Sign Builder Illustrated July 2019

The How-To Magazine

J u LY 2019 | s i g n s h o p.co m

UPGRADE YOUR EXPERIENCE DIGI TAL ENHANCES IN T ERIORS

SIGN BUILDER

illustrated

S e e o u r a d o n pag e 5

YEARBOOK 2019: TOP PROJECTS & trends

CHANNEL LETTERS: BETTER & BRIGHTER

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Contents July 2019

Vol. 33

No. 289

How-To Columns

14 16

delivering BIG Props

By Lori Shridhare Larger-than-life props and unique installs define one sign company.

CHOOSE YOUR CUSTOMERS WISELY!

By John Hackley Selling cheap to win a deal will run you right out of business.

departments

4 6 8 ​Cover Photo: NanoLumens.

42 44

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Editor Jeff Wooten provides details about our Yearbook special and adds some extra trends/insights to it.

IN THE INDUSTRY

A recap of the ISA and SBi’s Women Leading the Industry’s kickoff panel.

Sign Show

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

SBI Marketplace

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

Shop Talk

Rich Reamer explains how printing in-plants need to continue growing, in order to help customers capture consumer attention through print.

24 Features

20 24 32 36

14 signshop.com

40

EFFECTIVE DESIGNS

By Mike Antoniak Cloud Gehshan prospers with research then design.

SBI YEARBOOK

By SBi Staff The top sign industry projects and trends covered over the past twelve-plus months.

GAINING PULL

By Jeff Wooten The market for flexible magnets is attractive.

CHANNEL LETTERS: BETTER & BRIGHTER

By Ashley Bray Efficiencies and innovations in the channel letter space.

DRAMATIC DIGITAL LANDSCAPES

Case Study Curved LED display allows casino to engage guests with stunning visual content.

July 2019

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July 2019, Vol. 33, No. 289 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 212-620-7220 abray@sbpub.com Contributing Writers Mike Antoniak, John Hackley, Rich Reamer

art

Art Director Nicole D’Antona Graphic Designer Hillary Coleman

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/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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signshop.com

Novacryl Photopolymer The most diverse line of photopolymer substrates for ADA Braille and Accessible Room Identification Signage Allow your creativity to flow free and make your ideas possible with the most diverse range of substrates available that allow for unlimited design while being environmentally responsible.

www.novapolymers.com 888-484-NOVA (6682)

Editor’s Column

AGENDA

By Jeff Wooten

July 2019 JULY 24-27:

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

August 2019 AUGUST 1-3:

The Northwest States Sign Council Summer Sign Spectacular 2019 sets up this year in and around beautiful Winifred, Montana. (nwsigncouncil.org)

Sign the Yearbook

Insights and forecasts about industry trends.

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install digital signs, you could be subject to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations regarding radio transmissions and could face significant fines if they’re not FCC-compliant. We’ll have more info about this over the coming months, but for now you can see if your displays have appropriate FCC language in user manuals, are labeled on on the display, or if they’re listed as compliant in the FCC database. There are no exceptions, so there are no grandfather clauses.

Wallcoverings. Vinyl continues to help your clients customize their interiors in unique ways. “The trend looks to be moving toward longer rolls of material due to faster and more efficient printing technology,” says Brian McElwaine, marketing manager at Dreamscape Wallcoverings, noting that 25-, 50-, and 100-yard rolls have historically been the standards used by shops. “Now more printing companies are looking for 200-plus-yard rolls.

“Meanwhile designers like to use opaque, white ink, along with semi-translucent ink, in tandem with unprinted material to create wallcovering designs that they’ve never been able to before with white, solid, or even other metallic wallcoverings without base effects.”

Jeff Wooten Editor, jwooten@sbpub.com

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

AUGUST 22-23:

The 2019 NSSA Sign Expo is moving to Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. (nssasign.org)

September 2019 SEPTEMBER 20-21:

The Sign Association of Canada’s national tradeshow, Sign Expo Canada 2019, takes place at the International Centre – Entrance 1 in Mississauga, Ontario. (sac-ace.ca/sign-expo-canada)

October 2019 Photo: Shutterstock/Bychykhin Olexandr.

O

ur “Yearbook 2019” looks back at some of the top trends, technologies, and projects that our magazine has covered over the past six to twelve months (give or take a few days). In this special section, you’ll find recaps related to ADA, digital printing, dimensional, electronic signage, lighting, and more.

At the end of each entry, we’ve posted the issue (or Web site address, when applicable) where you can find more information. Fields are presented alphabetically with designations of either “Project,” “Insight” (commentary from experts in the field), or “News.”

There is also a “Timeline” citation for any noteworthy event that occurred.

Sidebars also look ahead to the next six to twelve months with select commentary from manufacturers and associations.

These are labeled “Forecast” (where a certain market is headed) and “Trends” (hot segments of the industry).

One thing I believe you should keep your eye on over the next six-plus months is the continuing Chinese tariffs implemented last year by President Trump, particularly when it comes to continuing them on aluminum and steel products and possibly including oil (which could affect substrate pricing). Here are some other insights and trends to follow: FCC and Digital Signage. It’s a rule that’s been around for years but also one that has had its awareness raised over the past year. If you sell or

AUGUST 8-10:

OCTOBER 23-25:

The inaugural PRINTING United (formerly SGIA Expo) converges at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. (printingunited.com)

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In The Industry

Women Leading

L

AS VEGAS, NEVADA—Women Leading the Industry (WLI), an initiative launched by the International Sign Association with Sign Builder Illustrated, had its kick-off event at the ISA International Sign Expo on April 26 with the panel session “The Female Leader: Passion, Empowerment and Confidence.”

The networking breakfast drew a capacity crowd with over 200 registered for the session. Attendees spent the morning networking, participating in roundtable discussions, and hearing from three women leaders in our industry in a panel discussion moderated by Sign Builder’s own Managing Editor Ashley Bray.

Missed the session? We caught up with the three panelists—Betsy Ewart, national sales executive, Pattison Sign 6

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Group; Taylor Blanchett-O’Donnell, corporate services manager, Blanchett Neon Ltd.; and Lori Anderson, president & CEO of ISA—to talk leadership.

What is one characteristic you believe every leader should possess?

BETSY: Authenticity! A leader who possesses a natural ability to be genuine captures the trust and following of her team.

Be real, be yourself, and be confident in who you are. [When the] actions of a leader align with what they say, it shows a side of vulnerability some leaders are sometimes afraid to show. There is a perception in business that emotions and/ or lack of emotions equate to strength.

There are situational circumstances that are better when emotion and compas-

sion are part of the leadership equation.

LORI: One characteristic that I believe is crucial to any leader is the ability to facilitate others in complex decision-making. Leaders typically make decisions numerous times each and every day. But the capacity to help others in making important decisions is highly, and arguably even more, important. Leaders who can guide groups in working through tough challenges, rather than making all decisions unilaterally, also results in unifying the team around a common purpose and mission and typically creates richer, more meaningful results. I encourage current and emerging leaders to take facilitation courses or study the techniques of others.

This skill can make a tremendous difference both professionally and personally. signshop.com

All Photos: ISA.

the Industry kicks off

TAYLOR: When I first joined our family sign shop, not only was I young and female but having your last name above the front door is a different challenge entirely. The best advice I ever received came from my father, who had previously gone through a very similar situation: Do your work to the best of your abilities and ignore those who don’t see your value or assume you’re in a position based on your name. Focusing on completing your duties and what is within your control is really all you can do. Your efforts will be recognized and acknowledged by those who truly matter, and your worth will speak for itself.

Pictured (L-R): Lori Anderson, Taylor BlanchettO’Donnell, Betsy Ewart, and Ashley Bray.

TAYLOR: Everything starts and ends with a clear vision for the future and passion or a belief in what we do to see that vision through to completion. The ability to communicate and live the “why” behind our work is what attracts the very best of the best to our organizations, and our passion is what keeps them. How we work is the (relatively) easy part, but to truly set our businesses apart in an increasingly competitive market, we need to engage our teams to do more than just walk-the-walk.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

BETSY: Nothing is forever! Each segment of life, whether personal or career, is part of your story. The tough times signshop.com

and even the good times do not last forever, but each opportunity to learn or grow builds your foundation stronger.

The experiences matter and allow you to pay forward the advice and empathy, as others share their own struggles or successes. Cherish the opportunities that come your way, and take the chance to try something new if it feels right for you.

LORI: An ISA Board member told me, early in my tenure, this piece of sage advice: Asking for help is a sign of strength not of weakness. Often people in the position of leadership feel a need to prove themselves, and this can translate into going it alone. Seeking the help and guidance from others has helped me get through some challenging times.

Who are some of your role models?

BETSY: I have had various role models throughout my life, including my parents who always supported my every whim to try new things. In the public sector, I have two role models. Michelle Obama conveys a level of confidence and happiness that would appear to be contagious.

She seems to light up a room in even the soberest of settings when she has been in the press. Another one of my role models is someone I’ve taken interest in of late, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, due to her many documentaries and books. What an inspiration still going strong! She has seen so many challenges through not only for women but as a country, as expectations of society have evolved.

TAYLOR: As a female working in a male-dominated industry, I have always been drawn to and have tried to model my career after other women in similar roles. Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey have found, maintained, and championed their own voices in rooms that are predominantly male. Serena Williams and Beyoncé are relentless in their pursuit of excellence and do whatever it takes to stay at the top of their game. But most importantly, my parents have always worn their values on their sleeve and demonstrated what honesty, integrity, and teamwork look like in action, and I couldn’t be prouder to continue that legacy.

For more news on WLI events and women in our industry, visit signshop.com/wli and signexpo.org/womenleading.

July 2019

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Sign Show FABRICS New Ten-foot-wide, Dust-free Blockout Fabric from Fisher Textiles

ADA/WAYFINDING CAB Signs is Now Offering 3D Direct ADA Signs Wholesale signage partner CAB Signs is excited to introduce a new ADA product, 3D Direct, to their product line. With this new product, you get better durability than an applied tactile appliqué sign with raster Braille at a reduced cost.

The new eco-friendly product is available on acrylic, brushed aluminum, oxidized brass, and plastic. Commonly 3D Direct ADA signs are customizable and produced in many colors, designs, and shapes, per ADA specifications. CAB Signs can print full-color background as well as small raised copy for logos. 3D Direct ADA signs are available in sizes up to 24-by-48 inches. (800) 394-1690; cabsignsinc.com

Fisher Textiles, a supplier of fabrics for dye sublimation, UV, latex, and direct digital printing, announces the availability of GF 7210 X-Out Super Soft (pictured), the company’s newest ten-foot-wide, light-blocking fabric liner for pillowcase tension fabric displays and three-dimensional fabric shapes.

GF 7210 is completely opaque and has a soft acrylic-coated back. It is lightweight (7.1 oz/yd2), cuts clean, and creates a sewing environment that is dust-free. The fabric is flame retardant and meets NFPA 701 and California Title 19. Sample rolls are available for testing. Fisher Texitles has also released the highly anticipated DD 4419 Nirvana B.O.B.®, its newest F7 Certified Fabric for soft signage silicone edge graphics (SEG) and roll up banner stand applications. Compatible with transfer dye sub and UV curable printing, DD 4419 Nirvana B.O.B. has a white face and a coated back, offering a two-inone solution for a printable fabric with a built-in liner.

(800) 554-8886; fishertextiles.com

SERVICE EQUIPMENT/TRUCKS The New E120 from Elliott Equipment Can See Action Every Day in the World’s Most Demanding Environments Elliott Equipment Company’s E120 is an ANSI A92.2-compliant aerial work platform that features 120 feet of working height, 80 feet of side reach, 600-pound platform capacity, and up to 1,500 pounds of platform-mounted jib winch capacity. The 105-foot, four-section, cable-extended boom will easily mount to a three-axle chassis suitable for on and off-road applications. Elliott’s E120 was designed from the ground up to solve transmission construction and maintenance challenges by reducing setup time, eliminating the OSHA test pick requirements, reducing equipment expenditures, and optimizing job site performance. The E120 aerial work platform, measuring 34-by-72 inches with hydraulic leveling, rotation, and optional 1,500-pound capacity jib winch, offers the operator versatility on the jobsite. The optional platform-mounted jib winch extends, elevates, and rotates hydraulically, eliminating manual lifting. The upper platform control performance is accomplished with individual proportional pressure-compensated control valves controlling platform leveling, platform rotation, optional jib winch functions, and optional upper tool circuit. The boom functions are controlled with a hand-held radio remote control. The lower control console features Elliott’s Ride-Around standing platform, full pressure hydraulic controls mounted onto a 360-degree continuous rotation turret for straightahead line-of-sight visibility at all boom positions. A full-color LMI display located at the lower control station is standard on all E-Line products. elliottequip.com

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Bold has no boundaries.

From vehicles, to windows, to walls and floors—every surface is a chance for your customers’ brands to get the attention they deserve. 3M Graphics & Signage product portfolio gives you the tools you need so you and your clients can stand out.

Get inspired.

3M.com/WindowsWallsFloors

Sign Show SIGN SUBSTRATES Multi-colored Polycarve HDPE Sheets are Ideal for Dimensional Signage and Artistic Expression

DIGITAL PRINTING EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES HP Expands Digital Textile Printing for Signage and Décor with New Super Wide Stitch S1000 HP introduces the HP Stitch S1000, a super-wide dye sub production printer designed for high productivity and simplified operation, unleashing new production possibilities for interior décor and soft signage. The HP Stitch S1000 is a 126-inch dye sub printer that brings a new level of innovation to high production companies to meet deadlines more easily by enabling fast speeds, high uptime, and unattended shifts. Fully automatic maintenance ensures optimal image quality without user intervention, while saving time with easy media loading and unloading by a single operator. The HP Stitch portfolio introduces dye sublimation ink into HP’s Thermal Inkjet printing technology to meet rising demand for polyester-based textiles for sportswear, fast fashion, home décor, and soft signage. HP Stitch S1000 is ideal for medium and large print service providers to boost production of textile applications in the soft signage market, including backlits, frontlits, and interior décor. HP Stitch provides 1200 native dpi in thermal inkjet printheads resulting in high-quality prints (including deep blacks and vivid colors). hp.com

Available in five standard color combinations to suit nearly any client’s unique brand of messaging, the Polycarve line from Vycom includes a contrasting core color that—when the top layer is routed—becomes visible, providing an ideal solution for dimensional artistic expression, wayfinding, or outdoor-durable signage. With Polycarve material, sign makers can create dimensional, color-contrasting signage using the same familiar routing and woodworking tools already in use. This material is smooth to the touch and can be shaped using basic tools, providing the ability to create rounded corners, smooth edges, and colors that won’t bleed or leach. Polycarve material is easy to clean and offers superior scratch, moisture, and vandal resistance. This material provides thirty years of outdoor durability that won’t fade, delaminate, chip, rot, or swell when exposed to direct Southern U.S. sunlight or other extreme weather conditions.

Polycarve materials stand the test of time by reducing replacement costs and looking crisp throughout the life of the sign. vycomplastics.com

VINYL/VINYL FILMS Briteline WrapCAST Film Product Kit Keeps Installers and Owners Coming Back Again and Again for More St. Louis-based wholesale sign supplier Grimco Inc., is excited to announce the expansion of the Briteline portfolio by adding Briteline WrapCAST Film to their offerings. This film is perfect for partial and full vehicle wraps, hugging complex curves and body lines. With a 2-mil thickness for the finest conformability, this kit is truly in a league of its own! WrapCAST has a gray adhesive that was engineered with low initial tack technology, contributing to it being one of the most repositionable films in the industry. Once pressure is applied to the film during installation, the bond will continue to strengthen for up to twenty-four hours. The Briteline WrapCAST film comes with a seven-year warranty and is offered in three headturning finishes—high gloss, satin, and extreme matte. The bright white point of the film ensures that your colors will be vibrant and the unprinted area will still pop. This film is compatible with eco-solvent, solvent, latex, and UV ink platforms and comes in fifty-four-inch and sixty-inch widths. Briteline is committed to offering quality products with a competitive edge. Purchase a Briteline WrapCAST kit today and experience why so many installers and owners are coming back again and again for more! grimco.com

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signshop.com

Where the Community Meets 80% of printers believe a consolidated printing industry event would serve the industry better than separate, segment-only events.

PRINTING United is a “One-Roof” Expo that will provide you with access to all of the latest technologies, while making sure you spend less time out of the office.

Be sure to mark the dates in your calendar and register to be a part of the community: PR I NTI N G U N ITE D.CO M

REGISTER NOW OCT. 23-25, 2019 • DALLAS, TX

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center PR I NTI N G U N ITE D.CO M POWERED BY

DIAMOND SPONSORS

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS 3M | GSG | Kornit Digital | OKI | ORBUS Exhibit & Display Group | STAHLS | Top Value Fabrics | Vanguard Digital Printing Systems

Sign Show LETTERS/LOGOS Elegance Letters and Logos Feature a Brilliant Illuminated Edge Marrying Metal and Acrylic Surfaces Gemini, an industry leader in the wholesale manufacture of dimensional letters, logos, and plaques, has announced the availability of Elegance, the company's new line of premium illuminated letters and logos. Elegance combines Gemini’s precisionfabricated stainless steel or aluminum with a distinctive, visible edge of LED-illuminated, translucent white acrylic that extends beyond the edge of the metal. With the Elegance product, customers can select from either a dramatic halo/edge-lit effect or a vibrant face/edge-lit style and choose from a 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch exposed acrylic edge. According to the company, superior fit and finish between the acrylic and metal, plus the sophisticated lighting effects that are created, produce “signs of exceptional visual impact and a sense of quality that enhances any setting.” Elegance custom-design letters and custom logos are available in precision-fabricated six-inch to twenty-four-inch high stainless steel or in sixteen-inch to twenty-four-inch aluminum cans, with returns up to three inches deep. Larger sizes can be accommodated, depending on the configuration. A number of finishes and nearly unlimited paint colors are available, and premium titanium coatings are offered in stainless steel.

Additionally the UL®-compliant LEDs are available in four colors—white, red, blue, and green. GeminiSignProducts.com/Elegance

Honored as a Top Project in Sign Builder Illustrated’s 2019 Yearbook

stand out

Wholesale Foam-Core Sign Manufacturer specializing in custom projects www.SignsByBenchmark.com 800-658-3444 12

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signshop.com

Sign Show SIGN SUPPLIERS Stouse’s New Web Site Platform Gives Customers a Faster, Easier Way to Order Printed Products With its new Web site, Stouse, LLC is drastically enhancing customers’ digital interactions by making it faster and easier for authorized resellers to quote and order specialty printed items like decals, magnets, roll labels, signs, plastics, and much more. By incorporating a new back-end architecture, Stouse gives customers a faster, more intuitive way of navigating through 3,000-plus products to fulfill their printing requirements. Customers can filter, sort, and select their product and easily create an instant online quote or order. Authorized visitors will also experience improved account management features, such as a robust order history and status, e-commerce features, and free sales tools. Additionally an online chat feature for loggedin resellers gives customers the ability to ask and receive immediate answers during expanded business hours.

Stouse Express is also a feature, providing authorized resellers an online tool to receive items fast (delivering in as few as just two days). Users can configure an instant online quote for more than 450 top-selling products. They can easily upload art, check printability, and approve the online proof in minutes, making their job easier. stouse.com

Duets Ultimates. The engraving substrate for your most demanding jobs. ™

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GET TOUGH. See for yourself with a FREE sample at DuetsByGemini.com/GetTough

signshop.com

July 2019

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How To

engraving ByBy dimensional ashley LORI SHRIDHARE bray

Delivering Big Props

F

ifteen years ago, Atomic Props and Effects of St. Paul, Minnesota built an installation that was almost as tall as the building it clung to: an eighty-foot-tall “beanstalk” replica (complete with a carving of fairy tale hero Jack and a house at the top) that curled around two sides of a bank building in New York City’s Times Square.

The company coordinated with engineers, permit providers, and city officials around street closings while designing a safe, sturdy prop that met the client’s visual expectations. The endresult really managed to put their name out there for the community to see.

While their projects since then have been more true to life than gigantic, the magic in each of their props and installations often steal the show in public arenas and have allowed this nearly forty-year-old company to grow in bold, new directions.

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Atomic Props and Effects was founded in 1980 by husband-and-wife Mike and Patricia Pearson, funded with Mike’s final paycheck from his job as an art director at an advertising agency.

Today they have grown to a staff of 19, work on 100 projects per year, and generate revenue in the millions.

As is the case with many careers, the Pearsons stumbled into this niche market. “Mike found that he loved to fabricate his own props for photos shoots,” says Patricia. “Also his art director contemporaries often asked him to design and make the props they needed.

“When he got too busy to both build and call clients, he asked if I would help out. I didn’t know much about building props, but I knew how to talk to people in advertising.”

Patricia states that, as with everything advertising-related, “new and never been done,” is a hallmark for the industry. She finds that being tied to a

business that thrives on uniqueness is both mandatory and exhilarating.

“The market has changed in the same ways most industries have over the past thirty years with the use of computers and new software,” says Patricia. “We use that technology in design and fabrication of the props, but just as important, we are integrating technology into props. This gives the user or the customer a new experience that can be shared oftentimes on social media.”

The couple used to draw fabrication designs by hand. “That artist may now be working at the computer to digitize the art or program a mill to cut the exact shapes,” says Patricia.

Anything carved was once done old school with a block of foam and a filet knife. “We make use of many fabrication modes now—from 3D printing and coding to traditional fabrication techniques like welding and carpentry,” says Patricia.

Atomic Props and Effects artists are signshop.com

Photos: Atomic Props and Effects.

Larger-than-life props and unique installs define one sign company.

How To

DIMENSIONAL

cross-educated on many facets of this prototype work. “The industry-wide changes make use of technology to surprise, entertain, and encourage engagement with the brand,” says Patricia.

“We’ve learned how to integrate technology and re-purpose available elements, along with using traditional skills experimenting with new materials.”

The locations where the props are displayed have expanded greatly. “The advertising industry is now taking the brand message to customers when they are out of their homes,” says Patricia.

“Bus shelters, subway stations, music festivals, malls, airports, and parks are now more typical venues to find our props and 3D displays.”

For their client, Madwell, based in Los Angeles, the company created props for transit shelters to promote Verizon Visible, an app-based phone plan. Five unique-themed shelters were fabricated, each of which included a special bench seat and custom roof top display that helped identify typical locations where phone signals are challenging to come by. Each shelter featured the interior message applied onto vinyl: “Sign up for phone service from the comfort of your own (fill in the blank) along with the visible.com branding throughout.”

The five themes were: a basketball stadium (sidewalk graphics resembling a basketball court, vinyl window graphics featuring silhouettes of fans and pennants, courtside-style seats, and LEDilluminated basketballs and basketball goals atop the roof); a campsite (sidewalk graphics resembling grass, window graphics containing trees and wilderness creatures, a large HDU faux-log bench, and tents and artificial turf atop the roof); a movie theater (window graphics featuring stars and drawn-back curtains, cinema seats, and projectors, glowing emojis, and velvet rope on the roof); a residential bathroom (sidewalk graphics resembling a shower floor, window graphics dotted with soap bubbles and rubber duckies, a fiberglass bathtub for a bench, and a shower curtain and rods atop the roof); and a ski lift (pictured, opsignshop.com

posite page), sidewalk graphics featuring multi-colored ski blades, window graphics with a wintry backdrop, a fiberglass ski lift replica for the bench, and HDU faux-mountains and slalom flags up top).

The company has also been asked to create dimensional and “live” video game characters because the brand wants the fans to be able to engage with them in the world. One such example is Probius the Curious Probe (pictured, below), a fivefoot-tall, remote-controlled game character replica from Heroes of the Storm they created and sent to last year’s Blizzcon Gaming Festival in Los Angeles.

“Probius was part carved and part 3D printed,” says Patricia. “He was integrated with programmable LED lights and sounds downloaded from the game. He also had a camera that sent a point-ofview, live video stream to the virtual attendees. With all the integration, Probius

By LORI SHRIDHARE

had a personality and was able to roll through the venue stopping to ‘chat’ with people along the way. It was a huge hit.”

Patricia finds that the most challenging projects are those that don’t have enough lead time before it’s scheduled to hit the streets. “If we take it on, it’s typical that we’ll have more people fabricating and designing concurrently,” she says. “The stress is always around whether or not it will work in the intended manner.”

At the completion of the projects, there is no time for a redo. “These projects often will run in tandem with a larger campaign that is quite time-sensitive,” says Patricia. “But [our clients] know they can trust us to get it done right, mitigating worry on their end. Our props are easy to install and are built exactly as shown in the CAD drawings, leaving little to no retrofitting on site. Subsequently this saves the client money on install costs.”

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How To

engraving BUSINESS MANAGEMENT By ashley bray

By JOHN HACKLEY

Choose Your Customers Wisely!

W

hen reviewing your financials at the end of the month, do you see red or black? Do you know why? Is it a trend or an anomaly?

There are many reasons for what you see in the numbers and why your bank account looks the way it does.

If you are not impressed with your performance, one particular silent killer is pricing your work low just to gain customers and win deals!

In this article, I am going to show you why you need to be smart about how you choose your customers and set your pricing.

We all want to hit our quotas, keep cash flowing, and maintain enough work on the shop floor to avoid unhappy workers. But at what cost for you—the cost of going out of business?

The bottom line is that if you sell cheap, the odds of not making a profit are pretty darn good. Then, if or when

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you mishandle production or installation (in the least), there is no margin for recovery and you are hosed!

Let me drive the point home with some leverage.

How many dollars’ worth of production must be sold to recover a loss

pricing your work low just to gain customers and win deals can affect your performance. of $100 in rework/bad debt if your net profit after tax is 2 percent?

The answer is $5,000. That’s right— at a net profit level of 2 percent, you

must produce $5,000 worth of billings to return your profit and loss statement to its original position.

So you need $100 of net profit to make up for the loss. But our Net Profit is only 2 percent; that is, each dollar of billing only produces two cents of net profit. So the equation we are now asking is: “How many $0.02 does it take to equal $100?

The answer is 100 divided by 2 percent—which equals $5,000.

Table 1 (pictured, page 18) can be used to calculate the amount of sales required to replace income lost through bad debt, charge off, or rework incurred at a Net Profit after Tax Margins 2 to 5 percent.

So is it you that’s setting the price or the customer?

If it is you, you need to go back to your common sense corner and rethink your proposal.

If it is the customer, it is time to educate them on the merits of your value signshop.com

Photo: Shutterstock/ fizkes.

Selling cheap to win a deal will run you right out of business.

How To BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

By JOHN HACKLEY

Most owners do not realize they are in control of who they do business with and what they should be selling their products and services for.

If you lead, promote, and manage your company well, there will be plenty of the right customers in the market for you, which is something to think more about.

Table 1

and negotiate a fair deal or cut your losses and run.

Customer relationships founded on price often lead to other frustrations including: rework, collections difficulties, and at worst, nonpayment resulting in bad debt.

If, in fact, you are underselling your offerings, you are creating a condition that

does not allow your company to earn profit before you even get the chance to do so.

Thinking you can make it up on the next sale is unrealistic. (Note: As a reinforcement reminder, look at Table 1 again.)

Do not count on a “make-up” job ever happening, especially if you continue to behave the same way that got you here in the first place.

John Hackley leads strategic growth, guides partnership development, and serves as CEO for Oculus Business Coaching, a company that provides consultation and coaching programs designed to help manufacturers implement systemic solutions enabling them to sell more, build better, and profit for life. He brings over thirty-five years of small manufacturing business experience to his position. For more information, call (510) 760-6959 or visit oculuscoaching.net.

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Feature Name Design

By MIKE Author ANTONIAK

PHOTO B

Effective

I

ndoors and outdoors, effective graphic design best serves its sponsor by speaking directly to its audience.

While the goal with some signage is to use them to “shout” their message, the challenge to more complex systems for wayfinding and public spaces can be to blend with or enhance the surroundings 20

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while informing and advising all who pass that way.

Philadelphia-based Cloud Gehshan has built its reputation as a premier designer of graphic branding solutions that are visually appealing and effective communications systems. Its creative approach has earned numerous accolades

and recognition and a client list any company would envy.

This success stems from what Cofounder and Chief Designer Jerome Cloud describes as a “holistic” approach the Cloud Gehshan team brings to every project. “We like to understand all the parameters, what motivated the project signshop.com

All Photos: Cloud Gehshan.

Designs

Cloud Gehshan prospers with research then design.

PHOTO A

PHOTO C

in the first place, and what the client hopes to achieve,” he elaborates. “We also like to know what other things are going on around the project that might impact our work or vice-versa. We’re always looking for the opportunity to strengthen that sense of place through a unified system of components.” signshop.com

Ultimately Cloud Gehshan’s proposals are guided by an exhaustive investigative process.

This preliminary phase can include site audits, discussions with all stakeholders about their respective needs, community forums, and research into that locale. It’s the creative interpreta-

tion of all that data, the talents of the Cloud Gehshan team, and their collaboration with partners in each project that combine for compelling designs on such a range of projects.

A Welcoming Garden Portal Cloud Gehshan was recently engaged by the Delaware River Waterfront Group to help rework a foreboding concrete underpass beneath the I-95 corridor into a more inviting and attractive railway entrance for commuters (Photo A).

The client and its partners had already decided on a new illumination system of programmable LEDs, but it wasn’t transformative enough. Cloud Gehshan was tasked with bringing that lighting to life.

“It was dark, dank, and threatening at night,” notes Cloud. “A large number of people pass through this transportation portal going to and from the city, [so] it was important that we counterbalance the environment with something assertive and energetic.”

Research revealed a variety of wild wisteria was indigenous to the area in the 1700s. That discovery inspired the announcement of the entranceway as “Spring Garden.”

To reinforce that connection, brightly lit perforated 13-by-50-foot aluminum panels depicting a lush wisteria pattern now frame the doorway and welcome commuters to the train station. The same design pattern repeats inside on suspended lighting panels.

“In some environments, you can’t be too timid about the things you bring,” he asserts. “We looked for something in the research we could tie the area to and take away from the harshness.”

A Visual Narrative Delving into an area’s past occasionally provides the opportunity to showcase Cloud Gehshan’s expertise and benefit an entire community.

When discussions began on resurrecting Philadelphia’s abandoned Reading Company railway viaduct as an elevated public park and greenway, Cloud was an early advocate. Ultimately the Cloud Gehshan team contributed interpretive and directional signage for the project July 2019

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and donated their collective talents for what is now the rail park’s iconic eightyfoot corten steel wall (Photo B).

“The wall was intended to function as a barrier or screen to an adjacent building,” notes Cloud. “The people in that neighborhood told us they didn’t want anything over-themed or too assertive.”

This wall would also also serve as a backdrop to a public stage planned as a gathering point for those who enjoy the greenway.

Since the old railway traces its path through what was once Philadelphia’s industrial center (and home to both the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads), research focused on the area’s commercial vitality in its glory days. Forgotten company names, logos, slogans, fonts, maps, and period advertisements all suggested something of that rich past.

The design team recommended combining those elements to evoke that era.

The choice of corten steel, with a sur-

face that rusts and changes over time, implies one aspect of the district’s evolution. But it’s the visual narrative presented in the design that elevates the wall into something much more compelling.

As Cloud explains, the intent was not to overwhelm visitors, but make the wall something they could revisit and explore over time to learn the area’s full story.

“We employed an activity called ‘message mapping’ that began with gathering information about the area, the elevated train line, and its history of service to the businesses that once flourished in that section of the city,” he explains. “It literally began with a map over which we began to post images of buildings, logo/ logotypes, slogans, and product images from the period. It began to tell its own lively story about how Philadelphia was once the ‘Workshop to the World.’”

A stainless steel ribbon across the wall defines the original railway path through the district, coursing among laser-cut re-

minders of the many businesses served.

The wall stands as a testament to a bygone era, Cloud Gehshan’s creative design expertise, and the team’s appreciation of their hometown.

“My partners and I felt since we had been awarded so many exciting projects over the years in Philadelphia, we should make a contribution back to the community,” explains Cloud. “This just seemed like the right project to make that contribution.”

(Way) Finding Complex Challenges Wayfinding presents a design team with a much broader array of challenges and considerations than any standalone project.

“These have a complexity that has to be understood before you can begin to design a system that can serve the various communities who will rely on it,” observes Cloud.

He says the most efficient approach is

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usually to develop and phase in a new wayfinding system. Its design should build on, yet simplify, the branding, icons, colors, and flow dictated by navigational aids already in use while addressing any shortcomings.

Plans for new a wayfinding system for Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston started with rigorous assessments of the existing system and interviews with its varied users. The healthcare complex, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, includes multi-floor facilities spread out over several blocks (Photo C).

“We start with a planning/programming phase where we spend a lot of time conducting audits, visually interacting with that environment to determine what’s easily understood and what isn’t,” says Cloud. “This can entail cataloguing signs and symbols already in use, how and where that information is presented to users as they navigate the

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complex, and interviews with staff, visitors, and patients.”

The distinct needs of patients are a guiding priority in the design. “You have to understand what issues patients face from the time they leave home, as well as

wayfinding systems have to recognize the tools people use to reach their destination. the needs of others who will rely on that system,” he says. “That includes every step along the way on their journey from the external to the internal environment.”

Cloud Gehshan’s design team gath-

ered all that data, evaluated its many implications, then worked to streamline navigation to or from any location.

Their design presents users with essential information where they need it in ways readily understood. The wayfinding system also helps brand the complex and facilities with easily identified sign types, colors, and icons to intuitively guide staff and visitors throughout the complex.

The system can seamlessly grow as facilities expand and embrace viable new technologies as they appear. It includes digital display panels in select locations, and patients have access to a branded mobile app and searchable Web site for step-by-step directions before they even leave home.

“Today’s wayfinding systems have to recognize the new tools people are using to reach their destination,” notes Cloud. “The design has to be one that can evolve as those tools change.”

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Sign Builder Illustrated

YEARBOOK 2019

The top projects and trends covered over the past twelve-plus months. *Disclaimer: The entry citations are ranked alphabetically and not in any order of importance or distinction.

ADA Signage (Insight): Preparing for an Install The most important part of an ADA install remains that the signs are compliant with ADA guidelines, meaning the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (which can be reviewed at ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm).

Jennifer Mitchell, national accounts manager at SignMojo.com, says shops should also pay attention to building codes such as Certificate of Occupancy.

“Occasionally local and state building codes will go above and beyond ADA regulations,” she said. “Building inspectors and fire marshals are only required to inspect for building code violations [and] not for ADA compliancy, so not meeting building codes can prevent a building from receiving their Certificate

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of Occupancy on time.”

Meanwhile Charles Kelly, Jr., of Clarke Systems sees many installers make the mistake of placing the ADA sign directly on the door, which puts the reader in danger of being hit in the face with an opening door. According to him, the general rule is that the sign “must be placed on a wall adjacent to the side of the door with the handle/latch.” (March 2019)

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Business (Insight): Are You Poised to Win with Tax Code Section 179?

Dave Miller, managing director of Nova Polymers, wrote about the advantages of the revised Section 179 of the tax code that lets you deduct the expense of various business equipment in the year it is purchased. Previously the amount that could be deducted as an expense

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was $500,000. This has now swelled to $1 million, as long as the property is placed in service during the year for which the expense is claimed. Miller says there are some details you’ll want to cover with your accountant, but the main point is that this rule can open the way for you to have new equipment that can transform the range and quality of the products and services you offer to help differentiate your company from the competition. (July 2018)

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Digital Signage (Project): Stunning Digital Content at Iconic 28 Liberty A massive LED wall and LED ribbons at metropolitan centerpiece 28 Liberty, formerly One Chase Manhattan Plaza, in New York City deliver colorful, artistic content and provide a digital canvas for

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Photo: (Top) Shutterstock/Kostikova Natalia.

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building management. Recent upgrades included 200,000 feet of retail space, a 350,000-square-foot food court, and a 10-screen movie theatre, as well as a 34-by-25-foot LED lobby display and LED ribbons in the retail area that showcase eye-catching visuals. The latter two enhancements, powered by a customizable content management system developed on the ISAAC platform by Miami, Florida-based Smart Monkeys, were designed and developed by renowned digital content creation studio, Montreal-based Float4.

The multi-purpose displays and captivating digital content act as a tool for distributing information about the building itself, local events, and internal announcements as well as attracts attention from tenants and passers-by alike. (Note: To see more photos, visit http://bit.ly/2X0V1Vz.) (September 2018)

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Digital Signage (Project): An Epic Installation Accomplished AV integrator Infinity Sound and Light installed Optec’s flagship 10mm Intelligent-M2 LED display at the state-of-the-art Epic recreation and lifestyle center in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The outdoor modular system forms an LED display measuring approximately 23 feet high-by-42 feet wide that has been mounted onto the recreational building’s exterior wall. It features 10,000 nits ultra-high brightness and louvered tiles that help shade the sun and increase the image contrast. The audio-visual LED video display provides a compelling entrance experience for guests with added visual elements of events and advertisements.

(April 2019)

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Digital Signage (News): The Winner of Watchfire’s Fifth Annual LED Sign Awards is Announced The signage experts at Springfield Sign in Springfield, Missouri, have a can-do attitude and continually reinvest in their company to advance the sign industry.

The company earned the Grand Prize in the 2019 Watchfire LED Sign Awards for their display at Fritz’s Adventure in Branson, Missouri. These awards recognize on-premise signs installed in 2018 that displayed excellence in design, legibility of digital messages, and advertising effectiveness. The winning sign is a double-face custom pylon featuring a Watchfire 12mm display; backlit, flat, cut-out letters with stand-offs; flushmount, lighted channel letters; and custom metal fabrication. The design makes the sign stand out in Branson’s busy entertainment district. (February 2019)

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Dimensional (Insight): Opening Up About the 3D Printing Evolution Last year, Sign Builder Illustrated attended a Massivit 3D open house event at The Spot Color in Marietta, Georgia to hear about the next evolutionary step in 3D printing. Massivit 3D North American President Kevin Sykes mentioned to attendees how 3D printing has proven to have “five-times the stopping power versus 2D printing, with four-times the staying power of 2D printing.”

Today 3D printing advances and constructions are allowing users to evolve past prototypes and move into dimensional signage and channel letters instead. Craig Miller, president and CEO of Pictographics in Las Vegas, Nevada, informed us this past April at a shop

Forecast: ELECTRONIC Signage According to market research and consulting company Grand View Research, Inc., the global market for digital signage is now worth an estimated $16 billion and, by 2025, is projected to reach $31 billion Even if you are not an electricbased sign shop, you can get involved. Vinyl graphics and dimensional components can complement these types of projects. Service equipment can be used to aid in installations. Hot markets now include hospitality, education, and retail. Also think about immersive environments with need for custom content and workplace situations that are looking to update employee communication. And consider how smartphones are more prevalent in today’s society, especially when it comes to customizing an increasing amount of wayfinding systems to interact with them.

timeline: osha crane certification The OSHA Crane Operator Certification finally went into effect on November 10, 2018 and now appears in the Federal Register. And as of February 2019, OSHA now requires employers to evaluate the competency of crane operators as well as their ability to work safely.

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Forecast: Augmented Reality (A/R) While it may take awhile for mass adoption, augmented reality (A/R) will remain a key buzzword over the next twelve months.

According to SAi, the A/R market is predicted to grow by $30 billion by 2025. This technology promises to “transform the way in which sign and display providers convey their offering to customers, by enabling them to superimpose computergenerated images onto a user’s view of the real world.” At ISA Sign Expo, Jonathan Josephson, founder of Quantum Interface and author of “Extended Reality: Expanding the Definition of Sign Interaction,” explained how, in A/R, every point in real space and virtual space becomes an interactive point. He mentioned how A/R gives users spaces on top of signs (like a “whole new plane to work on”) and how existing signs will become interactive locations as they’re outfitted with A/R technology.

Be on the lookout for technology in the near future that will combine A/R with sign design to give the client and the designer a better reality of how signs-yetto-be-made will look on-site during the surveying process, as well as other interactive types of opportunities.

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demo how he was shifting away from print and using the technology to make channel letter returns and sign molds.

“There are so many competing print shops now that [3D printing] allows us to offer something unique,” he said.

(November 2018)

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Identity Sign (Project): Close Encounters of the Sign Kind Persona, one of the largest signage and lighting companies in the United States, worked with wholesale foam-core provider Signs By Benchmark and installation company Clover Signs of Brazil, Indiana to build and erect a twenty-six-foottall alien identity sign for a brand-new Dunkin’-Baskin Robbins that opened up in UFO ground zero hotspot Roswell, New Mexico last December The alien, made from EPS foam with interior steel poles and plates in strategic places, measures twenty-and-a-half feet tall. Add in the internally illuminated LED sign cabinet held in its hands and over its head, as well as a faux-stone base, and the entire display arrives at a total height of twenty-six feet tall.

Other ingredients include an internal steel pipe and tube structure, aluminum extrusions, aluminum angle, and a polycarbonate face. Cranes and a special harness were used to lift the 2,500-pound sculpture into place. (February 2019)

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Installation (Project): Sphere of Influence When new owners opened the renovated Ocean Resort Casino, they also sought to convert the narrative on this rooftop digital sphere by bringing it back to working order. Ocean Resort’s

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new owners called on New Jersey-based Eastern Sign Tech to work on the project, and the sign company brought in its partner, Vantage LED. In the end, Vantage LED designed a completely custom system that includes new controllers, connections, boards, control panels, and a weather-resistant LED puck system.

The new digital LED system was fitted around the original sphere’s interior structure. Vantage LED had to design for content that would wrap around a sphere in a shape called an icosahedron.

Basically content is displayed across the twenty sections or faces of the icosahedron sphere. Each section is made up of three subsections, and each subsection is broken up further into seventeen triangles. In each triangle, there are twentyone LED pucks. In total, almost 22,000 LED pucks make up the digital sphere (ranging in resolution from 12mm to 36-40mm). For sustainability, the new forty-foot-round sphere reduces the main service voltage from 480 volts to a standard 240 volts and uses about 30 percent less power. (September 2018)

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Laser Engraving (Insight): A Fast Path to ROI Laser engravers are a great way to expand a sign shop’s business into new applications. Today’s machines are faster with capabilities to achieve finer details and finished edges. Joe Drucker, Owner of ADA Visual Products in Costa Mesa, California, has been laser engraving since he opened his business in 1985. Currently he has two laser engravers in his shop—a Trotec Speedy 300 and a Trotec Speedy 100—to make awards and gifts, Braille and tactile lettering for ADA sig-

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trends: dye sub products “There are literally hundreds of blanks that can be decorated quickly and easily with dye sublimation—everything from flipflops to thermometers to cookie jars. The question is: Which are right for your business? For example, if your target market is pet owners,

nage, and engravings on glass bottles. He says his machines paid for themselves in six to eight months, and he advises other shops looking to invest in a laser engraver to consider the ROI on a new machine— keeping in mind all of the new profit avenues the machine will open up. “Where do you break even on a machine like that knowing you can be faster and better and create more and different products?” he says. (December 2018)

then personalized pet food bowls would be a big hit. You could easily create packages of personalized items that might also include, collars, leashes, pet clothing, etc.

Personalized products like apparel, holiday ornaments, photo gifts, mobile device covers, coasters, mouse pads, laptop sleeves, and

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more let pet owners celebrate [and show off] their pets at home, work, and play. Knowing exactly who you want to reach and what the appropriate message should be allows you to spend your time and money wisely.” — Jimmy Lamb, Sawgrass Education Manager (http://bit.ly/2WoxLfJ)

LED Retrofit (Project): Return of the Cactus Sign Barlo Signs, a full-service sign company in Hudson, New Hampshire, brought the fifty-year-old landmark cactus sign for Frank Giuffrida’s Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, Massachusetts back to life for a new development that’s a mixture of apartments, restaurants, and shops. The sign company worked with New England Sign Supply, which is owned by Grimco,

to restore the original sign molds and replace the 2,500 feet of green neon tubing and 210 fluorescent lamps with 4,100 total feet of HanleyLED green and white LED modules. They used Lexan for the two sets of four acrylic-face tenant cabinets on the previous “Steak House” bowtie cabinet, and built two new SignComp single-face extruded cabinets with tinted 3M flex faces for the development’s cabinet on the bottom. The refurbished sixty-

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trends: convergence According to a recent Specialty Graphic Imaging Association Quarterly Industry Benchmarking Report about convergence, the proportion of printers who identified as serving at least two industry segments ranged from 31.9 percent (apparel decorators)

seven-foot-tall cactus sign now stands next to the 110 Grill, a new steakhouse that opened in the former location of Frank Giuffrida’s. (March 2019)

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Monument (Insight): Sign Shop Musings Sign maker Greg Kitzmiller tries to avoid cookie-cutter signs as much as possible, instead opting for the creativity and artistic freedom that oneoff projects provide. Kitzmiller is the owner of Great Impressions Signs and Designs, a medium-sized shop located in Columbus, Ohio that specializes in custom builds—particularly monuments. They offer brick-type monuments in-house and EPS foam-core faux-monuments outsourced to wholesale provider Custom Foam Fabricators when needed. They’ve been using Custom Foam to build the lighter weight EPS foam-core structures over the past fifteen-plus years.

One thing Kitzmiller likes more about foam-core monuments is that they sit on a floating foundation so that, when the ground moves, the sign will

to 63.3 percent (commercial printers). According to the data, additional segments may bring in more than one-quarter of revenue, on average, as seen with graphic and sign producers, for whom commercial printing contributed 26.9 percent of revenue. — Press Release

move with it.

The Great Impressions team designs the monument around the environment even incorporating the element of natural materials into these structures. Flowers are another element Kitzmiller feels works with monuments. “We tell people that they want lots of color in front of their monument,” he says.

As for lighting, Kitzmiller finds that external direct lighting via spotlights is still the main source of illumination, while LEDs have become a big component nowadays because of power savings (a big plus for end-users). (May 2018)

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Restoration (Project): A Rock ’n Roll Revival The newly re-electrified eighty-foot-tall Hard Rock Café guitar sign was illuminated for the first time during a private event at Las Vegas’s Neon Museum for donors and VIPs. After the Hard Rock Café’s offstrip 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

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made a comeback worthy of a true rock legend. There is approximately 4,110 feet of neon tubing on the sign (which equates to more than 3/4-mile) and more than 700 individual neon units. YESCO used a Manitex 35124C truck with a 24-ton lifting capacity, 123-foot main boom, and jib with a 165-foot height to re-assemble the sign. In total, the restoration and installation took about 1,650 man-hours to complete. (May 2019)

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Routers (Insight): Purchasing Power One of the big equipment purchases shops often consider is a CNC (computer numerical control) router, which is a computer-controlled cutting machine that can handle all types of materials including wood, metals, and plastics.

“The purpose of adding a CNC router to [a sign shop’s] equipment arsenal is to expand the business capabilities,”

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said Roy Valentine, president of Techno CNC Systems. “Many sign shops farm out the CNC router work to other companies until they see the financial benefit of adding a machine.

“Not only does this bring the work in-house, giving owners more control over their production and deliveries, but it saves them the money on the outsourced work.”

When choosing a CNC router, sign

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companies should look for a versatile machine with a variety of cutting tools and the flexibility to cut multiple materials.

Valentine reported that shops shouldn’t purchase a machine just for today—but with the future growth of their company in mind.

“Look at all the options available for the machine,” he said. “Adding a few miscellaneous accessories does not increase the price dramatically but, if added at a later date, can add significant cost because of installation fees.”

(November 2018)

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Vinyl Branding (Project): Transforming a Blank Space The concept of combining Environmental Graphic Design (EGD) with a company’s branding remained a hot trend over the past twelve months and will continue to be one for the forseeable future. For example, FASTSIGNS of Boca Raton, Florida recently transformed the first U.S. headquarters of

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international commerce company ViVi Holdings, Inc., with branded work environments for its subdivisions—ViVi Pay, ViVi Mobile, and ViVi Tech.

Backlit dimensional logos and a digital display were installed in the front lobby, while the reception desk was branded with vinyl lettering and an illuminated cabinet sign. Bold colors and frosted vinyl graphics were applied to interior glass partitions and doors for offices and meeting rooms to create privacy, promote safety, and complement the brand décor. Branded floor-to-ceiling wall graphics and column wraps were used to identify the company’s departmental areas, and custom-framed prints of world maps featuring ViVi’s red and black colors were displayed in conference rooms and offices to reflect the company’s worldwide presence.

In addition, this FASTSIGNS provided custom name badges, lanyards, business cards, packaging, and other printed materials. (October 2018)

trends: exterior building graphics “Today consumers need to be drawn into visual elements of a space or storefront. A way for companies to be competitive is to hone in on capturing the attention of a bystander and finding solutions to help aid their decisionmaking abilities, which can eventually lead to a purchase.

Wrapping textured exterior surfaces can be challenging, but products with high conformability have been designed with this problem in mind, allowing for seamless applications on surfaces such as brick or cinderblock.

Reflective alternatives also provide a ‘pop.’” — Tammi Johnson, Business Development Manager, 3M Commercial Solutions Division

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Feature Name MAGNETS

By JEFF BY Author WOOTEN

The market for flexible magnets is attractive

GAINING PULL

F

lexible magnet sheeting and magnetic graphics systems with interchangeable, layered graphics continue to be popular with sign shops and their customers because they enable the ability to quickly and easily change out attention-grabbing graphics and messages.

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And while vehicle graphics remain a driving force for this medium, there are countless other opportunities to use magnets in both outdoor and indoor displays.

Mike Gertz, marketing manager, Master Magnetics, Inc., points out a few markets/clients and how they can be targeted:

Professional contractors: “Plumbers, painters, electricians, flooring, landscape/ lawn care, and more can all use magnetic signs on their vans and trucks,” he says, “but they can also use them as business cards for refrigerators or on the appliance they’re installing or repairing.” signshop.com

Realtors, medical, & dental offices: “[These] are ideal customers for magnetic business cards or calendars,” he says.

Schools and sports clubs. “They have year-round needs for magnetic team schedules and logos,” says Gertz.

Point-of-purchase applications on flat or curved surfaces are another popular market, as you’ll find magnets’ “exceptional color and clarity” being used as display components, wayfinding signage, or seasonal décor. “They’re ideal because of their cost efficiency of changing out only the variable information or graphic instead of the entire graphic,” says Gertz.

Betty Winkle of New Force Magnetics Co., a direct-to-distributor-only supplier of magnetic sheeting and magneticreceptive materials, uses a winter sale as an example. “Retailers can have graphics or advertisements printed directly to the magnet and put them up for a set amount of time,” she says. “Then when the season changes or the next sales promotion begins, they can remove the ‘Winter Sale’

magnet, store it in a cool environment, and re-use it again next year.”

Magnetic-receptive materials, where printed graphics are stacked on top of the base magnet sheet, are also increasing in popularity.

According to Kylie Schleicher, marketing manager at Ultraflex, the most common markets you’ll find magneticreceptive media in are retail, restaurants, and hotels. “For retail applications, it is a great cost-reducer. Employees are able to change out the graphics quickly and efficiently without incurring additional installation or de-installation costs,” she says. “It can also be used to display sales and promotions through the use of layering graphics on top of graphics.”

As for fast food restaurants, Winkle points out, “They have menu boards where the magnet with adhesive is stuck on a wall. Then they print onto the magnetic-receptive and place it on the magnet to leave it there for however long they need,” she says.

But when do you use flexible magnetic sheets as opposed to magnetic receptive media? Gertz says it depends on the material to which you’ll be adhering the graphics. Magnetic sheeting will attract directly to ferrous metal walls, whereas drywall or a stand-alone backer board (such as Sintra® or Gator Board) will require magnetic graphic systems with a printable magnetic-receptive sheeting to attract the magnet.

“A common system would be using magnetic sheeting with adhesive that adheres to the drywall or backer board and printing out the layered graphics onto the magnetic-receptive sheeting,” he says.

Flexible magnetic sheeting is also evolving with higher quality printing surfaces for different ink systems. Today you’ll find a lot of printing options available with magnets and magneticreceptive media with vinyl, PET, or coated topcoats. For instance, solvent, eco-solvent, UV LED, and latex printers are ideal. Meanwhile flatbeds are experi-

Quickly and easily adapt to change.

DigiMaxx EnGage ®

™

is an ideal solution for changing messages in a demanding retail environment. Print directly to the magnetic receptive media and lay on a preprinted magnetic base for price, message,

Photo: Master Magnetics, Inc.

or image changes.

change in your world.

MagnumMagnetics.com/engage 800.258.0991 | sales@magnummagnetics.com

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July 2019

Sign Builder Illustrated

33

encing increased usage. “You cannot use dye sublimation though,” warns Winkle, “as magnet sheeting doesn’t hold up to high heat temperatures.”

“Printers with aqueous inks can print direct onto the magnet with a paper topcoat (for outdoor uses, aqueous inks would require a laminated topcoat to protect from the elements),” says Gertz, noting that cutting can be done by hand, knife, and scissors or (for larger volume production) cutters/CNC routers such as Colex/Fotoba, Graphtec, and more.

Gertz notices that the trend in recent years has been the use of high-energy magnetic sheeting. “For regular-strength magnetic sheeting, strength is determined by thickness,” he says. “Indoor uses such as refrigerator magnets can be on 10-, 15-, or 20-mil-thick magnet. Magnetic vehicle signs require 30-mil thickness of regularstrength magnet to be able to stay on the car at highway speeds.

“Advancements in manufacturing tech-

nology provide for high-energy magnetic sheeting. A high-energy 15-mil sheeting now will have the same or greater magnetic strength as regular 30-mil sheeting with half the thickness and weight, and at the same or even less cost.”

Winkle says that a wide variety of colored magnet sheeting—red, yellow, blue, green, purple, and orange—can lead to interesting decorating opportunities, “Sign makers can print white lettering onto those materials and have a wide variety of colored signs.”

Wide format has also opened up the possibilities for working with magnetic sheeting. Wider sizes have become available in recent years, which helps for usage in larger graphics applications. “It can also be tiled for projects such as full wall graphics,” says Gertz. “For smaller magnetic projects, printing on wide format printers can increase the yield, efficiency, and profitability of each press run.”

When printing onto magnet sheeting,

be careful if there’s a metal platen on the printer instead of aluminum. “If the platen is metal, the magnet will attract to it and not flow smoothly,” says Gertz.

“This can easily be overcome by covering the platen with a non-metal barrier.”

Styrene, chipboard, or anything slightly thick enough to create an air gap between the metal platen and the magnetic sheeting so it feeds in and flows out smoothly will work. “Adhering the styrene or cardboard to a precisely cut out piece of magnetic sheeting is sometimes more convenient than taping it in place on the platen,” says Gertz.

Another concern is weight, as magnetic sheeting is heavier than most substrates.

“The weight needs to be considered for the entire print process, not just when material is feeding in but also when it is coming out the printer,” says Gertz.

“The magnet needs to be supported so it doesn’t hang and create a drag on the smooth flow through the printer.”

ThinFORCE

TM

THINNER, STRONGER & Lighter

• High-energy magnetic sheeting has twice the strength of regular 15 mil, and half the weight of 30 mil used for vehicle signs

• Prints brilliant color and clarity with UV, solvent, eco-solvent, and latex ink systems

• Ideal for vehicle graphics, POP displays, wall coverings and applications where lightweight printable magnetic sheeting is needed

PRINTABLE MAGNETIC SHEETING

Learn more at magnetsource.com/thinforce or 800.525.3536 Your Best Source in the Magnetic Field

34

Sign Builder Illustrated

July 2019

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WORLD’S

MIGHTIEST

SIGNAGE MAGAZINE! 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. 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

Feature Name CHANNEL LETTERS

By Ashley AuthorBray

Channel Letters:

Better & Brighter Efficiencies and innovations in the channel letter space.

C

hannel letters are becoming smaller, thinner, and brighter thanks to new building materials, fabrication methods, and lighting products. We take a look at some of the new products as well as the best practices for working with channel letters.

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Get Bendy Bending machines are a great efficiency in the channel letter market. Computerized Cutters, Inc., pioneered automated channel letter bending machines over twenty years ago. The company still has original Accu-Bends in the field, and all of their machines are made in the U.S.

Sign shops benefit from these machines in both time and cost savings. “If they’re buying from a wholesaler now, they can end up saving three quarters of the cost by doing it themselves,” says Carl Ondracek, president of Computerized Cutters, Inc. “If they’re building them by hand, it normally would signshop.com

Photo: SloanLED.

Break through the distractions with unexpected signage.

take them forty-five minutes to an hour to bend and shape a channel letter.

The machine’s going to do it in about five minutes.”

The company recently introduced its newest machine, the Accu-Bend FREEDOM, which is priced just under $20,000.

“If a shop is doing one set of channel letters a month, the machine pays for itself within a year,” says Ondracek. “A lot of signshop.com

these guys are doing two or three, and the machine pays for itself in half a year.”

The Accu-Bend FREEDOM features a space-saving design without sacrificing the capabilities of a full-sized machine. It also runs off of standard 110-volt power (as do all of Computerized Cutters’ machines) so it can be plugged in anywhere. “They can put this in a corner, and when they’re ready to build a set of

letters, they bring it out, run their set of letters, and put it away,” says Ondracek.

For the shops with space, placing the bender in a strategic spot by a router and a clinching machine can help to increase efficiency even more. “One person could be running the router and the bending machine at the same time,” says Ondracek. “Or they could be clinching the backs to the letters or putting LEDs in the letters while the machine is running.

They don’t have to be there the whole time just watching the letter bend.”

To ensure efficiency on individual jobs, Ondracek says starting with a clean file helps. From there, processing the letters in a particular order is also beneficial.

“If they’re going to do two sets of letters, they’re better off doing the first full set before they do the second set,” he says.

“That way, they can complete the letters in a timely fashion when they have to put LEDs in it and do trim cap and all that.”

Facing Fabrication If your shop still struggles to choose between acrylic and polycarbonate for channel letter faces, Dennis Spahr, director of Sign & Graphics for Plaskolite, says color is a good place to start. If the letters need to be a custom color, acrylic is often the better choice as it’s available in more colors.

Size is another indicator. If the faces are more than thirty-six inches tall, polycarbonate is usually used, as acrylic letters larger than three feet are difficult to manipulate, difficult to transport, and run a higher risk of breaking. For letters three feet tall or smaller, acrylic or polycarbonate can be used, but acrylic has become a popular choice due to its light diffusion and transmission properties.

Speaking of lighting, be sure to consider it before starting fabrication. “If you are using fluorescent or neon, the channel letters will need to be backed out five inches or more,” says Spahr. “If it’s LED, as most channel letter signs are now, the depth of the lighting can be as close to the face as 2.5 inches. Anything shallower than that and lines or shadowing can be an issue as well as heat concerns.

“Maintaining a suitable depth allows for better light diffusion and transmission without the pin-lighting effect behind the letters.”

July 2019

Sign Builder Illustrated

37

Plaskolite recently released a new product designed to make lighting channel letters even easier. The OPTIX-L Black/White is a continuous cast acrylic that appears black in daylight and white when backlit illuminated. It is best used in signs that are viewed at a distance.

“In the past, sign shops would have to apply perforated vinyl,” says Spahr. “It’s expensive and time consuming. This product eliminates the need for a second layer to achieve the desired effect under daylight or nighttime conditions, reducing material costs and streamlining sign construction.”

Stretching the Limits of Lighting Channel letter lighting is all about brighter and faster installs. SloanLED recently harnessed the benefits of multi-die chip technology. “LED efficacy has increased to a point where we can squeeze more chips into a product design and have the added benefit of using less area, making our designs more compact, giving us greater design flexibility, and at an increased effi-

cacy,” says Michael Bluhm, director, Product Solutions – Sign, SloanLED. Bluhm says the company’s Prism Lens technology has also helped sign shops to quickly illuminate channel letters with fewer rows of product, “What used to take two rows can now be done with one,” he says.

Principal LED makes installations faster and easier with its smart packaging where one bag of material equals one power supply. “We also utilize a Qwik Release Tab on all of our products so that customers save considerable labor time (and frustration) trying to remove the liner from the back of the VHB tape on modules,” says J. Bryan Vincent, partner, Principal LED. Principal LED also offers layout and estimating services. The company acquired Aries Graphics and plans to release Sign Wizard 8 by the end of July with a plethora of new features. “The online estimator [driven by Sign Wizard] automatically eliminates modules that will not work for your input sign parameters,” says Vincent.

Finally 24-volt drivers have also been hitting the market. The drivers allow for more wattage and are useful on long runs to minimize voltage drop.

“Due to class 2 requirements, 12-volt power supplies are limited to 60 watts of power. With 24-volt, you are allowed 100 watts of power per driver to be class 2 compliant. This extra 40 watts allows the sign manufacturer to use fewer power supplies per sign,” says Bluhm. “Fewer power supplies means less labor and parts cost, which results in lower cost to the customer.”

“The real advantage is in reduction of power supplies in larger signs,” says Vincent. “However, 24-volt is not more ‘efficient’ than 12-volt. For example, our new Tapout Pinnacle™ Stik uses an extremely efficient LED and smart system design that is 12-volt, and you can run the same number of Stiks as the most efficient 24volt systems and at the same output. Net result: Lower cost power source, and a 12-volt system that is 35 percent more efficient than the 24-volt system.”

VISIT

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Sign Builder Illustrated

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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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DIGITAL SIGNAGE case study

DRAMATIC Digital Landscapes

S

Curved LED display allows casino to engage guests with stunning visual content.

eneca Niagara Resort & Casino is located minutes from the world-famous Niagara Falls in Western New York near the Canadian border. Guests there enjoy 147,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 3,000 slot machines and 80 table games, 10 restaurants, live entertainment, and a AAA Four Diamond Awardwinning, 26-story hotel with 604 deluxe rooms and suites, a spa and salon, fitness, indoor pool, and STIR-feature bar with live entertainment.

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Sign Builder Illustrated

July 2019

So when Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino recently renovated its lobby, management realized they had an opportunity to “wow” their guests with a huge digital display and engaging visual content.

Mounted on a curved wall behind the reception desk, the 64.5-foot-wide-by6-foot-tall, 2.5 mm pixel pitch NanoLumens Nixel Series™ display captivates every visitor with high-definition video and digital visuals that showcase Niagara Falls scenery and local native culture.

The display creates excitement and en-

gages guests from the moment they enter.

“The curved wall behind the reception desk was already designed and built, so when choosing an LED display, we knew that a custom solution would likely be the best option,” said Mike Epstein, principal at technology consulting firm D3, Inc., which oversaw selection and installation of the new lobby technologies. With broad AV and IT product and solutions knowledge and visibility to future product and solutions direction, D3, Inc., practices an open source signshop.com

approach towards the many technologies in the marketplace and recommends the best alignment of technology to client needs.

“Using an off-the-shelf projection system or a wall of LCD monitors wouldn’t provide nearly the same guest experience or versatility,” said Epstein. “We were able to maximize the size of the digital canvas since NanoLumens can manufacture to any desired size and curvature while also delivering the [required] brightness and color accuracy for Seneca Niagara’s sunlit lobby.”

Jeff Wyatt, owner of Las Vegas-based content studio Dreamlab, produced a number of local-inspired content pieces, including a scene that places viewers at the base of the incomparable Niagara Falls and another showing a lush forest as an eagle flies across the entire 64.5-foot display (and taking nearly 10 seconds to do so).

“Working with a display this large and wide enables me to produce unique con-

tent that captures viewers’ attention and can make a real emotional impact with dramatic motions and scenery,” said Wyatt. “The off-axis viewing ensures each pixel is clear and bright without any distortion, no matter where the viewer is standing. Whether there are digital shapes flowing and refracting across the display or an eagle peacefully gliding across guests’ entire field of view, the experience is unforgettable.”

The display’s unique aspect ratio of nearly 10-to-1 utilizes 2.5mm pixel pitch technology to offer 8K resolution that is clear and sharp from any distance. The display is also brighter than an average installation requires, producing 1650 nits to outshine sunlight that fills the space through a wall of large windows.

“This is a real showpiece for the Niagara area, placing Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino at a higher level of digital infrastructure and audience engagement,” said Dave Merlino, vice president of sales at NanoLumens.

Bill Riley, regional director at Sensory Technologies, which assists companies in the integration of audio and visual communication technology and performed the installation, noted how the cooperation of various partners is crucial to the success of a major technology installation. “Projects of this scope and complexity can be very challenging,” he said, “especially when the client has a tight schedule and a grand opening deadline to meet.

“The overall team worked really well together, and we were fortunate to be part of such an exciting project.”

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VISIT

Photos: Nanolumens.

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41 12/13/16 3:21 PM

Marketplace NEW CATALOG COMING SPRING 2019

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Product

Portal InfoDirect #

Your Direct Source for Sign Information Receive vital product and service information from manufacturers and distributors by visiting http://signbuilder.hotims.com

COMPANY

URL

PAGE 9

1

3M Commercial Solutions

www.3m.com

2

4over

www.4over.com

C3

3

Brooklyn Hardware

www.panelclips.com

42

4

CAB Signs

www.cabsignsinc.com

31

5

Clarke Systems

www.clarkesystems.com

29

6

Coastal Enterprises/Precision Board

www.PrecisionBoard.com

42

7

Custom Foam Fabricators

www.CustomFoamFabricators.com

29

8

Duxbury Systems Inc.

www.duxburysystems.com

42

9

Echod Graphics

www.EchodGraphics.com

42

10

Elliott Equipment

www.elliottequip.com

17

11

FASTENation Inc.

www.fastenation.com

41

12

Gemini Duets

www.duetsbygemini.com/GetTough

13 22

13

J. Freeman Inc.

www.jfreeman.com

14

Keystone Technologies

www.KeystoneTech.com

15

Magnum Magnetics Corp.

www.MagnumMagnetics.com/engage

33

16

Master Magnetics

www.magnetsource.com/thinforce

34

5

17

Northeast States Sign Association

www.nssasign.org

7A-B

18

Northeast States Sign Association

www.nssasign.org

23

19

Nova Polymers

www.novapolymers.com

20

Ornamental Post Panel & Traffic

www.ornamentalpost.com

21

PRINTING United

www.printingunited.com

11

22

Sign America Inc.

www.signamericainc.com

42

23

Signs By Benchmark

www.signsbybenchmark.com

24

Signs365.com

www.signs365.com

C4

25

Small Balls Inc.

www.brailleballs.com

42

26

Southern Stud Weld

www.studweld.com

38

27

Stamm Manufacturing

www.stamm-mfg.com

18

28

Techno CNC

www.technocnc.com

C2

29

Trotec Laser

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30

30

Watchfire Signs

www.watchfiresigns.com

27

3 42

12

COMPANIES IN SIGN SHOW 31

CAB Signs

www.cabsignsinc.com

8

32

Elliott Equipment

www.elliottequip.com

8

33

Fisher Textiles

www.fishertextiles.com

34

Gemini, Inc.

www.GeminiSignProducts.com

12

35

Grimco, Inc.

www.grimco.com

10

36

HP

www.hp.com

10

37

Stouse LLC

www.stouse.com

13

38

Vycom

www.vycomplastics.com

10

3 EASY

STEPS

signshop.com

1. Go to our website at, signshop.com

8

2. Click on our ProductPortal box on the website

July 2019

3. Request info about advertisers & products

Sign Builder Illustrated

43

Shop Talk

PRINTING | BY RICH REAMER, SR. DIR., LARGE FORMAT SOLUTIONS, CANON U.S.A., INC.

In-plants must move beyond the basic shop.

I

t can be easy to get swept up in conversations about an inevitable digital domination as younger generations’ preferences and habits become more prominent. No one knows this more than in-plants, which (like many other business entities) need to continually evolve as the printing landscape transforms.

Though print applications are shifting, the fact remains that the print medium is still relevant and influential. In fact, the recent Canon Print for Action Survey (http://bit.ly/31So9xM) finds that 68 percent of survey respondents rely on a mix of digital and print platforms in their day-to-day—from gathering news to making purchasing decisions.

While there are many areas in which digital has taken the lead, print is still deeply embedded into our everyday lives in ways we might not think about. Wall wraps, movie posters, advertisements, and promotional displays all come to life

with cutting-edge printing technology, influencing and inspiring people of all ages.

So how can in-plants continue to grow to help customers capture consumer attention through print? The key is moving beyond a basic shop.

With changing tastes in advertising and marketing, there is a growing need for in-plants to move beyond basic printing and copying services and develop capabilities to meet the transforming needs of their customers, specifically around large and wide format offerings.

In-plants should offer assistance with printing, signage, laminations, graphic design, and multimedia campaigns— not only to help meet the immediate needs of current customers but also appeal to potential new customers to help generate additional revenue.

In many ways, print must work harder these days to break through, and threequarters (76 percent) of survey respon-

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.

Prices are subject to change.

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.

Single Copies are $15.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only.

For Subscriptions, & address changes, Please call (US Only) 1-800-553-8878 (CANADA/INTL) 1-319-364-6167, Fax 1-319-364-4278, e-mail signbuilder@ stamats.com, or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ.

Corp, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407.

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COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2019. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information, contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@sbpub.com

There is a growing need for in-plants to move beyond basic printing and copying services.

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.

signshop.com

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com.

Staying In-Demand

dents say the quality and graphics of print are key to capturing their attention. This means quality materials, finishes, and vibrancy—even for more basic, high-volume printing—must remain a priority for in-plants to keep customers satisfied and coming back for repeat business.

For example, large format inkjet delivers colorful, eye-catching designs. Inplants that incorporate inkjet solutions can help fill a gap in their current capabilities and provide an opportunity to provide dynamic, colorful wide format images.

It’s no secret that emerging technology is bringing a wealth of benefits to the industry, but many in-plants are slow to adopt—perhaps due to personnel or cost restrictions. However many of these new tools can actually help drive down costs.

For example, automation software is a game-changer for in-plants, allowing them to streamline workflow. This can help meet demand while also freeing up staff for more intricate or high-priority tasks.

Additionally innovative augmented reality (A/R) and A.I. technology can help customers during the design process to better control layout and color management, which in turn can help produce higher-quality results on the first try. Investing in the latest technology solutions is another way for in-plants to expand their capabilities without sacrificing quality and commitment to current operations.