THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE
J U N E 2020 | S I G N S H O P.CO M
SIGN BUILDER
ILLUSTRATED
GETTING
LARGE EQUIPMENT:
SCHOOLED
FINANCING DURING A PANDEMIC
ENVIRONMENTS
AIRBRUSH MAINTENANCE
IN SIGN
PAINTING:
CONTENTS JUNE 2020
VOL. 34
NO. 299
HOW-TO COLUMNS
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AIRBRUSH PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
By Jim Hingst An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
18
LAYING DOWN THE LAW
By Kelli Ramirez A sign shop takes action to create a new outdoor sign for a law firm.
DEPARTMENTS
4 6
Cover Photo: Cambridge Architectural.
10 38 40
EDITOR’S COLUMN
The pandemic is changing the ways that sign shop owners are operating their businesses, and Jeff Wooten cites a few examples.
IN THE INDUSTRY
Persona Signs takes an active role in keeping essential employees safe, SGIA and PIA merge, a unique pedestrian bridge is built, and an LED video upgrade takes place at a New York airport.
SIGN SHOW
The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.
SBI MARKETPLACE
Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.
SHOP TALK
ISA Vice President of Government Affairs David Hickey touches on some key OSHA safety regulations in 2020.
22 FEATURES
22 26 30 34
30 signshop.com
36
SPOTLIGHT: SIGN ENVIRONMENTS 2020
The variety of signage and branding in various markets.
PUTTING ON THE RITZ SIGN
By Jeff Wooten An electric Milwaukee sign is rescued and restored.
PAID IN FULL
By Jeff Wooten Financing large investments during a pandemic.
OVERCOMING IN-SHOP ANXIETY
By Deb Boelkes Show your anxious employees that you care.
PRINT RECOVERY
By Jeff Wooten Commercial printers are down now but definitely not out. June 2020
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June 2020, Vol. 34, No. 299 Sign Builder Illustrated (ISSN 0895-0555) print, (ISSN 2161-0709) digital is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation
Subscriptions: 800-895-4389
EXECUTIVE OFFICES
President and Chairman Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher Arthur J. Sutley 88 Pine Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005 212-620-7247 ; Fax: 212-633-1863
EDITORIAL
Editor Jeff Wooten 323 Clifton Street, Suite #7, Greenville, NC 27858 212-620-7244 jwooten@sbpub.com Managing Editor Ashley Bray 212-620-7220 abray@sbpub.com Contributing Writers Deb Boelkes, David Hickey, Jim Hingst, Kelli Ramirez, Roger Whittle
ART
Art Director Nicole D’Antona Graphic Designer Hillary Coleman
PRODUCTION
Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers
CIRCULATION
Circulation Director Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com
ADVERTISING SALES
Publisher/West Coast Sales Arthur J. Sutley 212-620-7247 asutley@sbpub.com Associate Publisher/Mid-West Sales Jeff Sutley 212-620-7233 jsutley@sbpub.com Integrated Account Manager/East Coast & Canada David Harkey 212-620-7223 dharkey@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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SECTION 179
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EDITOR’S COLUMN
AGENDA
BY JEFF WOOTEN
Note: Due to COVID-19 concerns, all events listed below are subject to change. Please check each show’s Web site for any changes.
SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 15-18:
Digital Signage Expo 2020, the world’s only international event dedication to digital signage and interactive display solutions, has been rescheduled to now take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center-South Hall 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (digitalsignageexpo.net)
Auld Lang Syne Already! Is there a bright spot to 2020 out there?
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on exempt income). According to analysis from financial experts, the numbers to keep in mind are that recipients are eligible for complete forgiveness if they use at least 75 percent of the loan proceeds to pay payroll expenses; the remaining 25 percent can be used to pay rent, mortgage interest, utilities, and interest on other debt obligations. So longer story made much shorter: The funds must be used within an eight-week window, or else the loan forgiveness will be prorated. Hurm, maybe magnifying glasses should be part of any business owner’s toolbox, particularly when it comes to reading and understanding fine print? At the onset of the pandemic, one of the questions I immediately thought about was how this would affect sign shops who had either considered investing in larger equipment purchases this year, as well as those shops who are maybe in the middle of financing payments. This month, we have a feature article (“Paid in Full,” page 30) that looks at strategies to employ when trying to decide if now is the best time to invest in bringing on larger equipment at one’s shop in the midst of a pandemic. Keep “Section 179” of the new tax law in mind as one of the big helpers to get you through 2020.
JEFF WOOTEN Editor, jwooten@sbpub.com
OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 21-23:
PRINTING United, the largest printing event in North America, converges at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia (printingunited.com)
NOVEMBER 2020 NOVEMBER 3-6:
Engage – National Networking Conference, hosted by the Mid South Sign Association, will take place at the Hilton Knoxville, World’s Fair Park, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (midsouthsign.org)
NOVEMBER 3-6:
The automotive-focused 2020 SEMA Show trade-only event rolls in to the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (semashow.com) Photo: Shutterstock/Sergii Gnatiuk.
I
am not the biggest fan of the online phenomenon known as Cancel Culture™, but honestly at this point, I would root for them to take a hard swing at 2020 (COVID-19, murder hornets, economic unrest, natural disasters, etc.). The latest COVID-19 sign industry shoe to drop was the just-made announcement that the 2020 ISA International Sign Expo, which had been rescheduled from April to this August, has officially been cancelled for this year (https://bit.ly/2X0SNTL). The good news is that they are turning their attention now to putting together next year’s show taking place in Las Vegas in April. The pandemic has changed the ways many shops operate. I keep hearing from financial experts the importance of shop owners being in frequent contact with their accountant or financial planners now. This is a big point for those who have applied for the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and is a bigger requisite now for those who have been approved. One of the big selling points for this program has been its loan forgiveness. However the IRS recently released some guidance about this program, which has drawn some raised eyebrows. According to the IRS, in order to prevent a “double tax benefit,” the organization is stressing that businesses seeking loan forgiveness will not be able to deduct the expenses paid with the loan. The IRS also clarified that forgiven loans won’t be taxed (based on the premise that deductions typically aren’t allowed
signshop.com
TOGETHER WE GROW
TOGETHER WE CREATE TOGETHER WE INNOVATE
TOGETHER WE INSPIRE
TOGETHER WE STAND
Together We Make A Difference Print and cut services are now more essential than ever. Regardless of the print technology used, Mimaki will promote your services on the Together We Print website directory, social media posts, and other advertising platforms. We want to support our print community, their families, and businesses. Join Together We Print today.
Visit mimakiusa.com/together-we-print to learn more.
IN THE INDUSTRY
SIGN COMPANY TAKES ACTIVE ROLE
IN KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE
W
ATERTOWN, SD— Persona Signs of Watertown, South Dakota, and its employees are working to make things a little more bearable during the COVID-19 pandemic. While several employees are using their downtime to make face masks for local healthcare facilities, Persona itself is allocating a large portion of its manufacturing capacity and resources to developing hygiene shields, making workplaces safer for essential employees. When the manager of a local grocery store wanted to give his employees an extra level of protection against the virus, he called on Persona, one of the largest sign makers in the United States. The grocery store had already made moves to make 6
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the store safer for both customers and employees through increased disinfecting, more “social distancing,” and altering traffic patterns in the store. However workers were still being exposed beyond their comfort level. Persona immediately began designing shields that could be manufactured quickly and inexpensively and that could be easily installed to provide an extra layer of protection between workers and customers. Les Rossman from Technical Sales and a group of Persona designers came up with the solution. “This project was totally different from anything we’d done before,” he said. “We just had four or five people around the table and came up with a design that we thought would work.” The shields can be manufactured in
less than an hour. In fact, Persona delivered the store’s shields just two days after their first meeting with the store manager, a turnaround time that was appreciated given the circumstances. Persona is offering these shields to other businesses, both locally and across North America. “It just goes to show that when you have the right people working on a project, you can do some pretty amazing things,” said Rossman. Persona has dedicated a portion of its production resources to manufacturing the hygiene guard, which can be installed in businesses such as pharmacies, grocery and convenience stores, hotels, restaurant take-out windows, banks, post offices, and other essential businesses. “We have the ability to adapt and change during signshop.com
SGIA AND PIA MERGE
Persona employees are making face masks for local healthcare facilities.
F
Hygienic shields created by Persona.
these times to help keep essential business workers...[and] their customers safe,” said Persona President Mike Peterson. The company also worked with its lenders to offer customers a new national financing plan to help them thrive in spite of these challenging times. This plan allows companies to complete their sign projects while retaining their vital capital for operating expenses. The financing plan features a low interest rate, friendly terms, options for deferred payments, and no vendor deposits. Best of all, customers can make it happen quickly, including same-day credit decisions. Other Persona employees are also doing some helpful things. According to Amber Dahl, Persona’s vice-president of Human Resources, signshop.com
a dozen or so employees are joining other local manufacturing workers sewing masks and packaging and delivering them to the Salvation Army to be used at health care facilities in and around Watertown. “We’ve also had employees ask how they can help their co-workers,” said Dahl. “We have at least a dozen employees actively making, packaging, and delivering masks right now.” The old adage says every cloud has a silver lining, and Dahl didn’t have to search long to find one. “All of our employees are really resilient people, and this is going to build more resilience,” she said. “What I hope comes out of this is that everybody looks out for one another. We’ve always been that way but even more so now.” —RogerWhittle
AIRFAX, VA AND WARRENDALE, PA—The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) and the Printing Industries of America (PIA) have officially merged. The organization’s new name is PRINTING United Alliance. SGIA and PIA are together committed to serving the graphic arts c o m m u n i t y w i t h p re e m i n e n t research, education, training, events, legislative support, government affairs, health and safety, and other key industry services. SGIA primarily serves the graphics, industrial, and apparel decorator segments, and PIA primarily serves the commercial printing segment. Together members will have access to services across many channels. Ford Bowers has been elevated to president and CEO of PRINTING United Alliance. Michael Makin, current president and CEO of Printing Industries of America, has become an executive vice president of the unified organization. “PRINTING United Alliance is a reflection of the invaluable partnerships and industry convergence that has evolved over time,” says Bowers. “The [new] organization name seemed an obvious choice to many as our North Star points to the industry continuing to come together and strengthening to ensure future growth and longevity.” For more information, visit sgia.org and printing.org.
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IN THE INDUSTRY LED VIDEO UPGRADE AT AIRPORT A LBANY, NY—SNA Displays recently provided ten LED displays for Albany International Airport, the first and oldest municipal airport in the United States, as part of a renovation project. The new LED video screens replaced outdated tri-color message centers above the check-in counters, allowing for enhanced communication and welcoming travelers with a reinvigorated, high-tech look.
UNIQUE PEDESTRIAN
BRIDGE BUILT
H
ATFIELD, PA—Last year, the Ballston Quarter Pedestrian Bridge in bustling downtown Arlington, Virginia replaced the Festival Bridge built in 1996. This new walkway connects the Ballston Quarter (mall) and the Ballston Exchange (mixeduse office/retail building). Architect StudioTECHNE located in C l e ve l a n d , O h i o r e a c h e d o u t t o Laminators Incorporated regarding the use of Omega-Bond® panels for the ceiling and wall section of the interior walkway of the pedestrian bridge. While their composites are best known in the architectural and sign industries, Laminators also works with several other builders and manufacturers to provide high-quality, customizable composite panels that can be used for their specific interior and exterior applications, like the Ballston Quarter Pedestrian Bridge. Laminators Inc., ended up fabricating over 200 pieces of double-sided white Omega-Bond Premium aluminum composite material (ACM) panels to the exact specifications of the project design. The 3mm Omega-Bond Premium panels feature a .012-inch aluminum skin thickness and higher quality plastic core that is 8
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designed and best suited for fabricated projects. The thicker gauge aluminum is optimal to achieve best results for shapes, angles, various size holes, etc., needed for the Ballston pedestrian bridge. Maximum durability is achieved since the solid polyethylene core has fewer impurities and lesser recycled content, which allows bending and cutting without breaking the core during the fabrication process. The .012-inch aluminum provides structural strength and allows threedimensional shapes to be achieved without an inner support or frame. The Omega-Bond panels also have a Class A fire rating and passed ASTM E84-16 Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials. Once fabrication was complete, the panels were sent to FASTSIGNS ® of Rockville, Maryland. They digitally printed a wood grain look on each panel to accomplish the chosen design of the decorative ceiling and walls. Clark Construction Group of Arlington, Virg inia and Mar yland Applicators, Inc., of Rockville, Maryland led the construction and installation phase of this project.
SNA Displays provided the LED displays, content management system, and ceiling-mounted metal enclosures to match the original design. All 10 displays, from the company’s BOLD™ interior product line, are 26 feet, 3 inches long and just under a foot high. Employing a pixel pitch of 2.5 mm, each LED ribbon display has a resolution of 3,200 pixels wide-by-90 pixels high. S N A D i s p l a ys w o r ke d w i t h Color-Ad, who provided audiovisual integration and installation services, and Crystal McKenzie, who provided design expertise. “The Albany airport staff was a pleasure to work with,” said David Kile, director of systems integrations at SNA Displays. “The information and technology leadership really understood what we needed to get done and was there to help and advise every step of the way.”
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TEAMWORK AT IT'S BEST YJ Inc. is making sure the whole team is available to process engineering requests in these trying times. We are working hard to make sure your deadlines are met.
STAYING SAFE & SANE Our heart goes out to those who have been affected by the current state of the world affairs and salute those families who are trying to stay strong.
P.O. BOX 802050 SANTA CLARITA, CA 91380 TOLL FREE: 1(877)600-9444 QUOTE@YJINC.COM WWW.YJINC.COM
SIGN SHOW SIGN TOOLS
VINYL/VINYL FILMS
Dust Doesn’t Stand a Change Against the Sooper Tack Roller from Image One Impact
Mactac Announces New Bundled Print Media and Laminating Films Offerings
Every sign maker can now remove every speck of unwanted dust and any other particle from the surface of their sign before printing, laminating, or applying graphics thanks to Image One Impact, a manufacturer and supplier of high-quality products for the sign, graphics, and vehicle wrap industries. The hand-held Sooper Tack Roller kit that Image One Impact offers is a must for every sign and vinyl graphics shop! Each Sooper Tack Roller dust removal kit includes one easy-to-use, twelve-inch, hand-held tack roller and one pad of fifty 9-by-13-inch cleaning sheets. The Sooper Tack Roller Kit is available in three twelve-inch tack levels: DR12ALT Low Tack Dust Removal Kit, DR12AMT Medium Tack Dust Removal Kit, and DR12AHT High Tack Dust Removal Kit. image1impact.com
D es i g n e d to s a ve customers time and m o n e y, t h e n e w Mactac media/ laminate bundles offer discounted pricing for f u l l ve h i c l e w ra ps, partial vehicle wraps, and rough wall wrap applications and feature the company’s trusted, customerfavorite print media and laminating film combinations. Additionally bundled products are available as part of Mactac’s new short-roll program, so customers can purchase more (150-foot rolls) or less (75-foot rolls). Mactac’s bundled product offerings include: Full Vehicle Wraps (IMAGin® B-free® Slide-able GRUV™ with PERMACOLOR® RAYZor™ overlaminate), Partial Vehicle Wraps (IMAGin ® B-free ® GRUV™ with PERMACOLOR® RAYZor™ gloss or matte overlaminate), and Rough Wall Wraps (IMAGin® RoughRAP™ with PERMACOLOR® RAYZor™ gloss or matte overlaminate). Mactac’s bundled products have a two-year shelf life and indoor and outdoor film durability of up to ten years, dependent on the application. mactac.com/bundle
EXTRUSIONS Stylmark Introduces the AXIA Flexible Surface System Stylmark, a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial and retail fixtures, reveals AXIA™ Flexible Surface System. AXIA is an architectural extrusion system created to enhance surfaces for commercial, hospitality, and retail environments. AXIA Flexible Surface System is designed to transform walls, columns, ceilings, elevator cab interiors, and any other surface you want to revitalize. AXIA can also be used under countertops to add a finishing design touch to Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS) areas, hotel registration counters, or bars. AXIA can be mounted vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to support any design vision. Five different AXIA panel styles are currently available that provide aesthetic alternatives for architects and designers to select. AXIA Flexible Surface System consists of a four-inch panel that comes in twelve-foot stock lengths or Stylmark can custom fabricate to accommodate your project needs. AXIA is available in Stylmark’s wide variety of anodized aluminum finishes to support your brand requirements. “AXIA allows designers and architects creative options when looking at a blank canvas and having several profiles to choose from to create one-of-a-kind areas within an environment. AXIA is a perfect complement to our TrimMaker® aluminum extrusion product line. Just like those products, AXIA can be anodized to match the designer’s color vision,” says Kevin Brown, president of Stylmark. (800) 328-2495; stylmark.com/axia-flexible-surface-system
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SIGN SHOW DIGITAL PRINTING EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES Epson Expands SureColor T-Series Line Epson announces three new SureColor速 T-Series printers designed for entry- and mid-level CAD production and general purpose wide format graphics. For personal workspaces and home-based high-tech offices, the new SureColor T2170 24-inch desktop printer joins the current 24-inch SureColor T3170 and SureColor T3170x to deliver high-performance technical and graphic output at an incredible value. For small- to mid-sized workgroup settings, the new 24-inch SureColor T3475 and 36-inch SureColor T5475 replace the SureColor T3470 and SureColor T5470 and deliver powerful, precise printing and provide outstanding productivity, with new high-capacity 700mL cartridges. Leveraging an Epson PrecisionCore速 MicroTFP printhead for fine lines and exceptional details, the new models are ideal for client-ready technical output and corporate graphics. Touting fast PrecisionCore MicroTFP printheads, the printers deliver output with outstanding clarity and commercial-grade reliability. These new SureColor T-Series printers also feature UltraChrome速 XD2 pigment ink, which creates instant dry and durable output. Intuitive features include a 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen and integrated wireless and Wi-Fi Direct速 connectivity for simple printing direct from smartphones and tablets. The new SureColor T-Series printers also integrate with compatible Epson DS-530, DS-7500, and DS-7000 document scanners to create scanned enlargements without the need for a computer or special software. proimaging.epson.com
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SIGN SHOW DIGITAL SIGNS/EMCS/VIDEO DISPLAYS Envision Allows Users to Virtually Design Display Projects in a Variety of Environments SNA Displays has launched Envision™, the digital display industry’s newest visualization tool. This online, interactive tool was primarily built for SNA Displays’ prospective clients as well as its extensive channel partner network but will also benefit anyone considering digital media to shape an indoor or outdoor experience and get an idea of how a display will look in a practical setting. Envision can be used as a simple product selection device, allowing users to choose exterior products from SNA Displays’ EMPIRE™ line and interior products from its BOLD™ and BRILLIANT™ lines. Within each product line, users are able to select from LED modules of varying sizes and pixel pitches and scale their digital display(s) as needed in a threedimensional model. Standard environments available include office lobbies, retail spaces, conference rooms, casinos, building facades, pole signs, blade signs, and a scalable hotel/office building. Envision provides a way for users to upload an environment to see how digital display technology will look in an actual project space. This do-it-yourself feature empowers users to create a basic visual mockup on the spot instead of waiting for in-house or third-party rendering resources to be made available. In addition to being able to customize their environment, users can select from an array of preloaded content or even upload images or video for a more tailored configuration. Additionally, once users have built their custom rendering, they print a package with their mockup and all appropriate product specifications. Envision customers can also request a quote directly from the tool. snadisplays.com/envision
ADVANCE TO TRUE TANGENTIAL POWER WITH SUMMA
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HOW TO PAINTING PAINTING| BY BYJIM JIMHINGST HINGST
Clear obstructions in the tiny holes of the air cap using the finest needle of a torch tip cleaner.
Airbrush Preventative Maintenance
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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Caution: Some people use acetone to clean their guns. While acetone will solvate a wide range of solvent-based paints, this chemical may also damage the O-ring or any plastic parts of your airbrush. For water-based paints, water usually cleans most paints before they dry. Removal of dried residue, however, is cer certainly more difficult. As an alternative to a commercial prod product, you may want to try some household cleaners. These cleaners include 91 per percent isopropyl alcohol (IPA), denatured alcohol, and windshield washer fluid. Some people have recommended using vodka or moonshine as a cleaning fluid. While these may be as effective as IPA or denatured alcohol, save the booze for Happy Hour. While ammonia is often effective in softening dried acrylic paint and other cerwaterborne paints, it can react with cer tain metals, such as brass. Even though many of the brass parts in an airbrush
have some type of metal coating, that coating may not protect the base metal. In addition, because Windex® contains ammonia, do not use it or any other ammonia-based cleaners. Also be aware that some cleaners, such as citrus cleaners, will leave an oily residue. For this reason, before using
Another view of clearing obstructions in the tiny holes of the air cap. signshop.com
All Photos: Jim Hingst.
Y
ou can avoid many airbrush problems—including splattering, skipping, or not spraying at all—just by following a few simple maintenance procedures at the end of each use. Cleaning your airbrush, whether spraying an acrylic or other wa waterborne paint, requires different cleaners than used when spraying solvent-based paints (such as enamels or urethanes). While much of the residue from a water-based paint cleans up simply by spray spraying water through the airbrush, some deposits of the paint often remain on its parts, especially on the air cap and needle. Over time, this buildup can inhibit the performance of your equipment. In selecting a cleaner for your airbrush, you must match the cleaner to the paint system. While some products are touted as “all-inclusive” cleaners, they usually are not. For solvent-based paints, your best choice is generally to use the reducer formulated for that particular paint.
HOW TO PAINTING | BY JIM HINGST
any cleaner, always “test, don’t guess.” In some respects, cleanup of dried film of acrylic or a waterborne paint can be more difficult than removal of dried accumulation of solvent-based paint. The reason is that solvents can dissolve dried paint. On the other hand, nothing dissolves dried acrylic paint. At best, cleaners just soften these paints. To avoid problems, the best practice is to clean your airbrush immediately following its use, as well as to perform periodic maintenance (such as regularly removing and cleaning the needle). Maintaining Tools As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With this in mind, here are some tips that may help you in cleaning either water-based or solvent-based paints from your airbrush and prevent time-consuming and potentially costly problems. Clean up your equipment immediately after each use, to prevent the paint from drying in the airbrush. As you are working, remove any tip dry as it accumulates on the needle. Many airbrush artists do not use a needle cap on their airbrush, which prevents any paint residue from accumulating in the cap. Spraying without the cap allows easy access to the tip of the needle. It does, however, expose the needle to potential damage. Instead of using your fingernails to remove tip dry, have a dedicated bristle brush with a cleaner to clean any dried paint or residual film. While you could use 91 percent IPA, an alternate product that has worked for me is Rapid Prep. If you are spraying a solvent-based paint, try brushing the tip with a reducer for the paint you are spraying or a general purpose thinner, such as mineral spirits. When you are finished painting with your airbrush, pour any unused paint into a bottle or discard it. Spray any remaining paint into a spray-out pot to control any atomized fluid. While commercial spray-out pots are signshop.com
The internal parts of various airbrushes are generally very similar; however, because of difference in design, you should maintain a file of all pertinent technical information.
very affordable, you can make an effective makeshift container for this application by simply drilling a small hole in the side of a plastic one-gallon milk jug. If you are using a gravity-feed gun, clean up any residue on the inside of the paint reservoir with lint-free toweling. Do not use cotton swabs for this process, because cotton fibers can stick to the bottom of the bowl. After wiping out the excess paint with paper toweling, add cleaner to the reservoir and mop the inside of the bowl with a small paint brush. Next spray the contaminated cleaner through the airbrush. Continue to spray cleaner through the airbrush until the spray is clear. If you are using a siphon-feed airbrush, remove the paint bottle. Attach a bottle with a cleaner to your airbrush. Spray the cleaner until it sprays clear. In cleaning siphon-feed airbrushes, you will also need to clean the feed tube that connects with the bottle. Using a pipe cleaner, which has been bathed in paint cleaner, scrub this passage until you can remove the pipe cleaner with no paint residue.
In the cleaning process for waterbased paints, backflush your airbrush with either water, airbrush cleaner, windshield wash, or a liquid, such as Rapid Tac. Cover the air cap with a finger or rag and then depress and pull back on the trigger. This forces any residual paint and cleaner in the fluid section of the airbrush back into the paint reservoir or paint bottle. Please note that not all types of needle protection end caps are solid. Some are crowned, which can make backflushing difficult. For these types of end caps, cover them with toweling in the backflush process. You should be aware that the process of backflushing could potentially force fluid past the O-ring and into the air chamber. Removing some of the persistent residue from your airbrush may take some time for the cleaner to soften any remaining film. Allow some of the cleaner to remain in the airbrush for ten to twenty minutes to react with the residue; then flush the cleaner from the airbrush. In spraying solvent-based cleaners through your airbrush, wear an air resJune 2020
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HOW TO PAINTING BY JIM HINGST
pirator and work in a well-ventilated environment. Use of a spray-out pot is also recommended to contain toxic fumes.
Cleaning Tip #1 Rarely will you need to lubricate your airbrush af ter routine cleaning. However, if the action of your trigger becomes sluggish, apply a drop of lubricant at its stem as you depress it. If that does not help, you may also need to wipe the shank of the needle with a drop of lubricant.
Cleaning Tip #2 While regular maintenance p reve n ts m a j o r p ro b l e m s , eventually some airbrush parts will wear out and fail. For this reason, you may want to keep a few spare parts, such as an extra needle, nozzle, and O-ring, on hand to shorten your downtime. In a storage case, you should also assemble an array of tools and supplies, including wrenches, cleaning brushes, torch tip cleaners, pipe cleaners, and lubricant, necessary to service your equipment.
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Clean any dried paint on the outside of your airbrush with an appropriate cleaner. For solvent-based paints, a reducer or mineral spirits are effective. After spraying water-based paint, such as an acrylic or Createx Colors® Auto Air™ paint, Rapid Prep, 91 percent IPA, or denatured alcohol should do the trick. To clean the needle, remove the needle handle at the back end of the airbrush and loosen the chuck nut, which secures the needle in place. In removing the needle, some models may require that you depress the trigger when removing and reinserting the needle. In the removal procedure, you may also need to rotate the needle. Clean the needle with a lint-free rag moistened with cleaner, beginning at the back of the needle and wiping toward the pointed end. After wiping the needle clean, replace it. Always use care when handling the airbrush needle. After the needle sits snuggly in the nozzle, tighten the chuck nut to secure it in place. Never remove the needle without first flushing the paint from the airbrush. To do so would allow paint to flow back into the air chamber of the airbrush, which would require complete disassembly for a thorough cleaning. To ensure the needle is properly seated in the nozzle, fill the paint reservoir with water or solvent cleaner. Test the airbrush to confirm that it sprays when you engage the trigger. If any dried film accumulates on the needle guard, air cap, air cap body, fluid nozzle, needle, or other metal parts, soak them in an appropriate cleaner. Regardless of what type of paint you are spraying, use a small cleaning brush to remove any of the loosened particles inside the air cap and nozzle. The tiny holes in the air cap body can also become clogged with paint residue. The flow of air through these holes is essential because it determines the spray pattern. To clear any obstructions in these holes, use the finest needle in a welder’s torch tip cleaner.
Do not soak any plastic parts, such as an O-ring or a plastic needle handle, in the cleaner, especially if the cleaner is solvent-based. In addition, do not submerge your airbrush in a container of water for storage. Soaking your airbrush in water can allow water and paint particles to seep into the air chamber. An exception to this rule, according to Butch “Superfrog” Anton, is during a short-term interruption. “If a customer comes in my shop or calls while I am painting, I will put my airbrush in a pail of water with the air line attached,” he says. “For the short time that the gun is in water, it never has been a problem.” (Note: Anton points out that he uses a gravity-feed gun and waterborne paints for his airbrush work.) In most cases, there is no reason to clean any part of your airbrush that does not contact paint. If you need to disassemble your airbrush, work over a porcelain butcher’s tray or an Iwata Cleaning Mat with raised edges. As you take the airbrush apart, lay the tiny parts inside the tray. This reduces the chance that you would lose a critical piece. You may also cover the tray bottom with a terrycloth towel. Before you put your airbrush back together, check that the tip of the needle is not bent, examine the nozzle for cracks or other damage, and inspect the parts for dried paint that could inhibit airflow. In reassembling your airbrush, only tighten the parts until they are snug. Be careful not to overtighten parts. Conclusion Neglecting rudimentary upkeep eventually results in a major problem, requiring that you strip down the entire airbrush. Disassembling your airbrush and reassembling it can be an unnerving task for a beginner. What’s more, an extensive overhaul can be time-consuming. If you take a few minutes to completely clean your airbrush after each use, your gun will perform better, and you will spend less time troubleshooting and more time in production. signshop.com
STANDING STRONG
WITH OUR SIGN SHOPS
In the midst of our current uncertainty, everyone involved with Sign Builder Illustrated wanted to come up with a single unifying message that would bring industry suppliers, manufacturers, and sign makers closer together even during this time of social distancing. This is the reason that we have developed “Standing Strong With Our Sign Shops.” We also urge you to check our COVID-19 special resource that’s featured on our Signshop.com Web site. Here you can find the latest breaking sign industry news and business management articles related to the pandemic that will help guide you during these times.
signshop.com/covid-19-resources
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ILLUSTRATED
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SIGN BLANKS | BY KELLI RAMIREZ BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BY JIM HINGST
Veteran Wood Co. Owner Mike Legregni.
Laying Down the Law
Sign shop takes action to create a new outdoor sign for a law firm.
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artwork made with reclaimed wood. He fabricated a rustic flag made out of similar materials and posted his fine work on social media. Interested parties— mostly in the law enforcement community—soon contaced him to craft custom wall hangings. And thus, Veteran Wood Co., was born.
Legregni’s business took off, and he started exhibiting at local craft fairs. It was at one of these fairs last August when a nearby New Jersey law firm approached Legregni wanting him to replace their weathered outdoor monument sign made of wood. “I asked if he could make us a new
Veteran Wood Co. recreated the look of wood with HDPE sheets. signshop.com
All Photos: Veteran Wood.
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eteran Wood Co., of Parsippany, New Jersey is an independent sign crafting shop with an owner, Mike Legregni, who has a passion for fabrication and creativity. Legregni’s enthusiasm for building started at a young age, when his father taught him how to build skateboard ramps and tree houses, repair bicycles, and tinker with practically anything that included nuts and bolts. During his teen years, Legregni’s attention changed to cars, and his mechanical knowledge would serve him well when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he maintained EA-6B Prowler aircrafts. After retirement following a career in law enforcement, Legregni now has the time to devote to what he loves to do best: create, with an eye for detail, using only the best quality materials and the right tools for the job. In May 2019, Legregni put both these resources to good use after seeing
HOW TO
SIGN BLANKS | BY KELLI RAMIREZ sign, but with the New Jersey weather, [Legregni] advised us it couldn’t be made of wood,” said Sam Tsinman of Forman, Cardonsky & Tsinman, LLC. “[So] I asked if he could make us a sign that had the look of wood but was more durable, and he said he’d find a solution.” Legregni said, “The law firm wanted a brown wood look with black lettering [but] without the problems wood develops over time.” After examining a sample of TimberLine® HDPE sheets from Vycom supplied by his representative at his local distributor, E&T Plastics, he ordered a Teak sheet trimmed to the sign specifications of 70 inches wide-by-48 inches tall. Legregni cut the identity lettering out of black Vycom Celtec® PVC sheets using his CNC router. He then attached the letters to the TimberLine sheet using standard woodworking tools (including adhesive to position the let-
ters); then he countersunk wood screws into the substrate. Once affixed, Legregni filled the screw holes with plugs cut from Celtec PVC using the CNC router and secured it with adhesive to provide the quality fit and finish that is a hallmark of his work. Both sides of the sheet were decorated with the law firm’s name and telephone number. The next step was finding the supports to install the sign. A round of sleuthing on the Internet brought him to Decks Direct, where he selected TimberTech® posts and caps from The AZEK Company in classic black. “A friend has a deck made of TimberTech, and I have AZEK® PVC trim on my house, so I knew these were top-notch products that could withstand harsh environments,” said Legregni. The posts were easy to assemble and offer a sleek, appealing frame for the monument sign, which was installed in
late 2019. “The sign is fantastic, and we won’t have to worry about maintenance,” said Tsinman. While wood is the primary medium for Veteran Wood Co.’s creative outlet, Legregni has begun working with HDU and plastics, and he says he will definitely consider using Timberline when warranted by future applications.
Affixing the PVC letters to the TimberLine sheet.
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or many shops, bottlenecks in workflow can come in the fabrication stage and slow down an entire project. To alleviate the crunch, shops often outsource portions of a job they don’t have the capabilities to complete or that another company can do faster. FASTSIGNS International, Inc. celebrates its 35th anniversary in business in 2020 as the leading sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 725 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS® centers in 9 countries including the United States and Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile, Grand Cayman, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, France and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE®). As a current business owner, you know how challenging it can be to establish brand recognition and serve your local market. By joining an established brand with a proven business model and support system, you can successfully
meet the needs of your business community. FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive sign and graphic solutions (custom signs and visual graphics) to help businesses and organizations - including manufacturers, schools and universities, retailers, construction companies, healthcare facilities and many other industries - extend their brand’s reach and communicate messages to their audiences. Companies work with us because they have a need to solve a visual communications challenge such as building brand awareness, increasing location “findability”, promoting a product or service, helping people find their way around a facility or campus, hosting an event, communicating with employees, improving workflow, meeting safety and compliance regulations, etc. “FASTSIGNS” co-brand and conversion programs not only help business owners diversify their product lines and services to meet the growing demand for digital and state-of-the-art signage, but
also align with one of the most trusted names in the signage and visual communications industry,” said Mark Jameson, Executive Vice President of Franchise Support and Development. “When entrepreneurs partner with FASTSIGNS, they immediately benefit from our brand recognition and gain access to an advertising fund 2.5 times greater than our next largest competitor, as well unmatched training and support and a nationwide network of franchisees.” The benefits of becoming a FASTSIGNS franchisee include, buying power with vendors, respected and recognized brand, state-of-the-art technology and training programs, effective local and national marketing. FASTSIGNS’ training and support resources include its online FASTSIGNS University, sales training, a mentor program, a new center business consultant, and sales leadership academy. If you are sign business owner seeking to better develop and grow your company, FASTSIGNS has the tools, resources, and support you need. You can convert or co-brand your business into a FASTSIGNS center, making the process more cost-effective and much simpler. In fact, FASTSIGNS will finance your franchise fee with only $15,000 down on the initial franchise fee! FASTSIGNS has been ranked the #1 franchise opportunity in its category in Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 for the past four years, a 2019 Top Franchises for Veterans by Franchise Business Review and a 2019 America’s Best Franchises to Buy list by Forbes magazine. Reaching your full potential is easy when you join with the #1 ranked sign franchise in the industry. To learn more about FASTSIGNS visit www.fastsigns.com
Restart Your Business! 2020 is THE year to convert your business with an industry leader!
"Prior to converting to FASTSIGNS,we were never able to achieve the sales goals we wanted. The processes and procedures allow us to obtain larger goals." - Jeff & Kim Chudoff FASTSIGNS of Maple Shade, NJ (Formerly Arizona Designs)
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SIGN PANELSSIGN ENVIRONMENTS SPOTLIGHT: BY BRENDA MURPHY-NIEDERKORN
ENVIRONMENTS
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his special spotlight is focused on the different types of environments that wayfinding, informative, and branding signage can be deployed in—for example, educational campuses, healthcare facilities, retail, and hospitality. You will find a combination of project overviews and expert interviews to guide you through some of what’s hap22
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pening in these fields. The COVID-19 pandemic hit during the early stages of our planning, requiring not only our magazine, but also sign shops, to rethink ways to provide graphics and signage for these environments, some of which have been impacted quite severely. With this in mind, in addition to pro-
The variety of signage and branding in various markets jects going on, we have a special look at how you can start thinking about the possibilities that can give your shop opportunities when many of theses markets do start opening back up—for example, graphics applied to Plexiglas barrier shields, wellness promotional posters, and social distancing messaging. —Editor Jeff Wooten signshop.com
Photo: Shutterstock.com/by Zoran Milic.
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Retail: Changing Signage Needs
Photos: Sinalite.
he needs of retail shops have changed. In place of graphics advertising sales and new products, stores are looking for signs touting the importance of hand washing and social distancing. “This is a huge opportunity. As economies open up, governments and businesses are putting in guidelines that encourage social distancing and actually require businesses to put in signage,” says Brian Meshkati, vice president of Marketing for SinaLite, a wholesale trade printer. “Consumers may be apprehensive to visit retailers in person freely once retailers open up shops. Signage communicating key information regarding health and hygiene regulations for that retailer, safety precautions the retailer may be taking to ensure social distancing compliance, hygiene mandates for staff, and methods of handling products—these messages will be needed to alleviate any customer concerns and make the transition back to visiting retailers in person much smoother.” Even in markets and states without specific regulations, Meshkati says that businesses will want to put up signage that shows they are responsible and safe areas for incoming customers. For example, in an article from The New York Times, the newspaper writes about
Simon Property Group’s plans to reopen its malls—including the necessity of new signage and messaging. Signs could include messages welcoming customers back, posters detailing safety precautions that have been taken, and directional floor graphics. “Temporarily closed” signage may also be needed for certain retail stores and locations within the mall. SinaLite recently rolled out a collection of COVID-19 products for sale to the sign trade. The products include floor graphics in five designs promoting social distancing and decals promoting health and hygiene in eleven different designs. Both products are also available in custom designs. Meshkati says sign shops should recommend applying decals and floor graphics at important checkpoints during a customer’s journey through a retail store, such as the entrance, exit, cash register, or any place with high traffic. Floor graphics specifically are great tools to use to enforce social distancing guidelines. “Apply decals at eye level to ensure they are visible to customers, Meshkati recommends. “Apply them where they will not blend into the background.” When installing graphics, be sure to first clean the surface. “Cleaning surfaces is very crucial to the longevity of the graphics and their presentation,” says Meshkati.
Meshkati also cautions that shops make sure the floor graphic is applicable to the surface. For example, not all vinyl graphics are well suited to application on carpets. Whether a shop is installing a floor graphic on smooth or carpeted surfaces, Meshkati says the main difference is in the cleaning process. For smooth surfaces, clean the surface and remove any grease or oil. For carpeting, clean the surface by vacuuming it well. No matter the surface, the next steps are to apply the graphic with a squeegee to prevent air bubbles and to let the graphic sit for twenty-four hours before exposing it to any foot traffic. Meshkati says sign shops should also think outside of the box. “Go beyond signage and printables,” he says, recommending that shops also look to sell face shields and dividers/sneeze guards to retail clients. Many sign shops already have the equipment to make these products in-house, or they can outsource the production through a company like SinaLite. Shops should also consider apparel. SinaLite offers shirts in seven designs touting social distancing, contactless payments, and the necessity for PPE like masks. These products are a great upsell to retail clients to remind customers, and staff, of best practices during this pandemic. – Ashley Bray
Floor graphics are great tools to use to enforce social distancing.
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Education: Etched Fabric Creates a Visual Landmark CA M B R I D G E A R CH I T E CT U R A L incorporated etched metal mesh as an addition to a five-story stair tower fa ç a d e a t O h l o n e C o l l e g e i n Freemont, California. The college name and a decorative tree design were etched into 1,451 square feet of Cambridge’s Mid-Shade mesh by sandblasting the surrounding raw stainless to create a dull matte finish. Viking Steel of Sacramento, California installed the mesh on campus. At 42 percent open area, the mesh weave provides shading to the southern exposure but preserves daytime views of San Francisco Bay and the surrounding area for stair users. At night, a lit burnt orange wall creates a 3-D like effect to illuminate
the metal artwork. Mesh fabric on the stair tower complements the steel frame and metal panels used on the attached structure, one of three academic c o re b u i l d i n g s a d d e d to t h e terraced hillside grounds. The transformative project, opened in e a r l y 2 0 2 0, wa s d es i g n e d to modernize and unify the campus. “The stainless steel fabric and graphic created a visual landmark to aid in campus wayfinding,” said Cannon Design Architect John Son, “a n d a d d s a n a e s t h e t i c a l l y interesting space to promote campus identity and stair usage to navigate building levels.” The use of stainless steel mesh as a
building material reinforces the college’s desire to create a green building that incorporates materials that were recycled or salvaged from other projects.
RENDER IMPACT WAS commissioned recently to create dynamic, evolving video wall content for the Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas as par t of a new immersive and therapeutic digital experience in their Adult Emergency Department waiting room. The visual transformation was designed to help reduce perceived wait times and increase patient satisfaction in an area that is typically associated with stress and anxiety. “The main goal for [our medical center] was simple: to enhance the overall patient experience by providing a comforting and serene space while waiting for care,” said Walt Cathey, CEO of Covenant Medical Center. The AV Design and Integration was led by Lubbock Audio Visual, Inc. In order to bring Covenant’s vision to life, they designed two different size video walls for the Adult
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Emergency Department waiting room. The larger of the two was a 15-screen media wall in a 5-by-3 configuration with landscapem o u n te d d i s p l a ys a n d n a t i v e resolution of 9600-by-3240 pixels. The other was a four-screen media wall in a 4-by-1 configuration with portrait-mounted displays and native resolution of 4320-by-1920 pixels. Some of the current video wall content includes a custom computergenerated (CG) waterfall, an American flag, a night sky, a flying eagle, healthrelated trivia, nature scenes, 3D animations incorporating success stories, brand and mission values, and a timeline video with historical footage celebrating one hundred years of Covenant’s history (vimeo.com/ showcase/6745080). A few content pieces, such as the CG night sky and waterfall, were developed to loop seamlessly so they can be enjoyed for
longer periods of time before the next scene appears on the video wall. “One question we asked ourselves again and again during the production was: Can your eyes get lost in this scene? We wanted to make calming videos that pull viewers in a little deeper—something that expands that needed distraction at a tense time,” added Dan Maher, production manager at Render Impact. Render Impact will continue to develop new content for the video walls in order to build a larger library of content and keep it fresh.
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Photos: (top) Cambridge Architectural; (bottom) Render Impact.
Health Care: Immersive Digital Experiences
Community Spaces: Applying Floor Graphics JOEY HEIOB, technical specialist at Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions, says that floor graphics are becoming increasingly popular and causing many to look down and take notice. “Once the designer creates a concept for the kind of floor graphic they want, the next step is determining which pressure sensitive vinyl to use,” he says. Heiob suggests asking if the floor graphic will be installed inside or outside, what kind of substrate will the graphic adhere to, if the substrate is smooth or textured, and how long the graphic is expected to last. Smooth flat substrates (indoors) are usually the easiest to install and to choose a film for application. “This includes sanded/finished wood floors
(basketball courts), linoleum floors, and painted and sanded concrete or marble,” says Heiob. Grocery stores or department stores will utilize floor graphics for wayfinding or promotional graphics. “Typically a calendered film that is 3- to 4-mil thick with removable adhesive or permanent adhesive is ideal for these types of applications,” says Heiob. “You will want to make sure to protect floor graphics with a UL classified slipresistant overlaminate.” Rough or textured substrates (indoors) include floors or indoor painted concrete and, according to Heiob, these can be a little more difficult to install. “These usually require a cast vinyl to conform with the peaks
and valleys of the texture,” he says. “Sometimes a heat source will be needed, which will soften the film during install and allow it to conform more easily. Make sure you use a UL-certified overlaminate to protect the graphic and [the public]. Note: To read more, visit https://bit. ly/35ZPfWb.
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GREATCOMES CONTENT GREAT SIGNAGE! Sign Builder Illustrated is the “how-to magazine” of the sign industry. Each issue includes SBI’s signature “how-to” columns and features with detailed, step-by-step instructions covering a wide range of signage. fb.com/SBIMag
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Sign Builder Illustrated
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FEATURE NAME LIGHTING
The flashing identity sign for the Ritz Bar was a mainstay during the ‘50s and ‘60s. 26
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Photo:
BY JEFF AUTHOR WOOTEN
PUTTING ON THE RITZ SIGN A historical Milwaukee sign is rescued and restored.
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All Photos: Bauer Sign & Lighting.
he Ritz Bar brings back fond memories of cheeseburgers and fish fries to those who lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the ’50s and ’60s. The history of the establishment goes even further back with its flashing identity sign that possibly dates all the way to the ’30s. The face of the Ritz Bar sign was made out of porcelain. It featured stainless letters with incandescent chaser bulbs in the middle and neon tubing surrounding the letters. And while the Ritz Bar is no longer a part of the modern Milwaukee landscape, the good news is that its longstanding sign was recently rescued. Read on to find out how this vintage sign was restored to its former glory for the first time in nearly sixty years—bullet holes and all. History in the Making Joe Anderer is a sign collector who lives in the Milwaukee area, and he was thrilled to have come across the Ritz Bar sign last year. However the at-the-time non-functional sign had seen better days. Anderer was a regular customer of Bauer Sign & Lighting in Milwaukee, so he gauged their interest in restoring this sign. “We had done a few other neonon-porcelain restorations for [Anderer] over the past couple of years, so we were happy he brought this project to us,” says Chris Stemper, a tube bender and lighting specialist at Bauer Sign & Lighting who took the lead on this project. Bauer Sign & Lighting is a full-service sign company with around twenty-five employees that has been around since 1982 (all under the same owner, Jim Bauer). The company manufactures, services, and installs mostly electrical signage in the Wisconsin and northern Illinois area. Stemper also happens to be in the same “Old Milwaukee” Facebook group where Anderer is a member. Anderer’s signshop.com
post about his sign discovery in that group had already caught Stempe’s attention. “He had saved it from getting scrapped,” says Stemper. The Ritz Bar sign arrived at Bauer Sign & Lighting as two separate, carefully crated porcelain panels. “The stainless steel letters were all intact and in very good condition other than being dirty and stained by years of rain, snow, and smog,” says Stemper. But everything else needed tenderloving-care attention in order to bring it back to life. “The porcelain faces needed a new cabinet, all-new sockets, bulbs, brass hardware, a mechanical flasher,
THE CLIENT WAS ADAMANT THE RESTORED SIGN LOOK LIKE IT STILL HAD SOME HISTORY TO IT. and of course, neon,” says Stemper. Stemper had to put on his detective hat for a couple of instances. One was figuring out the color of neon to use on the sign. All the neon was missing—except for one broken center unit in the letter “A.” However this proved an important piece. “This sole letter was enough to determine with an ultraviolet light that the tube phosphor was standard blue,” says Stemper. “The fact that there was no evidence of mercury in the unit or electrode told me that it was likely filled with neon. This is how we determined the neon color was pink.” All the neon housings were also missing, so Stemper had to study the hole sizes on the porcelain. “I concluded that the housings were #200s,” he says. “The back of the panel left me some questions that
would be answered once work began.” Nearly all of the 221 sockets were still in place. However, although all the 11w incandescent bulbs were still in the sockets, not a single one still worked after all the years of inactivity. The cloth jacketed primary wires were all there, as well. “This wire would obviously have to be replaced, as it was exposed in numerous places where the jacket had deteriorated,” says Stemper. “The backs of the sockets had all been covered with tar, which I assumed was done to provide some protection against any water intrusion.” Stemper wasn’t sure he was going to be able to save the sockets, but he intended to do as much as he could to keep them. He removed the sockets and soaked a few of them in lacquer thinner overnight to dissolve the tar. The next morning, he fished them out. “I discovered all the wires had been soldered to the their respective screws on the sockets,” says Stemper. “In addition, the tar soup that resulted from soaking them had seeped into the socket cup, making it a sticky mess.” The decision was made: His team would opt for new sockets instead. This would provide a quicker solution and avoid spending unnecessary time trying to resurrect them. Stemper ended up using Leviton 9885 sockets and installing new 11w incandescent bulbs. Stemper combined the neon primaries. “The incandescents had originally been split into six lines and one neutral,” he says. “This told me it was likely a scintillating effect. The connections to the sockets were mapped, as I removed the six lines one by one. The new wire was run in the same pattern.” An FMS model 66 timer provides the scintillating effect today. “The secondary load of the neon was split into three Allanson SS935OX 120V/35 mA electronic transformers,” says Stemper. “We chose electronics over magnetic models to save weight on the sign, as each porcelain panel was already 150 to 200 pounds.” June 2020
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The porcelain panels had taken a few hits over the years—namely .45 caliber and .22 caliber bullet holes found on both sides.
In Depth About the Cabinet There was some debate beforehand on how deep the cabinet should be to keep the structure stiff without adding any excess weight. Since the two porcelain panel faces were stacked, head fabricator Tony Camacho built a 72-by-72-inch, 6-inch-deep cabinet out of non-galvanized sheet metal. Stempe explains that the faces had a one-half 90-degree bend, which made fabrication fairly simple. “The return only need a one-inch bend on the back,” he says. “It was screwed flush to the porcelain face with #8 brass screws and nuts.” The only structure necessary was a cross of two-inch angle centered from top-to-bottom and side-to-side flush to the back. “The back panel was divided into four sections, which allowed full access to the interior,” says Stemper. “We added a mounting bracket for the model 66 timer to one side of the cabinet.” Bauer Sign & Lighting used brassbased tube supports on the neon and brass fasteners to secure the sockets, letters, and the face to the cabinet. “We saved as much of the old fasteners as we could and used them again in the restoration,” says Stemper. Stemper prefers to use brass hardware with porcelain. “Brass gives the porcelain an old-school look, and it also helps keep rust from developing and staining the surface,” he says. Anderer was upfront that he didn’t want Stemper to make the sign too pret28
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ty. He still wanted it to look like it had some history to it. Stemper had to give the new cabinet a rusted-out appearance to match the rest of the sign, so he took a cue from the playbook of This Old House host Bob Vila and applied a “tried-andtrue” method for “aging” metal. After the sign was complete and the back placed on it, Stemper wiped down all the surfaces of the non-galvanized sheet metal with lacquer thinner to remove any oil from the surface. He then sanded it lightly with a 120-grit pad. Next Stemper filled a spray bottle with white vinegar and sprayed all the exterior surfaces of the cabinet using a very light mist. “The acid in the vinegar immediately began to etch the surface,” he explains. “You can repeat this process as many times as you think you’ll need.” After waiting about twenty minutes, Stemper then mixed a solution featuring 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt. He shook it up in another spray bottle and mist-sprayed all the surfaces with it. “You’ll see the peroxide bubbling up and building a nice patina of rust,” he says. “You can repeat this as necessary.” Satisfied with the look, Stemper lightly sealed the surface with a clear coat. “Go too heavy, and you’ll get a shine,” he says. “A light coat keeps the rust from rubbing off and preserves the look.”
Restoration Reaction The restored Ritz Bar sign now resides in Anderer’s garage, where he keeps a lot of the other classic signs in his collection. Stemper enjoyed doing this restoration and finds that fixing and restoring a sign like this is fun for him on two different levels. “I’m always impressed by the craftsmanship from the heyday
of these porcelain signs,” he says. “The stainless steel letters on this particular sign were flawless.” “But on a more impressive note is how many memories are triggered in people who knew this sign and this business. We never could’ve imagined the positive response this sign got when it was posted on the Old Milwaukee Facebook page.”
Taking Aim at Not Erasing History As mentioned earlier, the porcelain panels featured real bullet holes. “As is often the case with old signs, the neighborhoods in which they are located change over time,” explains Stemper. “In the ’50s and ’60s, this was a tight neighborhood with a nice little retail block full of other businesses besides the Ritz. Things changed though, and crime and gunplay became more common. “The sign took a few hits—a .45 caliber exit hole on one side of the panel and two .22 caliber holes on the other side.” As mentioned earlier, Anderer was more interested in making sure the restored sign still looked like it had some history behind it. “He told us to leave the bullet holes alone,” says Stemper, noting that these bullet holes actually give the flashing sign even more personality. signshop.com
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FINANCING BY JEFF WOOTEN
PAID
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Financing large investments during a pandemic.
or sign shop owners struggling over the decision of whether to make large equipment purchases in the midst of current economic uncertainty related to COVID-19, there is a bit of silver lining. Some industry experts say that savvy shop owners have 30
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opportunities to invest now so that they can pay off down the road. Sign Builder Illustrated is taking a look at a couple of these products that require more consideration to not only help curious buyers ease their concerns now but also give some comfort to those who
may be just starting out or be in the middle of paying for this larger equipment. Digital Printing The good news is that graphic communication is going to be vital in getting the economy back up and running. signshop.com
Photo: Elliott Equipment Company.
IN FULL
FINANCING
Photo: Mimaki USA.
BY JEFF WOOTEN
As businesses move to reopen, there is going to be a need to clearly communicate hours, health policies, and other information. Print service providers will be poised to provide this type of support. “Wayfinding to reduce travelling back and forth in a store, floor graphics to help traffic flow, and signage in retail spaces clearly marking policies are just a few ways printing can support local communities,” says Michael Maxwell, Senior Manager, Corporate Strategic Development at Mimaki USA. With this in mind, Mimaki USA, through a partnership with North Star Leasing Company of Burlington, Vermont, unveiled their Wide Format Investment Program this past April, and it is offered through the company’s authorized dealer network. The company says that this service enables customers to “protect their cash, overcome budget limitations, and acquire the right printing equipment for existing jobs as well as future growth.” The program (https://bit.ly/2SO6Qus) has brought down rates and payment options for prospective buyers, freeing up cash that businesses can use towards payroll or to purchase ink, media, and consumables for production. Maxwell says that his company’s new Wide Format Investment Program is designed to provide a path for print service providers needing to invest in new equipment. “The biggest advantages are the time and low rates throughout the loan,” he says. “It may be necessary for PSPs to increase productivity or diversify offerings, but available cash may be hard to part with.” Financing options are a great way for PSPs to add additional equipment. “We are still unsure of the tax effects of government provided payroll relief programs or bailouts,” says Maxwell. “At some point, the government will need to recoup these funds somewhere, usually through taxes. “One way to navigate situations like this is to invest in capital equipment and take advantage of tax deductions such as Section 179.” For companies concerned about budget limitations when it comes to investing in wide format equipment today (or maysignshop.com
be even tomorrow), realize that the wide format printing industry has matured quite a bit over the past decade. “Since the banking crisis, many manufacturers have improved production methods and many, such as Mimaki, have passed the savings on to customers,” says Maxwell. “There are many printers that will greatly improve workflow efficiencies and profitability without straining cashflow. “Prospective buyers should look for a solution that addresses today’s needs and provides ability to add new services down the road.” Maxwell stresses that paying special attention to the features is typically more important than the price. “You could opt to spend a little more or less and end up with a product that has enough technology included that can reduce the stress of wasted time and materials,” he says. “A couple of dollars more on a finance program to obtain a product with more technology could save hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of the product in lost time and materials, which would outweigh the fractional cost difference each month.” For more on the print market and COVID-19, listen to the latest episode of the Shop Talk podcast featuring Michael Maxwell.
Service Trucks/Cranes When it comes to budget considerations related to investing in service equipment, Bryan Wilkerson, vice president of Wilkie Mfg., urges shop owners not to sell themselves short. “Equipment is expensive, but it can also be a huge revenue/profit center if planned and executed well,” he says. Wilkerson advises looking at what demands you currently have and what equipment is needed to meet those demands, then looking five to ten years to the future. “What will your equipment needs be? Will you take your company in a direction that might be a little or a lot different than it is now? If you currently need to go thirty to thirty-five feet high now, will you still be in that range in the future or will you be in the forty to fifty feet height need?” he says. Wilkerson says one budgetary consideration is the amount you are currently spending on sub-contactors to do your elevated work. Another is the amount of work you’re turning down because you don’t have the equipment to do it. “When the dollar figure reaches the same cost of what payments would be to finance your own equipment, you’re still not to the level of the total cost,” he says.
The Wide Format Investment Program, launched in April, has brought down rates and payment options for prospective buyers, freeing up cash businesses can use towards payroll or to purchase ink, media, and consumables for production. June 2020
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MISPLACED YOUR FAVORITE ISSUE?
It may be necessary for PSPs to increase their print offerings.
things slow down, service work increases and becomes the daily cash flow for sign companies as their client’s budget will dictate repairing their current sign as opposed to doing a new install,” he says. “So make note of which vehicles are going out everyday and how many
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billable hours those are generating. That is where the focus should be.” In the past, sign companies would buy a truck with a traditional loan, run it till it was paid off, and then put the money they were paying for the new truck into a separate account for several years. Then they would put that money towards another new truck, keeping the old truck still in service but adding to their fleet. Or if the business was not expanding as quickly as needed for a extra truck, they would sell it or trade it in. “But the modern business models have changed and some companies rotate equipment through their fleet on a threeto six-year plan of when depreciation or write-off is used up,” says Wilkerson. Glazer stresses to make sure you have your financial support documents—financial statements, bank statements, and other related information—ready prior to applying for financing. “Being prepared and well organized will not only help the process go faster but will also help make sure you are making the best decisions related to the terms of the financing,” he says. Interest rates are quite low and tax laws are favorable for making new equipment purchases. “Check with your tax accountant or CPA to see if a loan or a lease would better suit your business in the depreciation, write off, and deduction plans versus the debt weight so that you can get a better ROI on your service truck not only on the ability to provide additional billable hours, but also making the payments work for you,” says Wilkerson.
June 2020
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Photo: Mimaki USA.
“Then add in insurance, equipment and vehicle maintenance, tags, permits, operator cost (wages, benefits, etc).” Jim Glazer, president of Elliott Equipment Company, says that there are always advantages to bringing on new equipment, even during a “once-in-a-lifetime” pandemic such as Covid-19. “Businesses everywhere are looking to improve their work practices to increase efficiency and do more with less,” he says. “Bringing on new equipment at this time will give companies an advantage when businesses reopen and they can do more work more efficiently than their peers. “Plus there may be additional tax benefits available from rapid depreciation of this asset and potential carrybacks to prior years.” Wilkerson adds that Henry Ford, when the economy slowed, increased his business by reworking factories, adding new equipment, bringing on talented personnel, and modernizing his whole company. “Another thing is, when
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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BY DEB BOELKES
OVERCOMING IN-SHOP ANXIETY s the pandemic churns on, your employees may be getting somewhat settled into their strange new routines. But don’t be fooled: Even as they get acclimated with Zoom meetings or working in masks, their anxiety hasn’t gone away. If anything, it’s just gone underground. It’s up to you, as the leader, to remind them just how much you care, even as you engage, inspire, and challenge them. Leadership actions that create Best Places to Work include things like sharing pride in your mission, products, and services; empowering workers to feel they have a career instead of a job; challenging them; teaching skills that help them succeed; and helping them feel
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happy, fulfilled, and successful in their lives by fostering friendship, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging. Here are some tips to help you do this: Build trust by keeping team members informed. Whatever it takes, find ways to inform team members about what is going on, what’s expected of them, and what they can expect of you. This builds trust. Pick up the phone, make a call, or send emails or an occasional text to keep team members updated in real time. Be transparent. Share what you know. The more they know about what’s going on, the more connected, comfortable, and assured they will feel. Tell your team members you want to
be kept informed by them too. Eagerly encourage them to contact you, at their convenience rather than yours, to ask questions, express their feedback about what’s working or not working, and share their concerns. Let them know your “virtual door” is always open. Pay attention to those employees who don’t do well working alone. Some people feel isolated, depressed, and unproductive when working alone. These are the team members at greatest risk of becoming disengaged. If you have the chance to do so—and if your situation allows—encourage these people to volunteer to be part of small groups that rotate into the office or waresignshop.com
Photo: Shutterstock/Diego Cervo.
A
Show your anxious employees that you care.
house every few days. It will give them something to look forward to, help them stay productive, and bolster their sense of self-worth, well-being, and belonging. Understand what makes employees tick and why they work there. Don’t underestimate the importance of having regular performance reviews and professional development one-on-ones, especially during times like these, even if such meetings must be held online. Just because jobs are no longer as plentiful as they were just a short time ago, never assume your best team members won’t jump ship. Ask them, “What keeps you at our company?” Foster networking between team members. Help every member of the team and beyond to build and maintain meaningful relationships while working apart. Create online task forces, as needed, to solve new problems that may now come up.
Ask for volunteers from different departments, from key customer accounts, and/or from suppliers to keep ideas flowing and everyone engaged (both in and outside the company) and working together to achieve common goals.
IT’S UP TO YOU, AS THE LEADER, TO REMIND EMPLOYEES JUST HOW MUCH YOU CARE. Consider hosting an online “happy hour” once or twice a week or an online coffee break at some point during the day to let team members share ideas and catch up informally. Have fun and enjoy the chance to build a new sense of be-
longing and family in entirely new ways. Allow for more flexible scheduling. Rather than mandate work schedules, allow team members to work out their own work schedules with each other, if possible. Likewise, if possible, give team members the option to work non-traditional shifts, perhaps three or four days per week, or a different number of days or hours on/off shift to best coordinate with their life partner’s schedule, childrearing demands, etc. Do what it takes to make team members feel appreciated. People will do anything for leaders who praise their efforts and are appreciative, especially in times of struggle. Be forthcoming with good news and praises for jobs well done. Deb Boelkes is the author of The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture (Business World Rising, December 2019).
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BUSINESS CNC ROUTER BY BRAD JEFF WOOTEN BURNETT
PRINT RECOVERY
W
hile several prominent economists have been quoted as predicting a Third Quarter rebound for the economy and a V-shaped recovery (meaning a sharp down followed by a sharp up), Andrew Paparozzi, chief economist of SGIA, thinks print shops should prepare now for a later recovery. “I instead see a U-shaped recovery where we bounce along the bottom for 36
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a while,” he said. “I don’t know for how long—and really no one does—before we get that sharp leg up.” Speaking at an SGIA Ask the Experts Webinar in early May (“Creating a Path Forward”), Paparozzi reported on findings from a twice-monthly research survey of 500-plus participants in the print industry tracking trends in sales, production, employment, prices, and profitability. He found that, while the bottom
dropped out in mid-March with declining sales and work orders, he has yet to find any sign of the absolute bottom, meaning he cannot identify a sign of an upturn at this moment because of this. A lot of problems, he reported from respondent comments, are that many companies have worked through all their backlogs. Another culprit is that, while shops may have been designated essential, many of their clients were not. And signshop.com
Photo: Shutterstock.com/goodluz
Commercial printers are down now but definitely not out.
while many have pivoted to the manufacture of personal protection equipment, Paparozzi said that some shops are wondering what happens when that type of work is done. Paparozzi said print providers need to turn their attentions to the industries that have grown through the crisis— pharmaceuticals, health care, home entertainment, home fitness, etc. In Paparozzi’s opinion, the best-case scenario is that the economic contractions slow in Q3 and the upturn gradually begins, at earliest, in Q4 before really strengthening sometime in 2021. Keep in mind that this is no ordinary economic upheaval that anyone has seen before. Paparozzi pointed out that the causes of this recession were biological and not economic, and he said that the solution to it will ultimately be biological. “Follow progress medical and pharmaceutical researchers are making in developing vaccines and effective treatments,” he said. “When we have that, the whole game changes.” However Paparozzi did mention that print providers need to be aware that, even as the economy reopens, social distancing in malls, restaurants, theaters, resorts, conventions, hotels, and airplanes will still be in place. “All these vital industries are going to have to legally operate well below capacity for quite a while,” he said. “How quickly will people return to pre-pandemic behaviors? How comfortable will we be going out to restaurants, malls, theaters, and hotels again?
“To forecast a V-shaped recovery, you have to believe that we’re going right back to the way we used to behave on March 1 before the pandemic—and I find that hard to believe.” Paparozzi worried how many typical businesses that are customers for print would be able to survive this pandemic and how long it would take the surviving outfits to get back to something even close to normal operations. He also predicted lawsuits in the future from customers and employers over whether businesses took the appropriate safety precautions. “We do like to sue each other,” he said, “which does not promote economic recovery.” However Paparozzi said he has no doubt a strong recovery will take place— pinning it instead sometime in 2021 with the monetary and fiscal stimulus kicking in and the pent-up demand caused by shelter-in-place. He went on to say that the actions that shop owners take right now to prepare themselves to get through and weather the crisis and participate in the recovery on the other side (whether V-shaped or U-shaped) are very important. “Knowing what’s happening now and likely ahead is helpful,” said Paparozzi. The first step to take is protecting the health of your employees and their families. OSHA has released safety points to help with the cleanliness of your shop (https://bit.ly/3brbRja). Other ideas Paparozzi presented included: cost control and protecting cash
flow, judiciously reducing salaries and hours, discontinuing contributions to 401K, and pursuing all sources of public and private financial aid. Paparozzi stressed to always keep in touch with your employees, even those you may have let go during this crisis. “We need our best employees back if we are going to participate in the recovery,” he said. “If you do have to lay off your best employees, your objective immediately becomes insuring that the separation does not become permanent.” While businesses that were deemed non-essential will be allowed to operate again, Paparozzi cautioned that getting these businesses back up to speed is going to take a lot more than just flipping the sign on the front door from “Closed” to “Open.” “It’s going to take convincing clients, prospects, and employees that the facilities are safe and sanitary and ensuring that everyone who enters them follows appropriate health guidelines,” he said. “Begin thinking about helping your clients rebuild.” Fortunately Paparozzi said this is going to take a lot of print—signs, posters, graphics, direct mail, etc.—not just to announce that they’re open for business but that it is safe to be in their facilities again. “And all of that print will have to be updated as the rules change,” he said. “I think this is a tremendous opportunity for us. Develop communications programs that position you as the expert who can help them get their clients back in the door.”
Landlord Advice
WITH SIGN SHOPS encountering a downtown in work orders, Julio Gonzalez, founder and CEO of
signshop.com
Engineered Tax, Inc., provided some advice for how owners can deal with their landlords. “Let your landlord know that, when you get funded, you’d like to catch up on the rent then,” he suggests. “Find out if you could get a few months of rent forgiveness or at least be able to put that rent on at the end of the lease, so that, as these loan programs come through, you can catch up at a
later time. “Let [your landlord] know that you want to catch up and be good tenants and that you’re working as diligently as you can to be funded. Tell them these monies are earmarked towards rent. This way, the landlord knows that you have a plan and that you’re not trying to get away with something.” For more, visit https://bit.ly/3fGqJO8 and listen to our Shop Talk podcast.
June 2020
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SHOP TALK SHOP TALK | BY DAVID HICKEY, ISA VP GOV’T. AFFAIRS
OSHA provides safety regulations through 2020.
F
or the most recent fiscal year data available, OSHA issued a total of eighty-six citations in two NAICS categories that are almost exclusively comprised of sign manufacturers. There were another 693 citations with specialty trade contractors, of which sign manufacturers make up a small portion. An additional twenty-one citations were issued to businesses that provide services related to advertising (another category with some sign manufacturing services). The citations were significant. Of these citations issued primarily for sign manufacturing, the current penalties totaled almost $250,000 (or about $2,750 per citation). It’s also interesting to note that those eighty-six citations were issued out of forty-three inspections—meaning there were an average of two citations issued on every inspection. The majority of these citations were issued in three broad categories: cranes,
ladders and fall protection, and protective equipment. These three areas have been emphasized lately by OSHA—and we expect that to continue well into 2020. Crane operator certification requirements likely will receive a lot of attention this year as OSHA staff has now been trained on the mandate and what to look for on the jobsite. ISA has been working to help sign companies and manufacturers prepare for this coming enforcement. One of the most immediate steps is to ensure that employees have the correct certification, including a written exam and a hands-on exam. These certifications are valid for five years. The certification is just the first step. Employers must evaluate employees (even those who have been certified) to make sure they have the skills, knowledge, and judgment to operate the equipment safely, as well as the ability to perform
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COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2020. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information, contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@ sbpub.com.
“We must remember the main goal of these regulations—keeping workers safe.”
Corp, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. 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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Safety in Reach
hoisting activities for the assigned work. The evaluator must be someone who has the knowledge, training, and experience necessary to assess equipment operators. The evaluation must be documented and available at the jobsite. If an employee’s skills are found lacking, retraining, re-evaluation, and documentation must take place. There also is increased focus on employee exposure to silica, thanks to a 2017 tightening of regulations (signs.org/silica). The requirement mandates a written plan that describes tasks, controls, personal protective equipment, procedures, housekeeping, and restricted access to work areas. The plan also requires that a competent person be designated to implement requirements.Written exposure control plans must be reviewed annually and updated as needed. The written exposure control plan must describe procedures used to restrict access to work areas, when necessary, to minimize the number of employees exposed to respirable crystalline silica and minimize their level of exposure. Access also must be restricted for exposures generated by other employers or selfemployed individuals on the jobsite. If the employer sees another employer performing a task on material containing crystalline silica and generating excessive dust, employee access must be restricted.
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