Sign Builder Illustrated May 2019

The How-To Magazine

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Contents MAY 2019

How-To Columns

18 22

PEACOCK BLUE

By Jeremy Vanderkraats A winery pours a lot of color into its new identity sign.

Vol. 33

No. 287

30

THE ART OF SURFACE GILDING

By Jim Hingst Applying gold leaf to various substrates and surfaces.

departments

4

​Cover Photo: Downtown Norfolk Council.

6 12 42 44

EDITOR’S COLUMN

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, yet Editor Jeff Wooten finds this hard to do this month.

IN THE INDUSTRY

LED fixtures bring a neon look to a winning application, communicating with a wall wrap, and an auto dealer uses the latest digital technology.

Sign Show

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

SBI Marketplace

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

Shop Talk

Jeff Wooten details how a full-service company has proved successful at hiring.

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Features

26 30 36 38

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ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RESTORATION

By Ashley Bray The original guitar sign for Hard Rock Café plays on.

DESIGNING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

By Lori Shridhare “The perfect sign is one that’s created just for your brand.”

NEON RESURGENCE

By Lori Shridhare Norfolk’s NEON District celebrates public art and revitalization.

WRAPPED UP EDUCATION

By Lori Shridhare The school is open for wrapping vehicles.

May 2019

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May 2019, Vol. 33, No. 287 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 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 jwooten@sbpub.com Managing Editor Ashley Bray 55 Broad Street, 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 212-620-7220 abray@sbpub.com Contributing Writers Jim Hingst, Lori Shridhare, Jeremy Vanderkraats

art

Art Director Nicole D’Antona Graphic Designer Aleza Leinwand

production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers Digital Ad Operations Associate Kevin Fuhrmann kfuhrmann@sbpub.com

circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com Circulation Analyst Brandy Wilson bwilson@sbpub.com

advertising sales

Publisher/Mid-West & West Coast Sales Arthur J. Sutley 212-620-7247 asutley@sbpub.com Associate Publisher/East Coast Sales Jeff Sutley 212-620-7233 jsutley@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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WHERE DESIGN MEETS INNOVATION

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Project: Qatar National Library Preferred Fabricator: Gulfcrafts, Doha, Qatar

Editor’s Column

AGENDA

By Jeff Wooten

May 2019 MAY 19-23:

LIGHTFAIR International, the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting tradeshow and conference, sets up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (lightfair.com)

June 2019 JUNE 6-7:

The Midwest Sign Association’s Summer Meeting & Golf event takes place at the Soaring Eagle Casino Resort located in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. (msassn.org)

Not Staying in Vegas What happens at ISA Sign Expo.

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the gaming community), but it’s starting to make a footprint on signage, as examples of using this technology on the show floor to connect designers with customers is teeming with possibilities.

Convergence into other fields continues to be promoted (don’t say “no” to any job), but exhibitors really stepped up their game even more this year. I heard the phrase “broader range of applications” about recently released or soon-to-come hybrid equipment (print/engraving/routing) at several booths.

But probably the biggest thing I noticed had to be the increased attention toward fabrics and textiles and not just for soft signage (as fashion, sportswear, and interior design were exhibited too). There’s just no denying that backlit fabrics are beautiful in person.

In that vein, it was announced that ISA International Sign Expo 2020 and Impressions Expo (the premier tradeshow for the imprinted and decorated apparel industry) are co-locating next April, with a combined tradeshow space topping 350,000 square feet in Orlando. ISA President Lori Anderson expects this opportunity to allow next year’s attendees to be able to “explore exciting ways to expand their businesses.” So the word from Vegas is out: The future is getting softer.

Jeff Wooten Editor, jwooten@sbpub.com

JUNE 27-30:

The Texas Sign Association’s Sixty-sixth Annual Conference occurs at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. (txsigns.org)

July 2019 JULY 24-28:

Mid South Sign Association’s MSSA SignConnexion 2019 takes place at the Ross Bridge Golf Resort in Birmingham, Alabama. (midsouthsignassociation.org)

August 2019 AUGUST 8-10:

Photo: Shutterstock/f11photo.

T

he marketing catchphrase “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas,” has to be the most famous, most effective advertising campaign of the early twenty-first century. An Uber driver brought up to me how this philosophy seemingly seeps into even the most Puritanical of the Puritans when they come out to Vegas. It’s like you have to do something that word of which can’t dare make it back home or else your trip is a failure like the Golden Knights’ Game 7 collapse in the NHL Playoffs (which unfortunately no one kept quiet about).

While I’ll let that particular car ride’s later conversation, which veered into waytoo-inebriated partygoers he had picked up, stay locked away in my memory vault, I do have to take umbrage at the thought that everything has to “stay in Vegas.”

For starters, check out our feature about the Hard Rock Café’s restored guitar sign at the Las Vegas Neon Museum on page 26. We’re providing a playlist containing all that was involved in the illuminated comeback behind this iconic sign.

An event recap that also doesn’t need to stay behind in Vegas is the ISA® International Sign Expo that returned to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center this past April 23-26. I thought I would relay some quick observations about this year’s show. (I’ll have more to say next month when I’ve had a few days to digest everything versus mere hours!)

I have heard and read stories about augmented reality (A/R) becoming more of a thing in the real world (particularly in

JUNE 6-8:

Experience the 2019 SEGD Conference, a gathering of the experiential graphic design community, which will be held this year in scenic Austin, Texas. (segd.org)

The ninth annual Tri-State Sign Expo and Golf Tournament plays out at the Downstream Casino Resort in Joplin, Missouri. (tristatesignexpo.com)

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THIS IS NOT YOUR

SAME OLD SIGN CRANE

COMPANY

NEW MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT SAL E S | S E RVI CE | FIN A N C E | R E N TA L | TRA I NI NG | PA RTS

A LT E C . C O M / L I S I 1 . 8 4 4 . 6 1 1 .1 8 0 0 S A L E S @ A LT E C . C O M

In The Industry Plexineon blue circles “float” from the ceiling.

A WINNING

APPLICATION We wanted a product that could...draw the eye to the front [of gameworks].

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hicago, Illinois—For its first location in Colorado, GameWorks, Inc.—a national amusement center and sports bar/restaurant chain—wanted “fun” to emanate throughout the entire 40,000-square-foot venue, where guests enjoy arcade games, Laser Tag, eSports, private party rooms, and more.

The company hired Davis Wince, Ltd. Architecture to oversee the design of the Denver location, with the goal to reflect GameWorks’ upbeat, familyfriendly brand. The resulting design included use of iLight LED fixtures to

add splashes of aesthetic punch—making the setting as exciting as the entertainment that guests enjoy.

“As architects for the whole space, we worked with our local lighting representative to find the products with the right look and feel for this project,” says Eric Eschenbrenner, senior architect at Davis Wince, Ltd. Architecture. “We wanted a neon-like product that could be changed for the holidays and sporting events to draw the eye to the front [of GameWorks].

To ensure a stunning first impression, the design team chose iLight Hypnotica signshop.com

3D-Printed Comics

L

iS Color Changing Series fixtures to create a dynamic X-shaped element behind the hostess stand, where guests first check in.

Elsewhere iLight Plexineon fixtures are prominent. Plexineon can be bent into custom shapes—a must-have capability in order to create the abstract designs envisioned for this project.

Plexineon Red fixtures introduce abstract swirls of light above the main bar.

Plexineon Rose makes a statement on a large feature wall, while Plexineon Blue is found throughout in the shape of starbursts, rectangles, and circles that seem signshop.com

to float from the ceiling.

Between Hypnotica’s color-changing capability and Plexineon’s ability to bend, iLight was the perfect partner for the job. And because both products replicate the look of neon, they provide a nostalgic nod to game rooms of the past.

In the end, Eschenbrenner says the 754 feet of iLight product used in this project helped his firm successfully achieve the design intent.

“The client was pleased with the result. They really like it,” he says. “This was just the right kind of application for these products.”

od, Israel—As part of this year’s International Cartoon F esti va l of Ango ulêm e in France, print specialist MÉTROPOLE produced five life-size character statues (Blake and Mortimer, Spirou and Seccotine, and festival mascot “Le Fauve”) using its Massivit 1800 3D printer.

It’s no surprise that the statues were placed at Angoulême station, the world’s comic book capital and the destination of many festivalgoers and comic fans.

“These life-size characters at the train station create a real sense of complicity for travelers,” says Festival President Franck Bondoux.

“The statues have an ultra-realistic finish, totally bringing them to life.

C o m i c fa n s f i n d t h e m se l ves immersed in a playful, joyous, and comforting world.”

“It took less than four weeks’ work—eighty hours of printing plus 200 hours of assembly, sculpting, and painting—to create the five comics characters displayed at Angoulême station,” says Denise Zanet, associate director at METROPOLE. Comics characters brought to life as statues have always held great appeal. “Comic fans love getting up close and personal with their favorite characters,” says Bondoux.” This creates a strong bond both for children and the young at heart, who reconnect with their childhood emotions.”

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In The Industry a brand promise

M

Communicating with a

wall wrap G rand Prairie, Alberta— Known throughout Canada, the TELUS Corporation is a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of products and services, such as voice, Internet, video, and television.

Recently the TELUS Grand Prairie, Alberta location decided it wanted to showcase the power of communication in another way.

TELUS hosted an art competition among local artists, and the winning entry from Serena Love of Shewolf Studio was featured as a huge exterior wall mural on the side of the TELUS Grand Prairie office building.

Once the winning artwork was chosen, TELUS partnered with Epic Imaging, a graphics specialist located in Port Coquitlan, British Columbia, to take care of the rest.

The original wall graphic material Epic Imaging opted to use proved problematic. During the reveal ceremony, parts of the graphic came off the wall surface.

As this was a high-profile project, Epic Imaging immediately went back to work—this time choosing Mactac’s IMAGin® RoughRAP™ RR100 product

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for exterior wall surfaces.

They used a Roland Eco Solvent SOLJET 540 to print the large-scale graphic and came back to install it the next day.

Although the weather conditions were extremely cold, the installation team pushed through, taking their time and applying heat as needed to get the job done.

“The end-result was perfect—not to mention brighter and more vivid than the first material used,” said Josée Robinson of Epic Imaging. “Especially since the first material we used failed, we desperately needed to make our customer happy and knew Mactac material would do that. Through the years, we’ve tried many alternative materials from other manufacturers, but Mactac is the only one that consistently stands up to the demands of our installations.”

RoughRAP is a white, 2.0-mil gloss, high-performance vinyl designed for application on brick walls and other rough, textured surfaces. It is highly conformable and features a high-tack permanent opaque adhesive as well as a 90# polycoated two-side release liner for excellent lay-flat features.

ilwaukee, Wisconsin— Custom sign provider Sign Effectz, Inc., isn’t just a standard sign manufacturing company.

Their goal is to provide customers with access to a multitude of creative resources, materials, researchand-development, and technology.

They are passionate about producing “sculptural interpretations of graphic art” and creating products that evoke emotion.

To them, the core values they have means that they stand behind everything they build. And it’s the passion their entire team has for delivering results to their customers and their reaction to it.

But none of that means anything unless one believes in a set of core values and promises to live them each day. That’s why the entire company gathered as a group on January 15 and put their signatures on “Our Promise.” It was their way of kicking off 2019 on the right note and reminding themselves of why they do what they do.

Everyone committed to combining creativity and technology to provide customers with a visually effective and physically durable product that strikes an emotion and puts their personality behind it.

“They’re not buying a sign,” says Owner Adam Brown. “They’re investing in a relationship.”

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Learn more at epson.com/sseries Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2019 Epson America, Inc. *Print times are based upon print engine speeds only. Total throughput depends upon front-end driver/RIP, fi le size, printing resolution, ink coverage, network speed, etc.

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In The Industry Closeviewing Digital Signage

B New “Auto Row” Dealership Uses

Latest Technologies

S

alt Lake City, Utah—When Volvo bought space along New York City’s 11th Avenue “Auto Row,” where showrooms for major automobile manufacturers stretch from 40th Street to 60th Street, the goal was to build an attractive brand awareness center that stops passers-by in their tracks. Featuring a huge 5-by7 panel video wall, a virtual-reality vehicle design room, five zones of audio, a Swedish-design-inspired coffee lounge, and an advanced ClearOne VIEW® Pro IP-based video delivery solution that enables custom video sizes and remote management, the Volvo storefront stands out among competing local showrooms.

According to Nick Ehr, owner of Florida-based electronics integration firm Broacast Systems, Inc., “Volvo wanted this space to represent the brand with truly captivating designs and an exciting environment, and today, that requires integrating advanced AV technologies.

Their most visible need was the 5-by-7 panel video wall, which makes a huge statement because it can be seen from the sidewalk outside the storefront.”

Another crucial requirement of the project was reliability and remote accessibility, particularly since the integration firm is located 2,000 miles from the job site.

“During the eighteen-month project period, we traveled to New York each

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month to attend meetings and ensure every detail was considered and every concern was addressed,” Ehr added.

“We loaded the software on the server, so all the ClearOne pieces talk to the server. Now I can log into it remotely to check the temperature of all the displays, and if anything does get hot, the system immediately sends us an email. We can remotely update firmware, power cycle, adjust color temperature, add sources, and much more.”

Showroom General Manager Nelson Guerrero was open about the store focusing more on brand awareness than sales, specifically noting that exciting video content can extol the brand’s values—family, safety, technology, design—in a way that no static advertisement or vehicle showcase can match.

Guerrero also cited the benefit of using advanced display solutions to reach today’s consumers, based on the overwhelming role digital displays now play in our daily lives.

Broadcast Systems, Inc. also installed a special color management tool that allows the integrator to adjust the color temperature and image specifications for the video wall. The wide range of custom capabilities ensures every future need can be met with minimal labor or hardware changes. The ClearOne system also manages content for two additional flat screen HDTVs in the showroom.

rookings, South Dakota— Daktronics has released its small-format digital billboard line. Designed for urban environments and wallscapes, the product is intended for close-viewing audiences in places like downtown pedestrian traffic areas or transportation hubs.

Available in both 8- and 10-millimeter line spacings, these highresolution, small-format displays use SMD (surface-mount device) LED technology. The new display line also features an easy-to-install design that can mount to pole, wall, or existing display structures to expedite the installation process.

This new digital billboard offering uses an embedded control system and the option to support thirdparty systems. It also features SmartLink™ technology, allowing users to power down a display remotely, avoiding unnecessary trips to the display site.

Lamar Outdoor Advertising was the first to install this new 10-millimeter product in the heart of downtown Des Moines, Iowa. “It’s [located] on the side of a parking garage in the middle of an enterta i n m e n t d i st r i c t , ” s a i d T i m Jameson, Lamar VP/IowaNebraska territory manager. “It sits high enough for road traffic but low enough for foot traffic, and the farmers market is literally on the ground below this beautiful new display.”

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Sign Show FASTENERS/GROMMETS Grommet-attaching Machine Cuts Holes and Sets in One Stroke

ACRYLICS/PLASTICS Continuous Cast Acrylic Gives Designers a Whole New Way to Illuminate Signage Stemming from its 2018 acquisition of the Lucite International continuous cast acrylic sheet business, themoplastic sheet products manufacturer Plaskolite has announced the launch of OPTIX EL, an edge-lit continuous cast acrylic sheet for the sign and graphics industry. When lit from the side with LED lights, embedded light diffusing particles cause the light to diffuse forward for bright, uniform illumination. There is no need for surface etching, engraving, or printing to achieve a bright, evenly lit surface. OPTIX EL is a double-sided gloss acrylic sheet available in a range of thicknesses delivering outstanding color rendition with superior long path light transmission. It is designed to produce an even illumination across the entire surface of a panel, making it the ideal choice for LED sign solutions (as shown in the timeline project above for B. Braun Medical Marketing). The sheet is infused with diffusion particles that will not heat or form out.

The material is ADA sign-compliant and available in 0.118-, 0.157-, and 0.236 -inch thicknesses. plaskolite.com

METALgrommets.com has introduced a new pneumatic grommet setting machine that is ideal for attaching large eyelets faster by punching a hole and attaching the grommets and washers in a single cycle. The ClipsShop ÂŽ CS-DAM-03 is a semi-automatic, pneumatically powered grommet setting machine that cuts a hole and sets eyelets in one stroke. Featuring all stainless steel mechanical parts, it is ideal for setting #12, #8.5, #7.5, and #5.5 grommets and washers in a wide range of substrates and has an adjustable alignment reference for high accuracy and faster throughput. Suitable for applications on heavy fabrics, scrim vinyl, and many ot h e r s u bst ra tes, t h e ClipsShop CS-DAM-03 o p e ra tes o n s h o p a i r using a foot pedal and has a built-in safety system to help prevent accidents. This heavy-duty machine includes a table with two storage drawers for grommets/washers and measures 51.75-by21.25-by-21.25 inches. metalgrommets.com

SERVICE TRUCKS The Newly Enhanced V60 is the Most Versatile Sixty-foot Material Handling Aerial Work Platform Featuring 63 feet of working height and 1,000-pound material handling capacity, the V60 material handling aerial work platform from Elliott Equipment Company mounts on a non-CDL, 19,000-pound GVWR chassis for increased driver flexibility. The new V60 also provides 38 feet of working side reach and a 30-by-40-inch, top-mounted platform with a 500-pound-capacity material handling jib. The jib quickly converts into a boom tip winch with 1,000-pound-capacity when operated from the ground controls. The V60 features Elliott’s new SMARTControl system that shortens set-up and tear-down times and improves operator control on the ground and in the platform. The SMARTControl system features one-touch outrigger leveling, one-touch boom stow, and one-touch outrigger stow, which greatly simplify these operations and help operators conserve energy and work more efficiently. In addition, the SMARTControl system allows for Bluetooth and remote servicing and diagnostics of the system, maximizing uptime of the unit. Users will also enjoy the ability to easily tailor the metering and speed of boom functions based upon operator preference. The new V60 eliminates over half of the wiring connections of the replacement unit. elliottequip.com

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Sign Show ROUTERS/ENGRAVERS Trotec Unveils an Even Faster and More Powerful Speedy Laser Engraver and Cutting System

LED LIGHTING Literod HP Allows You to Fit Four Times the Amount of F96 LEDs on a Single Power Supply GLOBAL LUX, a leading provider of high-quality LED lighting systems on a global scale, is proud to announce the availability of its new Literod HP, the most cost-effective retrofit solution. At 191 Lumens per Watt, Literod HP is brighter than anything in the sign market, and you can load twice as many power supplies to it. That means on a 12v 120W, you can get four lengths of double-sided F96 LEDs! Compare this product with any other retrofit on the market, and you will quickly figure out that GLOBAL LUX is bringing you more value than anyone else. The great thing about Literod is the way the LEDs are designed; they give you virtually no hotspots nor shadows by spreading the light evenly. It comes with caps on both ends to go right into your fluorescent or high-output sockets. global-lux.com

Optimized to achieve the highest quality results at even higher speeds, the new Speedy 400 from Trotec is the fastest and most productive mid-size laser engraver in the industry— producing high-quality results even at its maximum engraving speed of 170 inches per second (30 inches per second faster than the previous model). The Speedy 400 also features a revolutionary new motion planning system called OptiMotion™ that calculates the cutting speed and acceleration based on the geometry in real time. This is standard for larger cutting systems, but it is a true innovation for medium-sized engraving systems. With the increased power of 250 Watts, the Speedy 400 enables higher process speeds, as well as the processing of thicker materials. Other new features include an option to add a MOPA fiber laser source, allowing you to further increase engraving speed, and patented Sonar Technology™, which comes standard on the new model and improves results and efficiency by automatically detecting the focus point at each position of the worktable and automatically correcting focus position. The new Speedy 400 is available with a CO2 laser source or even two laser sources—CO 2 and fiber—in one machine. troteclaser.com

SIGN SUBSTRATES Fully Recyclable DISPA Paper Board Introduced to the Americas for Signs, Displays DISPA® from 3A Composites, Inc., consists of a patented embossed formed paper core that is laminated on both sides with bright-white, smooth paper surfaces— a unique composition that makes this paper board lightweight yet extremely rigid, strong, and dimensionally stable. It is the ideal substrate for short-term promotional campaigns and can be used to create point-of-purchase and point-of-sale displays; hanging signs; window displays; tradeshow displays and exhibits; and three-dimensional displays. Signs created with DISPA stay flat yet are easy to handle and hang. DISPA provides a flat, smooth surface that offers excellent printability in both digital printing and screenprinting applications and is available in both forty-eight- and sixty-inch widths for large format printing.

DISPA is easy to fabricate (even with hand tools) and can be die-cut and CNCrouted. DISPA originally was introduced in 2015 in Europe by 3A Composites following extensive analysis and profile testing to develop the unique embossed structure that forms this paper board's central layer. This patented core and manufacturing process make DISPA a uniquely stable board. Manufactured with 100-percent Forest Stewardship Council®-certified paper (FSC-C074317), DISPA is fully recyclable. (800) 626-3365; 3ACompositesUSA.com

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Sign Show DIGITAL APPAREL

DIGITAL PRINTING EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES

Fisher Textiles Adds Printable Board Short, Fleece, and Towel Fabric to Its Digital Apparel Lineup

Summa Syncs Up Its Flatbed Finishing Cutters to the Working Width of Textile Printers

Fisher Textiles has added several new apparel fabrics to its Digital Apparel lineup for dye sublimation printing. Styles include a printable board short, fleece, and towel fabric. ET 4000 Board Short, as its name suggests, is for board shorts, dresses, Hawaiian shirts, and swimwear. It is a water-repellent fabric made with 91-percent Recycled Polyester and 9-percent Spandex. It weighs 7.0 oz./lin. yd. and is stocked at 57 inches wide. 3600 Towel for promotional towels and bath robes has a printable polyester face with a soft cotton backside. It weighs 18.5 oz./ lin. yd. and is stocked 62 inches wide. ET 3400 Fleece is a 3-End French Terry made with 60-percent REPREVE Recycled Polyester, 7-percent Spandex, 11-percent Cotton, 11-percent Nylon, and 11-percent Polyester. It is 14.8 oz./lin. yd. and 57 inches wide. Applications include activewear/ athleisurewear, hoodies, sweatpants, and sweatshirts. This fabric is made in the United States with Repreve recycled yarns and inherently treated with Sorbtek, Unifi’s moisture management chemical. (800) 554-8886; fishertextiles.com

Over the past couple of years, soft signage has gained a prominent position in the sign and graphics industry. Soft signage offers versatile solutions suited to a large variety of applications in different industries, such as flags, backlit light boxes, and large signage on exhibitions. The use of soft signage guarantees an easy setup and a clean appearance.

Moreover soft signage end products are easily stackable and don’t take up much space during transportation. When handling these textiles, the large format digital printer will be first in line. Often, these textile printers are equipped with a working width of 10-feet-5-inches, which is ideal to print large rolls of textiles. To improve the synergy with the large format digital printer market, Summa recently launched two new sizes of flatbed finishing cutters, matching the working width of the textile printer perfectly. All existing tools and modules within the F Series gamut are designed to fit each size of the flatbed range, the new F3232 and F3220 sizes inclusive. This ensures the highest versatility to process all kinds of material and offer numerous high-end solutions to the sign making, textile, and digital print industries. Both flatbed finishing sizes can handle all common, popular print sizes with utmost ease and accuracy. summa.eu

3D PRINTING Mimaki’s New Desktop 3D Printer Allows Users to Cut Costs and Expand into Profitable Markets Mimaki USA has announced the launch of the new 3DFF-222 desktop 3D printer, a product co-branded with Sindoh, a manufacturer of 3D printers and multi-function printers based in South Korea. The Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) solution has been developed as an in-house design and production tool, ideal for parts such as jigs used in direct-toobject printing and tools for producing three-dimensional signage. The 3DFF-222 system prints in PLA material. Using easy-to-load filament cartridges, it prints parts up to 8.27 inches wide-by-7.87 inches deep-by-7.67 inches high and offers remote monitoring of each print job through an included app. The new platform joins the 3DUJ-553 in Mimaki’s portfolio of 3D printers, to which Mimaki has applied the expertise from its long heritage in the graphic arts. Its built-in Heated Flexible Bed thermostatic function enables both stable formation and easy removal of the model once it’s ready, while semi-automatic bed leveling measures the horizontal error of the table and instructs the color monitor to maintain a leveled position. A five-inch, full-color touch panel with illustrated instructions makes for simple operation, while a built-in camera is included for remote monitoring with a smartphone or tablet. mimakiusa.com/3DFF

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May 2019

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WE’RE HERE TO ANSWER THE CALL! 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, stepby-step instructions covering a wide range of signage.

SBI’s website (signshop.com), newsletters, Buyer’s Guide, and digital edition keep you updated with timely news, recent projects, and upcoming industry events.

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ILLUSTRATED

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How To DIMENSIONAL

By JEREMY VANDERKRAATS

Peacock Blue A winery pours a lot of color into its new identity sign.

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Instagram account (@Signs_By_Van).

Since her winery is more artistically inspired, Massa wanted us to create a new sign based on one of their wine labels. The first thing we noticed about the label she brought us was that it was very complex. However we knew right away that its design, featuring a colorful peacock bust and feathers surrounded by gold winery vines, had more potential to make this sign stand out amongst the rest in the area.

Selling this project at the outset wasn’t exactly the easiest though. So we invited Massa to visit our facility and see the forty years’ worth of custom work on our walls. She also watched our bevy of phenomenally talented artists and designers working on other projects. Soon she was sold! Now we just needed to deliver.

The end-result was a 60-by-52-inch double-sided sandblasted western red cedar sign featuring intricate painting, CNC-routed and hand-carved DUNA-

USA CORAFOAM® high-density urethane add-ons for the peacock bust, and 23K patent gold leaf letters and borders.

Building the Sign The design process was pretty straightforward. The real work began as we wrapped our heads around the build process and how to replicate a printed label onto sandblasted wood and foam.

We had our designers layout the wine label sign in Adobe Illustrator® and check the sizing and borders before cutting the stencil.

We ordered 2-by-12-inch Western Red Cedar blanks from Jackal Enterprises in Watsonville, California. Once they arrived, we processed the individual twoinch-thick pieces through our planer.

We then took the Western Red Cedar boards and joined each of them with biscuits and Titebond II premium wood glue. We let the glue dry for seventy-two hours before taking the clamps off. signshop.com

All Photos: Signs By Van.

M

assa Estate is an awardwinning, premium winery that’s located in Carmel Valley, California. They produce 100-percent certified organically grown wines that are also bottled there. Massa Estate recently took over the property from a previous winery, and because of this, they were looking to update the welcome sign in their parking lot.

The original property had been a tasting room for twenty-five years, and during this time, they had been using a vinyl print slipped onto an original sign bracket. This result captured the look and feel of the Carmel Valley area; however time and weather had rendered this sign in horrible shape.

Massa Estate Owner Laurie Massa approached our company, Signs By Van of Salinas, California, after hearing referrals for us through word of mouth.

She had also been inspired after seeing examples of our work featured on our

DIMENSIONAL

We then cut the Western Red Cedar blank to the rectangular shape and size of the sign.

We created the fifteen-pound-density CORAFOAM Peacock’s breast using Fusion 360 CAD software (which I believe is the future of 3D routing).

We then routed out the bird shape and general depths on our SCM Morbidelli M-100 CNC router. We’ve been sandblasting, routing, carving, leafing, priming, painting, installing, and even replicating molds using CORAFOAM HDU for over twenty-five years now.

The fifteen-pound density is lighter, yet super dense; it also carves, routes, and sandblasts incredibly! Once the shape of the bird was cut out, we began the final carving of it by hand.

We then cut Hartco S930 30m sandblast stencil out on our Roland GX-400 and applied it to our Western Red Cedar blank. Sandblasting was done on both sides of the sign. Due to the sign being double-sided, we blasted each side down approximately 0.25-inch leaving 1.5 inches of solid material after sandblasting.

Next we used Bondo® filler to fill any voids or rough spots on the wood that we couldn’t sand away.

After sanding down the Bondo, we applied two coats of Behr Ultra Premium exterior paint-and-primer-in-one for the sandblasted Western Red Cedar background and let it dry for a day to cure.

Then we sprayed on two coatings of Nova Pearlescent blue paint with an automotive gun in two coats for the background color.

Our muralist and long-time friend, Mr. Dong Sun Kim, then took over the project. He began hand-painting the detail of the peacock in the background with Nova Paint. He used a photo of the wine label as his reference; there were no fancy tricks or patterns.

Once the first side was finished, we took a photograph and printed it out for Mr. Kim to use as a reference to paint the second side as close to matching as possible. It took him five days total to paint the plumes of the feathers, the heads, and the breasts of both peacocks, signshop.com

while during this time, we were making the headdress surrounding it out of stainless steel, foil, and paint.

The cool thing about this is that the peacocks are really custom-painted, since Mr. Kim hand-painted both sides a little differently. Score one for the human touch!

After all the painting and mural work were completed, we applied Giusto Manetti Firenze Gold Beaters 23K patent gold leaf supplied by Goldleafimportexport.com out of New York.

We prepped the paint to receive Charbonnel Mixtion à Dorer Lefranc 12-hour formula gold leaf sizing. We bunched up as much sizing as we could in order to give a bubbled-up effect on the lettering and borders. We let the sizing dry for twelve hours (or until it had tacked up, as needed) and then proceeded with leafing the sizing. (Note: To learn more about the process of gold leafing, turn to page 22.)

The only components attached to this sign were the two peacock busts. We attached the busts by hammering small nails into both sides of the Western Red Cedar and cutting the heads off. We then pushed the bird busts onto the nails using clear silicone as the adhesive. This ensured a tight fit and guaranteed that the piece won’t ever fall off.

Whitening the Posts At the job site, we ripped out the entire pre-existing sign structure and built the box frame out of six-by-six-foot pieces of Clear Heart Redwood beams.

However, our client wanted this sign to look as if it had already been on-property for a long time. So we took measurements, planed the beams down, and lagbolted them together. We had built the sign panel inside a tight seam within the frame so it wouldn’t move. When you’ve got two-inch-thick pieces of cedar, you don’t want it to bow or warp.

We then took Behr Ultra Premium exterior white paint and crafted a mixture of 90 percent water to 10 percent paint.

We grabbed a rag and wiped the mixture onto the beams.

Once completed, we next took a dark

How To

By JEREMY VANDERKRAATS

Winery Sign-making Recipe CNC Router: SCM Morbidelli M-100 CNC router

HDU: DUNA-USA 15-pound Corafoam®

Western Red Cedar: Jackal Enterprises

Sandblast Stencil: 30mm Hartco S930

GLUE: Titebond II

Paint (Base Background): Behr Ultra Premium Exterior Paint

Paint (Top and Final): Nova Pearlescent Blue Paint

23k Patent Gold Leaf: Giusto Manetti Firenze Gold Beaters

Gold Sizing: Charbonnel Mixtion à Dorer Lefranc

May 2019

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DIMENSIONAL

How To

By JEREMY VANDERKRAATS

grey 9:1 mixture of paint and water and rubbed in the dark as needed until the desired texture was achieved.

Installation of the beams consisted of boring through parking lot asphalt fourteen inches in diameter. We dug through four to six inches of this asphalt to hit paydirt. We went down approximately thirty inches into the ground, dropped the main beams into the ground, and poured in Quikcrete concrete.

We watered the concrete mix to solidify it, and following that, we cleaned the site. We were finished!

Conclusion The contrast of the sign to the frame is ultimately why the sign stands out in its environment. Then add in the distinct pearlescent Nova blue and the dimensional peacock, and voilà, this sign makes for an incredible design—all thanks to

signshop.com

our team of talented sign makers!

Anytime you have a client that is very particular about their logo or image—especially one that was this detailed, you have to deliver.

We encourage shops to contact us if they have any questions about materials and processes. We’re also excited that

we’ve just finished filming the third episode of our Signing the Gold Coast sign reality series that deals with clients and sign-making projects appearing weekly on our YouTube channel. Check it out!

Jeremy Vanderkraats is owner of Signs By Van (signsbyvan.com) in Salinas, California.

May 2019

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How To DECORATION

By JIM HINGST

The Art of Surface Gilding

B

efore doing any type of gilding, the surface must be clean and smooth. Any imperfections in the surface will be very noticeable. Rough surfaces may require sanding and repainting.

How you prep the surface will depend on the type of substrate, its condition, and how badly the surface is contaminated.

A surface newly painted with lettering enamel is usually ideal; gilding metal may require priming. Prepping older surfaces require the most care, which can include washing with mild detergent and water, solvent cleaning, and then finally wiping the surface with isopropyl alcohol.

After the surface is cleaned, an adherent (gold size) is applied to the substrate.

In the sign industry, the size, which is usually oil-based, is classified either as a fast size or a slow size, depending on how quickly the adherent comes to tack. Depending on the brand, fast size comes to tack between 45 and 75 minutes and has

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an open time between 1.5 and 2.5 hours.

“How fast a size comes to tack and remains open depends greatly on the temperature and humidity of your work environment,” says sign maker Joe Balabuszko. “That’s why it’s important to test how fast the size sets up.”

After you apply the gilding size to your work surface, also apply some to a test panel and write down the time the size was applied. Twenty minutes after applying the fast size, start to check for proper tack. To do this, drag the back of your knuckle against the size. If your knuckle makes a squeaking sound, the sizing is ready for gilding. If the sizing has not sufficiently dried, wait ten minutes and repeat the knuckle test. Keep checking every ten minutes until the size is ready.

Timing is everything. If you apply gold leaf too soon, you can drown the leaf in the size, which will dull the brilliance of the gold. If you wait too long and miss the window of opportunity, the

gold leaf will not adhere properly and will flake off.

For outdoor applications, gilders often recommend a slow size, such as Charbonnel’s Le Franc 12 Hour Gold Size. When gilding with real gold leaf, Le Franc slow size produces a much brighter gild than when using the fast size. One reason is that slow size has more time to level out, so its surface is smoother. Slow size also provides you with a longer window of workability that can last up to twenty hours. That gives a sign maker plenty of time to gild a large project or to deal with those inevitable everyday interruptions, which come with running a business.

Before using gold size, you should always stain it through cheesecloth to filter any dried bits of adhesive. After straining the size, many gilders tint it, adding a few drops of imitation gold lettering enamel.

If you are gilding on a dark substrate, the tinting will give the size some contrast with the background. Many gilders use signshop.com

Photo: Shutterstock/ ninanaina.

Applying gold leaf to various substrates and surfaces.

Photography by Nacása & Partners

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How To DECORATION

By JIM HINGST

the size straight out of the can, never thinning it, because thinning can weaken the bonding strength of the size.

Before applying the gold size to the work surface, Dr. Francis Lestingi of the Society of Gilders recommends dusting the work surface with Shadow Kaolin, which is a powdered Welsh Clay. This serves two purposes. As the size is brushed on, the haze disappears so you can easily tell which areas have been coated and which haven’t. Any missed spots are easy to detect. The Kaolin powder also forms a barrier preventing the gold leaf from sticking to any areas of the sign, which does not have size applied to it.

Using an artist’s mop brush, dust the surface with the powder to evenly distribute it over the painted surface. Any excess powder should then be vacuumed off, leaving a very fine gray haze on the black painted surface. Using this procedure,

very little Kaolin remains—not enough to contaminate the adhesion value of the size.

To apply the size, many gilders use either a lettering quill or a fitch. A lettering quill works great for flat surfaces because it allows you to precisely apply the size where you want it. If you are gilding a carved or textured surface, you are usually better off using a fitch, such as the “The David Hightower Fitch” by the Andrew Mack & Son Brush Company.

Because the head of the fitch is comprised of short hog bristle, the hair is stiffer and consequently does a better job of brushing the size into any tight corners and of brushing out any puddling.

For good adhesion of the gold leaf, you only need to apply a single light coat of size. After applying the size, carefully inspect your work and make sure that the size hasn’t puddled. Any excessive pooling of the size would drown the

ultra-thin gold leaf.

After the gold leaf is positioned in place, use a squirrel hair mop brush to gently press the leaf into the size. After the gold leaf is applied, use the mop brush to dust away the excess gold particles, called skewings.

If you are working with composition leaf, you can use goat hair mop brushes and cosmetic brushes. The reason that you should not use these brushes on real gold is that their hair is much coarser than squirrel hair and can scratch the gold, dulling the gild.

Some gilders will also use cotton to remove excess gold. Be very careful when rubbing the gold with the cotton ball.

Although the cotton feels soft, the cotton fibers are coarse enough to scratch the soft gold. The more that you rub the gold with the cotton, the less the gold will shine.

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May 2019

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Feature Name LIGHTING

By ASHLEY AuthorBRAY

ROCK ‘n’ ROLL RESTORATION

26

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The original guitar sign for Hard Rock Café plays on.

T

he newly restored Hard Rock Café guitar sign was illuminated for the first time in years during a recent private event at its new home in the Neon Museum’s Boneyard in Las Vegas.

After the Hard Rock Café’s off-strip Las Vegas location closed down in 2016, the sign’s fate was uncertain. But thanks to the joint efforts of the Neon Museum and Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) Custom Electric Signs, the sign made a comeback worthy of a true rock legend.

Preparing for a Second Act The sign stood in front of Hard Rock Café’s Paradise Road location for twenty-seven years before it closed down at the end of 2016. The sign remained standing for a while longer, and the question became what to do with the massive structure.

Hard Rock didn’t have a place for

the sign, and since it was under lease, YESCO still owned and had title to it.

The sign company didn’t want to see the sign scrapped, so they reached out to the Neon Museum.

YESCO has a long relationship with the Neon Museum, a non-profit organization founded in 1996 dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying, and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signs. When Las Vegas granted the Museum the ground for the collection and display of the signs,YESCO, who had for years collected old signs in its facility’s backyard, was one of the first donors. “We donated our backyard worth of signs, and then they became a collecting point for a lot of other signs,” says Young.

Today the Neon Museum campus includes the Neon Boneyard outdoor exhibition space, a visitors’ center housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby, and the Neon Boneyard North Gallery that houses additional rescued signs.

“The Neon Museum has been working to preserve its collection through several means, including full and partial restoration,” says Tracey Sprague, collections manager at the Neon Museum. “Restoration helps maintain the physical appearance of historic signs for generations to come. The museum has restored signs from several decades, highlighting the ever-changing styles of neon signs in Las Vegas from the 1940s to the present day.”

The Neon Museum was interested in the Hard Rock Café guitar sign, but there

All Photos: The Neon Museum.

A Chart-Topping Hit The Hard Rock Café guitar sign starts its story in the late ’80s, when Warwick Stone, The Rock Collector™, rock ‘n’ roll art and memorabilia expert, and one of the founding members of Hard Rock’s creative team, came to Las Vegas looking to do something big. “[Stone] had installed a couple of Cadillacs that were cut in half in front of some Hard Rocks, and he said let’s do something really different,” explains Jeffrey Young, senior vice president of YESCO Custom Electric Signs, a thirdgeneration family-owned company that will celebrate 100 years in 2020.

Stone’s vision was for a giant guitar to sit outside of the Las Vegas location. The only problem was that the estimate for the project was well above what Stone had budgeted.

To make this project a reality, Stone

and the Hard Rock opted to lease the sign. “They were able to get a much larger project than they had anticipated, and that sign came to life,” says Young. “Without the financing option, we don’t know what this guitar would’ve looked like.”

Designing this sign was unlike any other YESCO had done as they were looking to replicate an actual guitar that Stone had always loved—the #9 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Cherry Sunburst guitar that had belonged to Pete Townshend of The Who. The actual guitar happened to be in Hard Rock’s possession, which they brought down to YESCO’s offices. “We were able to measure, color match, examine, and review it,” says Young. “It’s uncommon for us to recreate a literal object and particularly one of such renown in rock ‘n’ roll history.”

The final sign—an 80-foot-tall, exact replica of the #9 guitar—was installed outside of the Hard Rock Café at the corner of Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue in 1990. It was the first of what would soon become the recognizable signage symbol of Hard Rocks around the world.

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were a few hurdles to clear before the sign could settle into its new home—namely was there even a place for an eighty-foottall sign in the Neon Museum? “There are 200 signs there, but most of them are broken down and 15 to 20 feet tops,” says Young. “So the question became, where in the world would we even put this thing, and would the city even allow it?”

The area the Neon Museum is located in doesn’t allow any structures as high as the guitar sign, but luckily, the City of Las Vegas and Clark County tend to be very flexible with their sign codes.

“They granted us a major exemption to the height restrictions in that neighborhood,” says Young. “And if you drive through there, the neck of that guitar and that guitar towers above everything else that you can see. We were very grateful because this could have been shut 28

Sign Builder Illustrated

May 2019

down in the city.

“I think there’s a special feeling toward the museum and the history, and an upwelling of support and feeling about this particular guitar and sign, which is the absolute centerpiece, largest of any of the collection and just unbelievable.”

With the sign code issue tackled, the next question was who would pay for the restoration and relocation of the sign?

The Neon Museum has a large following, and they set out to crowdfund the sign’s restoration and maintenance through public relations efforts and appeals to the museum’s extensive database membership. The ongoing campaign ended up being a great success and has raised $232,000 to date from individuals from forty-three states and thirteen countries.

The museum is still accepting donations toward the sign’s ongoing maintenance.

Restoring a Legend YESCO started out the sign renovation by first disassembling the guitar and bringing it to its shop.

Since the support for the sign is vertical, YESCO couldn’t put the sign on its side to complete the restoration. The sign wouldn’t fit inside the shop standing up, so the sign company had to mount it outside of the shop and complete the restoration outdoors.

The decades of use, the move, and an ensuing couple of months waiting in YESCO’s yard for funding led to some broken glass and pieces on the sign.

“Although we took great care in disassembling it and bringing it to our yard, it sat in our yard for months and months,” says Young. “By the time we got ready to put it back together, there was quite a bit of neon work. We took every tube of signshop.com

glass we could that was still operable and reused it. And then of course we had to make the rest of the glass and replace the bulbs that were burned out.”

There is approximately 4,110 feet of neon tubing on the sign, which equates to more than three-quarters of a mile and more than 700 individual neon units.

Neon colors used on the guitar were ruby red, clear red, 3500K white, and gold II. The Hard Rock letters are bolt-packed and comprise up to 1,538, 10-watt clear incandescent light bulbs, spaced out three inches on center.

The bulbs flash in sequence, which requires a lot of wiring. Almost all of the original wiring was redone except for a number of sockets, which the sign company was able to save.

YESCO worked to keep the guitar’s original finish and didn’t do any refinishing on the outside or neck of the guitar.

“The [800-square-foot] actual face of the guitar was done in a translucent wood grain originally. That was a very, very ex-

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pensive process, and it did not hold up over time,” says Young. “So because of financing, the Museum elected to reclad the face of the guitar with painted aluminum.”

Comeback Tour When the restoration was complete, it was time to move the guitar into its new home.

First YESCO got to work on the new massive footing in the outside location the Museum had selected for the guitar sign. The footing included nearly 650 cubic feet of concrete with rebar.

“The place the Neon Museum selected for it worked out perfectly,” says Young.

“Right as you walk in, we were able to access that area, dig our footing, and get the new pole planted and welded off so the whole thing will be structurally secure.”

Transporting the sign provided its own challenges. YESCO disassembled it the way it had been assembled originally, which broke up the sign into eight- to tenfoot long pieces except for two sections— the neck and the head of the guitar. The

neck measures twenty-three feet long.

The head measures thirteen feet, six inches. A special permit was required in order to transport the sign due to its height. The sign pieces were driven over one at a time on a lowboy trailer from YESCO’s shop on the south side of town to the Neon Museum on the north side of town.

Once onsite, YESCO used a Manitex 35124C truck with a 24-ton lifting capacity, 123-foot main boom, and jib with a 165-foot height to assemble the sign. All of the pieces sleeved over the top of the main base pipe and were bolted together.

In total, the restoration and installation took about 1,650 man hours to complete.

“I have to pinch myself that a sign we built in 1990, during my career, won’t just be another one of the signs that no one ever sees again,” says Young. “It’s going to be in a place where it’s cared for, it’s adored, it’s viewed, it’s photographed, and it’s going to be there literally for generations to come.”

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Feature Name ARCHITECTURAL

By LORI Author SHRIDHARE

”The perfect sign is one that’s created just for your brand.”

DESIGNING

OUTSIDE OF THE

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May 2019

I

n today’s digital age, is it possible to achieve both efficiency and creativity while still designing and making custom signage? For one California-based company, the answer has been a resounding “yes.”

Working with top brands such as Dropbox, Reddit, Google, and other retail and technology giants, Tinkering Monkey (tinkeringmonkey. com) gears its signage to the stylistic nuances of fast-growing companies.

Founders Paul Chang and Mike Cheung launched their unique business in 2011, one year after Instagram debuted. Featuring highend photos of their work on their Web site and on their own Instagram feed (which today boasts more than 6,000 followers), they can signshop.com

All Photos: Tinkering Monkey.

now call the photo media platform one of their very own clients.

Eight years following its launch, Tinkering Monkey has grown a robust team of diverse staff who has moved from a one-car-sized garage shop to a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Berkeley. Visitors to the company’s Web site can watch a live video feed of the shop as the team works throughout the day.

While simple signs can be typically ordered on the Internet, there are few viable options for ordering custom signage. This is where Tinkering Monkey has found a niche.

A customer will find the company signshop.com

by either word-of-mouth or a Google search, says Cheung, who works as the company’s production manager. Once they request a custom quote for their project, the company crafts a detailed proposal that the client can easily share with stakeholders and decision makers.

Once the client purchases the project or signs off on the quote, the order immediately goes to the production studio.

Upon completion, the sign is shipped, along with detailed installation instructions, necessary hardware, and accessories. Or, if the client requests installation, Tinkering Monkey will arrange that service.

“We make a big effort in showing our past work and keeping that portfolio current, along with making it as easy as possible to order a sign from us,” says Cheung. “Ordering signage is not something a lot of people have done, so we try to take down the barrier to understanding what is possible for a given project.”

This model appears to be working.

To date, the company has designed and manufactured more than 3,000 signs for 500 companies across the United States.

Exploring the “how-to” behind Tinkering Monkey’s process shows that the company not only demonstrates success but has fun in the process.

Though they work “out of the box,” many of the materials they turn to are traditional, including Sintra®, HDU, plwood, and others. “We tend to use wood more than the average sign shop,” says Cheung.

The company has also dabbled in 3D printing and laser cutting, while on Cheung’s wish list for new fabrication tools is a simple computer such as Arduino and Raspberry PI that allow non-engineers to learn to code. Using such a computer, he’d like to program and operate illuminated signs. “I’m also interested in some of the smaller automated arms I’ve started to see,” he says.

“It would be awesome to assign repetitive tasks like sanding the edges of 1000 wood blocks to a tool that was programmed to do that task.”

When it comes to identity projects, Tinkering Monkey has created halo-lit signs using reclaimed wood. This creates a traditional-looking, classic channel let-

ter that has a modern, rustic look. They have also found that three-dimensional signs are popular where companies need to distinguish their brands.

Donut Shop Sign. What three-dimensional object would make for the perfect donut shop sign? You guessed it: a large donut, twenty-four inches in diameter and eight inches thick. The catch: This one has a chunk missing, with bite marks to show the evidence.

After modeling the perfect donut on the computer, they programmed their CNC router to carefully cut portions out of HDU foam. They attached all the pieces with fast-curing glue.

Then the sign makers sanded the circle to the perfectly smooth, round donut.

“We added a bite mark through carving, which started an internal debate on how many teeth are in a single bite,” says Cheung. “We decided on four.”

Tinkering Monkey then added three to four coats of glossy paint to the donut.

They then router-cut letters and sprinkles out of HDU and glued them to the finished donut shape.

To weatherproof this sign for the exterior, the team fully sealed the foam and coated it with Zinsser primer and exterior acrylic paint.

JanSport Backpack Label. For another project, their client, VF Corporation, requested an interior sign for their Alameda headquarters. Owner of popular outdoor products and apparel brands such as North Face® and JanSport®, the company requested an interior sign for the latter, a popular backpack label. This engraved custom sign was designed as

May 2019

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a three-dimensional interior representation of the brand’s logo. It measures about thirty-six inches from end to end and five inches thick at the center.

The company was given a 2D Illustrator file and used that to create a 3D mockup to better illustrate the dimensionality they had in mind. They built the 3D model in Rhino and rendered it with Adobe Dimension.

After plenty of sanding, they used a heavy filler primer to smooth out the texture and prepped it for paint. Matte black graphics and brushed aluminum plate rounded everything out.

Although the sign finish is mainly painted alder wood, the sign is more suitable for interior display since the clear-coated finishes and components would not fare well outdoors.

Bird in Hand. Unusual products and services call for thinking out of the box a bit more than usual. For Bird, a company that offers electric shooter sharing services throughout the U.S., Tinkering Monkey crafted a doublesided, illuminated wood sign to represent their logo. This large sign measures 72-by-42.34-by-8 inches thick (including the artwork).

Cheung says that, despite its size, this sign was built for interior use only. “We built it from lightweight birch ply and re32

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sawn, reclaimed wood that was applied as a thin ‘skin’ to the front and back surface,” he says, noting they did this to shave down the sign and slightly reduce the weight.

Illuminating the sign are flexible LED strips that were cut into the back.

Learning and exposing Yourself to new things like tools, materials, techniques, and design can foster creativity.

“The strips are attached around the perimeter of each part,” says Cheung.

“Wiring is all done inside the sign, and the LED driver is incorporated into the sign. It’s actually right on the top wing on one side, exposed to the open air to allow any heat to dissipate. Since we knew the sign would be installed overhead, there was no problem leaving this showing on top.

“One of the faces is permanently glued on, and the other is screwed on around the edges. We also painted the screw heads to help blend them into the rustic wood.”

Compass. When real estate technology company Compass approached Tinkering Monkey with a problem they were having in separating lobby space (the front entrance looked into the main conference room), a true architectural signage solution was presented.

The challenge was to create a lobby sign that also doubles as a privacy screen. And to make things more interesting—add an optical illusion to make this a focal point in a rather open space.

Taking cues from the structure of venetian blinds, the team created a ninefoot slat wall that displayed the logo in pieces. As the slats come together, the letters of the logo come together. To prepare for such an undertaking and to note the geometry for the cutter, the team created a 2D projection.

The logo needed to be placed on the sign in a way where it could be read straight-on, yet disappears as the visitor walks right or left. “There were technical challenges as well: sourcing extra-long lumber, making the installation simple (and removable), and most of all—getting all of it done on a tight timeline,” signshop.com

says Cheung.

Tinkering Monkey repetitiously cut and milled all the wood and then applied cut vinyl to all the pieces. The company made alignment combs to make installation simple. They left all the wood pieces long so they could measure and cut them on site. “This way, each piece followed the deviations on the wall,” says Cheung.

The end-result is a system that made the conference room feel like a separate, private space. Also not only does the logo disappear, but it reappears and comes into place when turning the corner.

Conclusion In their eight years on the job, the team at Tinkering Monkey has become comfortable with taking risks. After all, in creating one-of-a-kind signage, there isn’t a detailed playbook available for each project. Cheung believes this is an asset, helping them to remain creative and innovative. “Don’t be afraid to step

outside your comfort zone,” he advises.

“It’s challenging and can be rewarding, despite initial failures.”

The other benefit that comes with exploration and creative in a sign shop is enjoyment. Many of the team members have the opportunity to play with tools and gadgets, experimenting with new concepts and prototypes.

One example of this is the company’s purchase of a 3D printer that they acquired just for fun. “We bought a 3D printer for no particular reason, and since then, some folks have been learning 3D CAD modeling to print parts,” he says. “This has led to us printing custom bits of hardware for signs.”

In considering how other sign companies might infuse creativity into their daily operations, Cheung says, essentially, creativity comes from passion. “Learning and exposing themselves to new things like tools, materials, techniques, design, can foster creativity,” he says. “Also, attending art and design shows, or taking

classes for things not necessarily directly related to signage, can help.”

Hiring a diverse team of designers, fabricators, and other skilled technicians and artists also helps to maintain a high level of innovation. “We have people working here that have backgrounds in graphic design, interactive design, and industrial design who both fabricate and send quotes to clients,” says Cheung. “We pull from all those skills on a daily basis.”

Thinking outside the box also helps contribute to environmental graphics that are original and engaging, which ultimately, is what draws consumers to a brand. “I think we do contribute to changing the way architectural signage is thought of,” says Cheung. “Making custom signs to fit into highly designed and branded environments has become more and more of our business.

“I think signage is the thing that bridges brand and architecture; it gives people a sense of place.”

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Feature Name neon

By LORI Author John SHRIDHARE Fulena

Norfolk’s NEON Distict celebrates public art and revitalization.

M

urals, glass works, and sculptures line the streets of Norfolk, Virginia’s NEON District, celebrating both the old and the new with more than sixty pieces of public art on display. An acronym for “New Energy Of Norfolk,” the district also features neon art, a nod to Norfolk’s neon heyday, when electric signage advertised the city’s booming automobile industry, including a Ford manufacturing plant that operated from 1925-2007.

Launched in 2013, the district is supported by grassroots planning from art36

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ists and civic leaders, including the city’s Public Art Commission and the NEON District Committee.

Property owners, tenants, and artists are motivated by the public art grant program, which provides funding to revitalize and beautify a downtown area that was once neglected.

Although the district has been active for the past six years, the city and the Downtown Norfolk Council have been working on these efforts for the past twenty years, says Rachel McCall, special projects manager for the Downtown Norfolk Council.

“Norfolk firmly believes in the economic, creative, and human value of an arts community,” she says. “Public art is an essential piece of this place making, creating opportunities for interaction, play, and beautification.”

Artists are not only inspired by the rich heritage of neon signage that advertised the automobile dealers and repair shops of the past but also the current arts scene, which includes the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio.

The Studio offers a neon bending class to the public and opportunities for expesignshop.com

All Photos: Downtown Norfolk Council.

with sculptural neon. Following the show, Peterson loaned the piece to NEON, which is currently featured on an historic apartment building in the district. The local sign industry also took part in this project; a neon sign fabricator and installer worked closely with the Downtown Norfolk Council to complete the display.

NEON’s signage program extends beyond its namesake. In 2017 and 2018, the Downtown Norfolk Council created a wayfinding program to help visitors navigate the arts district.

“The signage package focused on connecting two sides of the district at a pedestrian scale,” says McCall. “The program included locally made glass discs embedded in city sidewalks, custom fabricated metal, and concrete monolith signs with directions and display windows for vinyl art.”

In addition, a bus station canopy was retrofitted with a sculptural piece that showcased the NEON logo. Local fabricators and a sign company supported the fabrication of the project, in collaboration with a graphic design and architecture firm who spearheaded the drawings.

The range of artwork on display in the district reflects the diversity and talent of the city, creating a tapestry of both small and large pieces that dot the cityscape.

Describing the pieces as everything from “tiny pops of color” to giant murals, electric signs, and temporary fiber pieces, McCall says that much diversity underlies the talent, “Internationally known artists have created large-scale works, as have student artists as young as fifteen years old.” rienced studio artists and beginner glass assistants to hone their craft. Glass artists (including well-known neon artists) hold demonstrations at Chrysler’s “hot shop.”

“The combination of historic influence and modern artistry has made the district perfectly situated for neon, glass, and sign experimentation,” says McCall. “Additionally, there are a number of new neon signs that property and business owners have now added to the neighborhood.”

One example of a neon art piece is “SEEP NFK,” created by Chicago artist Erik L. Peterson who first displayed the piece in Norfolk in 2015 for AGLOW, a neon exhibition showcasing local, national, and international artists who work signshop.com

At any given point, a visitor to the district might see one piece created by a local art professor and another by a New York muralist. “We also have pieces created by local university students, sign fabricators, and glass artists of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. The murals are just as varied as the creators,” says McCall.

The Council receives a high number of applicants for each open call. Once selected, artists receive micro-grants of up to $599 for material and design costs.

Property owners and tenants can apply for matching grants (up to $2,500) of the funds raised in support of a project.

In drawing visitors, the arts district is achieving its goal of revitalizing the area.

“The public is extremely welcoming to public art,” says McCall. “Visitors, both professional and amateur photographers, come to the NEON primarily to take photos.”

More property owners are also taking advantage of the grant program and investing in art for public display. “Businesses are now accustomed to public art, often requesting a mural upon signing a lease in the neighborhood,” says McCall.

The Council plans on adding more neon, repairing and maintaining the pieces, and continuing an ongoing project to display LED signage. “The artwork serves to knit together a sense of pride for our local fabric in Norfolk,” says McCall. “Our city has one of the largest concentrations of public art on the east coast, in a very dense area that is highly walkable and recognizable.”

For more, visit neonnfk.com/about.

“SEEP NFK” is a neon art piece created by Chicago artist Erik L. Peterson.

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VEHICLE GRAPHICS

By LORI SHRIDHARE

Wrapped Up Education hen a vehicle graphics shop needs a hand or a helpful tip, who should they turn to?

Sure a friendly visit might come in handy just as the challenges begin, but an expert resource may save the day.

This is exactly the line of business Justin Pate is in as co-founder of The Wrap Institute (wrapinstitute.com).

When he and Scott Bechtel founded the The Wrap Institute in 2013, their goal was to create a digital platform that was affordable and accessible to all, no matter where the shop was located.

Today Pate offers guidance via the institute’s online videos as well as teaches in-person workshops on the tricks of the trade.

Pate’s twenty-three-year career has taken some interesting turns, as he has leaned more towards teaching rather than running an outright vehicle graphics business.

“I was always a freelance installer and 38

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May 2019

enjoyed that work/life balance,” he says.

“Having employees or getting into print/ design was something that did not interest me, so I never even considered going in that direction. I love to wrap and that’s all I wanted to do.

“I was originally approached to build a workshop program back in 2001, but I thought the industry was too young then, so I turned it down. Five years later, a client of mine really made me believe I had an install style that was unique (I could wrap with high quality and durability, but much faster than anyone else). Also, at the same time, my wife (girlfriend at the time) made it quite clear that she thought I would make a great teacher. That got some light bulbs turned on and, over the years, I naturally gravitated towards doing it full-time.

Pate recently started the points-based Avery Dennison North American certification program, which he cites as a huge honor. But that doesn’t mean it’s been

easy. He had no template to work off of, so he had to make up the program completely from scratch.

“It’s been good to see the passing percentage get higher over the years as I think the new generation coming up gets up to speed quicker in terms of quality and knowledge,” says Pate.

“The hood test is a digital full print and fairly straightforward in terms of what is expected in terms of alignment and finishing,” he continues. “The fender test originally was digital full print but now it’s color change as the market has changed. Here the installers are allowed to take off hardware because they have to wrap deeper into the car.

“The door is the most interesting of them all in that it’s the hardest. I chose to keep the door handle on the car for the test and not allow any hardware removals as I want to see a variety of skills: how to work around raised objects (like antennas), how they make signshop.com

Photo: The Wrap Institute.

W

The school is open for wrapping vehicles.

inlays/overlays as well as making good choices when cutting.”

There are no mirrors or bumpers on the test simply because Pate finds it hard to consistently find the same shape on all cars. “Raised door handles are the most consistent, which is why I went in this direction,” he says.

The last part of the program is the cutting test on a window. “This is the one the installers get most nervous about but, ironically, the one most pass,” says Pate.

According to Pate, the industry is changing so quickly and, if you are open to learning, you get caught in the learning current, which really keeps things fresh and fun.

He has wrapped in a variety of places, such as in barns that had chickens and pigs walking around.

“I think the most interesting workshop that I’ve taught was in Brunei in Southeast Asia,” says Pate. “I didn’t know beforehand that it was going to

be a private workshop for the prince.

He loved wrapping, and so he had started his own company.

“The prince found a crew of installers from different countries and asked

A pro knows not to skip steps and that, for me, is essential to succeeding in this industry. me to train them in order to tighten their game. We actually wrapped a Mini Cooper in chrome, which turned out to be for his twelve-year-old son.”

Pate ended up teaching at this workshop for three days. “In between, I was

also happy that I go to see cool parts of this far-away country.”

As far as the most common tips he provides to his clients/students—and that everyone else should know—Pate stresses to never rush the job.

“As soon as you start to rush— whether you are designing, selling, producing material, or installing—steps will get skipped, which can lead to lower quality and, possibly, items having to be reprinted or reinstalled,” he says.

The sign of a true professional, according to Pate, is being able to keep it together even when things get chaotic.

“I see this especially during wrap contests and certifications that I am involved in,” he says. “The people who make it to the next round have a quick but steady pace, their tools are in order and, in a weird way, they seem to be enjoying themselves.

“A pro knows not to skip steps and that, for me, is essential to succeeding in this industry.”

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Shop Talk

By JEFF WOOTEN

A Sign of Successful Hiring

Full-service company identifies the best employees.

W

e believe that you hire for attitude and you train for success.” That’s the philosophy espoused by Pete Rappoccio, owner and founder of Sign Pro, a full-service sign company based in Plantsville, Connecticut. Sign Pro believes those attributes are the foundation that sign shops should be focusing on when it comes to bringing on the best candidates to their work force (designers, fabricators, installers, support staff, etc.).

Today Sign Pro boasts about sixtythree full-time employees, which is quite a leap from thirty years ago when Rappoccio started the company out of a bedroom in his parents’ home. A few years later, he moved the business out into a small, 200-square-foot garage with no running water, where he was able to then bring four people onboard. Next was expansion into a 3,500-square-foot shop, an 11,000-square-foot building,

and today a 40,000-square-foot facility.

Rappoccio firmly believes that if workers enjoy where they reside, then that’s an even better chance of attracting top-tier talent to your company. “We are very fortunate that we are located in Connecticut,” says Rappoccio, “Our state has a highly educated workforce.

We have an excellent quality of life to where we live and work.”

The management at Sign Pro trains their staff to be dedicated to and talented in their craft. “At that point, it is up to ownership to show employees the respect they deserve for the job they perform and be able to retain them,” says Rappoccio. “Our employees enjoy coming into work each and every day.”

Rappoccio is proud to have a great staff working at his company. “Everyone is committed,” he says. “We understand lean management and processes, procedures, and policies, and that is how we

Sign Builder Illustrated (Print ISSN 895-0555, Digital ISSN 2161-4709) (USPS#0015805) (Canada Post Cust. #7204564; Agreement #40612608; IMEX Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada) is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 55 Broad St. 26th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices.

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Pricing, Qualified individual working in the sign industry may request a free subscription. Non-qualified subscriptions Print version, Digital version, Both Print & Digital versions: 1 year US/Canada/Mexico $50.00; foreign $99.00.

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were able to grow the business in an organized manner versus a chaotic one.”

With that being said, Rappoccio acknowledges that his company operates in a very demanding environment. “We believe in a ‘customer-first’ approach and an ‘on-time mentality,’” he says. “We did not get to where we are today by not executing for Fortune 500 companies (and even larger national organizations).

The same is true for the local and regional businesses we assist. Attention to detail is everything—to everyone. Many of these larger companies that use Sign Pro (worldwide) are impressed with the craftsmanship, pride, and quality that goes into each project we complete.”

Rappoccio states that plans call for increasing their production staff this year. “We are always seeking new candidates,” he says. “We also support local universities with internship programs.”

Sign Pro is proud to manufacture all products in-house, which means they have to always have quality employees that can handle their responsibilities.

“Our employees are accountable for their tasks, as well as the entire client experience,” says Rappoccio. “Ownership of accountability, we believe, helps keep staff engaged from conceptual design to development to installation. We are not about being the biggest company; we are about being the best company.”

We are not about being the biggest company; we are about being the best.

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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Photo: Sign Pro of Plantsville, Connecticut.

SIGN PRO OF PLANTSVILLE, CT