Sign Builder Illustrated November 2016

luxury signage

An Illuminating Development

Pricing sign jobs The Cost of Business Success

www.signshop.com

Nu mb e r 257

Num ber 257 | NO V EMBER 2 0 1 6

How-To

The Path to

Sign Bu i ld er I llustr ated

Dynamic Digital

no v e mbe r 201 6

+ Project Mgmt. + Display Set Up

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32 32

45 22 28

BY JEFF WOOTEN

A marquee’s digital update earns a standing ovation.

39 Illuminating Possibilities

BY MIKE ANTONIAK

A luxury development provides a showcase for a company’s many capabilities.

Dynamic Presentation

BY JEFF WOOTEN

A provider deploys a dynamic digital media network at the brand-new Westfield World Trade Center.

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, 55 Broad Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

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. 12 issues per year. Non-qualified subscriptions Print version, Digital version, Both Print & Digital version: 1 year US/ Mexico/Canada $50.00; foreign $99.00. Single copies are $15.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid in full in U.S. funds only. Prices are subject to change.

Copyright © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2016. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.

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Now Playing

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

45

A New Business Opportunity

BY LORI SHRIDHARE

Implementing gender-neutral signage in New York City.

Questions of Safety

BY RACHEL ABEL

Five questions to answer about service trucks and cranes.

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SPECIAL SECTION: SBi Trendsetters 2017 An advertorial section featuring insight and input from the visionaries of the sign industry.

For reprint information contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@sbpub.com.

For Subscriptions & Address Changes, please call (800) 895-4389, (847) 763-9686, Fax (847) 763-9544, e-mail signbuilder@omeda.com, or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 3135, Northbrook, IL 60062-2620 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 3135, Northbrook, IL 60062-2620.

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.

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Agenda

How-To Columns

NOVEMBER 2016 November 1-4: The automotive SEMA Show rolls in to the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (semashow.com)

DECEMBER 2016

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18

The Price is Right

Departments

14 The Price is Right

BY ASHLEY BRAY

Everyone’s a winner with this guide to pricing sign jobs.

18

Brightest Day, Brightest Night

Brightest Day, Brightest Night

BY DAVID HICKEY

Bright ideas about electronic message centers.

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UpFront

8

Dispatches

Editor Jeff Wooten puts on his hard hat and asks why safety seems to be a dirty word for some sign installers.

A new dinosaur mural celebrates a museum’s 150th anniversary; students apply for SGIA’s scholarship program.

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Sign Show

58

SBI Marketplace

60

Shop Talk

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

LUXURY SIGNAGE

An Illuminating Development

PRICING SIGN JOBS The Cost of Business Success

www.signshop.com

NUMB ER 257

NU M BE R 257 | NOV EM BE R 201 6

HOW-TO

Ashley Bray explains how a manufacturer’s rep offers solutions and expertise to sign shops.

The Path to SIGN BU I LDER I L LUSTR ATED NO VEMB ER 2016

4

Dynamic Digital

On the Cover + Project Mgmt. + Display Set Up

This 4mm LED display in the Westfield World Trade Center complex is the largest single seamless LED video canvas in the world. Photo: ANC Sports.

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

December 1-3: Sign World International, the annual tradeshow and educational conference of the United States Sign Council, will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (ussc.org/signworld.php)

FEBRUARY 2017 February 16-17: The Midwest Sign Association will conduct its winter meeting at the Hilton Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana. (msassn.org) February 16-18: Graphics of the Americas Expo & Conference, attracting key professionals in graphic communications from North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, will be held at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (goaexpo.com)

APRIL 2017 April 19-22: ISA International Sign Expo 2017 takes place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (signexpo.org) signshop.com

Up FRONT

by jeff wooten

November 2016, Vol. 30, No. 257

A Hard Hat to Break

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

Subscriptions: 800/895-4389 executive offices

Why does safety seem to be a dirty word for some installers?

Photo: Shutterstock.com.

L

et me start out this month’s issue by asking you a question: What would you deem the number-one asset of your sign shop? Is it consistently producing top-notch, high-quality signs? Your investment in the latest technologies and materials? Your ability to expanding your reach out into new customer markets?

I wonder how many of you though had first answered this would be your employees? This philosophy is a point driven home by Rachel Abel in her article, “A Question of Safety,” on page 45, that deals with safety advice for personnel in bucket trucks and cranes.

I will admit that the one thing that causes a seemingly immediate firestorm of reader feedback is when we publish a photo of a sign installer or service provider above the ground in some capacity either not wearing a hard hat or appropriate safety gear. This is very much justified, and we’re trying to do a better job of making certain that such photos won’t appear in future issues. After all, safety is paramount in the field of sign making!

However there also seems to be a misconception out there that there is some kind of national blanket coverage mandate by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) when it comes to wearing hard hats in these situations. But as far as our investigations have led over the years, this does not seem to be the case. In fact, diving headfirst down this rabbit hole (with our hard hat on, of course) of trying to find a national, one-size-fits-all answer here can seem like a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma.

From what we’ve surmised, OSHA’s viewpoint on this subject is on an area-by-area basis. If you need a firm answer to this question, contact your local OSHA office or representative. But seriously, why should you find yourself having to do this in the first place?

The final call of whether one should wear

6

a hard hat or protective gear during an installation rests in your sign shop’s policy itself.

But why even invite this gray area into your business? Don’t the advantages of performing a safe, accident-free install outweigh any inconvenience or discomfort—particularly in today’s litigious society?

I recognize that there is a level of hardheadedness with some of you out there (and I say that with admiration and respect), but steel and pavement are a lot harder. With the deadline for OSHA’s crane operator certification approaching (November 10, 2017), I think you will start seeing the topic of safety ratcheted up even more by then.

And this talk isn’t just relegated to boom trucks and aerial work platforms. The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) recently urged organizers and exhibitors at county/state fairs and local festivals not to attach banners to scissor lifts, as this could create a “sail board” effect which could destabilize the lift and cause it to turn over.

But they also point out that, although scissor lifts are a safe way to perform temporary work at height when used properly by trained personnel, those models designed for outdoor use may be at risk of being blown over in an elevated position when the maximum safe wind speed is exceeded.

I cannot begin to tell you the number of installs I’ve either been invited to or passed by that featured hard hats left behind on the ground (if brought at all)—all in an effort to get things done quicker.

My judgment call: Don’t be so cavalier above the ground when it comes to sign installations or servicing. Leave the stunt work shenanigans to James Bond and Indiana Jones.

We recognize that our number-one asset is you, our sign-making readers, and we want to make sure you remain that way for a very long time. Safety first!

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

President and Chairman Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher arthur j. sutley 55 Broad Street, 26th floor New York, NY 10004 212/620-7247; fax: 212/633-1863 editorial

Editor Jeff Wooten

323 Clifton Street, Suite #7 Greenville, NC 27858 212/620-7244; fax: 212/633-1863 jwooten@sbpub.com

Managing Editor Ashley Bray

55 Broad Street, 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 212/620-7220; fax: 212/633-1863 abray@sbpub.com

Contributing Writers Rachel Abel, Mike Antoniak, David Hickey, Lori Shridhare art

Creative Director Wendy Williams Art Director Nicole Cassano Graphic Designer Aleza Leinwand production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney advertising sales

National Sales Director Jeff Sutley 212/620-7233; fax: 212/633-1863 jsutley@sbpub.com

Mid-West & West Coast Sales Manager Heather Bonato 212/620-7225; fax: 212/633-1863 hbonato@sbpub.com

Marketplace & Buyer’s Guide Amy Lennox 212/620-7221; fax: 212/633-1863 alennox@sbpub.com Sign Builder Illustrated is published monthly.

All rights reserved. Nothing herein may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. To purchase PDF files of cover and layouts or hard copy reprints, please call Art Sutley at 212/620-7247 or e-mail asutley@sbpub.com.

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Dispatches

NEW ICONIC MURAL

for Museum of Natural History

East Hartford, Connecticut—Merritt Graphics, a grand format graphics division of Joseph Merritt & Company, Inc., was hired by Magellan Midstream Partners to honor the Peabody Museum and the City of New Haven with the production and installation of a new mural representing a modern view of an ancient creature.

For approximately seventeen years, a painted segment of artist Rudolph F. Zallinger’s The Age of Reptiles adorned one of the 90,000 barrel heating oil tanks. The mural paid tribute to the wonders of the city, specifically the Yale Peabody Museum.

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However two years ago, this Connecticut icon was removed when Magellan Midstream Partners needed to perform tank coating maintenance at one of their New Haven facilities near the Q Bridge.

The new, recently installed mural d e p i c t s t h e f e a t h e r e d d i n o s a u r, Deinonychus, designed by artist Bayla Arietta. The meticulous drawing is paired with the message: “Yale Peabody Museum ... A New Haven Treasure!”

The Deinonychus was discovered in Montana in 1964 by John Ostrom, Peabody’s then-curator of paleontology,

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

and the dinosaur seemed a fitting choice for the new mural intended to commemorate the Peabody’s 150th. “[It was also] an opportunity to show a 2016 concept of what a dinosaur looks like,” said Peabody Director David Skelly.

The Deinonychus changed the previous perceptions of dinosaurs and prompted w h at i s k n o w n a s t h e “ D i n o s a u r Renaissance.” When Ostrom introduced the idea of dinosaurs with feathers, other paleontologists were hesitant to agree with this claim; however Skelly explained that it is clear now that many of the meatsignshop.com

SGIA Scholarship Program

The mural is one of the most prominent pieces of public art in New Haven.

Fair fax, Virginia—The SGIA Scholarship Program is accepting applications from students who plan to attend a post-secondary education program in the fall of 2017.

The program will award $2,000 each to ten student recipients.

Scholarship winners will be carefully selected by the SGIA Education Committee based on extracurriculars, academic achievement, work experience, financial need, academic and professional recommendations, and a one-page essay.

“The next generation of imagers— meaning future employees, business owners, and creators—is crucial to the growth and survival of this industry,” said Johnny Shell, SGIA’s vice president of Technical Services. “We, as a community, have an obligation to support them, and it’s an honor to do so.”

Secondary seniors and post-secondary, full-time students are qualified for entry. They must be a student of an active SGIA Educational Institution member and committed to pursuing a career within the growing imaging community.

Students must submit their applications by April 14, 2017 to be considered. For an application and more information, visit sgia.org and search keyword “scholarship.”

signshop.com

for long-term outdoor applications.

Merritt Graphics used skilled in-house installers and a scissor lift to apply the graphics. Installation took several days to complete, as they had several weather conditions to contend with (rain, winds, and tank condensation).

Both the Peabody and the City of New Haven are grateful for Magellan’s corporate investment in the city. “This is the most prominent piece of public art in New Haven. Hundreds of thousands of people are regularly going to see this from the highway,” said Skelly.

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

photo: Shutterstock/Casper1774 Studio.

eating dinosaurs, such as Deinonychus, were feathered.

The experts at Merritt Graphics were recruited to produce and install the 72-by36-foot Deinonychus mural.

The Peabody provided them with a highresolution scan of Arietta’s drawing. Merritt resized the image and divided it into fiftyfour-inch panels. They then digitally reproduced the image on high-performance 3M™ Envision™ Print Wrap Film with the patented 3M™ Envision™ Gloss Wrap Overlamination.

This material was chosen due to its environmental sustainability and its conformability

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SignSHOW D I G I T A L P R I N T I N G E Q U I P. / S U P P L I E S Mimaki TX300P-1800 Direct Textile Inkjet Printer Now Available for Order in the Americas The new seventy-five-inch-wide TX300P-1800 roll-to-roll, direct-to-textile inkjet printer from Mimaki USA has been engineered exclusively for direct-to-fabric applications. Capable of utilizing five types of textile-specific inks that can be direct-printed onto a wide variety of synthetic or natural fabrics, this printer is suitable for creating samples, one-offs, or individualized production runs. Some of its key features include a high-gap printhead, a textile handling system, variable dot printing, and a standard bulk ink system. mimakiusa.com

DY E S U B L I M AT I O N ITI’s Super-wide “Dual Production” TX3200 Direct-to-Fabric or Transfer Paper Sublimation Printer Inkjet Technology, Inc. (ITI) has introduced their latest super-wide “Dual Production” mode sublimation printer—the TX3200 Textile Printer. This textile printer now has the capability to print directly on textile fabrics and handle dye-sub transfer paper applications. An internal vacuum mechanism securely holds down the transfer paper (especially thin paper) to prevent cockling.

Plus it comes with an ink collection gutter assembly to handle polyester or mesh-type textiles used in direct printing methods.

ITI has also developed a specially formulated ink with its OEM ink vendor to handle the “Dual Production” mode so that the ink properties are similar to disperse dyes for direct printing and a dye sublimation ink for transfer paper printing. The ITI TX3200 can be configured with an optional infrared heat transfer sublimation unit allowing users to directly sublimate the textile media exiting the printer without the need for a separate calendar press unit. Available in a four or eight printhead configuration, the TX3200 offers production print speeds up to 1,000 square feet/hour (in the eight printhead configuration). inkjettechinc.com

Johnson Plastics Delivers Love Letters Johnson Plastics announces the availability of Love Letters, a new fully sublimatable and customizable décor and gift product line perfect for the upcoming holiday season. Love Letters provide limitless opportunities for creativity and personalization. The product line features the industry’s first range of sublimatable letters, including two decorative typefaces and special characters. The finished letters and characters can be used to spell out monograms, acronyms, words, and phrases to add a personalized accent to any room. The line also includes letters from the Greek alphabet.

The letters and characters are composed of a 1/4-inch matte substrate specially designed for sublimation and are available in standard eight-inch and twelve-inch character heights. 800/869-7800; johnsonplastics.com

Sawgrass Updates CreativeStudio Online Design and Color Management Software Sawgrass has announced updates to its popular CreativeStudio online design and print and color manager software. These include: Localization (the user interfaces for both the online designer and print and color manager will be available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Japanese); VJ 628 Compatibility (both programs will soon be able to be used with the Virtuoso 25-inch 8-Color Product Decorating System featuring the VJ 628 printer); Nesting Capabilities and Media Optimization (save on transfer media by manually or automatically nesting images for single or multiple jobs); My Image and My Template Memory (CreativeStudio will remember the size and position of images and template on products, which streamlines production by making it easier to recall, edit, and reprint jobs); and Full-Screen Color Preview (CS Print and Color Manager now has full-screen preview of image color, which makes it easier to see and set image colors on print jobs). In addition to having access to more than 7,500 images, 1,200 graphic templates, 800 products, and 190 fonts, CreativeStudio users can upload and save their designs to free Cloud storage, as well as build custom templates for the products they decorate most often. SawgrassInk.com

FAB R ICS Fisher Textiles Unfurls a Series of New Fabrics Fisher Textiles is now carrying four new fabrics. 4585 Natural Cotton Canvas, made in the USA for latex printing, has a raw, natural-beige appearance with a medium texture, weighs 10 oz/yd2, and is stocked at sixty inches wide. DD 7276 Supreme Knit is a specially treated fabric for sixteen-foot direct dye sublimation printing. It weighs 8.7 oz/yd2, is stocked at 197 inches wide. DD 8881 Opaque White is also specially treated for direct dye sub printing. It is very opaque and has an extreme white point. It weighs 8.7 oz/yd2 and is stocked at 125 inches wide. GF 6180 Table Cloth, a transfer dye sub grand format warp knit fabric, weighs 6.1 oz/yd2 and is stocked at 125 inches wide. DD 7276, DD 8881, and GF 6180 are all flameretardant and meet NFPA 701. In addition, existing Silver Flag Liner is now available 125 inches wide, and GF 7176 Supreme Knit is now available 197 inches wide. 800/554-8886; www.fishertextiles.com

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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One of A Kind Cabinet Solution

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P 1-866-972-9191 info@usled.com www.USLED.com

SignSHOW LED MODULES/TUBES/STRIPS GE’s Tetra LED Tape: The One Ideal Solution for Small Spaces Shallow can depths have challenging light performance requirements that are continuously put under scrutiny to meet brand standards and maintain brand integrity. Tetra® Tape from GE Lighting was designed to keep the customer’s brand perception in small spaces in mind. Packed with 308 lumens/foot (in some options), Tetra LED Tape delivers exceptional light output for small can depths. It installs easily and quickly, thanks to its adhesive backing, slashing labor expense and installation time. Its UV-resistant silicone coating reduces cracking and discoloration and offers reliable light output and uniformity across the sign face. Designed for applications as shallow as one-inch channel letters, routed acrylic block letters, or backlit halo letters, the Tetra LED Tape is flexible across its various applications. The self-adhesive backing eliminates the need for screw attachments. Moreover it can be cut every two inches on specified markings, giving the customer ultimate flexibility. Tetra Tape is offered in White (regular and high output), Warm White, Red, Blue, and Green and comes in reels of 16 feet, 4 inches. 888/694-3533; currentbyge.com/tetra

LED Neon Flex from Green LED Lighting Solutions Introduces a New, Advanced LED Fixture The Vivid Pixel fixture of Green LED Lighting Solutions’ LED Neon Flex combines the convenience of flexible LED linear neon lighting with the ultimate control of DMX512. Architects and lighting designers will appreciate the vast amount of colors available—16.7 million—and the ability to utilize an integrated circuit (IC) for discrete DMX control of 125 mm units. The environmentally friendly and energy-efficient Vivid Pixel LED fixture has an IP68 rating, making it weatherproof. It can be used inside or outside since it functions perfectly in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 45°C. Designers may choose from two profiles—a domed 270 degrees or flat 160 degrees. With high color consistency and uniform illumination with no dark spots, the Vivid Pixel LED flex fixture offers an attractive solution. The new product comes with a three-year limited warranty and a five-year lifespan based on an eight-hour-a-day operation and is UL Listed and CE and RoHS compliant. ledneonflex.com/products/vivid-pixel

OUTWATER’S FABRIC FLEX FRAMING SYSTEM FOR SEG 9 Profiles In Stock to Choose From!

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Fabric Frame Kit

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• Now You Can Create 10-Ft. High x 50-Ft. Long Large Format Signage with Ease • Frameless Edge to Edge Design • Most Economical Way to Achieve Striking SEG Signage • Wall Mount, Single/Double Sided Freestanding Frames • Extruded Clear Anodized Aluminum • Easy to Store, Easy to Assemble • We Can Cut to Size

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

FAB LED STRIP

OUTWATER

1-800-631-8375 www.outwaterads.com/vip2

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SloanLED Launches Prism Red SloanLED Prism Red is reimagined LED lens technology with batwing distribution of light for bright red illumination that remains true to color even when spread over the largest of acrylic sign faces. The impressive lumen output and color intensity of SloanLED Prism Red allows for installation in sign depths as varied as three to eight inches. The SloanLED Prism Red platform is built on a unique arrangement of micro prisms designed explicitly for channel letter signs producing brilliant, uniform light at the sign face. SloanLED Prism Red is the second in a series of lensed LED modules launching this year with additional colors, temperatures, and sizes available in the coming months. SloanLED.com

VINYL/VINYL FILMS Mactac Expands Popular IMAGin PrintVinyl Promotional Media Series Mactac® Distributor Products has launched several new product constructions to its legacy IMAGin® PrintVinyl promotional media series—offering customers the most popular configuration options for any wide format graphic application. Adding to the series’ clear permanent pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) constructions, the new products include removable and permanent pigmented opaque gray adhesives, as well as a removable clear option. With an outdoor durability of up to four years (with or without a laminate), IMAGin PrintVinyl was designed for adhesion to all common mounting substrates and is ideal for general-purpose indoor and outdoor signage on flat or slightly curved surfaces. It is commonly used for point-of-purchase or retail displays, posters, floor graphics, or short-term graphic applications and is known for its highquality performance and economic price point. New IMAGin PrintVinyl products include: PVG828P (matte white, gray permanent PSA); PVG828R (matte white, gray removable PSA); PVG829P (gloss white, gray permanent PSA); PVG829R (gloss white, gray removable PSA); and JT899R (gloss clear, clear removable PSA). The new product solutions are available in either fifty-four-inch or sixty-four-inch widths. 866/622-8223; mactac.com/graphics

signshop.com

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

13

HOW-TO: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

By Ashley Bray

The Price is Right

Everyone’s a winner with this guide to pricing sign jobs.

B

ob Barker and Drew Carey may have had successful runs hosting TV’s The Price is Right, but the success of your business shouldn’t rely on a guessing game.

So we invited manufacturers and sign shops in a number of vertical markets to “come on down!” and talk about how to properly price sign jobs.

Vinyl Graphics. Mike Zick, a 3M Graphics Authorized Trainer and owner of Mike Zick Installations in Arlington, Texas, says that vinyl installation jobs are typically priced in two parts: one quote for the time it will take to install and another for the cost of the graphics material.

“You usually have a pretty consistent allotment for the time it takes to print, but incorrectly estimating installation time can eat up profits on a project,” says Zick.

The time it will take to install depends on the material used and the surface it is being applied to.

When quoting for the materials cost, it’s impor-

photo: Shutterstock/Zadorozhnyi Viktor.

Prepress/Software. Pricing considerations should begin the moment you start to work with a customer, which is usually during the design phase.

“Unfortunately most sign shops make the mistake of not charging for that part of it,” says Dean Derhak, product director at SA International, a software solutions company. “They typically just quote per-square-foot cost on the phone, and then the customer will go back and forth on the design.

They don’t end up charging for that because they just want to get the revenue from making a sign.”

Another mistake Derhak cautions shops from making is beginning design work on a project before a customer has decided to move forward. The customer may decide to go elsewhere, and they may even take the sign shop’s design with them.

To prevent this from happening, Derhak recommends never sending PDFs and to always use watermarks on design proofs.

Always charging for the design phase and communicating this cost upfront can also prevent headaches. Derhak has found that shops typically quote 10 percent of the total job cost for design and prep work. He also says it’s important to group design and any job setup and prep as one cost as the customer will view them all as one process.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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June 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Digital Printing. This technology often goes hand-in-hand with vinyl, and there are many things to consider when pricing these types of jobs.

“Print service providers will often dig too deep into the cost-per-square-foot discussion and overlook the true running costs of a job,” says Michael Maxwell, senior manager, Sign & Graphics Business Development & Marketing, at Mimaki USA. “Time to print, time to finish, handling, and packaging are also factors—most PSPs should already have on hand a prepared figure of their overhead costs.

“The additional costs that are also often overlooked are things such as transfer tape, blades, and waste disposal; however, these items can also be included in an overhead cost calculation.”

Maxwell also says to work in the cost of media and ink. He cautions that cheaper material may lead to greater profits, but it can also lead to additional costs if the customer comes back due to dissatisfaction or graphics failure.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

“The other factor that is often overlooked is the human element of producing that job,” says Maxwell. “PSPs often do not give themselves enough leeway when quoting a job to cover reprints due to mishandling or improper job setup.”

Performing scheduled maintenance on printing equipment is also crucial in saving on repairs and the resulting downtime.

LED Lighting. Over the last few years, more sign shops have become involved in LED lighting jobs, and the demand for these jobs has grown as well.

One of the biggest hurdles to selling LEDs is the initial sticker shock that customers experience. Be sure to counter that reaction by making customers aware of the excellent ROI LEDs offer. “Many end-users are surprised to find out much of their ongoing costs are driven by maintenance more than energy costs,” says J. Bryan Vincent, managing partner at Principal LED. The sign shop should make sure they’re being efficient on their end as well. “Take advantage of the layout estimating services provided by many LED suppliers,” says Vincent. “Our estimating team will often value engineer the design depending on the needs of the sign company and the desired illumination— i.e., lowest possible cost, specific brightness levels, materials that reduce labor or assembly time, etc.”

Understanding labor burden costs is also important, as the cheapest module isn’t always the best solution. “I have seen many sign companies go with the lowest cost materials and then spend hours peeling and sticking hundreds of modules, when they could have spent a little more and cut their labor time in half by using a product with better lateral light distribution,” says Vincent.

Dimensional Signage. Labor costs also come into consideration here. Jason Lamberts, CFO of SignComp, says to look for places where you can save or cut down on labor. Oftentimes signshop.com

photo: Shutterstock/Africa Studio.

tant to keep overlaminates in mind and to make sure you have enough material. “This prevents having to patch material on at the end of a project when you find you don’t have enough to cover the surface,” says Zick. “With vehicle wraps, pricing out and using extra vinyl goes a long way, and the finished product will look much better.”

Since vinyl wraps are so ubiquitous, many customers shop based on price alone, but Zick cautions not to give into price wars with local shops.

“In the long run, it won’t be a profitable project because you priced the work too low in order to beat out someone else,” he says. “Price wars can also negatively affect the local graphics market because that kind of undercutting dilutes pricing overall.”

Instead emphasize the value of a quality installation and the look of the final product.

investing in better products will succeed at doing this. He cites the example of extrusions.

“Extrusions take half the amount of time to create a sign because of the fabrication needs,” says Lamberts. “So if you’re stick building a sign, it takes an hour; an extrusion takes thirty minutes. The extrusion is going to cost you more, but it’s going to save you a lot of time.”

He also says shops should be familiar with what they do the most of and keep the materials for those sign types in stock. This allows them to turn over their inventory on a reasonable basis and to prevent stock from sitting around and tying up cash.

Service Equipment. Installation may be the last step of a sign project, but it shouldn’t be discounted since it can involve some expensive equipment like service vehicles.

In order to turn the best profit, start by purchasing the right vehicle with the right features, especially one designed specifically for the sign industry.

“When working on a sign, having two sets of hands in the platform, space for tools or channel letters, and the ability to lift materials, reduces the number of times the boom needs to be brought to the ground and allows one crew to do the work of two or more,” says David Phillips, manager of Global Business Development & Marketing for Elliott Equipment Company.

“This means more jobs per day and the ability to price sign work based on sending out one truck instead of two, tying up less capital, and boosting market competitiveness.

“Also having an installation truck with an open flatbed makes it possible to transport all the tools necessary to install a sign without requiring a second vehicle or multiple trips back to the shop. Fewer round trips means less time on the job, as well as less maintenance, fuel, and other costs.”

Maintenance is also important since costs add up when a truck is down: repairs, losing out on jobs, paying employees who can’t work, and unhappy customers. signshop.com

“While it can be difficult to precisely account for these costs in a bid, they should be carefully considered and kept in mind,” says Phillips.

Phillips emphasizes the importance of thinking big picture when quoting an installation job that includes service vehicles.

“Analyze the entire cost of owning

and operating a vehicle, and through that understanding, be able to project the costs of operating each machine on an annual basis, monthly basis, and a per job basis,” he says.

“That means looking at monthly payments, fuel costs, insurance costs, maintenance costs, licensing costs, and resale value.”

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17

HOW-TO: ELECTRIC

By David Hickey

Brightest Day, Brightest Night

E

lectronic message centers (EMC) are one of the most sought-after aspects of the industry, but they also face a myriad of burdensome government regulations.

Let’s start with the reason for the popularity: Research from The Signage Foundation, Inc. released in 2014 shows that store sales for retailers increased by 2.12 percent one year after installing an exterior EMC. Given the tight operating margins in today’s retail environment, a 2.12 percent increase can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

And yet these business-boosting signs often are highly regulated—and for brightness. Signs that are too bright can be offensive and ineffective.

The increase in sales can be mitigated if the sign is so bright that it is not readable.

That is one of the reasons that the International Sign Association (ISA) has worked with communities around the United States to help craft reasonable sign codes regulating EMC brightness.

To date, more than 250 municipalities have adopted the ISA recommendations of 0.3 footcandles above ambient lighting. In many cases, helping these communities determine reasonable

codes—with manageable methods of measuring the brightness—has meant the difference between having EMCs or banning them altogether.

Columbus, Ohio recently overhauled its sign codes to allow for EMCs but “not at the expense of the neighborhoods,” said Lisa Russell, the city’s Planner II who facilitated the code development project, which included adding brightness recommendations.

The International Sign Association was engaged to help the community navigate this delicate balance. We recommended footcandles as the measurement method—largely because of the accuracy and ease in measuring when compared to nits. ISA and other industry representatives took the committee on a field trip to show how their codes enforcement officers would measure if they opted for nits or footcandles.

“They rented a lift and showed us that, with the luminance method, you’d have to get up in the lift, raise it, and shine the nit gun at the sign. With the footcandle meter, you can stand on the ground,” said Russell.

Ultimately the community adopted the footcandle method of measurement.

photo: dave forrest.

Bright ideas about electronic message centers.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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“Members of the professional sign and graphics industry are not the same as end-users of signs, such as an owner of a carryout who wants to draw attention to his shop over others,” said Russell. “We all had an interest in developing reasonable regulations instead of just banning these signs.

“We also did not want to take away the rights that businesses had to display electronic signs.”

The International Sign Association recently updated its Night-time Brightness Level Recommendations for On-Premise Electronic Message Centers publication.

While the recommended 0.3 footcandles remained the same, the guide offers more detailed information on measurements.

It’s a great resource for communities considering sign code changes related to EMCs—or for sign, graphics, and visual communications companies that want to learn more about the process.

Another great resource is seeing them in action at tradeshow events.

For example, Ray Peters of AAA Sign Co., Inc., in Martinez, Georgia walked this past year’s ISA International Sign Expo show floor like a man on a mission. His focus: visiting existing vendors, seeking out several new products, and meeting new exhibitors. He had EMCs and LEDs for retrofitting at the top of his shopping list.

“The visual part of coming to ISA International Sign Expo is really huge,” he says. “It’s not like looking at it on a computer screen or looking in a catalog.

Vendors can explain a lot on how to use their products.”

Randy Taylor of Taylor Sign and Design Inc., in Jacksonville, Florida also came to the show to learn more about LED message boards. “The show has the latest and most cutting-edge types of technology,” he says.

Registration for the 2017 ISA International Sign Expo, being held April 19-22 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, is open at signexpo.org.

Come to the show to see the products— including EMCs—but be prepared for what happens afterward.

David Hickey is vice president, Government Affairs, at the International Sign Association.

Night-time Brightness Level Recommendations for On-Premise EMCs is available for free download at signs.org/emcs.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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ILLUMINATING

all Photos: creative sign designs.

Possibilities

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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A luxury development provides a showcase for a company’s many capabilities.

C

reative Sign Designs bills itself as a turnkey solutions provider. Whatever a sign project requires—design, planning, permits, fabrication, installations, and/ or project management—this Floridabased company has the manpower and means to conceive, build, and install the whole package.

“Our niche is the larger, custom jobs that require a full range of services,” says Brian Hershelman, a project manager with the company. Creative Sign Designs (creativesigndesigns. com) requires facilities in both Tampa and Orlando to handle its full range of services. “[We have] really tried to tend the boundaries in all we can provide our clients.”

One of his company’s most recent projects, completed this past summer, encompassed all the signage for the new Crescent Westshore luxury apartment complex (crescentwestshore.com) in Tampa.

Built by Crescent Communities (crescentcommunities.com), this development fills 5.5 acres with several residential apartment buildings, roadways, and amenities to make it a self-contained community within Tampa’s upscale Westlake residential and business district.

“It’s a project that was touched at some point by just about every one of our departments,” reports Hershelman. “ADA was a huge part of it. Our residential and commercial fabrication departments were also involved, as well as final assembly and installation.

“It’s the type of large project which really shows the range of what we can do.”

In all, Creative designed and delivered more than 700 interior and ADA signs for the complex, including stop signs; clearance bars featuring heights

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November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

23

of vehicles allowed; and wayfinding signage for directing traffic and pedestrians around the complex and identifying designated parking areas and fire safety zones.

Greystar Property Management, a company Creative Sign Designs has worked with in the past, encouraged Crescent Communities to invite the sign shop to bid on the project as construction neared completion.

“We were drawn in just as they were about to sign the contract for managing the property with about five months to go before they planned to start leasing apartments,” says Hershelman. “They had done their homework and had a good idea of everything they needed.”

Those five months gave the Creative staff its window for designing all the needed signage, securing the necessary permits, and fabricating and installing everything.

Working from architectural drawings provided by Crescent Communities, Creative’s in-house design and engineering department developed the varied signs to specs based on construction drawings and Hershelman’s own observations and measurements around the complex.

From White To RGB LEDs In addition to all the standard signage, the project also called for two large, illuminated signs announcing the complex: (1.) a 12-by-3-foot blade sign extruding from one apartment building along the main road and (2.) a seventy-eight-foot-tall vertical row of channel letters spelling out “Crescent” affixed to the front of another in a prominent location.

The original plans called for both of these signs to be illuminated with white LEDs but that changed as the client learned of other options.

“While in a pre-production meeting in the job site trailer with the client, an artist they had contracted with happened to walk in with a scaled down version of a spire they intended to install as an artistic monument in the front of the leasing office,” recalls Hershelman.

That spire was designed to be illuminated with RGB LEDs for eye-catching colors that could be easily changed at will.

Seeing the reaction of Don Hellein, director of development for Crescent 24

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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The project required a wide range of signage types, including signs to identify designated parking areas.

Communities in Florida, Hershelman advised the blade and column signs could be outfitted with RGB LEDs for the same effect. “They weren’t really aware of that application and that color-changing LEDs could be utilized in their signs too,” he says.

Hershelman explained they could use the remote-controlled RGB system to change illumination for special events, showcase the colors of local sports teams, or as a public service to promote causes like breast cancer awareness month.

“The client asked, ‘You can do that?’” says Hershelman, “Once we assured them we could absolutely do that, they went for it.”

With that assurance, Hellein asked for a proposal for a change order to the new lighting on the spot.

of the required ten-foot safe distance of the overhead power lines,” he says.

With the channel letters, his first job was convincing the client of the best way to build and install that seventy-

We were able to provide them with a sign which stands out as truly unique and functional, on a project that showcases all our capabilities and dedication to the needs of our clients.

The RGB Challenge Delivering on that promise proved to be the most challenging aspect of this project.

“It got to be pretty complicated,” admits Hershelman.

The blade sign, he says, was pretty routine—up until installation, that is.

“Technically we were within inches signshop.com

eight-foot-tall sign.

Their original intention was that the back of the letters would be open and exposed to the building. Hershelman recommended an acrylic backer be installed the full length of the sign to separate the channel letters and resi-

dent balconies; this solution would also prevent tampering and provide for better light dispersion.

The translucent white acrylic letters spelling out “Crescent” were designed to be 22 inches wide-by-24 inches tall. Each was double shoulder-routed with its own custom-built, low-profile bracket system to support it.

First though, a seventy-eight-foot-tall frosted acrylic backer had to be installed.

“I had to go to the site several times to measure the openings of the columns as they were being built as a precaution that we were on the right track,” says Hershelman. “We could only manufacture to a certain level of completion without having the finished dimension of the column opening.”

His measurements revealed as much as a 7/8-inch variance over its 78-foot length. “We couldn’t go into final production until they had that column completely cladded and we had those final measurements,” he notes.

“We then had to hurry production to meet their deadline, while building enough adjustability in all of the components to compensate for the variations in width.”

As built, the mounting brackets al-

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

25

lowed for just one inch of play (a halfinch on either side). “The letters all had to be laid out and mounted by hand as we went along,” adds Hershelman, “as there was no way to ‘direct mount’ a pattern.”

Concealing the wiring and hardware powering the sign posed another challenge as well.

The control and power wires for two control modules and the individual Principal LED RGB leads were routed and contained in a low-profile, visibly concealed raceway. The receiver antenna was also mounted as low to the ground as possible, so it wouldn’t be readily noticeable.

“The entire installation took about three days,” says Hershelman.

www.fasi.org The only website dedicated to the sign industry itself Style Over Substance FASI has reconfigured its website to make all of its information more accessible. We’ve deleted the nice photos, attractive fonts and bright colors in favor of making critically important information visible on the home page. FASI will continue to seek ways to remain the clearinghouse of information for and about the sign industry.

We’re pleased with the very positive feedback we’ve received while exhibiting at the MidSouth, Midwest and Northeast States Sign Assn. tradeshows, and we look forward to being in Atlantic City for USSC’s Sign World show, December 1-3. FASI welcomes your feedback.

Wade Swormstedt, Executive Director Email: wade@fasi.org Phone: (513) 701-2197

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

They were so impressed we were able to make the signs exactly like they looked in the artistic renderings. This project was really an overall victory for our company.

Conclusion When Hellein and representatives of Crescent Communities saw the final result, they were quite pleased.

“They were so impressed we were able to make the signs exactly like they looked in the artistic renderings,” says Hershelman. “We were able to provide them with a sign that stands out as truly unique and functional, on a project that showcases all our capabilities and dedication to the needs of our clients.”

For Hershelman and the entire Creative Sign Designs team, the many signs that now announce and help define Crescent Westshore stand as a testament to their prowess as a turnkey solutions provider. “This project was really an overall victory for our company,” he says. signshop.com

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DYNAMIC PRESENTATION 28

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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all Photos: anc.

O

ANC deploys dynamic digital media network at the brand-new Westfield World Trade Center. signshop.com

n August 16, the Westfield World Trade Center Complex, encompassing 365,000 square feet of retail space in Lower Manhattan, opened for business, rewriting many of the traditional rules of shopping centers through the introduction of crossplatform brand marketing opportunities along with sponsorships for global brands such as Ford, Pepsi, and JP Morgan Chase.

Westfield’s business model here has evolved from rent paid by tenants representing traditional retail categories to one more nuanced and cognizant of the potential afforded by corporate sponsorships.

Under the direction of Westfield’s Brand Ventures division, the company’s “Premier Partnerships” include multi-year product and vending rights, high-profile event hosting, and brand showrooms.

It’s also a model that’s more digital savvy, as the Westfield Brand Ventures division also offers digital out-of-home advertising exclusivity throughout the site’s state-of-the-art media network. This solution, featuring nineteen digital screens, includes a unique 4mm LED display measuring 280 feet long and featuring 12 continuous HD outputs that can be driven natively and is part of the larger canvas in the building in precise frame synch across 18 other displays.

ANC (anc.com) of Purchase, New York, provided, supervised, and integrated over 5,000 square feet of LED throughout the Westfield World Trade Center Complex, creating a dynamic and immersive stateof-the-art experience. As part of a longterm service agreement with Westfield, ANC helps them set up and program the displays as well as handles maintenance.

ANC worked on this top-secret project, from start to finish, for three years after being first contacted by Westfield reps asking their opinion on different display technologies.

“We reviewed different technology options with them—LED, LCD, tiled video wall, etc.,” says Chris Mascatello, executive vice president of Technology Sales & Services with ANC, “and it soon became apparent that a high-resolution LED product was going to be the best option for their big picture vision.”

During these discussions, ANC also started mapping out the control system requirements for this massive integrated

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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multimedia rollout, especially focusing on a 280-foot-long, wall-mounted display that runs along the East-West Concourse.

“We’re driving over 20,000 lineal pixels by 720 pixels tall from one rendering appliance, the highest in the world,” says Mascatello. “It was a lot of work on the part of our hardware and software teams internally to make sure we could deliver the promise of having the highest output uncompressed images possible and give Westfield and their advertisers a canvas where they can dress every single pixel and not have to use graphic tricks or tiling.”

In addition to the 10-foot-tall-by-280foot-long 4mm LED display in the West Gallery, these state-of-the-art screens also include: + Four separate 4mm LED displays totaling more than 800 square feet and 3.9 million pixels greeting consumers as they cross underneath the 9A Underpass.

These pick up where the East-West Concourse display ends but are located on the opposite wall. “We treated it as one digital media canvas that covers you,” says Mascatello, “almost a 400-foot walkway with LEDs on either side;” + Thirteen 4mm displays spread across two levels throughout the complex and the signature Oculus structure; and + A seventy-foot-tall transparent LED display encasing Tower 4’s lobby glass elevator designed to be non-invasive from a viewer standpoint both inside the elevator looking out and inside the lobby looking toward it.

ANC used vertical-running LED module sticks with custom 15mm pixel spacing that allowed for transparency and the power and data distribution to be handled at the bottom and top of the screen.

All the screens at the Westfield World Trade Center allow for a wide range of custom messaging (including live streaming) for major names and brands and can be run concurrently or individually. Content is generated and managed using ANC’s proprietary vCOMM platform.

There’s a very flowing, very organic type of aesthetic in the look of the displays, as they had to blend with the architectural design. Mascatello remarks that, because of this, there was a lot more coordination involved with this project than ANC typically encounters.

For example, the $3.9 billion Oculus structure, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava, 30

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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The LED display encasing the lobby elevator (pictured, left) is the cleanest transparent display that’s ever been done in the industry.

hosts the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey transit hub and serves as a connection between New Jersey’s PATH trains and New York City’s subways.

“There was a lot of interplay in trying to aesthetically please a lot of the architectural masters involved here, as well as deal with the massive-scale construction going on above ground and underground,” says Mascatello. “Then we had to work with the Port Authority (who controls the property) and Westfield (the tenant).”

ANC selected different New York area sign companies to handle different parts of the project based on their intimate knowledge of what was required at the location and the schedule.

During installation at this massive construction site, ANC focused on certain areas first that were a little bit farther ahead from a general contracting level.

“We delivered to site in smaller quantities, more or less, what we could work on for a three- to five-day period because there wasn’t much lay-down area within the site with all the other construction going on,” says Mascatello, noting this included general contractors as well as retailers furnishing their storefronts.

Because these displays were going to be installed in hallways and atria with reflective white marble, ANC pretty much knew the brightness of the screens was going to fall between 20 and 40 percent for them.

“Westfield and Port Authority reps walked the venue and settled on a brightness level that was 35 to 36 percent of the system’s capability, somewhere in the 400- or 500-Nit level,” says Mascatello.

“This gives enough ‘pop’ to the full range of content without becoming an overwhelmingly bright eyesore to passers-by.” signshop.com

One of the most easily accessible destinations in New York City, Westfield World Trade Center is expected to generate nearly 285 million annual impressions (residents, commuters, tourists, etc.).

That’s a lot of people that will be immersed in this digital experience.

ANC has, at least, a further decade-plus relationship with this project through service, operation, and maintenance and anticipates display add-ons down the road.

“There are places for digital media you

don’t realize until it becomes a live environment,” says Mascatello, “like charging stations or areas where people linger to have phone conversations or send emails.”

Being a New York company, ANC is happy with how everything turned out.

“We all have a lot of personal investment in the success of the new Westfield World Trade Center,” says Mascatello.

“Any light that we shine on the rebirth of Lower Manhattan is something we’re very happy to participate in.”

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M a r q u e e S i g n / By J e f f Wo ot e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

NOW PLAYING

N

ine years ago, the Lebowsky Center, home to the Owosso Community Players in Michigan, was damaged by a massive fire. In fact, the entire building was destroyed by the blaze except for the 32

front of the structure and its marquee (although many of the original Bakelite panels on it were broken).

Today any remnants of that fire have been extinguished from memory as the interior of the theater has been complete-

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

ly renovated and its marquee now seamlessly hosts two new v-shaped, 16mm Watchfire XVS electronic screens on each side, meeting where the sign starts to curve around the front.

So who was the sign company responsignshop.com

all Photos: agnew sign co..

A marquee’s digital update earns a standing ovation.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// sible for putting the spotlight on this marquee that has garnered rave reviews?

Enter, stage right, Agnew Sign Co. (agnewgraphics.com), also of Owosso.

Owner Mark Agnew has been involved in the sign business for thirty-one years and has kept up with the evolving trends.

He started out doing simple pinstriping and window tinting and grew his business to also take on wraps, customized signs, monuments, and yes, electronic displays.

“Although we do big projects, like LED signs, we don’t stop doing the smaller things like decals and promotional products—pens, whistles, mugs, hats, embroidery, screen printing, etc.,” he says.

Preview Night After the fire back in 2007, all that was left of the original Lebowsky Center marquee were the framework, hangers, and some red Zip-Change letters, as well as black letters they’d bought from another theater.

“For years, the majority of the letters they’d use were black, but every now and again, they’d have to throw a red letter up there, when needed,” says Agnew.

The intricate design and operation of the marquee made the prospect of a total restoration difficult and potentially expensive. It took many years for the Lebowsky Center owners to raise enough money to be able to undertake renovations of their theater’s interior and exterior. “Today it’s a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility,” says Agnew.

Agnew Sign makes sure they are actively involved with the surrounding community, as they participate in a lot of fundraisers (including the ones for this theater project). “Because of this, we were always aware of what was going on and that someday there would be a restoration of the marquee,” says Agnew.

Thanks to his visible participation in the community, when board members decided it was time to renovate the marquee, they approached Agnew beforehand with questions on how to proceed. “I advised them to first get an engineer to look at it and gauge that it would be able to hold the weight,” he says.

Agnew knew other shops would be invited to solicit quotes for this marquee restoration, yet he still had no problem sharing information with board members. signshop.com

“We even wrote the specs for them,” he says, “explaining what the sign company selected would need to provide to exceed their expectations—disassembling the sign, cleaning out all the old electric and shaping it to fit, custom-ordering the sign to have a 1/4-inch tolerance, flushmounting, and having pure-white capability. “The last thing they needed was for someone to come in with their own interests in mind and leave them in the end with a lot still to be desired.”

After other shops made their bids on this project, the board unanimously chose Agnew Sign. “Our price wasn’t the lowest nor the highest,” says Agnew.

“I think we were selected based on our experience, the number of signs we’ve sold, the quality of the work we’ve done, and the lengthy pages of references we’d given them.”

Agnew also credits the quality customer service his shop provides. “We’re always there to fix it and take care of it,” he says.

Act One Agnew agreed to provide two Watchfire LED displays for this marquee. Since he knew budget was going to play a role in the board’s decision, he had already mapped out several different options they could pursue, and he gave board members twelve different quotes for three different LED sizes in four different resolutions.

“They could put a lot of money in the highest resolution, but at their budget, they’d have to be at a much smaller sign size,” he says. “A twelve-footer was going to be the minimum size. The sign is six feet tall, and the entire length of the flat surface was fifteen feet.

“So if they wanted to get a higher resolution, they’d have to come down in length. This would mean more of the original Bakelite at each end and a smaller marquee.”

Agnew brought along a Watchfire sales rep with him to meetings with board members to help answer any questions they had and explain some of the LED

Two new LED displays were placed on the curved marquee.

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display’s key points. “One of the biggest things they wanted was that it had to be pure white, and the Watchfire XVS series can do that,” he says. “There’s no blue or pink hue to it.”

Agnew convinced them to go with the 16mm display at full size and have the entire screen, which would look much better and still be within their budget. “The 16mm is still a great, beautiful sign at that size,” he says.

Act Two The building is located in a historic district, and any changes to the signage had to conform to strict regulations.

The Owosso historic commission doesn’t allow LEDs in this area.

So when the community players approached them about using LED signage in this restoration, the commission told them that the only way they would allow this was if the sign continued to look the way it always has—white backgrounds with the gray lines to hang Zip-Change letters on.

Agnew worked hard to demonstrate to them that an LED sign retrofitted into the existing framework could mimic the look of the old marquee with a high degree of accuracy.

“I told them that we could do artwork that would be on the sign all the time,” he says. “Then when they did the copy, 34

it will look just like it always has for eighty years.”

Agnew Sign Co., started by measuring the original grid work. They disassembled the sign a little bit to acquire some interior measurements and order the 15-foot, 1-inch-by-7-foot, 2-inchpanels with 1/4-inch tolerances all the way around.

The grid pattern was vertical and horizontal; it measured 9-by-18 inches all the way up and across the old steel framework used to hang the letters. They then developed it to scale with the same thickness and a nice gray tone and dropped this artwork in the Watchfire software as basically one frame that they always place their message over.

“It lines up perfectly with the old grid work around that front curve,” says Agnew. “So when the sign is on, it looks very original and very historic.”

It helped that one of the key people on the historic commission used to be the downtown development director. Agnew had worked with him a few years back in writing a city ordinance for electronic signs that allowed them to be regulated in a way that works for both the community and the business. “You just have to know how these signs work,” says Agnew.

With the commission’s approval, it was necessary to find LED components that could accurately reflect the white back-

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

ground of the original Bakelite tiles. It is natural for LEDs to dim over time, but Agnew finds that Watchfire’s high-quality components and color calibration ensure that the white background of their content will remain true.

Act Three As soon as the Owosso Players had finished their last play before the marquee renovation, Agnew Sign, with the help of Carl Ludington of Owosso’s Ludington Electric, started disassembling the faces and removing everything.

“We cut the grid work out, got rid of the Bakelite panels, and removed all the electric, wires, and framework inside so that it was hollow,” says Agnew. “Since we already knew the depth, we had to cut some hand holes in the back of the sign to pull the sign in.

“Then once that was done, SLH Metals of Corruna, Michigan made some covers, and a new roofing was put over the back on the inside of the sign to protect it.”

According to Agnew, the two Watchfire panels arrived one week before the scheduled installation date. “We were always ahead of schedule,” he says. “Start to finish was somewhere in the six- to eightweek range.”

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in. They strapped them right to the trailer and drove them to the theater where they used boom trucks to lift the two digital signs into place onto the existing marquee framework.

Thanks to well-timed pre-planning, all the signs were perfectly installed without a single glitch. In fact, what was scheduled for an expected two-day install only took one day. “We actually pulled the

permit with Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to close the lane in front of the theater for two days,” says Agnew.

The brightness (nit value) of the two displays was set up beforehand by Watchfire, and Agnew Sign Co., was able to adjust that once installed. “The LED screen is always white (with the exception of the black and red letters),” says Agnew. “We

want it to look as realistic as possible.”

Another fundraiser for this marquee involved removing 900 original incandescent bulbs from it and selling them for $10 each to help pay for new, yellow LED bulb replacements. Ludington Electric removed a lot of the old electrics from the marquee and did the complete restoration on the yellow chasing lights on the marquee.

A majority of those were already up and running when Agnew Sign got to work on installing the Watchfire displays, but their installers were able to successfully steer clear of them.

During the renovation process, Agnew found the original light-flasher motor that ran the marquee’s chaser lights. It was a 1945 motor made by Watchfire’s original parent company, Time-O-Matic.

It needed a little clean-up and oil, but it’s back in working order and running 900 new LED chaser lights.

Ludington Electric also hung the “Donald Schneider Marquee” letters on the marquee. “[Schneider] owned a movie museum,” explains Agnew, “and when he

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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passed away, he gave a large portion of his estate to the community players.

They used that money to help pay for the sign restoration.”

Agnew even developed specially designed content to blend the look of the new Watchfire signs seamlessly with the original curved marquee that remained on the front.

“We made one letter red on the first message on the new sign because everybody was quite fond that, every time they did a play and put letters up there, there was always a red letter,” he says, noting the sign shuts off automatically at midnight.

Encore Agnew enjoyed working with the historic commission, the theater, the city, the MDOT, Watchfire, and the fabricators and electricians to pull this project together into a very organized installation.

He also gives credit to his long-time fabricator and installer, Bill Simons. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without him,” he says. “Bill has been in the sign industry for years, and he has the foresight to be able to know what to look

for, make it fit like a glove, and ensure it will all work.

“To Bill, this was just another project, and I owe a lot to him as an installer.”

Agnew even states that this was the most exciting project he had worked on in his thirty-one years in the business.

He is so proud of his involvement that he hired a video firm to document their work on it—from loading the trailer to

the countdown for the relighting. (Note: To view this video, visit bit.ly/2dzZVT5).

Agnew is still involved with some of the theater’s fundraisers today.

“Right after the sign was done, the theater group put on their version of Dancing with the Stars and asked me to be one of the dancers,” he says. “I won the People’s Choice Award and helped them raise $40,000.”

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Iconic Freestanding Identity Feature at Casino

Gable (gablecompany.com), a digital technology and visual solutions company, installed an iconic freestanding identity feature outside of JACK Thistledown Racino in North Randall, Ohio this past August.

The new freestanding main

38

identity sign stands sixty feet tall. It features four (two per side) fullanimation dynamic video displays.

These include top displays, measuring 18 feet tall-by-31 feet wide and bottom displays measuring 11 feet tall-by-31 feet wide.

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

The display features the latest technology in full-color digital signage and can output full highdefinition content. Altogether the traditional signage combined with state-of-the-art digital video displays exceeds 1,800 square feet per side and weighs more than 53,000 pounds.

Even the logistics of loading and transportation required a properly thought out and executed plan.

The structure and technology had to be transported by designated semi-trucks to Jack Thistledown Racino in North Randall. Gable designed the structure to split into seven frame sections and loaded onto their seven semi-trucks at Gable’s headquarters in Baltimore.

The structure was carefully shrinkwrapped to protect all surfaces for the long journey.

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M o du l a r / By LO R I S H R I D H A R E / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

all Photos: GDS Architectural Signage Solutions.

A New Business Opportunity

Implementing gender-neutral signage in New York City. signshop.com

I

t’s not often that the topic of signage appears in headline news, but 2016 will certainly go down as a game-changing year regarding mandates for gender-neutral bathroom signage—especially in New York City.

This past March, Mayor Bill DeBlasio signed an executive order (Mayoral Order #16) that allows

open access to all single-sex facilities.

Specifically the order states, “City agencies…must ensure that employees and members of the public are given access to City single-sex facilities consistent with their gender identity, without being required to show identification, medical documentation, or any other form of proof or verification of gender.”

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

39

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(Note: Other states passing similar bills this past summer include Massachusetts and California.)

The executive order applies to City-owned buildings, including City agency offices, public parks, pools, playgrounds, certain museums, and recreation centers.

Leading these implementation efforts in New York City is GDS Architectural Signage Solutions. The company is working to enforce the following signage mandate noted in the order: “Covered entities should post a sign in all single-sex facilities that states, ‘Under New York City Law, all individuals have the right to use the single-sex facility consistent with their gender identity or expression.’”

The NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation, a network of city hospitals, selected GDS to be the primary provider for the signage. (Note: GDS Architectural Signage Solutions focuses on wayfinding signage and environmental design for the healthcare sector, but it also does work for schools, universities, and corporations.)

“Our individual clients at NYC Health + Hospitals corporation, as well as a representative from the NYC Of-

fice of Diversity and Inclusion, reached out to us,” says Joe Motta, president and co-owner of GDS (gdssigns.com).

“We then developed a sign standard for all facilities within the corporation and are fabricating and installing signage throughout New York City to meet this expedited deadline.”

In working on such a topical issue such as gender-neutral signage, Motta says that his company being able to cultivate business in this area was primarily done through networking in the community and at tradeshows, as well as distributing press releases and newsletters. The company promotes its work on its Web site, blog posts, and social media.

“I also believe that a big driver for us is that we are located in the first city with a very strong LGBT community that actually passed a bill of this magnitude,” says Motta.

With the many sensitivities surrounding this topic, GDS approached their work with the NYC Health + Hospitals corporate office very carefully, making sure to communicate with the NYC Office of Diversity and Inclusion, along with a representative from the LGBT community who helped

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

black and yellow logo colors.

From showing how easy it is to solve an all-yellow Rubik’s Cube to finding a giant needle in a haystack, the campaign communicates how Baird & Warner takes a process that is perceived as extremely difficult and makes it much easier.

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Signs Made “Easier”

the company think about the best approach for design.

For these hospitals, the company worked with shades of blue to match their branding guidelines.

“When it comes to style, it’s important that we include multiple translations for different populations, including the use of specific icons,” says Motta, “and it was very beneficial for us to be able to communicate with the LGBT community, as this is a very sensitive issue and we want to make sure that we’re not only politically correct but also inclusive in our design.”

The first step was meeting the city administration and key members of the LGBT community who helped the mayor’s office construct the executive order. The next step was jumping into the project full-on.

In facing such a large-scale roll out, the GDS team got to work, ensuring the signs would be both impactful and ADA-compliant.

The next step was to discuss the process of collecting information on all the facilities (including restroom counts), then gathering design approvals, fabrication guides, and installation plans.

“Through our conversation, it besignshop.com

came clear that time was of the essence.

Our client, NYC Health + Hospitals, would start by putting pressure on each of their over twenty locations to get the signs produced and displayed in an expedited manner,” says Motta. “This

All these signs are designed to be constructed using non-glare, ADAconforming acrylics and painted to match NYC Health + Hospital brand colors. translated to multiple areas on our end, but most importantly, it meant gathering accurate information.”

To make this process efficient, GDS developed a step-by-step “how-to” guide to be used by each of the hospitals. The guide would help the hospitals return

critical pieces of information to GDS, including the required counts and other details such as handicap accessibility.

“Once this was collected and sent to us, we reviewed all of the numbers and provided a proposal to manufacture and install all of the new signs,” says Motta.

In the end, GDS proposed two sign types: The first was an ADA-compliant sign that would be displayed on the outside of a single-occupancy restroom, while the other was a notice that would be installed on the inside of any multi-occupancy restroom or area within the facility.

Both are designed to be constructed using non-glare, ADA-conforming acrylics and painted to match the NYC Health + Hospital brand colors, with raised white ADA lettering, clear Grade 2 Braille, and surface-printed graphics.

“The combination of these materials made the production process very streamlined and cut the turnaround time for such large signage orders immensely,” says Motta.

The message on the sign: “All Gender: This bathroom may be used by any gender regardless of gender expression.”

One takeaway from this project was that the “how-to” guide proved to be

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

41

extremely helpful in coordinating and installing the signs. Since the hospitals were well versed in the purpose of the project, facility managers were prepared to show GDS technicians the locations to perform the install.

When it comes to style, it’s important that we include multiple translations for different populations, including the use of specific icons.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

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“In some cases, there was a bit of removal, patching, and painting that needed to be worked out prior to hanging the new signs, but this was done seamlessly in a couple days,” says Motta.

While the projects are running smoothly, Motta and his team early on faced initial challenges in conveying to clients the scope of and details of this executive order.

“Clients are curious to know if it includes existing unisex restrooms, locker rooms, and restrooms within patient rooms, as well as shower areas,” says Motta. “This created a lengthy dialogue between us, the NYC Health + Hospitals central office, and the individual facility, as we tried to identify exactly what needed to be updated.

“Also communicating the requirements and obtaining the relevant information was one of the biggest hurdles, but developing the ‘how-to’ guide really helped to answer many questions at the start of the project.”

While this subject can be a controversial topic, the important thing to realize is that, if such legislation becomes effective in your city or state, this can present an opportunity for those already working on ADA and modular signage with another possible project to take on, if they so choose. signshop.com

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Company

Company

Sign Builder Illustrated // November January 2014 2016

Page

InfoDirect #

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Companies in Sign Show

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Service Equipment / By RACHEL ABEL ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Creating a company culture of safety is extremely important.

Questions of Safety Five questions to answer about service trucks and cranes.

All photos: Altec

C

reating a company culture of safety is extremely important in keeping aerial equipment operators safe. Safe workplaces blend good training, well thought-out work procedures, and robust communication between employees and safety leaders.

Hazards are always present on a job site, so it’s up to the company to ensure their operators have the right tools and signshop.com

training to address these hazards.

These five questions are an excellent start in analyzing if you’re doing everything you can to protect your number one asset and priority: your people.

1. Are my operators trained and qualified to use this piece of equipment?

According to ANSI A92.2, operators need two types of training before using

aerial equipment—General Training and Familiarization. General Training covers general safety rules and operational safety topics, while Familiarization targets training on specific aerial devices.

Joe Coleman of Altec Sentry, which meets both General Training and Familiarization requirements and also includes personalized hands-on instruction, teaches classes specific to aerial equipment

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

45

used for the lights and signs industry.

“Aerial devices can differ widely, depending on manufacturer and model,” he says.

“Operators need specific unit training before they operate any unfamiliar device.”

YESCO, a nationally known custom electric sign and lighting company, has implemented an excellent program to ensure operators that are servicing and installing signs are well trained to carry out safe work practices on an aerial device. Analyzing rental companies, online forums, and Altec Sentry, they modeled their training program after the top programs in the country. They identified similarities and then tailored instructions specific to the sign industry and the types of vehicles they use.

YESCO’s training program covers similarities between all of the aerials they use, OSHA regulations, safe operating distances, work environments, etc.

It also includes hands-on training where operators demonstrate and practice on the unit.

46

The training program also covers the generalities of all aerial equipment and then covers the specifics of different models. For example, YESCO would explain that ladder trucks and articulating aerials do not necessarily involve outriggers, so the criteria for setup would differ from a truck-mounted aerial device in that tire pressure would be specific.

For qualification, Michael McInerney, fleet manager at YESCO in Las Vegas, explained, “If an operator is well versed on a ladder truck, for example, but was then switched to an articulating aerial device, we’d set him aside and say, ‘Okay, you are familiar with the written training that we talked about and the generalization of aerials, but now we want to look at this model number or specific truck and have a discussion about it and go through our checklist.”

In addition, the YESCO crews hold weekly “Toolbox Meetings” to cover any questions, concerns, or issues involved with the aerial equipment.

Sign Builder Illustrated // November 2016

2. Are my operators carrying out the safest work practices? Safe work practices take place after training when operators are out on the job.

Before the operator begins work, they must go through several checks and inspections to ensure safe operation: + Pre-start machine inspection to ensure the unit is safe to use before the operator drives to the job site; + Traveling to ensure operators are safe while venturing out to the job site and arriving at it; + Job site inspection to ensure operators are familiar with the work that will be performed and the environment in which it will be performed; + Pre-operational inspection to ensure the functions and controls of the equipment are working properly; and + Operation to ensure operators are using the truck in the safest way to perform the work.

In addition, operators must ensure they are using proper personal protective equipment and fall protection equipment per ANSI, OSHA, and their employer.

Safe work practices should also emphasize minimum clearances from energized apparatus and lifting loads that do not exceed the unit’s load capacity.

YESCO does a great job ensuring their operators are carrying out safe work practices by revisiting training quarterly.

With regards to inspecting the unit, YESCO’s in-house maintenance and service group checks equipment on scheduled intervals. If the service team sees something wrong with the unit, they address it and consult the operator to see if he or she is aware of any issues with the unit. This keeps the trucks in a good state of repair. It works as a great check and balance of operators that are carrying out the proper pre-operational inspections to ensure the unit is safe for operation.

3. How am I helping to prevent onthe-job accidents? Proper training and safe work practices help operators address hazards that may arise during each job.

“Fall hazards, equipment stability concerns, and electrical hazards are very common issues on the job site,” says Phil Doud of Altec Sentry. “It is crucial that operators use the correct fall protection equipment, stay outside minimum approach distances to energized conductors, and take time to properly set up the unit before every job.” signshop.com

Preventing accidents requires constant vigilance and communication between operators and supervisors. YESCO also holds a regular “Supervisor Meeting” to review any mishaps, changing regulations, or industry accident reports.

“We have built healthy, trusting relationships with our crews so operators will feel comfortable reporting accidents,” says McInerney. “We want all YESCO associates to feel confident to speak up if there is a safety issue.”

5. Is my maintenance program keeping my operators safe? If the company already has equipment in their fleet, it should be regularly serviced to ensure it is safe for operation.

If the company has developed a solid relationship with the crews, the service group will perform the required periodic servicing on the equipment. The operators will report deficiencies and request additional service work as needs arise.

“Our operators take pride in their work and jobs and want their equipment to be

4. Are my operators using the right truck for the job? There are several factors that go into choosing the right equipment. Operating height, reach, and material handling load capacity are just a couple of the more important considerations.

For example, choosing a slightly larger unit with greater load capacity can give an extra margin of safety compared to using a smaller unit at its maximum capacity.

Buyers should also evaluate different manufacturers to decide which company offers the highest quality aerial device with the specific features that make the job easier and safer for their operators.

serviced immediately, if needed,” says McInerney. “It is not about the money; it is about making sure we do not let anything fall through the cracks and then have something catastrophic or dangerous happen.”

This not only keeps YESCO’s operators safe but also enables them to fix small problems up front before they become larger issues months down the road.

Rachel Abel works at Altec, Inc., in Marketing Communications. She can be reached at rachel.abel@altec.com.

Be sure operators are carrying out safe work practices.

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Straight to Your Inbox SBI Update, Sign Builder Illustrated’s monthly e-newsletter, delivers the latest hot topics and news from around the sign industry right to your email

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“We’ve provided cutting-edge technologies for over 35 years…”

Mike & Ellen Adams Owners

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als, up to 40 percent faster, and with less waste.

As a result, most U.S. wholesalers have added to or replaced their existing equipment with our equipment.

Our Super and Easy ChannelBenders clearly empower them to survive and even prosper in this fiercely competitive market. These solutions are part of our ChannelBender® series of equipment.

But producing the best equipment for channel letter fabrication is not our complete vision.

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Our vision is to restore art through automation—to produce signs that reveal more than the name or function of the business, but its very nature and character.

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M

y wife Ellen and I understand how marketing decisions, technology choices and implementation, and the quality of work will make or break a business. We’ve seen companies thrive, survive, or fail based on these factors.

We are grateful for this opportunity to share our vision and hope that our insight will lead to greater creativity, productivity, and success for our sign industry colleagues.

Since 1994, we’ve enjoyed the privilege of working with SDS Korea in the development and sales of innovative products for die-making.

At that time, the Holy Grail of the industry was a machine that could notch and bend steel with extreme speed and accuracy. Introduced in 1996, the EasyBender did just that, and it radically revolutionized the die-making industry.

Later, on expanding into the sign market, we saw that this technology had been adapted for notching and bending channel letters and had already impacted the industry such that, in nearly every strip mall in North America, flanged metal letters with Trimcap could be found. As a result, this type of sign has now become a commodity item.

Mass-produced channel letters are affordable for storefront businesses.

But as commodity products, they draw commodity prices.

With increased competition at home and from off-shore manufacturers, profit margins on these commodity products have been severely compromised.

By applying our knowledge, advanced software, and innovative features, we developed machines that can produce higher-quality flanged and unflanged letters from a broader range of materi-

In the golden age of neon, signs were art. But with advances in LED lighting, plus the abundance of wholesale letters, some of the artistry that was a hallmark of custom signage has been replaced with standardized block channel letters with trimcap.

They look fine from a distance but not close up (especially after the trim is cracked and faded). They are highly visible, easy to read. They inform but do not inspire. While standards can guarantee consistency in appearance and signshop.com

TRENDSETTERS 2017 : CHANNEL LETTER FABRICATION EQUIPMENT

performance, standards stifle creativity.

Our vision is to restore art through automation—to produce signs that reveal more than just the name or function of the business, but rather its very nature and character. Moreover increasing in demand is indoor signage, where the quality of these channel letters must withstand scrutiny at eye level.

So not only have we applied our technology to improve the speed of production for traditional flanged letters, we and our manufacturing partners are creating new tools and materials, as well as production and assembly processes specifically designed to take full advantage of the potential of this technology.

We are proud to introduce the next generation of channel letters: The Trimless® Solution.

These are patented materials and methods for creating intricate high-impact signage with a clean, pristine finish. Rather than using trimcap, Trimless letters have the face bonded to the return and are accessible for service from the back using our exclusive EasyClip system, so that the entire letter is lifted off for maintenance. signshop.com

LetterBox® is an extruded aluminum coil with an extruded aluminum ridge on the inside of the front for bonding the face and another at the back for our EasyClip mounting system.

LetterForm® is the newest innovation in our line of Trimless channel letter coil. So innovative, in fact, that it was awarded an Innovation Award at the 2016 ISA Sign Expo. It is a pre-painted aluminum material measuring .040inch in thickness (or Stainless). Bonded to the interior surface are polymer strips that are used for attaching faces and backs.

LiquiLetter® is a poured resin process that allows for the fabrication of low-profile, high-style letters with outstanding illumination properties, ideal for interior signage. Since this is an entirely new channel letter process, AdamsTech is offering classes in LiquiLetter fabrication, limited to owners of its machines.

We are committed to ongoing research and development and have recently added a dedicated workshop/ training center, where we look forward

to exploring together with our clients all the possibilities of new products, technologies, and techniques—including advances in routing, resin, printing, solar cells, films, lighting, and more.

The possibilities are unlimited.

—Mike Adams, Owner

To learn more about AdamsTech and its products and innovations, visit adamstech.com.

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TRENDSETTERS 2017 : BALLOONS & BLIMPS

“Rising above the usual forms of signage with blimps…”

T Charles Willard Vice President

superior strength and helium-holding he Blimp Works is located in the properties. Patterns are made for each foothills of the Brushy Mountains in central North Carolina. product to create the desired shape and performance characteristics. Blimps The company was founded by Tracy and balloons can be filled with helium Barnes, a pioneer of lighter-than-air technologies, including hot air balloons, and tethered or filled with air and suspended from a ceiling or other struchelium balloons, and helium blimps. ture. They are very popular at tradeTracy gained experience launching shows, concert venues, and sports weather balloons during his service in the Army. He constructed his first hot air bal- arenas. Blimps can also be adapted to free fly with remote control systems. loon in 1961, and in 1966, he became the The most popular product is the tradifirst person to fly a hot air balloon across tional blimp, which flies best and is more the United States in a series of flights. stable in windy condiTracy also designed tions. Traditional blimps and flew his first gas are offered in sizes from balloon to an altitude seven feet long to thirty of 38,650 feet, which feet long. Round balset eleven world records. In 1973, Tracy Blimps can be an exciting loons are offered from 5.5 feet to 10 feet in didesigned and flew a way to rise above the usual ameter. Tubular-shaped hot air balloon heated signage. Many re-sellers of balloons are typically ofby the sun and became the first man to Blimp Works products own fered from three feet to ten feet in length but can fly an aircraft on solar sign businesses, and we be customized to a largenergy alone. er size. Hot air balloonThe Balloon Works, welcome new re-sellers. shaped products are also a manufacturer of available from 9.5 feet hot air balloons, was tall to 17.5 feet tall. started by Tracy and After a consultation became the largest with the customer, a balloon manufacturer rendering is created to provide an image in the world during the early 1980s. After selling The Balloon Works, Tracy started of the proposed product. The rendering allows the customer to approve colors, The Blimp Works.

Since its beginning in 1986, The Blimp sizing, and other details.

A wide format digital printer is used Works has been putting signs in the sky to print images on the blimp panel. for companies around the world. Blimps Once printed, the panels of the balloon catch the eye of your customers and beor blimp are sealed. Tail fins are added come something they’ll remember long after they are seen. Tracy Barnes is at to the blimps as well as other attachthe helm of design, and Charles Willard ments needed for tethering. manages day-to-day operations.

Once construction is complete, the prodProducts are constructed from highuct is inflated with air to a specific diameter. quality polyurethane film selected for An overnight inflation test is performed to

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assure the product is ready for flight.

Our customers include many small businesses and sign shops as well as Fortune 500 and international companies.

Businesses and individuals purchase our products to draw attention to a brand, a special event, a new address, or a location that is difficult to see.

Our products are easy to set up and inflate. Helium is sourced by local industrial gas providers and can be delivered to the event address. The orders are shipped including the tether line, repair kit, and instructions. The blimps and balloons can be reused many times with proper care.

Many re-sellers of Blimp Works products own sign businesses, and we welcome new re-sellers.

The Blimp Works also manufactures products for the military, public safety, university research, photography, and other applications. Lightweight cameras and sensors can be added to blimps for specific projects. Blimps provide some of signshop.com

the same functionality as drones but with a reduced need for batteries to stay aloft.

Blimps can be an exciting way to rise above the usual signage—quite literally. —Charles Willard, Vice President

To learn more about how to partner with The Blimp Works, call 704/8762378 or visit theblimpworks.com.

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TRENDSETTERS 2017 : DÈCOR APPLICATIONS FOR WIDE FORMAT

“Jumping into digital décor —the right way…”

Jessica Blevins

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ith the digital décor market digital media is certified to meet the exploding in the past few standards for each indoor environment, your vendor should be providing you with years, print service providers finishing, installation, maintenance, and (PSPs) are able to expand their businesses by offering customized solutions cleaning instructions for each product.

You have to ask: Are the products for products that have traditionally been that I am selling to my customer ready manufactured in long runs, such as wall to stand the real test? I am talking about papers, canvas wraps, and much more.

While these new opportunities allow the people test: scraping their luggage against a wallcovering in a hotel, leaning PSPs to embrace innovation and grow against a mural while waiting for a resprofit margins, we may need to hit the taurant table, enduring the day-in and pause button to make sure we’re not day-out abuse in a rowdy classroom— simply hopping on a trend…but that, in you get the idea. fact, we’re doing it the right way.

It is the responsibility While traditional of the media manufacprint methods and turers to create digitally materials have alprintable materials that ready been spec’d are simultaneously enand rated for invironmentally friendly terior spaces, it is Be sure to partner with a and nearly indestructimportant to consupplier who will provide you ible while also meeting sider how much dignot only with the products the various needs and ital printing changes those regulations. but also the expertise and creative elements of each environment.

Take, for example, Once you have found many of the digital support you need to master the media solutions wallcoverings ofdigital décor printing. from a supplier who fered in the comsupports your needs, mercial space that partnering with other still require addiprofessionals (such as tional post-printing interior designers) can topcoats to meet the be an excellent avenue to help you enstrict criteria of TYPE II certifications. ter the market with décor product soPSPs are ready to jump headfirst into the market, as they are feeling real-time lutions that you produce exclusively demands to offer unique solutions with- with a designer. Picture a line of wallpaper, lampshades, window blinds, and in this space.

Yet, while the industry is becoming more on which you print the designer’s more saturated with products that may fit unique designs and images that customers will soon demand. this market, it is important that PSPs are If you choose to branch out in a working with a supplier providing them with the full solution and resources to smaller way, consider expanding to your current customer base by letting play effectively in that sector. them know the new services you are In addition to understanding if your

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offering. If you have got your foot in the door with one application, you can be taking some products you already carry and repurposing them for different applications.

For example, if someone asks you to print a canvas wrap, perhaps ask where it is being used. If it is for an office space, let them know you have window film options that are geared toward creating privacy in corporate spaces. If it is for someone’s home, encourage them to consider customized wallpaper or even lampshades. Companies like Lamps Plus (lampsplus.com), which have specialized in traditional lighting, are now developing successful e-commerce sites, helping the do-it-yourselfer personalize their surroundings using digital décor printing.

Sometimes simply letting them know that you can print wallpaper, floor graphics, window treatments, and other branding graphics will open new revenue streams for you. signshop.com

It is an exciting time to diversify what you are offering and move into this highly creative space. Be sure to partner with a supplier who will provide you not only with the printer, inks, and industry-approved media products but also the expertise and support you

need to master digital décor printing.

—Jessica Blevins, S-One Holdings Corp.

For more information about S-One Holdings Corp., visit sone.com.

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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TRENDSETTERS 2017 : PHOTOPOLYMERS

“Photopolymers are transforming tactile signage…”

Mike Santos (center) Director of Marketing

C

ages were digitally printed on a Mimaki hances are, if your company has provided signs for any public printer, and the signs included space for ADA-required text and Braille. building or facility, one critical No matter the job, productivity and deliverable was ADA-compliant sigconsistent throughput are critical. nage. When it comes time to deliver ADA-compliant signage, the key tech- “Nova Polymers’s products are very stable and predictable and have a very nology for this is photopolymer, a photosensitive synthetic compound that low scrap rate,” says Mr. Baker. “Sighardens when exposed to an ultravio- nage can sometimes be an afterthought in the construction process, which can let light source. “We would like to see designers take advantage of all the in- give us some very tight deadlines.

“But if we use Nova’s materials corteresting things that photopolymer can do,” says Chris Corry of Welch Signage rectly, we stay on schedule.” in Scarborough, Maine.

“Photopolymer, especially when com- GOT BRAILLE? bined with digital printing, has transFor tactile signage, especially Braille, formed conventional photopolymer’s charand ADA signage,” acteristics give fabrisays Bill Baker, prescators and designers ident of Park Place nearly unlimited flexSigns in Hannibal, ibility while providing a Missouri. “The ma- Photopolymer, especially raw material that meets terials we get from ADA regulations. when combined with Nova Polymers can Commonplace in eldigital printing, has be incorporated into evators, at office and retransformed both any design and help stroom doorways, and make signage more more, ADA requirements conventional and contemporary and encompass specifications ADA signage. visually appealing.” for character size, spacAccording to Baking, and contrast against er, designers often background colors, while work with architects ensuring that Braille to make signage characters reliably rise an extension of the 1/32-inch off the base overall building design. Sometimes this material. This is to help visually impaired can be a reflection of the usage of rooms people (those with visual acuity of 20/200 in a building. or less) read signage in public buildings.

For example, Park Place Signs recentIn a broader picture, ADA-complily supplied signage for a school using ant signs with tactile letters and Braille subsurface printing of artwork to denote will become more important as the the use of a given room. The art classBaby Boomer generation ages. room used Van Gogh’s Starry Starry Night, while a boys’ locker room had a The Power of the Package photo of a local sports hero. Both imPhotopolymers provide the fastest and

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most cost-effective approach for producing attractive, durable ADA-compliant signage, especially when Braille is required. Nova Polymers offers a full range of materials, equipment, and supplies for photopolymer signage and offers a complete package for photopolymer sign production: + Workflow Manager Software, developed in conjunction with CADlink, provides a solution that automates file creation for ADA-compliant signage; + InkStar Film Solution for quality imaging and quick drying of negatives and positives; + Orbital X processor that increases productivity with an integrated design and plain water washing; + Accucutter Shear that reliably trims a finished edge on material up to 1/8-inch-thick; and + Kobo TC-851 hot stamp machine for applying color or metallic effects to ADA-compliant tactile images.

A complete Nova Polymers package costs less than $50,000, and the ROI can be similar to the revenue from signshop.com

about 1,200 eight-by-eight-inch ADAcompliant signs—which may be just a few shifts of work in many shops.

And there are some tax advantages you can take to the bank.

A feature of the 2008 Stimulus Act, called Section 179, allows taxpayers to deduct the purchase, leasing, or financing of efficient new equipment on their income taxes, and this covers tax years 2015 and 2016. This presents an excellent opportunity to invest in a complete Nova Polymers photopolymer sign production package. For all the details, be sure to read the link featured in this piece directing you to a White Paper from Connext and to schedule some quality time with your accountant and tax advisor.

“Whether it’s products, supplies, or expertise, Nova Polymers has always provided the support we need,” says Ted Krause of Ability Signs in Justice, Illinois. “They know the technology and are always pushing to make it better, working with the materials companies and with designers and fabricators.”

—Mike Santos, Director of Marketing

For more information about photopolymers and Section 179 of the 2008 Stimulus Act, download the free white papers available at novapolymers.com/resources/ white-papers/ or visit ADA.gov.

at the Facility Level * Mysteries Many facility managers do not understand ADA codes and often do not know where to find the answers. Nova Polymers provides continuing education for architects and designers through a quarterly ADA Webinar series and offers personalized Lunch & Learns that can be given at a sign maker’s facility.

November 2016 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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SHOP TALK

B Y A S H L E Y B R AY

Brian Vlasich, Yorston & Associates

The Mystery of Manufacturer’s Reps

B

rian Vlasich entered the sign industry the way many do—unexpectedly. He answered an ad for a job at aluminum extrusion provider SignComp and spent five years working there in customer service and marketing.

After a few years, he felt the need for a change.

When a position in the Midwest opened up three years ago at Yorston & Associates, a company of independent manufacturer’s representatives, Vlasich jumped at the opportunity.

“I just got tired of being in the cubicle all day and wanted to venture out a little bit,” says Vlasich. “They needed somebody, I needed product, and the rest is history.”

A manufacturer’s rep acts for multiple lines and products and serves a dual purpose: to help market and expand the reach of manufacturers and to offer sign companies expertise and solutions.

Vlasich currently represents nine companies.

“The nice thing about the lines we represent is that they’re all related,” he says. “Because every component we carry works with each other, it’s easy to make a sales call and give all our lines equal time.”

Vlasich is on the road making sales calls quite often—nearly every week of the year. He schedules appointments all over his territory and tries to keep a rotation going (although he inevitably visits big cities like Chicago more often).

He stops in to visit the manufacturers he rep-

resents when he’s in the area, but his real focus is on distributors and sign companies. “My usual goal is to try to hit six to eight a day,” he says.

“As time goes on, and you’ve been in the same market for three years, sometimes your amount of stops goes down for the day, but the value of that one or two stops is huge.”

Vlasich says that when he first started, he tried hard not to be the new guy telling the sign veteran what he’s been doing is wrong. Instead he took time to listen, observe, respect their methods, and then try to offer something that could bring more value to a process or project.

“If you’re not bringing value to somebody, you’ve got to find a new job,” he says. “The one thing we strive for is to provide a solution, in whatever capacity it may be.

“Even if it’s not our product, we still try to find the best solution for the customer.”

Vlasich recommends that anyone considering a career as a manufacturer’s rep look into MANA (Manufacturers’ Agents National Association) and also think about joining a rep group like Yorston & Associates. A group can make it easier to get started by providing support and resources versus forging out on your own.

“The challenge is always staying extremely organized when your schedule is chaos,” says Vlasich.

“It can be grueling yet also very rewarding.”

A manufacturer’s rep offers solutions and expertise to all Photos: yorston & associates.

sign shops.

Brian Vlasich at the recent 2016 SGIA Expo.

(Top Left) Ellen Dyar, Bill Yorston, and Amy Walters from Yorston & Associates.

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