Sign Builder Illustrated May 2015

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Number 239 | may 2015

How-To

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LED DRIV

ERS

May 2015

44

26

34

22

40

LED Expansion

BY MIKE ANTONIAK

LEDs are gaining as new solutions in a variety of signage.

26 34

Designing with Light

BY JEFF WOOTEN

A veteran sign maker explores traditional neon and progressive LED options.

Acute Care Signage

BY JEFF WOOTEN

A healthy way to organize and implement wayfinding signs.

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

by Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, 55 Broad Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices.

Pricing, Qualified individual working in the sign industry may request a free subscription. 12 issues per year. Non-qualified subscriptions Print version, Digital version, Both Print & Digital version: 1 year US/ Mexico/Canada $50.00; foreign $99.00. Agency subscriptions: 1 year US/Mexico/Canada $45.00; foreign $89.10. Single copies are $15.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid in full in U.S. funds only. Prices are subject to change.

Copyright © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2015. All rights reserved. Contents may not be

2

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

44

Out of the Dark

BY JOHN BAYLIS

Make sure your client’s channel letters can visibly be seen in the dark.

Steering Profits

BY ASHLEY BRAY

A wrap shop shows how providing premium wraps has led to premium profits.

51

Three Steps to Selling Your Sign Shop

BY JACOB OROSZ

The key to selling your sign shop is a thorough plan.

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

For Subscriptions & Address Changes, please call (800) 895-4389, (847) 763-9686, Fax (847) 763-9544, e-mail signbuilder@halldata.com, or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ. Corp, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.

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

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Agenda

How-To Columns

JUNE 2015 June 4-6: The 2015 SEGD Conference will take place in Chicago, Illinois. (www.segd.org)

20

14

Up to Code

Safety Decals for Carnival Rides

Departments 14 Safety Decals for Carnival Rides

6

UpFront

It’s time to take a ride on a vinyl decal attraction.

Editor Jeff Wooten checks out the bookshelf to notice the role nostalgia plays in the art of sign-making.

20

8

Dispatches

10

Sign Show

54

SBI Marketplace

BY MARK K. ROBERTS

Up to Code

BY DAVID HICKEY

Understanding codes can be a challenge in itself.

The latest news from around the industry.

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

56 Shop Talk

Jeff Wooten goes back to the future to show how Buck Rogers and photofinishing are a sign interest.

On the Cover

June 13-19: InfoComm 2015, a conference and tradeshow produced by the audio-visual communications association, uploads at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. (www.infocommshow.org)

JULY 2015 July 23-25: The Mid South Sign Association’s Annual Meeting & Tradeshow happens at the Embassy Suites Nashville SE in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (www.midsouthsign.org)

SEPTEMBER 2015 September 13-16: Graph Expo ’15, an industry event covering the graphics communication industry, is taking place at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. (www.graphexpo.com) September 24-25: NSSA’s New England Sign Expo 2015, featuring exhibits, information, and training for all types of sign companies, will be held at the Twin River Casino Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island. (www.nssasign.org)

The LightSweep™ lighting control system enhances the Metrotown Properties retail complex in Burnaby, British Columbia. Photo: GE Lighting.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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Up FRONT

by jeff wooten

May 2015, Vol. 29, No. 239 Sign Builder Illustrated (ISSN 0895-0555) print, (ISSN 2161-0709) digital is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

The Good Old Days— Today

T

he Greg Kihn Band once sang the lyrics, “They don’t write ‘em like that any more,” but listen up, and you’ll hear some industry professionals state that, when it comes to signs, “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”

But is this sentiment a respectful appreciation for what was done in the past? Or is it yearning nostalgia without consideration of the nutsand-bolts behind how it was put together?

Just what exactly is the thin line that separates the label “sign historian enthusiast” from “grumpy, old codger?”

These thoughts crossed my mind when I was recently sent a new book called Good Old Neon: Signs You’re in Chicago by Nick Freeman (Lake Claremont Press, 2014) to review. Through a collection of 130 photographs, Freeman presents a “full-color collection of gaudy, garish, and downright spectacular” restaurant, lodging, and marquee neon signs found throughout Chicago’s richly illuminated sign heritage. It’s a colorful and entertaining testament to these “fast-disappearing, brightly lit artifacts that filled [this] urban landscape.”

Looking through the photos in this book is quite fascinating and evokes warm memories of the care and design that went into not just these signs of the Windy City but really any signs of yesteryear. Yet when it comes to the art of sign-making today, I’m still trying to figure out the role of nostalgia when it comes to sign makers and sign customers.

One complaint I’ve heard is that too many people can now enter this busy industry only needing to push a button on their “all-in-one” piece of hardware—the end-result being a cookie-cutter non-aesthetic. One can’t deny that, at some shops, the production schedule seems to have taken precedence over design.

I love the look of custom signage— the design, the artistry, and the ingenuity that are 6

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

Looking back to look ahead. employed in their creation. But sometimes, I think we all might be a little worried over how we get there. Does nostalgia factor into this mindset?

As veteran sign maker George Zienowicz states in this month’s feature article “Designing with Light” (page 26), “Why would you v-carve a sign when you’ve got a router? Why would you hand-letter a ‘no parking’ sign when you’ve got a vinyl cutter?”

And then sometimes you have to change your approach because of necessity. Check out “Shop Talk” on page 56 to learn how a long-time photo-finisher had to change with the times and adopt new imaging philosophies and technologies, as well as how he shared this message to the retro-coolly named Buck Rogers Photo-Finishers Group.

I think the subject of nostalgia is an interesting one to broach now that LIGHTFAIR International 2015, billed as the “world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting tradeshow and conference,” is upon us (May 3-7 at the Javits Center in New York City). I’ve noticed organizers are promoting this year’s event as a “global stage showcasing the future of lighting solutions and knowledge.” Does the history of lighting matter anymore?

In my opinion, if you use neon, great; if you use LED, great. I don’t think we should judge how the signs are made; instead it should be about the end-result. A spectacular-looking sign is going to be a spectacular-looking sign. So in the sign industry, I don’t think nostalgia is a “dangerous thing” (as someone once tagged it).

Although the state-of-the-art always seems to capture the most press and attention, it should be noted that those signs of yesteryear are still beauties to look at and shouldn’t be forgotten. In fact, they can be downright inspirational in your designs today.

Or is that just the nostalgia talking again?

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; fax: 212/633-1863 jwooten@sbpub.com managing editor

Ashley Bray

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

Butch “Superfrog” Anton, Mike Antoniak, John Baylis, David Hickey, Jim Hingst, Jacob Orosz, Mark Roberts, Lori Shridhare, Randy Wright art

Corporate Art Director Wendy Williams Designer Emily Cocheo production

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers circulation

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney advertising sales national sales director

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

Kim Noa

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

Circulation Dept. 800/895-4389

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Professional & Personal Services—BlueShore Financial

Food & Beverage—Zipps Sports Grill 8

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

Las Vegas, Nevada— Digital Signage Expo (DSE), the world’s largest International Tradeshow and Educational Conference dedicated to digital displays, interactive technology, and digital communications networks, announced the independently judged winners of its Apex Installation & Content Awards for 2015 at its Eighth Annual Awards Program at a breakfast sponsored this year by the Digital Signage Federation, Samsung, and Peerless-AV. Apex Gold Installation Awards were presented to the following winners from a field of nearly eighty entrants: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation— Skylon Tower, nominated by GestureTek; Business, Industry & Government— NASA - Human Exploration Operations, nominated by GPO US Inc. in partnership with Digital Info Displays, Inc.; Event Venues— AT&T Stadium Experience, nominated by Obscura Digital; and Food & Beverage— Zipps Sports Grill, nominated by LG signshop.com

Public Spaces—Morguard Investments Limited

Hospitality—Horseshoe Baltimore

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation—Skylon Tower

Interactive Self-Service—Sport In Street Electronics USA. Also: Hospitality— Horseshoe Baltimore, nominated by CastNET; Interactive Self-Service— Sport In Street, nominated by Sistem 9 Medya; Professional & Personal Services— BlueShore Financial, nominated by 10net Managed Solutions Ltd.; Public Spaces— Morguard Investments Limited, nominated by Cineplex Digital Solutions.

And finally: Retail— Barneys New York, nominated by Christie; and Transportation— Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, nominated

by Times Innovative Media Limited.

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Arlington, Texas.

Apex Gold Content Awards were presented to winners from a field of sixty entrants: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation— Spectrio, for content created for the Florida Holocaust Museum; Business, Industry & Government—Enplug, for Beverly Hills Porsche Digital Signage and Live Social Media Display; Education & Healthcare— Second Story (part of SapientNitro), for Global Crossroads; and Event Venues—Christie THREE SIXTY (formerly Arsenal Media), for Segerstrom Center Projection Mapping Display.

Also: Food & Beverage— Nanonation, for Barneys New York - The River; Hospitality— Digital Kitchen, for The

Chelsea Entertainment Venue located at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas; and Multi-Platform— Christie Digital Systems USA Inc., for The Book of Transformations, International, Projection Mapping Inspirations featuring Christie Technology.

And: Professional & Personal Services— TPN, for Bank of America; Public Spaces— Obscura Digital, for illUmiNations: Protecting Our Planet; and Retail—KBS+Spies & Assassins, for J ay Z G o l d ; a n d Tra n s p o r t at i o n — Bloomberg L.P., for Bloomberg Hub at London City Airport.

Apex Content Award of the Year was awarded to Obscura Digital, for content created for illUmiNations: Protecting Our Planet.

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

9

SignSHOW D I G I TA L P R I N T I N G E Q U I PM E N T/ S U P P L I E S Aurora Classic LED Line Source Illuminators from Innovations in Optics Innovations in Optics, Inc., presents the Aurora Classic LED Line Source Illuminators that offer Megalux illuminance using passive cooling. Aurora Classic Line Sources use non-imaging optics and high-brightness LED arrays with superior thermal management. Using passive cooling only, the white LED Aurora Line Source produces 2.8 Mlux of illuminance. With the forced air cooling option, the illuminance will reach 4.5 Mlux. Aurora Classic Line Sources are available using white LEDs and can also be supplied using narrow band LEDs in center wavelengths ranging from the UV through the NIR. Five different models are available that vary in line length from four to twenty-four inches. The Line Source is configurable to emit either a focused or collimated light beam in support of user-preferred working distances. www.innovationsinoptics.com

Epson Launches New SureColor S-Series Sixty-four-inch Solvent Inkjet Printers Poised to elevate the industry standard for solvent printing, Epson America has launched the enhanced SuerColor® S-Series line of sixty-four-inch solvent inkjet printers—the SureColor S30675, S50675, and S70675. Designed and manufactured by Epson from the ground up and equipped with a new Epson PrecisionCore® TFP® printhead, these new printers provide outstanding levels of reliability, durability, and image quality to the signage, vehicle graphics, fine art, and packaging markets. The SureColor S-Series sixty-four-inch solvent machines introduce several new reliability, quality, and productivity features, including: UltraChrome GS2 and GSX inks with newly formulated Cyan, Light Cyan, and Orange Plus inks (delivering more expansive color gamut than previous SureColor S-Series printers); spindle-less design allowing for easy loading and unloading of heavy roll media; and included substrate supports systems as well as fully functional GamaPrint Pro RIP software from ONYX. www.proimaging.epson.com

Mimaki ES3 Inks are Now Available for its JV300, JV150, CJV300, and CJV150 Series Printers ES3 eco-solvent inks from Mimaki USA are fast-drying and offer superior media adhesion and remarkable color reproduction. Mimaki ES3 inks are compatible with a wide range of media types from indoor posters to outdoor signs. The exceptional scratch resistance makes these inks ideal for high-traffic applications such as transit advertising, window graphics, static clings, magnetic signs, and other uses when overlamination is not desired. These low-odor inks can be used in a commercial office, mall storefront, or other shared working environment without requiring special ventilation. Packaged in easy-to-use 440ml cartridges, the six ES3 ink colors available for JV300, JV150, CJV300 and CJV150 Series printers are Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, and Light Magenta. These printers offer eight ink channels and can be configured to use ES3 inks in a double-CMYK configuration for highspeed printing at up to 1140 square feet per hour. www.mimakiusa.com

Mutoh America Debuts Metallic & White Ink Capabilities for Its Eco-Ultra Ink Printers Mutoh America, Inc., has announced its first white and metallic Eco-Ultra ink printers, the ValueJet 628 – 24-inch and ValueJet 1628X – 64-inch. These new printers feature eight-color ink capability and Mutoh Smart Printing Technologies.

The VJ 628X and VJ 1628X provide outstanding performance at a competitive price. Create vehicle wraps, labels, decals, stickers, banners, tradeshow graphics, and more. You can even print on colored vinyl for added application possibilities.

Additional features include: 1440-dpi resolution for amazing clarity and details; the Mutoh Metallic Color Library that gives you 506 metallic blended colors; an automatic sheet off function that cuts your material off once your print is done so you don't have to; and Mutoh-edition FlexiPrint SE RIP software. www.mutoh.com

D I G I TA L S I G N / E M C / V I D E O D I S P L AY S SunRise LED’s VersaTile™ Offers Flexibility for Video Walls SunRise LED’s VersaTile™ modular LED units are available for outdoor/indoor fixed installation and rental services.

Offering quick assembly and installation, VersaTiles can be set up in a traditional block format or curved to form a unique display in just about any size. VersaTiles’ innovative, ultra-slim enclosures allow direct access via the front or back of the display, and they also allow for the convenience of changing out modules quickly and easily (even while the display is playing). Each module is sealed in high-impact, flame-retardant ABS plastic with a built-in firewall. The LED units also offer Cloud-based file storage, live remote monitoring, asynchronous or sycronous software functions, optional internal or external controller, and more. The units are available in 6mm and 8mm sizes for indoor use and 10mm, 14mm, and 20mm sizes for outdoor environments. www.sunriseled.us/OUTDOOR-LED-DISPLAYS-versa-tiles.html

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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SignSHOW DYE SUBLIMATION Texart Sublimation Transfer Paper for Use with Roland’s RT-640 Dye Sublimation Printer Roland DGA has introduced new premium-quality Texart Sublimation Transfer Paper designed for use with the company’s advanced Texart RT-640 dye sublimation printer, making it easier than ever to create stunning sublimated graphics. A uniformly coated, 95-gsm paper, Texart Sublimation Transfer Paper is ideal for producing eye-catching sublimated apparel, home décor, tradeshow signage, personalized items, and more. It holds ink well and dries quickly, allowing for immediate winding on the take-up reel without smearing or running. The high ink release from the paper during the sublimation process also ensures delivery of a high-resolution end product with vibrant colors, crisp lines, and exceptional detail. New Texart Sublimation Paper is available in 64-inch-by-443-foot rolls. www.rolanddga.com

FABRICS Environmental REPREVE Granted! New Waterfall Fabric Excels in Outdoor Use Fisher Textiles, a leading supplier of fabrics for digital printing, is pleased to add its extremely popular GF 5351 Waterfall fabric to the Enviro-Tex fabric line. GF 5351, also known as ET 5351 Waterfall, now contains 60 percent REPREVE Polyester and 40 percent Polyester. There is no change in the fabric’s physical properties (i.e. white point, quality, etc.) or price. All Enviro-tex styles are made with REPREVE recycled yarns and have been certified by Unifi, the manufacturer of REPREVE. Waterfall is excellent for awnings, canopy tents, and outdoor banners. Available 122 inches wide, it is 7.5 oz./sq. yd and has been calendared to be waterproof, making it suitable for outdoor use. It passes AATCC 79-2000 for water repellency. It is also flame retardant and passes NFPA 701. This fabric is for dye sublimation transfer and UV printing. Free sample rolls are available for testing. 800/554-8886; www.fishertextiles.com

ROUTERS/ENGRAVERS Epilog Laser Launches Fusion M2 Engraving & Cutting System Epilog Laser introduces the Fusion M2. The Fusion M2 is a dual-source laser system that allows users to perform both metal marking applications and CO2 laser applications from the same system, in the same job. No matter what material a shop is working with—wood, titanium, rubber, fabric, steel, or a combination of several substrates—they have a single system that will process all these materials, within the same job. In addition to high-quality components and unparalleled cutting and engraving results Epilog’s equipment is known for, the Fusion M2 features dedicated optics and a dedicated beam path for each of the laser sources before combining the paths prior to focusing. Operators can choose from a 50-, 60-, or 75-watt CO2 laser and match it with a 20-, 30-, or 50-watt fiber laser. www.epiloglaser.com

Kern Laser Systems Provides Multiple Options for Large Format Graphics Are you looking to enhance your current large format graphics production? Or just looking to explore opportunities within the large format industry? If so, let Kern Laser Systems give you the right tools. Kern offers large format options including table work areas starting at 24-by-24 inches, 52-by-100 inches, 60-by-120 inches, all the way up to 80-by120 inches. These machines excel when etching marble, granite, or engraving wood with a deep 3D effect. A variety of coated and uncoated metals can also be marked with a Kern laser. Kern products are all inclusive and completely turnkey. 888/660-2755; www.kernlasers.com

S I G N B L A N K S / PA N E L S / S U B ST R AT E S SMART-X Heavy-duty, Recyclable Foam Board from 3A Composites USA SMART-X® graphic display board is the first heavy-duty foam board available in the Americas that is 100 percent recyclable. SMART-X is a premium-quality, lightweight foam board consisting of an all-plastic sheet that is uniquely constructed with a moisture-resistant expanded polystyrene core and two layers of UV-resistant solid polystyrene (HIPS).

It can be installed outdoors without experiencing any significant change in color for a period of up to two years. SMART-X also can be used in mounting applications for indoor display. SMART-X produces vibrant color in direct digital printing applications and is easily routed and milled. It is simple to recycle because it is made from 100 percent polystyrene with no adhesive applied between the core and cover layers. Approximately 95 percent of production waste in the manufacture of SMART-X is collected and recycled on-site. SMART-X graphic display board is available in 3/16-inch, 3/8-inch, 1/2-inch, and 3/4-inch thicknesses in 48-inch-by-96-inch sheets. www.graphicdisplayusa.com

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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HOW-TO

By Mark K. Roberts

Printing

Safety Decals for Carnival Rides

It’s time to take a ride on a vinyl decal attraction.

T

here’s a group of clients in southeast Houston that I’ve been serving for the past thirty-six years with thematic signs and decals. A few weeks ago, one of these fantastic clients, Wrights Amusements, called me up to order some digitally printed decals for a Ferris wheel ride (Photo 1) that had just been put up on their local amusement park property.

This isn’t my first rodeo when it comes to making graphics and wraps for this particular carnival. I have also designed, printed, and installed graphics for many of their attractions and game booths (Photo 2).

The Wrights Amusements officials wanted these decals to be mounted onto an aluminum pole that holds the gondola. These decals instruct the riders to keep their hands inside the gondola at all times.

Safety is priority-one when it comes to amusement rides—especially Ferris wheel-style rides.

The center pole inside the gondola is the place for both hands while the ride is in motion and the perfect place for thee instructional decals.

The design for these decals is straightforward and direct. Riders will notice the warnings pertaining to keeping their hands inside the gondolas, as well as a warning not to throw items from

1

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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the gondolas while the Ferris wheel is in motion.

To begin, we designed the new decal with the requested information. These decals measure approximately 4-by-20 inches with a rounded radius on both ends.

Using Adobe® Illustrator®, I selected the Roland cut file and assigned the perimeter cut for each decal.

Now that the design was complete, I took the file to my Roland VersaCAMM VP-540 printer/cutter and loaded it into the program.

Next I specified the number of copies for the production run (eighty decals).

I loaded the printer with fifty-fourinch, three-mil ORACAL vinyl. Then I entered the number of decals that could be printed and perimeter-cut within a forty-eight-inch width of the vinyl (Photo 3). The decals printed perfectly!

These full-color decals must hold up for at least one season. Since they’re going to be under constant use for almost twelve hours a day, we decided to also laminate them.

Then, using the line-up targets, the VP540 found the four points, which guar-

16

anteed the printed vinyl decals were cut along a specified cut path.

When finished, the printed, laminated, and cut safety instruction decals were ready for delivery and installation.

Cleanliness is an important step when

it comes to vinyl application. So back at the carnival, I showed the personnel how to clean the center gondola pole with 409® spray cleaner and a dry rag.

When the center poles were thoroughly dry, we used a center-mount masking

2

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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4

tape hinge to adhere the decal to the aluminum poles.

Taking my OLFA® knife, I carefully slit the backing paper in half, making sure not to cut the decal. I lined the decal up perfectly on each side of the pole and removed the transfer paper when this was done.

After about thirty minutes, we completed the project, and the decals were

ready for riders, such as myself (Photo 4)!

These brand-new gondola warning labels look fantastic. They should last three years with normal wear and tear, and thanks to the lamination, the message will still be readable.

I thoroughly enjoy doing extraordinary projects such as this from time to time.

In fact, I’m currently awaiting the next decal application assignment to come my

way. But until that time comes, I want to take this moment to remind you to keep busy, keep experimenting, and above all, keep selling!

Mark K. Roberts is a thirty-eightyear sign veteran, magazine columnist, and the owner of The InterSign Group (www.theintersigngroup.com) in Houston Texas.

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HOW-TO

By David Hickey

Regulations

Up to Code codes can be a challenge in itself.

20

M

el Kochan, a project manager with YESCO who often deals with codes and standards compliance, immediately noticed the challenges that enforcing the National Electrical Code (NEC) would present on his teams’ recent project.

When YESCO’s sign electricians were installing a spectacular, 260-foot-tall, freestanding sign at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas, the code required them to shut off the entire sign before they entered the interior of it. Without understanding the nuances that sign makers face every day, applying a one-size-fits-all approach to the Code inadvertently created an unsafe situation in this case.

On its face, shutting off the sign might have seemed like a sensible safety measure. But given the particulars—the sign’s size plus the fact that sign repairs are a twenty-four-hour job in the always-lit Las Vegas—meeting the Code requirements might have entailed having an electrician climb multiple stories on a ladder in the dark armed only with a flashlight.

Following the letter of the Code would actually create the potential for greater hazards.

Ultimately the common aim of YESCO and the local authorities was to ensure electrical safety for everyone concerned.

Because the Aria freestanding sign is large enough to afford ample interior space for worker access, some other key safety factors also were considered. This included providing adequate lighting for the sign’s interior to prevent possible missteps by workers as they move through the sign body. (Note: Unlike a typical electric sign, it would be impractical to mandate shutting off the entire Aria sign during service operations.)

With the International Sign Association’s input and expertise, the Code requirements were clarified for locations of sign-disconnecting switches. The association also addressed the

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

practical need in the Code to incorporate safety markings to identify energized branch circuits to prevent accidental electrocutions.

Granted, not every sign company works on signs of the scale of the Aria’s one. But ensuring that the nuances of sign making and installation are taken into account in NEC requirements can benefit sign companies of all sizes. It has been key in ISA’s technical work in recent years.

Formal guidelines such as the Code are often complex. For example, the most recent version is more than 900 pages long.

While we are talking about the Code, it should be noted that the impact of the NEC extends well beyond the United States. Some

all Photos: yesco.

Understanding

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countries (e.g., Mexico and Japan) have adopted the Code outright. Others such as Canada, have adopted electrical codes that are heavily influenced by the NEC. Local adoption and enforcement of the code is equally complex.

While the NEC revises its requirements every three years, a number of communities nationwide lag behind in terms of adopting the most recent edition. So a sign professional might need to deal with one set of Code requirements in one community and another in the neighboring town.

It can be challenging to keep up, and it is just not feasible for every sign company to develop expertise on regulatory issues.

That’s the power of an association.

We can use member input and expertise to work closely with regulatory agencies and nationally recognized testing labs like the UL. Sign companies can focus on building their businesses, installing spectacular projects, and helping customers brand their business.

The International Sign Association is working alongside other industry experts on NEC Article 600: Electric Signs and Outline Lighting as the Code undergoes revisions for publication of the 2017 edition. The language in the 2017 Code book will be finalized by November 2015, and we will apprise you of any significant changes.

The impact that regulatory agencies have on our industry is quite significant.

Working together, we can share this information and ensure that regulatory bodies understand more about the significant distinctions characterizing the signage and visual communications industry.

There are a number of technical resources on the ISA Web site (www.signs. org/technical) to help sign companies understand the latest information on building codes, electrical standards, and workplace safety. The association’s Electrical Codes & Standards Subcommittee includes some of the industry’s brightest and most passionate technical minds, and the ISA is always looking to expand member participation to influence development of various codes and standards.

Formal guidelines such as the National Electrical Code are often complex, and sign associations can help shops navigate and better understand the code.

David Hickey is vice president, Government Affairs, at ISA. He can be reached via email at signcodehelp@ signs.org. signshop.com

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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L E D L i g ht i n g / By m i k e A nto n i a k / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

led expansion

W

ith each advance in LED technology, these lighting components are illuminating more and more new signage—many for the retrofits of older signs that were incorporating fluorescent or neon lighting.

Opportunities are only limited by the range of LED products, and suppliers have made strides in developing solutions for a range of signage applications.

In fact, LEDs can be presented to clients as an option in most settings that re-

22

quire lighting: channel letters; sign cabinets and light boxes; window displays; awnings, soffits, and canopies; building outlines and accents; wall washes; cove lighting; and more creative signage.

According to Mark Shepard, global signage product manager for LEDs at GE Lighting (www.gelighting.com), the appeal of LEDs in new signage closely parallels the reasons that make them such a popular retrofit solution.

“LEDs are very energy-efficient when compared with other types of lighting sources,” he points out. “They

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

Photo: shutterstock.com.

LEDs are gaining as new solutions in a variety of signage.

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LEDs are being used in some novel ways to light the interior of buildings. how savings on energy alone will pay for the sign in as little as two years.

And that’s really only part of the overall picture.

LEDs can also benefit those who design, build, and install all types of new signage—in particular the ease of design and implementation, combined with fast completion time.

“On new builds, the payback from LEDs can be even quicker than with a retrofit,” says Bluhm. “We’re finding

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

more sign shops are using them in their new high-rise signage that’s hard to get to.”

Today’s systems also take up less space and require fewer components, allowing for more efficient and space-saving designs. “From a cabinet perspective, as much as 85 to 90 percent of new builds are using LEDs,” says Shepard.

Abernathy says, “I’ve noticed an overall trend of signage solutions getting shallower, as well, thanks to LEDs.” As for other design trends, Shepard says lighting style can be very individual, especially when it comes to cove and border lighting. “Obviously things like casinos are much different as opposed to the banking industry or the retail industry, which tend to be a little bit more conservative,” he says.

Shepard goes on to say that LEDs for cove and border lighting are being used both inside and out. “It’s a novel way to light the interior of a building,” he says.

“We’re seeing it a lot on lighting the exterior of the buildings too, particularly with gasoline stations; they like to run border lighting around their canopy and also on the buildings themselves.”

The low-voltage requirements of LEDs are also giving sign builders new options.

Abernathy cites illuminated pole signs.

“Because LEDs are lower voltage, you can use lower gauge wiring, and the power supply and drop panel can be as much as 200 feet away from the sign itself, in a way that’s much more accessible,” he says.

So when there is a need to service the power supply, it can be easily reached by ladder or even at ground level. “You don’t have to worry about the expense of renting a crane for even routine maintesignshop.com

Photo (Metrotown properties, burnaby, BC): ge lighting.

also have a long life, when compared to other types of lighting.

“And that means less maintenance over the life of that sign.”

For end-users, that lack of maintenance is one of the great advantages of LEDs. “Those signs won’t have to be serviced as much, so they will save on service costs,” says Mark Abernathy, director of sales for US LED (www.usled.com).

In addition, Mike Bluhm, national sales director for manufacturer SloanLED (www. sloanled.com), says, “People don’t always realize that every time you have to open up a sign to repair or maintain it, you’re wearing it out. With the long life of LEDs, there’s less service required and that’s going to mean longer-lasting signage.”

To successfully sell these solutions though, the sign shop has to be prepared to meet a client’s most likely objection: the initial cost of an LED lighting system, compared with other options.

Although the price of LED components has dropped, an LED system can still add 20 percent or more to the cost of a new sign project when compared with traditional lighting. But any resistance can be dismissed by showing customers

Photo (Blackhawk Auto Museum, Danville, CA): GE Lighting.

The energy efficiency of LED lamps make them a popular choice for retail/museum environments. you follow the instructions,” says Mark Harris, national sales manager for Light Source Solutions (www.lssled.com), noting that, instead of splicing wires, some systems just require crimping a clip and moving on.

In fact, the ease of installation can be a hidden benefit of working with LEDs as it frees up time for other clients and projects.

“I think we’re really in the beginning

nance,” says Abernathy.

Shepard adds, “When you use LEDs, you don’t need a bunch of internal structure and conduit to support the lighting.

Most LED systems require class II power supplies and tend to be much easier to install, when compared with fluorescent and neon lighting.”

Installation, everyone agrees, is relatively simple. “Installation of LEDs is pretty straightforward and simple, if

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Shepard agrees. He sees LEDs expanding beyond retrofits into all-new areas. “The sky is the limit,” he says. “It could be something that no one has ever thought to light up before.”

“Selling LEDs is a great way to promote your business and provide your customer with good, quality products,” says Abernathy.

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C u s t o m S i g n s / By J e f f Wo ot e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Designing

with

A veteran sign maker explores traditional neon and progressive LED options.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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Although George Zienowicz doesn't bend as much neon these days, he says the light source is ideal for open-face, exposed channel letters or skeletal window hanging signs.

Light all Photos: zienowicz sign company.

W

hen it comes to comparing neon and LED light sources, sign maker George Zienowicz boldly takes a most-interesting viewpoint: He actually finds that most of his average customers really don’t know—or care about—what lighting component they want used in their signage. “I’ve never had a customer specifically request that their channel letters be lit with LED or neon,” he says. “All they care about is that their sign lights up.”

Meet George Zienowicz—a thirty-year, all-around veteran of the sign industry with one foot in the old school (hand letterer, neon tube bender, gilder, carver, sheet metal fabricator, etc.) and the other in the new school (CNC routers, digital printers, software, etc.).

George owns Zienowicz Sign Company in Chambersburg, New Jersey where, for the past twenty-five years, he has made custom dimensional and illuminated signage for various businesses, organizations, and agencies. Size doesn’t matter: He does jobs for big signshop.com

clients and small mom-and-pop businesses (and those in-between).

His signs can be found throughout New Jersey’s capital region of Trenton—even at the governor’s residence and the State House.

Zienowicz Sign Company is a three-person shop. The “independent thinkers” and “problem solvers” who work there dabble in everything—design, fabrication, installation, etc.

Light Sources To George, both LED and neon components are just sources of illumination. He believes a good design will always be a good design, and he still dabbles in free-form neon from time to time.

He’s just found that customers are more interested in having their neon signs repaired, as opposed to ordering new ones.

He will guide customers toward neon if it needs to be used.

“Neon works better in an open-face, exposed channel letter or a skeletal window hanging sign,” he says.

Continued on page 30 May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Continued from page 27 George finds that neon is preferable if a client is trying to ascertain a certain look, citing recent signage he did for a pizza parlor and a record store. “Both of these places were going for a 1950s nostalgic look, which LED can’t duplicate yet,” he says.

He still has to let his natural-born artistic talents take over sometimes, citing a neon-outline Statue of Liberty and a skateboarder figure he crafted for a New York City-themed café as an example.

“People will bring us a design they want rendered in neon,” he says, “and when you look at it, you realize it’s just not going to be possible.

"So you have to rework the design into something that can be bent into glass tubes to make it happen.”

Although George is a masterful, experienced neon tube bender, he acknowledges that LEDs have changed the lighting industry and how he works.

He states that LEDs are the way to go if the lighting component is going to be placed unexposed behind a plastic face, citing labor and maintenance problems

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that can come with neon. “Some things aren’t possible with neon,” he says, “such as very narrow letter strokes and heights, narrow channel and raceway depths, transformer spacings, complicated shapes, etc.”

Currently the shop is using LED modules from SloanLED and MaxBrite.

Out with the Old Although George is a sign historian (finding that thoughtful sign designs went “downhill” after the 1960s), he isn't nostal-

gic when it comes to production methods.

George considers signage an “art,” but to him, the end-result matters instead of the how-he-got-there. “It’s about what you come up with when you’re done,” he says.

Peer inside his 4,500-square foot shop and, in addition to the neon production plant and traditional tools and machines to fabricate channel letters (Ruoff notcher, Roper Whitney #99 channel letter brake, etc.), you’ll find a bevy of “cutting”-edge equipment: A ShopBot

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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Left: LED retrofits can be easy to sell, especially if electric bills are costly. Top: LED-lit cloud signs are also popular with customers.

CNC router (one of his favorite “toys”), a Mimaki JV33-160 printer, a Roland DGA plotter, MIG and TIG welders, and a Safety Speed vertical panel saw (to cut out rugged sign faces from nonshaped panels, as well as old sign faces for the dumpster).

George sings the praises of his CNC router and LEDs in the production process. “On channel letters, we used to cut the backs and faces out by hand, bend the neon, and stick it in there,” he says.

“Now the CNC and LEDs speed things up so much. What would used to take a week, now takes only a day or two.”

George has been bending neon tubes for twenty years now. Does he miss it?

Not really.

“To stand over an 800-degree fire is not the way to make a ‘light bulb’ anymore,” he says. “It’s time-consuming and labor-intensive.

"It’s the same thing with other technologies. Why would you v-carve a sign when you’ve got a router? Why would you hand-letter a “no parking” sign when you’ve got a vinyl cutter?”

Illuminating Projects Let’s look at how George and his shop are using LED modules in signage projects: Materials for LED. George believes that the way sign or channel letters are designed and populated “brings out” the best LED lighting offers. “Not done properly, the sign will turn out dull or have hotspots,” he says.

Picking the right material for the LED light to shine through is crucial. The shop prefers using two light-diffusing translucents here—2447 Milky White plastic and 7328 Black vinyl. “The 2447 White works great as a sign face that will be covsignshop.com

ered with a translucent print or vinyl,” says George. “It lets more light come through, resulting in a brighter face.”

George is perplexed a bit though as to why the 2447 plastic material isn’t more popular. “Maybe it’s because it looks a little more gray when lit,” he posits.

“It’s not a pure white. But when you put translucent vinyl on top, it ‘pops!’”

Right now, they’re doing a brand-new sign cabinet for a Domino’s Pizza location that just changed their logo. “They’ve got blue faces, so we’re using white LEDs on white translucent with blue translucent vinyl on top of that,” explains George. “If it was going to be a red face, we’d use red plastic and red LEDs.” Retrofits. George says that LED retrofits are pretty easy to sell in the right situations at his shop.

For example, they recently retrofitted a

thirty-five-foot-tall, open-face, exposedneon sign spectacular that had been built in the 1950s for a nearby lodge. More shockingly: It was being powered by thirty 15,000-volt neon transformers.

“The electric bill must’ve been astronomical,” says George, adding that it was buzzing so loud it could be heard from a block away. “It’s easy to sell a retrofit when they’re getting $1,000 repair bills every couple of months.”

Also factor in that Zienowicz Sign serviced the sign every three months. “After we’d replace a neon unit or transformer, we’d shortly find ourselves back out there doing the same thing on another part of the sign,” says George. “It was like trying to keep an antique car running and only making repairs when needed.”

George and his employees removed all the neon from the channels and cleaned out the inside. They then made brandnew plastic faces for the letters and installed the LEDs, adding LED border tubing for the towering sign’s outlines.

The finished LED retrofit now sports only ten power supplies. “We made a new transformer box and put them down at the bottom of the sign and ran the wires up,” explains George. “So if there was a failure, we wouldn’t have to use the bucket truck to fix it.”

When it comes to LED retrofits, George lists the following challenges to consider: + Choosing the right LED module for the job; + Populating the sign so there are no hotspots; and +W iring the sign to meet UL standards for a rebuilt sign.

Cloud signs. One of the most popular LED-illuminated signs that Zienowicz

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4.56x4.875 Justin Sign_March014:4.56x4.875 Justin Sign_Dec06 3/10/14 12:21 AM Page 1

Sign works on are what he refers to as “cloud” signs.

“A cloud sign is not a cut-out individual letter, nor is it a box sign,” explains George. “It's [a hybrid], and it gives the customer an option in-between the more expensive channel letter and a simple square box.”

For these custom-type signs, Zienowicz Sign uses its CNC router to cut the backs of the letters or the whole sign. The shop then makes the returns out of aluminum and cuts the acrylic or plastic face that matches the back to sit on top of the can.

They finish by putting a translucent print or vinyl over the face.

“These types of signs are easy to build for the right-equipped shop,” says George. “You’re going to see a lot more of them in the near future.”

Edge-lighting. George also uses LEDs to edge-light acrylic, plastic, and Plexiglas® materials. When doing so, the biggest challenge is not scratching the substrate surface.

“We’ve found the best way to do an edge-lit sign is to create the image or graphic with paint mask (in reverse), apply it to 1/2-inch clear material, and sandblastetch the plastic,” says George, explaining that a CNC router "takes longer" here and "doesn’t etch as cleanly.”

George has also installed color-changing capabilities for these signs using RGB modules and a controller. “The controllers don’t cost much and give the customer the option of changing the colors or making it flash," he says, adding that he's noticed this lighting solution used for window borders and inside channel letters.

Artistic enhancements. George also finds time to unleash his artistic streak on occasion. (Note: He began his career as a sign painter.)

He has illuminated several pieces for sculptor Christoph Spath. The artist contacted George recently about installing a red glow in the middle of one of his rock sculptures. “[Christoph] had cut that rock in half,” says George.

George’s shop took a one-inch piece of Plexiglas, routed the groove in it, and placed SloanLED flexible border LEDs in it. They then sandwiched this between the two rock pieces.

“This [glowing rock] looked pretty cool at nighttime,” says George.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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all Photos: bermuda blueprinting.

S i g n Sy s t e m s / By J e f f Wo ot e n / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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Acute Care Signage A healthy way to organize and implement wayfinding.

T

he King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on the island of Bermuda is a top-notch health care facility. A recent expansion included the construction of a new Acute

Care wing—a first-class, first-rate facility featuring a fourstory atrium in its center, as well as a healing garden.

Since a hospital needs lots of signs, you’ll also notice first-class, first-rate wayfinding and identification signage throughout this wing. And the company responsible for them had to put a little extra care into making sure these signs effectively serve their purpose.

Bermuda Blueprinting Ltd. (www. bdablue.com) in Pembroke, Bermuda is a full-fledged provider of printing, graphic design, scanning, architectural services, and other imaging needs on the island— including the signage for this new wing.

The road to signage has been deliberate for them. The twenty-year-old firm branched out from its blueprinting roots in the late ’90s doing posters and pointof-purchase. Soon their clients were requesting more sign-type solutions, so in the early 2000s, they invested in a Mimaki inkjet and a vinyl cutter. From there, the company took off to new heights.

Today they have grown to seventeen employees, and their shop floor features an Océ UV flatbed, two Epson eco-solvents, an HP latex, and a Zünd cutter.

Due to the small surrounding market, Bermuda Blueprinting has to be ready for all types of signage. Their clientele ranges from area mom-and-pops to larger companies and corporations. “We also offer

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screen printing, dye sublimation, promotional products, and small format print on demand,” says Owner John Stephens.

Admission to the Job On this project, Bermuda Blueprinting created and installed a couple thousand signs for this Acute Care wing—postand-panels, directories, plaques, architectural letters, modular signs, hanging signs, etc. The company was already handling all the document management and blueprint needs for the structure of the hospital, so they had a good relationship with its contractors and architects to be able to handle these signs.

While working with the contractor during the bid process and investigating all requirements, John realized the amount of resources going to be needed was larger than anticipated. “I found myself trying to figure out the best solution for our business while giving the hospital an optimum performance,” he says.

The hospital’s architects provided John with a nearly ninety-page, extensively researched “design intent” package defining the project and featuring everything from color schemes to font sizes. Multiple walkthroughs followed.

One daunting aspect is that every single

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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“In essence, we partnered with Clarke Sign Systems and drew from both company’s strengths and expertise. This allowed us the flexibility to produce a first-class job for the hosptial while, at the same time, be able to look after our existing clientele on their projects.”

Partnering, according to John, also allowed his company to eventually increase what it could later offer. They essentially gained the equivalent of years of experience that Clarke Systems brought to the project.

Putting Plans Together

Bermuda Blueprinting installed thousands of signs at the Acute Care wing, including (clockwise from top): architectural letters, kiosk directories, and hurricane-proof post-and-panels. sign had hundreds of questions that had to be verified between the builder, the architect, and the hospital. “That required an immense amount of background paperwork and administration,” says John.

Fearing that he might’ve bitten off more than his company could chew in regards to the volume of needed signs, Johns thought that they needed a partner to help them.

At last year’s ISA International Sign Expo in Orlando, he discovered Clarke Systems (www.clarkesystems. com), which offers sign products and a 36

full complement of wayfinding services and support for the trade. The company sent staff in to support John’s meeting with the customer and the bid process, as well as provided design help and data management.

“Working in collaboration with Clarke Systems,” he says, “we were able to take this package and lay in a sign solution that met the intent and validated the data, modify it (if necessary), and add new elements that might be suggested as we progressed.

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

When it comes to what makes a good wayfinding signage system, John believes flexibility and adaptability are key. “Facility managers concerned with department moves and personnel updates prefer signs that offer easy, on-site changeability,” he says. “Working with a proven system that’s established in the marketplace ensures that the customer will be able to update their signage or find replacement parts without worrying about how to match what they already have.”

For the modular signs, Bermuda Blueprinting used Vista Systems products since the hospital didn’t want to build a new sign every time departments moved around. “Now we can slip out a paper insert or tactile Braille plastic with 3-D letters, if needed,” says John.

Another interesting sign-type Bermuda Blueprinting worked on were vinyl graphics on the wing’s glass doors and windows to help promote privacy…and more. They used quite a bit of ORACAL etched glass vinyl featuring the hospital logo to frost the windows and to act as barrier markers on glass doors. “They didn’t want people walking into these glass doors,” says John, “so we also added two- to three-inch frosted vinyl bands to help people notice the glass.”

Critical Install Initial installation plans called for Bermuda Blueprinting to start at the top of the building and then work their way down each floor and eventually out the building. But construction delays necessitated installation to instead be staged on the release of each floor by the construction management firm.

“As floors were rolled out, we’d go in and hit that floor and then to the next available floor, no matter its location,” says John. signshop.com

PhotoWorksGroup, Inc., in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been creating large format graphics, exhibits, displays, and signs for museums, universities, healthcare institutions, manufacturers, and corporations for nearly thirty years.

While PhotoWorksGroup (www. photoworksgroup.com) utilizes all types of media (including fabric and vinyl), President Geoff Kilmer estimates that three out of every four of their projects are produced with rigid substrates.

To meet the individual needs of each project, Kilmer frequently turns to the wide array of rigid substrates offered by 3A Composites USA (www.

GraphicDisplay.com) and distributed

by Sudlersville, Maryland-based Harbor Sales Co. (www.harborsales. net). PhotoWorksGroup has utilized graphic display boards ranging from Fome-Cor® paper-faced foam board to Gatorfoam® heavy-duty foam board with wood-fiber veneers, Sintra® PVC board, and Dibond® aluminum composite material to create large format displays.

In order to recommend the best rigid substrate for individual large format displays, Kilmer asks several initial project questions, including: + Is this project designed for indoor or outdoor display? + How long is this project designed to be displayed? + How large is this graphic?

“Often the graphic’s size—which might require the material to be paneled and seamed—will dictate the substrate,” said Kilmer. + How will the graphic output be produced? Will the rigid substrate be digitally direct-printed? Or will the graphic output consist of vinyl printed with a solvent-based ink or a LightJet photo printed and mounted to the rigid substrate? + Will the rigid substrate be a good fit for the client’s budget?

When PhotoWorksGroup was

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One System, Three Graphic Choices

Modular Signs

PSP Uses Rigid Substrate for Exterior Signage

SLATZ

contacted by a real-estate agency late last year to create exterior 10-by-4-foot, two-sided signs promoting residential sales in a new adult community, Kilmer elected to use Dibond.

(Note: Dibond consists of two prepainted sheets of .012-inch aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core—a unique composition that makes it approximately half the weight of aluminum.)

PhotoWorksGroup direct-printed two sets of identical realty graphics onto 4mm white Dibond panels with a SCREEN Truepress Jet 1600 UV-F flatbed with a vacuum bed. The signs were inserted back-to-back into a custom frame built from four-byfour-inch, pressure-treated wood posts cut with slots to accept the signage, which was secured with screws installed at an angle. This frame was designed to open from the top to accept new signage.

“We prefer to print on white Dibond with the UV flatbed printer because we don’t have to apply a white undercoat; the ink sticks well to the Dibond,” said Kilmer. It isn’t fancy, but it is effective.”

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May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

37

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

John points out a great deal of caution had to be employed, since the hospital had stringent control standards. “The hospital wasn’t open when we were installing the signage,” he says, “and they’re very strict about dust and infection control. So we used filter vacuums to suck up the dust right away from the signs or letters we drilled onto the walls.

“And we had to wear booties while working inside.”

Most of the interior signs were simply put up using 3M™ double-sided tape, but there were some situations where this tape wouldn’t work. “For hanging signs, we had to open the ceiling tile to attach them, but we tried to find alternatives. Officials didn’t like us having to touch the ceiling tile,” says John. “We fruitlessly searched for systems where we could screw into the ceiling grid instead.

“We’d always wipe the ceiling tiles down afterwards.”

Wind-resistant Panels Stephens says the most interesting signs were the eight basic double-sided Howard Industries post-and-panel directionals situated outside the Acute Care wing. There were several reasons for this.

For starters, his company had to make sure that these signs met hurricane standards to withstand winds up to 150 miles per hour. “The original system we considered came with aluminum posts, but those weren’t strong enough,” says John.

“So we changed that out to four-inchsquare galvanized steel pipe and painted them white.”

The post-and-panels would’ve normally been placed in a little slab of concrete—until the engineers got hold of it. “Some of these signs went into the ground with a four-footsquare reinforcing rod slab of concrete,” says Stephens. “So they’re definitely not going anywhere. In fact, they didn’t budge during two recent hurricanes.”

And due to Bermuda law, back-lit and internal-lit signs are illegal. So Bermuda Blueprinting printed the copy and graphics onto ORACAL reflective vinyl via their latex printer and attached them to the aluminum panels.

Preventative Measures One lesson they learned from Clarke Systems on this multi-sign project that they now implement on other projects was numbering the signs on the back with signshop.com

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Frosted vinyl copy and bands were installed to help promote privacy and prevent accidents. corresponding numbers on the floor plan to aid in placement.

“Every sign was laid onto the floor plan with a sign number, which we taped behind the sign,” explains John. “Then we’d look at the corresponding code on the floor plans and find the sign. There was a floor plan for wayfinding, a floor plan for fire and safety, and so on.

“We knew exactly where each sign was going.”

Although the Acute Care Wing is now open, the process is constantly ongoing. John says they were able to fulfill a good 98 percent of the initial wayfinding requirements needed for the project.

“There are still little odds and ends that we’re finding—like we need one more sign here or something adjusted there,” he says. “But I credit Clarke Systems.

They did a majority of that work.”

As the hospital changes signs or switches out copy, Bermuda Blueprinting has an agreement that they will provide these for years to come. They’ve even invested in a Braille inserter and a CNC router.

“We can pull up the file, make the change, work up a new insert, and deliver it back to them and put it up,” says John.

“There’s no long lag at all.”

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May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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C h a n n e l L e t t e r s / B y J o h n B ay l i s / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Out of the Dark Make sure your client’s channel letters can visibly be seen in the dark.

W

hen it comes to signage design, graphic artists definitely have their worth. But they can also inadvertently decrease the effectiveness of your customer’s channel letter set.

As a signage retailer, it pays to watch out for some of the potential trouble spots in your customer’s design.

Color choices are a good example, particularly when it comes to illuminated sign areas.

Graphic artists sometimes make their signage color selections based on an attempt to impress their client with creativity. But that creativity can lead to a diminished performance for your customer’s sign.

photos (this spread): direct sign wholesale.

Dark Face Colors For example, suppose your customer’s channel letter sign configuration calls for full-cover dark blue vinyl on the faces. This is for an illuminated letter set that will be mounted outdoors. What should you tell your customer about the potential night visibility performance of that color?

Tell them the night visibility will probably not be optimal. Certain colors have better night visibility than others—even with properly installed letter illumination. And it is always best to inform your customer of this potential issue in advance.

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Which channel letter face vinyl colors may not have vibrant night visibility?

Here are a few examples: › Dark blue › Burgundy › Black › Purple › Gray If your customer receives a channel letter set with a full vinyl face cover from the list above, they may mistakenly think insufficient illumination (LED modules) was installed.

But additional LED modules would not solve the problem. The problem lies with the vinyl face color and the amount of light absorbed by that color—not with the LED.

Reveal Vinyl Configuration Your customer may insist on keeping the darker vinyl color (possibly because of a branding color requirement).

If so, one option is to use what is called a “reveal” acrylic/vinyl combination. A reveal configuration places a vinyl layer slightly smaller than the letter faces onto the acrylic leaving a small light channel at the edge.

This layout (darker vinyl over white acrylic) generates a highly visible letter set while retaining the darker face color your customer requested.

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

signshop.com

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In summary, this photo set illustrates the visibility impact of some differing channel letter face configurations:

Reveal configuration— vinyl overlay over white acrylic signshop.com

Basic white acrylic face

Full-cover blue vinyl overlay over white acrylic

Blue perforated vinyl— day appearance

Blue perforated vinyl— night appearance May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

41

Perforated Vinyl Perforated vinyl is another potential night visibility solution when your customer insists on retaining a dark face color. This product can provide a dark letter face appearance by day and a lighter color at night.

Perforated vinyl has a small dot pattern cut into the material, which is invisible during the day from typical viewing distances. This product is also known as light management film—similar to window vinyl.

The unique surface permits a sufficient amount of emitted light to effectively change the illuminated letter’s face color.

In other words, channel letters with perforated vinyl create a sort of optical illusion.

When illuminated at night, the brightness of the light emitted from the perforations overrides the sign face color. This field of light created in front of the letter faces produces the illusion of a differing color at night—and may solve the potential night visibility problem from darker vinyl colors.

Perforated vinyl colors can also be configured to match almost any color scheme your customer requests.

Black is the default stock color, but this product can also be digitally printed.

The digital print option offers almost any color shade your client may specify—including the darker colors mentioned above. But unlike a full-cover dark vinyl configuration, your

…and a lighter color at night thanks to perforated vinyl. customer’s perforated vinyl letter set will still have a visible night (illuminated) appearance.

Although the most common perforated vinyl configuration is black perf over white face acrylic, additional color combinations are extensive.

For example, if the customer would like a white letter daytime appearance and red at night, then white perforated vinyl could be placed over red acrylic. This would result in a stronger red illuminated appearance than if red LED were simply used behind white acrylic (a combination that has a pinkish night appearance.)

Face Illumination Options So if your customer presents you with a channel letter design that includes a full-cover dark vinyl color on the letter faces, let them know that can impact the level of night visibility.

Your customer’s sign has to compete with others for attention—why utilize a color configuration that will reduce readability, legibility, and impressions?

Ask them to consider using a partial covering of the face (reveal configuration), perforated vinyl, or simply a lighter vinyl color.

John Baylis is the marketing director at Direct Sign Wholesale (www.directsignwholesale.com) in Denver, Colorado.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

signshop.com

photos (this page): identity sign group, inc. in pottstown, pa.

Dark letter face appearance by day…

W r a p s / B y A s h l e y B r ay / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

all Photos: dream street graphics.

Steering Profits A wrap shop shows how providing premium wraps has led to premium profits.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

signshop.com

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T

here’s been a lot of talk in the sign industry about entering new markets, pushing the limits of your equipment, and getting out of your comfort zone. But Dream Street Graphics (www.dreamstreetgraphics.com) in Indianapolis, Indiana has bucked the trend and dedicated itself exclusively to what it does best—vehicle wraps.

And it’s working.

Dream Street Graphics celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, but it wasn’t until 2007 that the shop decided to focus on wraps.

“We gave up trying to be brand managers and doing the signs and banners and promotional,” says Tim Bettis, operations manager at Dream Street Graphics.

Since then, the shop has added more staff, four sixty-fourinch Epson printers, and two laminators. But the shop won’t turn away customers looking for signs and banners. It has relationships with sign shops in the area it will outsource the work to, and in return, these shops send wrap jobs to Dream Street Graphics.

This friendly synergy isn’t the case with all of the shops in the area however.

“There are a lot of other sign companies here that we compete with it, so in order to separate us from them, we took some extra steps,” says Bettis. “We put a lot of time into getting our guys trained and getting other certifications.”

Dream Street Graphics has three 3M Preferred Graphics Installers on staff, and it is even going to be hosting an Avery Dennison Supreme Wrapping Film Workshop on June 8 from 8:30 am-5:00 pm at its Indianapolis shop. (Note: To register, visit http://bit.ly/1H3HSJ4.)

For the O'Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels show, Dream Street Graphics turned one half of a Dodge Durango into a rolling swatch book featuring ten-inch strips of 3M 1080 vinyl in a variety of colors.

signshop.com

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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On the other side of the Dodge Durango featured at the tradeshow, Dream Street Graphics displayed a more traditional digitally printed wrap, which showed attendees what could be done with printed graphics to get a message across.

Dream Street Graphics’ dedication, certifications, and quality wraps have all succeeded in setting the shop apart. It has also allowed it to offer its work at a higher price point.

“We consider ourselves the premium provider here in town,” says Bettis. “We do have to compete a lot with sign shops and the newer guys in the industry who are willing to do it for much, much cheaper.

“So one of the things that has helped for us is not budging from our price point. It’s really easy for people to start knocking down pricing to get the job, but as everyone knows who’s done wraps before, it is really easy to make a mistake and instantly lose all your profit.”

Bettis also points out that by starting at a higher price point, Dream Street Graphics does have the option to lower its price for fleets or other repeat work.

“It’s harder to raise your price,” he says.

“But it’s really easy to bring it down.”

Some shops may wonder if a higher price point keeps customers away, but as vehicle wraps grow in popularity, that hasn’t been the case for Dream Street Graphics.

46

“I think that people are starting to see the value in vehicle wraps a lot more, especially for business owners who can get five years out of a vehicle wrap and potentially have hundreds of thousands of people see your vehicle for a one-time investment,” says Bettis.

Give them realistic expectations of what the wrap actually does for them, and it makes people feel a lot more comfortable because they don’t feel like they’re being taken advantage of.

Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

Catering to the right customers also makes a difference, and Dream Street Graphics finds the market for colorchange wraps quite profitable.

“Paint wraps are definitely a premium product that people with disposable income are interested in doing,” says Bettis.

The shop capitalized on the booming color-change wraps market at the O’Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels show in Indianapolis this past February.

The show caters to both car enthusiasts and those who work in the auto industry, and it gave the shop the chance to network and show off what it offers.

For the show, Dream Street Graphics wanted to do something special, so they wrapped their administrative assistant Andrhea Wilkins’ Dodge Durango with a split wrap—demonstrating color wraps on one side and a more traditional digitally printed wrap on the other.

On the color-change side, Dream Street Graphics took the idea of a swatch book to the next level.

Using some of the 3M 1080 vinyl they had in the shop, Dream Street Graphics cut ten-inch strips and applied them signshop.com

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Your Direct Source for Sign Information 3 Easy Steps

Receive vital product and service information from manufacturers and distributors by completing the adjacent card or visiting www.signshop.com/infodirect

1. Choose up to 10 categories of interest and check off on card.

2. Select up to 28 suppliers and record InfoDirect # on card.

3. Mail card to start getting info!

InfoDirect #

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 48

Company

Page

Page

InfoDirect #

38 SloanLED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 39 Southern Stud Weld . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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InfoDirect #

3M Commercial Graphics . . . . . . . . 47 AB Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Ability Plastics, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . 16 AdamsTech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Alpina Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . 54 Alpina Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . 54 AxiomLED Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Brooklyn Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CAB Sign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Central States Signs. . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Clarke Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Coastal Enterprises/Precision Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Delcam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 DUNA-USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Duxbury Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Epson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29 FASTSIGNS International . . . . . . . . . 5 Hartlauer Bits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Hendrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Howard Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 J. Freeman, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Justin Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Keystone Technologies. . . . . . . . . . 19 Lind SignSpring Group. . . . . . . . . . . 54 Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Orbus Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Orbus Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Ornamental Post, Panel & Traffic. . 55 Outwater Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Parker Davis Co., Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 55 Principal LED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SEGD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 SGIA Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 ShopBot Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Sign America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Sign Bracket Store By Hooks and Lattice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Signs365.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

Company

Company

Page

Companies in Sign Show

40 Stamm Manufacturing.. . . . . . . . . . 15 41 Stouse Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

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42 Techno CNC Systems LLC. . . . . . . . 43 43 TRC Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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44 US LED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 45 VKF Renzel USA Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . 55

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46 Vycom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

54

49 51 53 55 56

3A Composites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Innovations in Optics, Inc. . . . . . . . 10 Epilog Laser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Epson America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Fisher Textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Kern Laser Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mimaki USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mutoh America, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Roland DGA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 SunRise LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

signshop.com

Dream Street Graphics sees the wrap market as split into two camps: Wraps for style and showcasing a vehicle and wraps that work as an advertisement for businesses. The shop showcased both camps on its dual wrap. to one side of the car. They also ordered one-yard samples from Fellers of some of the newer vinyl colors and applied ten-inch strips of those, as well. When they were done, they’d turned one side of the car into a rolling swatch book.

“People look at the little swatch books that we get from the manufacturers. It looks neat, but it’s hard to see it when you’re looking at a little, two-inch piece,” says Bettis. “By doing the big piece on the side of the vehicle, people could actually see it, the different angles, and the different lighting and things like that. They could go up and touch it, and then they could also see how the wrap actually works when it comes to the door handles and the fenders and things like that.”

For the other side of the vehicle, Dream Street Graphics designed and applied a flashier, animal print wrap to show attendees what could be done with digitally printed graphics to get a message across.

In addition to the dual wraps, Dream Street Graphics was also able to show attendees what a wrap would look like on a car that wasn’t brand new. The signshop.com

Durango had some wind damage, the paint wasn’t in perfect condition, and there were a few spots on the sides where the clear coat was flaking away.

The shop used all of this to demonstrate how the vinyl would look over these imperfections.

Most business owners don’t bring in brand-new vehicles to wrap, so the realistic depiction was useful.

“On the side with the color swatch on it, obviously with the wrap film being so thin and a solid color, you’re going to see more of the paint issues underneath the vinyl,” says Bettis. “But on the side that has the really busy leopard print, I basically had to really show people where the paint damage was.”

Bettis advises always being truthful with clients—especially first-time wrap buyers.

“What has really worked for us is that we’re very honest with people upfront on what they can expect out of a wrap,” he said. “[I say,] ‘Don’t expect this wrap to be a cure-all.’

“Give them realistic expectations of what the wrap actually does for them, and it makes people feel a lot more comfortable because they don’t feel like

they’re being taken advantage of.”

What Dream Street Graphics’ dual Durango wrap demonstrates is that the wrap market is broken up into two camps: (1.) Wraps for style and showcasing a vehicle, and (2.) wraps that work as an advertisement for businesses.

As part of their sales pitch, the shop always finds out which camp a client is in by asking what the most important part of a wrap is for them.

“Most of the people in the industry that we deal with definitely want showquality graphics and want it to last and all that, but getting the message and their brand out there is the most important thing to them,” says Bettis.

“Having a little bit of paint damage underneath their logo or something is not going to keep them from getting work.”

No matter what type of wrap a customer wants, Dream Street Graphics sees the market growing.

“Everyone knows what vehicle wraps are now, at least they have an idea, and it’s getting more popular,” explains Bettis. “We only see upward growth from here.”

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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B u s i n e s s M a n a g e m e n t / By Jac o b O r o s z / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Three Steps to

Selling Your Sign Shop

The key to selling your sign shop is a thorough plan.

W

hat will you do when it is time to sell your business? Are you about to stop

What many sign professionals mistakenly believe

reading because you are not consid-

is that it will be easy to sell the business when the

ering selling your shop?

Less than 85 percent of business owners have a plan in place for when the time comes to exit their busi-

photo: Shutterstock

nesses. Stay with me, and you will see why you should be thinking about the sale of your business now.

The reality is, one way or another, you will eventually exit your business. The most common signshop.com

way business owners exit is through a sale.

time comes. However statistics show that over 80 percent of businesses on the market ultimately do not sell.

The key to selling your sign shop—and receiving top dollar for it—lies in executing an intelligent, thorough plan, which involves three concrete steps: prepare, advertise, and close the deal.

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Step One—Prepare The first step in successfully selling your sign business is to prepare for the sale ahead of time; earlier than you may think.

One way you must prepare your business for sale is by creating two crucial documents: (1.) A written summary of your business, typically ten to forty pages, that gives potential buyers a detailed explanation of your business and operations; and (2.) A set of clear, normalized financial

statements that will show prospective buyers the true profitability of your business after removing any personal expenses you may be running through your company.

Next you need to set an asking price for your business.

As a general rule of thumb, your sign shop is valued at 45 to 50 percent of revenue or two to three times your discretionary cash flow. A formal business valuation is not always necessary; however the advice of an experienced pro-

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

fessional is priceless and can give you a good idea of the value of your business.

The time to prepare is now, not when you have decided you are ready to leave the business. Keep in mind that a lack of preparation can not only waste your time, but it can kill a deal that would have otherwise been fruitful.

The more preparation you do up-front, the smoother the rest of the process will be.

Step Two—Advertise Once you are fully prepared, you can officially put your sign shop on the market!

There are three effective ways to sell a sign business, and choosing which avenue is best for your shop requires determining who your potential buyers are then using the appropriate method to attract those buyers.

Method One: Advertising your business for sale online tends to attract a wide variety of buyers and generates the most exposure in the most efficient way possible, making this method great for franchises and smaller shops that can be sold to a buyer who may be new to the sign industry.

However if your shop is very technical and needs a buyer who is familiar with the industry, this method of advertising is the least effective, and you will be overwhelmed with buyers who are not a right fit for your shop.

Method Two: Advertising to direct competitors is another option. However, when doing this, it is advised that you contact a business broker or a mergers & acquisitions intermediary.

Why? Imagine if your biggest competitor found out you were selling your shop. That information would spread like wildfire to your customers and employees before you had a chance to disclose it on your terms.

To maintain confidentiality of your sale, it is best to have a third-party reach out to potential buyers and inform them that a local sign shop is for sale, without disclosing important details until nondisclosure agreements are entered into.

This is a suitable strategy for a business grossing over five million dollars per year or for highly technical sign businesses (such as those manufacturing electric signs).

Method Three: The third method is placing an ad in a trade publication. This is the perfect way to attract buyers that have direct experience with the sign industry and even competitors’ employees signshop.com

who may be considering starting or buying their own sign shop.

This is a suitable strategy for smaller sign businesses and for shop owners who are not worried about keeping the sale of their shop confidential.

Step Three—Close the Deal Once you have located a serious buyer for your business, you are now ready to negotiate the key terms of the sale.

Selling a sign shop has challenges that are specific to the sign industry, and key terms should be clearly addressed through the closing documents. For example, the buyer should understand the importance of close customer relationships and a technical work force.

Another thing to consider while negotiating terms is confidentiality of the sale.

One way to maintain confidentiality is to receive an earnest money deposit and get a signed Letter of Intent (LOI) or offer to purchase. You should also have a strong non-disclosure agreement signed by the buyer to prevent your customers and employees from learning about the sale.

As I finish discussing this final step, I will leave you with some advice that comes from years of experience buying and selling businesses: Retain the services of an experienced attorney or intermediary to assist with the closing process. Hiring the right professionals will give you the peace of mind that the sale of your sign shop will be done properly.

Even if you think you have loyal employees, protect your business! I have sold sign shops where key employees have unexpectedly left the day before the closing.

Without non-solicitation or non-disclosure agreements, those employees could take current customers and open their own sign shop right across the street.

By preparing your sign shop for your eventual exit early on, advertising the sale of your shop properly, and having the right professionals in place to assist with

the sale and closing, you can ensure that, when the time comes, the sale of your sign shop will go off without a hitch.

Jacob Orosz is president of Morgan & Westfield (www.morganandwestfield. com), a nationwide professional services company specializing in the confidential sale and appraisal of small to mid-sized businesses. Jacob can be reached at 888/693-7834, ext. 150 or jacob@morganandwestfield.com.

Conclusion Selling a sign business will be a much different process than selling any other type of business for three primary reasons.

First most sign shops are highly technical and most highly technical businesses are sold, surprisingly enough, to competitors. Selling to a competitor presents its own challenges, including keeping the sale confidential from your employees and, especially, your customers.

Second it is very important to develop a smooth transition period that will help the buyer retain relationships with your clients.

Third you need a solid plan in place to retain your key staff members after the sale and to protect your business from employees who leave the business after learning of the sale. Once you decide to announce the sale, you should have nonsolicitation and non-disclosure agreements signed with all employees. signshop.com

May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

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May 2015 // Sign Builder Illustrated

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“

SHOP TALK

B y J e f f Wo ot e n

The Calagaz Group of Mobile, Alabama

Visual Communications: The Future Today

To stay in the photo-finishing industry for as long as his family has, Calagaz had to change with the times.

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Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2015

screening company.

Leo feels his companies, through photography, printing, signage, and silk-screening, has embraced the visual communications concept and completed a circle of sales, if you will. FASTSIGNS has allowed Leo to cross-market their range of products.

“If we go to a retailer, restaurant, or real estate company, we can sell them everything now—from their signs to their print material,” he says. “We can even help them with their photography (if they want to take their own pictures) and their apparel.”

This evolvement has also allowed Leo to get the message out to others in the photo-finishing field.

He is current chairman of the Buck Rogers National Photofinisher Group, a forward-thinking organization named after the comic strip/serial character that is made up of owners, presidents, and decision makers that has strongly influenced industry trends.

He recently invited FASTSIGNS CEO Catherine Monson and EVP of Franchise Support and Development Mark Jameson to this year’s Buck Rogers meet to discuss top industry growth strategies, diversification methods, and the Co-Brand Franchise Program.

“I’m not sure if the franchise concept is a fit for everybody, but we made them aware of the possibility,” says Leo. “In order to have stayed in an industry for as long as the Buck Rogers group has (since the ’30s), they need to be able to reinvent themselves and change with the times.”

To read more about photo-finishing and signs, visit www.signshop.com signshop.com

all Photos: The calagaz group.

W

hen dealing with “visual communications,” one has to be open to change— change in equipment, change in marketing, change in strategy, etc. Leo J. Calagaz is president of The Calagaz Group, which is made up of three divisions: photo retail, commercial printing, and silk screening apparel. And for him, it’s important to reinvent his company without leaving their core competency of imaging too far behind.

Because of this, he co-branded with FASTSIGNS® to open a new franchise in Mobile, Alabama under the Calagaz Group umbrella.

Leo’s father started the business sixty years ago as a black-and-white photo-finisher camera retail store. But the photo-finishing industry has greatly changed over the past few decades (one-hour processing at drug stores, digital cameras, Internet commerce, etc.). “FASTSIGNS realized that these business owners and entrepreneurs in our industry right now are struggling,” he says.

Leo’s FASTSIGNS franchise allows them to offer signage, and it is a separate business also co-owned by his nephew Joe and Joe’s sister Pauline C. McKean (pictured, above) within The Calagaz Group.

The Calagaz Group’s expansion into commercial printing led them to a vertical niche market of fulfilling print needs (menus, posters, etc.) for “premier accounts” in the restaurant industry (such as Mellow Mushroom). In 2012, they expanded further by purchasing an apparel silk

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