own—and that is to personify an old adage, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

As a sign company owner, you may be thinking: How can I help? How much time can I afford to spend helping other companies succeed without taking away from my own efforts?

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/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

a sub-contractor or a strategic partner, where we manufacture, install, and fabricate awnings, and the sign company collects revenue (without having to do the work). Best of all, the client is satisfied and likely to become a repeat customer.

And it works the other way, as well. For example, when a local bank we had worked with for many years came to us and asked us to help rollout all of their awnings and signs as part of a recent completed merger, we turned to Inland Signs in Rancho Cucamonga, California. While we created all the fabric and metal awnings, they, in turn, provided the channel letters, the window decals, and the pin letters for them.

As a company, we acted as the single point of contact

We worked on the awnings while the sign shop made the identification signage for the bank’s image makeover.

Creating some of the metal awnings for a strategic sign shop partnership.

all Photos courtesy of academy inc.

One of the first things you can endeavor to do is form strategic partnerships or alliances with companies that share your values and create an added value for your clients.

At my company, Academy Inc. (www.academyinc.com) in Los Angeles, we custom manufacture awnings, canopies, and shade structures. We also work alongside many local and national sign companies.

The equation is pretty simple: Sign fabricators and installers hear their satisfied customers ask them for awnings or canopies but, knowing it is out of their normal scope of work, turn the potential revenue stream away.

Now these same companies could bring my company in as

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Awnings / By Jim Richman //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

If your shop isn’t set up to handle awning fabrication, don’t let that intimidate you from still getting involved in these projects.

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Sign fabricators and installers hear their customers ask for awnings or canopies but, knowing it is out of their normal scope of work, turn down the potential revenue. include links of quality pre-approved vendors and suppliers on it. By linking them to our Web site, we’re able to create increased traffic for them; in turn, we ask them to link back to our Web site.

The cost of adding the link? Nothing!

The goodwill achieved by both the customer (who is happy to have a new supplier or vendor resource) and the supplier or vendor is priceless.You’ll see, as I have, the fruits of this activity through increased referrals and new business opportunities.

Again it’s key that you select other companies to link to who manifest your values and will execute the best job for your clients. Otherwise linking to other

“The look of real wood at a fraction of the price.”

CSTL-5054 4.652x7.5.indd 1 80 Sign_Of_Times Sign Builder Illustrated

with our customer, enabling them to forgo the need to coordinate with various vendors.

But coordinating an effort such as this requires careful planning and savvy business skills.

First select a vendor that you can trust to execute the job in the same way you would. Meaning: The quality of their work needs to be of a high standard and they need to adhere to a production and installation schedule.

Next to make sure your customers will come back to you, brand all the materials for your client with your infor mation. These include shop drawings, permit approvals, and even company uniforms for the installers on installation day.

Another way to help these ships rise together is through your own Web site.

When re-launching Academyinc.com earlier this year, we made sure to

2/1/12 11:16 AM

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速

The steps involved in constructing awnings can mean they’ll pass through many hands. companies can become a double-edged sword. Your customers could begin inquiring, “Why would you refer us to a vendor who did a subpar job? Was unethical? Etc.” That’s a conversation you never want to have.

It’s also impor tant to become involved in your industry through trade associations and online bulletin boards, blogs, and discussions. You’ll see on social media Web sites (like LinkedIn™), industry trade group Web sites, and general blog sites, that industr y colleagues from across the country will ask questions, seek advice, or inquire about a new product innovation.

In years past, a knee-jerk reaction from myself and other business owners would’ve been, “Why spend my time to help someone who can use this infor mation to compete against me?”

But now I’ve seen the fruits of my labor. Offering advice and tips from my experiences (especially in other geographies) has turned into referral business from those who read my posts.

As some who have been on these industry e-gathering places will see, there’s a tendency to talk about national sign companies and complain about how long it takes for them to pay, the quality of their shop drawings, and the rates paid. The worst thing you can do is engage in this kind of conversation.

Think about it from the perspective

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Awnings / By Jim Richman /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

of a national sign company: Would you want to do business with someone who is complaining about the accuracy of drawings in a public forum?

The rule of thumb I follow is: “If you wouldn’t want everyone you know to read something that you wrote on the frontpage of the newspaper in the morning, then don’t write it online!” (Remember: What you write is permanent.)

The world and the way we do business have changed. If we can work together to utilize these and other creative mechanisms, I believe that we’ll see our ships rise together—independent of what wave rolls into the nation’s economy.

Academy Inc. is a commercial awning and canopy company.

To l e a r n m o r e , v i s i t www.academyinc.com.

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An Awning Overview Building awnings come in four basic shapes: point, barrel, dome, and flex face.

Each has its variations, but the point looks like a wedge, the barrel resembles a quarter round side of a barrel, the dome looks like its namesake, and the flex face is closer in appearance to a billboard.

The construction process usually begins with a review of the total job’s estimated cost and time. With the materials at hand, the shop crew confirms the quantity of materials they need to make the awning.

The shop crew cuts and shapes the aluminum tube frame the awning will fit over, welds the frame pieces with an aluminum wire weld system, and covers it with the awning fabric or metal.

“If covered in fabric, pieces are cut to fit and then are stapled into the slotted aluminum. The staples are covered with PVC tubing that matches the chosen

fabric,” explains Jaymes Elliott, art director of Sign and Awning Systems, Inc. (www. signandawning.com) in Dunn, North Carolina. “If covered with metal, pieces are cut to fit and then drilled and popriveted onto the frame.”

Once painted on, vinyl surfaces now allow sign builders to apply pre-cut lettering by sewing them on or applying them with adhesive.

After installation, age can take its toll, and canvas awnings still have mildew problems where they don’t get enough direct sunlight. Even newer materials still need upkeep to prevent fading and damage.

Be sure to maintain the awning yourself or to call in a restoration crew.

Scrub the canvas with a soft brush, mild detergent, and warm water. (Note: Don’t apply bleach!) Then rinse the soap with nothing stronger than a garden hose.

—Bruce Amaro

March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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March 2012 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Hand-crafted Signage: Starr Studios

Sean Starr: A Return to the

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In a digital age, Starr Studios demonstrates the value of traditional sign making.

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and-crafted signage is staging a comeback, and Sean Starr, a sign painter and a mom-and-pop owner of Starr Studios (www.starrstudios.org) in Big Bear City, California, couldn’t be happier.

The long-time sign painter is pleased to see a resurgence of a time-honored craft that languished in recent times, due to popular demand for standardized signage production. “In the early 1990s, when computers kind of dominated the industry, a lot of us, we couldn’t talk someone into painting a sign if our life depended on it. Everyone wanted computerized,” says Starr.

“This past summer, we did a lot of work for The Gap for one of their national ad campaigns, and we’ve done work for Ocean Spray for the 2010 Winter Olympics.”

Companies such as The Gap and Ocean Spray are seeking him out because they want a product that’s hand painted. “Undoubtedly, they could go to a thousand different sign shops to print something, to cut it out in vinyl, or whatever, but they’re seeking us out now, which we find very exciting,” says Starr. “We’ve got a commitment to keep the traditional aspect to sign making alive, and it’s starting to affect corporate America. They are seeing the value in it.”

Even if corporate America is starting to see

the continued relevance of traditional sign making, Starr still says that American towns have lost their individuality, which often had a lot to do with the sign painters who lived there. “Now everything is homogenized,” he says. “But people are starting to go in the other direction, and they want something that’s one-of-a-kind, unique—basically art—to represent their company, instead of a white plastic rectangle with a sticker on it.”

Starr launched his hand-wrought signage business in Seattle back in 2005. “We do a little bit of digital stuff and a little bit of vinyl, but what we’re known for, and what we really enjoy doing, is the hand-painted traditional work,” he says.

Starr incorporates traditional materials such as milk paint into his signs, and he also makes his own coatings using materials like gilding powders and gold leaf.

“The big thing for us is the fact that we handcraft every single sign,” says Starr. “Obviously our signs take a little bit longer than the average shop would do from start to finish, but I think that’s one of the reasons our work stands out to a lot of people.”

To read more about Sean Starr’s work, visit www.signshop.com.

Many of Starr’s clients now ask for hand-painted signs.

Hand-crafted signage can take longer but stands out.

Sign Builder Illustrated // March 2012

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all photos courtesy of starr studios.

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