Sign Builder July 2020

THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE

J U N E/J U LY 2020 | S I G N S H O P.CO M

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CONTENTS

JUNE/JULY 2020

VOL. 34

NO. 300

HOW-TO COLUMNS

16 20

LAYING DOWN THE LAW

By Kelli Ramirez Sign shop takes action to create a new outdoor sign for a law firm.

AIRBRUSH PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

By Jim Hingst An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

DEPARTMENTS

4 8

12

Cover Photo: iLight.

45 47

EDITOR’S COLUMN

It’s Sign Builder Illustrated’s 300th issue, and Jeff Wooten surveys our past, present, and future.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Sign company takes active role in keeping essential employees safe, SGIA and PIA merge, lighting transforms the most interesting parking garage, and a new LED spectacular in Manhattan.

SIGN SHOW

The newest products and services from sign manufacturers.

SBI MARKETPLACE

27 FEATURES

Advertisements and announcements from the sign trade.

27

SHOP TALK

ISA Vice President of Government Affairs David Hickey touches on OSHA safety regulations through 2020.

34 38 41

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43

A BRAND NEW WORLD

By Ashley Bray and Jeff Wooten The variety of signage and branding in a COVID-19 landscape.

PUTTING ON THE RITZ SIGN

By Jeff Wooten A historical Milwaukee sign is rescued and restored.

PAID IN FULL

By Jeff Wooten Financing large investments during a pandemic.

TRENDS IN TEXTILES

By Ashley Bray In-demand fabric products and how COVID-19 is affecting the market.

DESIGNS ON AI

By Jim Cirigliano Using computer-generated design to explore sign design possibilities.

June/July 2020

Sign Builder Illustrated

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June/July 2020, Vol. 34, No. 300 Sign Builder Illustrated (ISSN 0895-0555) print, (ISSN 2161-0709) digital is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

Subscriptions: 800-895-4389

EXECUTIVE OFFICES

President and Chairman Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher Arthur J. Sutley 88 Pine Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005 212-620-7247 ; Fax: 212-633-1863

EDITORIAL

Editor Jeff Wooten 323 Clifton Street, Suite #7, Greenville, NC 27858 212-620-7244 jwooten@sbpub.com Managing Editor Ashley Bray 212-620-7220 abray@sbpub.com Contributing Writers Jim Cirigliano, David Hickey, Jim Hingst, Kelli Ramirez, Roger Whittle

ART

Art Director Nicole D’Antona Graphic Designer Hillary Coleman

PRODUCTION

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers

CIRCULATION

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com

ADVERTISING SALES

Publisher/West Coast Sales Arthur J. Sutley 212-620-7247 asutley@sbpub.com Associate Publisher/Mid-West Sales Jeff Sutley 212-620-7233 jsutley@sbpub.com Integrated Account Manager/East Coast & Canada David Harkey 212-620-7223 dharkey@sbpub.com Sign Builder Illustrated is published monthly. All rights reserved. Nothing herein may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. To purchase PDF files of cover and layouts or hard copy reprints, please call Art Sutley at 212-620-7247 or e-mail asutley@sbpub.com.

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June/July 2020

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EDITOR’S COLUMN

AGENDA

BY JEFF WOOTEN

Note: Due to COVID-19 concerns, be aware all events listed below are subject to change.

Please check each show’s Web site for any updates.

SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 15-18:

Digital Signage Expo 2020, the world’s only international event that is dedicated to digital signage and interactive display solutions, has been rescheduled to now take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center-South Hall 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (digitalsignageexpo.net)

300 Issues Strong

Much of the industry has changed since our first issue.

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work put in by succeeding editors James Hyatt and the late Bruce Amaro.

The magazine has grown leaps and bounds beyond just the printed page since its first issue. In addition to our redesigned Web site and laser-focused e-newsletters, we also produce a digital version of our publication each month.

We also recently launched a regular series of “Shop Talk” podcasts that you can find on our Web site (signshop.com). Managing Editor Ashley Bray and I interview sign makers and industry officials about various topics of interest.

We’re also using the podcasts to expand a bit beyond the confines of the magazine.

For example, on page 34, you’ll find the feature “Putting on the Ritz Sign,” which looks at the recent restoration of a historical sign in Milwaukee. In the latest Shop Talk podcast (episode five), we speak with the sign maker involved in this project, Chris Stemper, with more behind-thescenes stories and his thoughts about the lighting industry in general. Check this episode out now via the Industry Resources section on our Web site.

And I want to thank you for continuing to share this sign-making ride with us and hope that you’ve learned something new or adopted a new technique after reading about it over any of our past 300 issues.

JEFF WOOTEN Editor, jwooten@sbpub.com

June/July 2020

OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 21-23:

PRINTING United, the largest printing event in North America bringing all printing industry segments together under one roof, has plans to converge at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (printingunited.com)

NOVEMBER 2020 NOVEMBER 3-6:

Engage – National Networking Conference, an event hosted by the Mid South Sign Association, will take place at the Hilton Knoxville, World’s Fair Park, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (midsouthsign.org) Photo: Shutterstock.com/ Dragos Dragomirescu.

W

elcome to the 300th print issue of Sign Builder Illustrated magazine. I can’t guarantee you that comic book writer/ artist Frank Miller or actor Gerard Butler are in the audience to help us welcome this very special “300” edition though.

When the “Premiere Issue” of Sign Builder Illustrated appeared in subscribers’ mailboxes, text and black-and-white photography accompanied “old-school” products like the Gerber 4B sign making machine, as well as tutorials about manual individual letter fabrication and using “4x8” sheets for electric signs. Back then, digital signs meant time-and-temperature displays with lamps, and computerized sign pricing involved word processing and dot matrix printers.

Flash forward to today and look around (while maintaining proper social distancing, mind you). Automation has revolutionized dimensional signage, convergence has increased one-stop shops, and digital screens have overtaken Blade Runner.

LED lighting components have become more the norm, and vehicles of all types have become traveling vinyl billboards.

This magazine was the brainchild of Steve Atkins, and I would like to take this moment to thank him for taking a chance in putting together and distributing this publication during its early years, allowing the magazine to grow in reputation. I want to also thank all the sign makers and writers who have supplied us with articles about trends, projects, and products over our past 300 issues, as well as the hard

NOVEMBER 3-6:

The automotive-focused 2020 SEMA Show trade-only event rolls in to set up at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (semashow.com)

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IN THE INDUSTRY

SIGN COMPANY TAKES ACTIVE ROLE

IN KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE

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ATERTOWN, SD— Persona Signs of Watertown, South Dakota, and its employees are working to make things a little more bearable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While several employees are using their downtime to make face masks for local healthcare facilities, Persona itself is allocating a large portion of its manufacturing capacity and resources to developing hygiene shields, making workplaces safer for essential employees.

When the manager of a local grocery store wanted to give his employees an extra level of protection against the virus, he called on Persona, one of the largest sign makers in the United States. The grocery store had already made moves to make 8

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the store safer for both customers and employees through increased disinfecting, more “social distancing,” and altering traffic patterns in the store. However workers were still being exposed beyond their comfort level. Persona immediately began designing shields that could be manufactured quickly and inexpensively and that could be easily installed to provide an extra layer of protection between workers and customers.

Les Rossman from Technical Sales and a group of Persona designers came up with the solution. “This project was totally different from anything we’d done before,” he said. “We just had four or five people around the table and came up with a design that we thought would work.”

The shields can be manufactured in

June/July 2020

less than an hour. In fact, Persona delivered the store’s shields just two days after their first meeting with the store manager, a turnaround time that was appreciated given the circumstances.

Persona is offering these shields to other businesses, both locally and across North America. “It just goes to show that when you have the right people working on a project, you can do some pretty amazing things,” said Rossman.

Persona has dedicated a portion of its production resources to manufacturing the hygiene guard, which can be installed in businesses such as pharmacies, grocery and convenience stores, hotels, restaurant take-out windows, banks, post offices, and other essential businesses. “We have the ability to adapt and change during signshop.com

SGIA AND PIA MERGE

Persona employees are making face masks for local healthcare facilities.

F

Hygienic shields created by Persona.

these times to help keep essential business workers...[and] their customers safe,” said Persona President Mike Peterson.

The company also worked with its lenders to offer customers a new national financing plan to help them thrive in spite of these challenging times. This plan allows companies to complete their sign projects while retaining their vital capital for operating expenses. The financing plan features a low interest rate, friendly terms, options for deferred payments, and no vendor deposits. Best of all, customers can make it happen quickly, including same-day credit decisions.

Other Persona employees are also doing some helpful things.

According to Amber Dahl, Persona’s vice-president of Human Resources, signshop.com

a dozen or so employees are joining other local manufacturing workers sewing masks and packaging and delivering them to the Salvation Army to be used at health care facilities in and around Watertown. “We’ve also had employees ask how they can help their co-workers,” said Dahl. “We have at least a dozen employees actively making, packaging, and delivering masks right now.”

The old adage says every cloud has a silver lining, and Dahl didn’t have to search long to find one. “All of our employees are really resilient people, and this is going to build more resilience,” she said. “What I hope comes out of this is that everybody looks out for one another. We’ve always been that way but even more so now.”

—RogerWhittle

AIRFAX, VA AND WARRENDALE, PA—The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) and the Printing Industries of America (PIA) have officially merged. The organization’s new name is PRINTING United Alliance.

SGIA and PIA are together committed to serving the graphic arts c o m m u n i t y w i t h p re e m i n e n t research, education, training, events, legislative support, government affairs, health and safety, and other key industry services. SGIA primarily serves the graphics, industrial, and apparel decorator segments, and PIA primarily serves the commercial printing segment.

Together members will have access to services across many channels.

Ford Bowers has been elevated to president and CEO of PRINTING United Alliance. Michael Makin, current president and CEO of Printing Industries of America, has become an executive vice president of the unified organization.

“PRINTING United Alliance is a reflection of the invaluable partnerships and industry convergence that has evolved over time,” says Bowers.

“The [new] organization name seemed an obvious choice to many as our North Star points to the industry continuing to come together and strengthening to ensure future growth and longevity.”

For more information, visit sgia.org and printing.org.

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IN THE INDUSTRY NEW MANHATTAN LED SPECTACULAR

N LIGHTING TRANSFORMS THE MOST INTERESTING

PARKING GARAGE

C

HICAGO, ILLINOIS—Parking garages aren’t usually eyecatching or the most interesting features in a landscape; however the Museum Garage is not your typical parking garage. Craig Robins, the CEO of Dacra Development, set out to build a parking garage that would be the most interesting structure in Miami. It was to be located in the Design District, a part of the city dedicated to architecture, art, and innovation.

Five architectural and design firms were hired for the project, each designing a different segment of the of the facility’s exterior. Speirs + Major was retained as the lighting designer.

Inspiration for the design of the garage was drawn from the surrealist parlor game, Exquisite Corpse. Cadavre Exquis, as the game is known in French, involved a collection of images assembled by various artists with no regard or knowledge of what the other artists have drawn, producing one image whose components don’t necessarily match but which flow together as one playful composition. Each firm was assigned an area and depth to build out, and they were given free reign to create fully individual designs.

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The result is an extremely modern and unique mashup of colors and styles that is like an architectural version of the Exquisite Corpse and anything but the average parking garage. In fact, it is a very successful, award-winning project.

Spiers + Major won an Architizer A+ Award for their lighting creation, which used Plexineon White 2X 3500K accent lighting mounted to the back of engraved pictures on the parking garage.

The lighting draws attention to the lasercut engravings that were inspired by Japanese anime and designed by French artist Nicholas Buffe. The designer did not want a reflection of pixelated lights and, having used Plexineon before, knew Plexineon would emit the pleasing, uniform distribution of light that was desired.

June/July 2020

EW YORK CITY, NEW YORK — SNA Displays manufactured an LED spectacular for a rooftop digital billboard at the corner of 8th Avenue and West 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.

The teams from SNA Displays and media partner BIG Outdoor worked together with New York City’s Department of Buildings to approve the 64-7/12-inch-tall-by-84-footscreen from SNA Displays’ line of EMPIRE™ exterior LED display products outside the special-use district, a process that involved attending community board meetings for several years.

Additionally the existing building structure at 661 8th Avenue had to be reinforced to support the weight of the new LED spectacular. This required new steel bracing and supplementary reinforcements to be installed through the roof and integrated into the original structure.

The new digital billboard has an 8.0 mm pixel pitch and a screen measuring 2,460 pixels high and 3,200 pixels wide. SNA Displays worked with North Shore Neon for the installation.

To learn more about the display, visit https://bit.ly/3cOtZEE.

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SIGN SHOW SIGN TOOLS

VINYL/VINYL FILMS

Dust Doesn’t Stand a Change Against the Sooper Tack Roller from Image One Impact

Mactac Announces New Bundled Print Media and Laminating Films Offerings

Every sign maker can now remove every speck of unwanted dust and any other particle from the surface of their sign before printing, laminating, or applying graphics thanks to Image One Impact, a manufacturer and supplier of high-quality products for the sign, graphics, and vehicle wrap industries. The hand-held Sooper Tack Roller kit that Image One Impact offers is a must for every sign and vinyl graphics shop! Each Sooper Tack Roller dust removal kit includes one easy-to-use, twelve-inch, hand-held tack roller and one pad of fifty 9-by-13-inch cleaning sheets. The Sooper Tack Roller Kit is available in three twelve-inch tack levels: DR12ALT Low Tack Dust Removal Kit, DR12AMT Medium Tack Dust Removal Kit, and DR12AHT High Tack Dust Removal Kit. image1impact.com

D es i g n e d to s a ve customers time and m o n e y, t h e n e w Mactac media/ laminate bundles offer discounted pricing for f u l l ve h i c l e w ra ps, partial vehicle wraps, and rough wall wrap applications and feature the company’s trusted, customerfavorite print media and laminating film combinations.

Additionally bundled products are available as part of Mactac’s new short-roll program, so customers can purchase more (150-foot rolls) or less (75-foot rolls). Mactac’s bundled product offerings include: Full Vehicle Wraps (IMAGin® B-free® Slide-able GRUV™ with PERMACOLOR® RAYZor™ overlaminate), Partial Vehicle Wraps (IMAGin ® B-free ® GRUV™ with PERMACOLOR® RAYZor™ gloss or matte overlaminate), and Rough Wall Wraps (IMAGin® RoughRAP™ with PERMACOLOR® RAYZor™ gloss or matte overlaminate). Mactac’s bundled products have a two-year shelf life and indoor and outdoor film durability of up to ten years, dependent on the application. mactac.com/bundle

EXTRUSIONS Stylmark Introduces the AXIA Flexible Surface System Stylmark, a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial and retail fixtures, reveals AXIA™ Flexible Surface System. AXIA is an architectural extrusion system created to enhance surfaces for commercial, hospitality, and retail environments. AXIA Flexible Surface System is designed to transform walls, columns, ceilings, elevator cab interiors, and any other surface you want to revitalize. AXIA can also be used under countertops to add a finishing design touch to Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS) areas, hotel registration counters, or bars. AXIA can be mounted vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to support any design vision. Five different AXIA panel styles are currently available that provide aesthetic alternatives for architects and designers to select. AXIA Flexible Surface System consists of a four-inch panel that comes in twelve-foot stock lengths or Stylmark can custom fabricate to accommodate your project needs. AXIA is available in Stylmark’s wide variety of anodized aluminum finishes to support your brand requirements.

“AXIA allows designers and architects creative options when looking at a blank canvas and having several profiles to choose from to create one-of-a-kind areas within an environment. AXIA is a perfect complement to our TrimMaker® aluminum extrusion product line. Just like those products, AXIA can be anodized to match the designer’s color vision,” says Kevin Brown, president of Stylmark. (800) 328-2495; stylmark.com/axia-flexible-surface-system

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SIGN SHOW DIGITAL PRINTING EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES Epson Expands SureColor T-Series Line Epson announces three new SureColor速 T-Series printers designed for entry- and mid-level CAD production and general purpose wide format graphics. For personal workspaces and home-based high-tech offices, the new SureColor T2170 24-inch desktop printer joins the current 24-inch SureColor T3170 and SureColor T3170x to deliver high-performance technical and graphic output at an incredible value. For small- to mid-sized workgroup settings, the new 24-inch SureColor T3475 and 36-inch SureColor T5475 replace the SureColor T3470 and SureColor T5470 and deliver powerful, precise printing and provide outstanding productivity, with new high-capacity 700mL cartridges. Leveraging an Epson PrecisionCore速 MicroTFP printhead for fine lines and exceptional details, the new models are ideal for client-ready technical output and corporate graphics. Touting fast PrecisionCore MicroTFP printheads, the printers deliver output with outstanding clarity and commercial-grade reliability. These new SureColor T-Series printers also feature UltraChrome速 XD2 pigment ink, which creates instant dry and durable output. Intuitive features include a 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen and integrated wireless and Wi-Fi Direct速 connectivity for simple printing direct from smartphones and tablets. The new SureColor T-Series printers also integrate with compatible Epson DS-530, DS-7500, and DS-7000 document scanners to create scanned enlargements without the need for a computer or special software. proimaging.epson.com

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SIGN SHOW DIGITAL SIGNS/EMCS/VIDEO DISPLAYS Envision Allows Users to Virtually Design Display Projects in a Variety of Environments SNA Displays has launched Envision™, the digital display industry’s newest visualization tool. This online, interactive tool was primarily built for SNA Displays’ prospective clients as well as its extensive channel partner network but will also benefit anyone considering digital media to shape an indoor or outdoor experience and get an idea of how a display will look in a practical setting. Envision can be used as a simple product selection device, allowing users to choose exterior products from SNA Displays’ EMPIRE™ line and interior products from its BOLD™ and BRILLIANT™ lines. Within each product line, users are able to select from LED modules of varying sizes and pixel pitches and scale their digital display(s) as needed in a threedimensional model. Standard environments available include office lobbies, retail spaces, conference rooms, casinos, building facades, pole signs, blade signs, and a scalable hotel/office building. Envision provides a way for users to upload an environment to see how digital display technology will look in an actual project space. This do-it-yourself feature empowers users to create a basic visual mockup on the spot instead of waiting for in-house or third-party rendering resources to be made available. In addition to being able to customize their environment, users can select from an array of preloaded content or even upload images or video for a more tailored configuration. Additionally, once users have built their custom rendering, they print a package with their mockup and all appropriate product specifications. Envision customers can also request a quote directly from the tool. snadisplays.com/envision

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June/July 2020

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HOW TO

SIGN KELLI RAMIREZ SIGNBLANKS BLANKS| BYBY KELLI RAMIREZ

Veteran Wood Co. Owner Mike Legregni.

Laying Down the Law

Sign shop takes action to create a new outdoor sign for a law firm.

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Sign Builder Illustrated

artwork made with reclaimed wood. He fabricated a rustic flag made out of similar materials and posted his fine work on social media. Interested parties— mostly in the law enforcement community—soon contaced him to craft custom wall hangings.

And thus, Veteran Wood Co., was born.

June/July 2020

Legregni’s business took off, and he started exhibiting at local craft fairs.

It was at one of these fairs last August when a nearby New Jersey law firm approached Legregni wanting him to replace their weathered outdoor monument sign made of wood.

“I asked if he could make us a new

Veteran Wood Co. recreated the look of wood with HDPE sheets. signshop.com

All Photos: Veteran Wood.

V

eteran Wood Co., of Parsippany, New Jersey is an independent sign crafting shop with an owner, Mike Legregni, who has a passion for fabrication and creativity. Legregni’s enthusiasm for building started at a young age, when his father taught him how to build skateboard ramps and tree houses, repair bicycles, and tinker with practically anything that included nuts and bolts.

During his teen years, Legregni’s attention changed to cars, and his mechanical knowledge would serve him well when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he maintained EA-6B Prowler aircrafts.

After retirement following a career in law enforcement, Legregni now has the time to devote to what he loves to do best: create, with an eye for detail, using only the best quality materials and the right tools for the job.

In May 2019, Legregni put both these resources to good use after seeing

HOW TO SIGN BLANKS | BY KELLI RAMIREZ sign, but with the New Jersey weather, [Legregni] advised us it couldn’t be made of wood,” said Sam Tsinman of Forman, Cardonsky & Tsinman, LLC. “[So] I asked if he could make us a sign that had the look of wood but was more durable, and he said he’d find a solution.”

Legregni said, “The law firm wanted a brown wood look with black lettering [but] without the problems wood develops over time.”

After examining a sample of TimberLine® HDPE sheets from Vycom supplied by his representative at his local distributor, E&T Plastics, he ordered a Teak sheet trimmed to the sign specifications of 70 inches wide-by-48 inches tall.

Legregni cut the identity lettering out of black Vycom Celtec® PVC sheets using his CNC router. He then attached the letters to the TimberLine sheet using standard woodworking tools (including adhesive to position the let-

ters); then he countersunk wood screws into the substrate.

Once affixed, Legregni filled the screw holes with plugs cut from Celtec PVC using the CNC router and secured it with adhesive to provide the quality fit and finish that is a hallmark of his work. Both sides of the sheet were decorated with the law firm’s name and telephone number.

The next step was finding the supports to install the sign. A round of sleuthing on the Internet brought him to Decks Direct, where he selected TimberTech® posts and caps from The AZEK Company in classic black.

“A friend has a deck made of TimberTech, and I have AZEK® PVC trim on my house, so I knew these were top-notch products that could withstand harsh environments,” said Legregni.

The posts were easy to assemble and offer a sleek, appealing frame for the monument sign, which was installed in

Affixing the PVC letters to the TimberLine sheet.

late 2019. “The sign is fantastic, and we won’t have to worry about maintenance,” said Tsinman.

While wood is the primary medium for Veteran Wood Co.’s creative outlet, Legregni has begun working with HDU and plastics, and he says he will definitely consider using Timberline when warranted by future applications.

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17

HOW TO PAINTING PAINTING| BY BYJIM JIMHINGST HINGST

Clear obstructions in the tiny holes of the air cap using the finest needle of a torch tip cleaner.

Airbrush Preventative Maintenance

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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Caution: Some people use acetone to clean their guns. While acetone will solvate a wide range of solvent-based paints, this chemical may also damage the O-ring or any plastic parts of your airbrush.

For water-based paints, water usually cleans most paints before they dry. Removal of dried residue, however, is cer certainly more difficult.

As an alternative to a commercial prod product, you may want to try some household cleaners. These cleaners include 91 per percent isopropyl alcohol (IPA), denatured alcohol, and windshield washer fluid.

Some people have recommended using vodka or moonshine as a cleaning fluid.

While these may be as effective as IPA or denatured alcohol, save the booze for Happy Hour.

While ammonia is often effective in softening dried acrylic paint and other cerwaterborne paints, it can react with cer tain metals, such as brass. Even though many of the brass parts in an airbrush

June/July 2020

have some type of metal coating, that coating may not protect the base metal.

In addition, because Windex® contains ammonia, do not use it or any other ammonia-based cleaners.

Also be aware that some cleaners, such as citrus cleaners, will leave an oily residue. For this reason, before using

Another view of clearing obstructions in the tiny holes of the air cap. signshop.com

All Photos: Jim Hingst.

Y

ou can avoid many airbrush problems—including splattering, skipping, or not spraying at all—just by following a few simple maintenance procedures at the end of each use. Cleaning your airbrush, whether spraying an acrylic or other wa waterborne paint, requires different cleaners than used when spraying solvent-based paints (such as enamels or urethanes).

While much of the residue from a water-based paint cleans up simply by spray spraying water through the airbrush, some deposits of the paint often remain on its parts, especially on the air cap and needle.

Over time, this buildup can inhibit the performance of your equipment.

In selecting a cleaner for your airbrush, you must match the cleaner to the paint system. While some products are touted as “all-inclusive” cleaners, they usually are not. For solvent-based paints, your best choice is generally to use the reducer formulated for that particular paint.

HOW TO PAINTING | BY JIM HINGST

any cleaner, always “test, don’t guess.”

In some respects, cleanup of dried film of acrylic or a waterborne paint can be more difficult than removal of dried accumulation of solvent-based paint.

The reason is that solvents can dissolve dried paint.

On the other hand, nothing dissolves dried acrylic paint. At best, cleaners just soften these paints.

To avoid problems, the best practice is to clean your airbrush immediately following its use, as well as to perform periodic maintenance (such as regularly removing and cleaning the needle).

Maintaining Tools As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With this in mind, here are some tips that may help you in cleaning either water-based or solvent-based paints from your airbrush and prevent time-consuming and potentially costly problems.

Clean up your equipment immediately after each use, to prevent the paint from drying in the airbrush. As you are working, remove any tip dry as it accumulates on the needle. Many airbrush artists do not use a needle cap on their airbrush, which prevents any paint residue from accumulating in the cap. Spraying without the cap allows easy access to the tip of the needle. It does, however, expose the needle to potential damage.

Instead of using your fingernails to remove tip dry, have a dedicated bristle brush with a cleaner to clean any dried paint or residual film. While you could use 91 percent IPA, an alternate product that has worked for me is Rapid Prep. If you are spraying a solvent-based paint, try brushing the tip with a reducer for the paint you are spraying or a general purpose thinner, such as mineral spirits.

When you are finished painting with your airbrush, pour any unused paint into a bottle or discard it. Spray any remaining paint into a spray-out pot to control any atomized fluid.

While commercial spray-out pots are signshop.com

The internal parts of various airbrushes are generally very similar; however, because of difference in design, you should maintain a file of all pertinent technical information.

very affordable, you can make an effective makeshift container for this application by simply drilling a small hole in the side of a plastic one-gallon milk jug.

If you are using a gravity-feed gun, clean up any residue on the inside of the paint reservoir with lint-free toweling.

Do not use cotton swabs for this process, because cotton fibers can stick to the bottom of the bowl.

After wiping out the excess paint with paper toweling, add cleaner to the reservoir and mop the inside of the bowl with a small paint brush. Next spray the contaminated cleaner through the airbrush.

Continue to spray cleaner through the airbrush until the spray is clear.

If you are using a siphon-feed airbrush, remove the paint bottle. Attach a bottle with a cleaner to your airbrush.

Spray the cleaner until it sprays clear.

In cleaning siphon-feed airbrushes, you will also need to clean the feed tube that connects with the bottle. Using a pipe cleaner, which has been bathed in paint cleaner, scrub this passage until you can remove the pipe cleaner with no paint residue.

In the cleaning process for waterbased paints, backflush your airbrush with either water, airbrush cleaner, windshield wash, or a liquid, such as Rapid Tac. Cover the air cap with a finger or rag and then depress and pull back on the trigger. This forces any residual paint and cleaner in the fluid section of the airbrush back into the paint reservoir or paint bottle.

Please note that not all types of needle protection end caps are solid. Some are crowned, which can make backflushing difficult. For these types of end caps, cover them with toweling in the backflush process. You should be aware that the process of backflushing could potentially force fluid past the O-ring and into the air chamber.

Removing some of the persistent residue from your airbrush may take some time for the cleaner to soften any remaining film. Allow some of the cleaner to remain in the airbrush for ten to twenty minutes to react with the residue; then flush the cleaner from the airbrush.

In spraying solvent-based cleaners through your airbrush, wear an air res-

June/July 2020

Sign Builder Illustrated

21

HOW TO PAINTING BY JIM HINGST

pirator and work in a well-ventilated environment. Use of a spray-out pot is also recommended to contain toxic fumes.

Cleaning Tip #1 Rarely will you need to lubricate your airbrush af ter routine cleaning. However, if the action of your trigger becomes sluggish, apply a drop of lubricant at its stem as you depress it. If that does not help, you may also need to wipe the shank of the needle with a drop of lubricant.

Cleaning Tip #2 While regular maintenance p reve n ts m a j o r p ro b l e m s , eventually some airbrush parts will wear out and fail. For this reason, you may want to keep a few spare parts, such as an extra needle, nozzle, and O-ring, on hand to shorten your downtime.

In a storage case, you should also assemble an array of tools and supplies, including wrenches, cleaning brushes, torch tip cleaners, pipe cleaners, and lubricant, necessary to service your equipment.

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Clean any dried paint on the outside of your airbrush with an appropriate cleaner. For solvent-based paints, a reducer or mineral spirits are effective. After spraying water-based paint, such as an acrylic or Createx Colors® Auto Air™ paint, Rapid Prep, 91 percent IPA, or denatured alcohol should do the trick.

To clean the needle, remove the needle handle at the back end of the airbrush and loosen the chuck nut, which secures the needle in place. In removing the needle, some models may require that you depress the trigger when removing and reinserting the needle. In the removal procedure, you may also need to rotate the needle.

Clean the needle with a lint-free rag moistened with cleaner, beginning at the back of the needle and wiping toward the pointed end. After wiping the needle clean, replace it. Always use care when handling the airbrush needle. After the needle sits snuggly in the nozzle, tighten the chuck nut to secure it in place.

Never remove the needle without first flushing the paint from the airbrush. To do so would allow paint to flow back into the air chamber of the airbrush, which would require complete disassembly for a thorough cleaning.

To ensure the needle is properly seated in the nozzle, fill the paint reservoir with water or solvent cleaner. Test the airbrush to confirm that it sprays when you engage the trigger. If any dried film accumulates on the needle guard, air cap, air cap body, fluid nozzle, needle, or other metal parts, soak them in an appropriate cleaner.

Regardless of what type of paint you are spraying, use a small cleaning brush to remove any of the loosened particles inside the air cap and nozzle.

The tiny holes in the air cap body can also become clogged with paint residue.

The flow of air through these holes is essential because it determines the spray pattern. To clear any obstructions in these holes, use the finest needle in a welder’s torch tip cleaner.

June/July 2020

Do not soak any plastic parts, such as an O-ring or a plastic needle handle, in the cleaner, especially if the cleaner is solvent-based. In addition, do not submerge your airbrush in a container of water for storage. Soaking your airbrush in water can allow water and paint particles to seep into the air chamber.

An exception to this rule, according to Butch “Superfrog” Anton, is during a short-term interruption. “If a customer comes in my shop or calls while I am painting, I will put my airbrush in a pail of water with the air line attached,” he says. “For the short time that the gun is in water, it never has been a problem.”

(Note: Anton points out that he uses a gravity-feed gun and waterborne paints for his airbrush work.)

In most cases, there is no reason to clean any part of your airbrush that does not contact paint.

If you need to disassemble your airbrush, work over a porcelain butcher’s tray or an Iwata Cleaning Mat with raised edges. As you take the airbrush apart, lay the tiny parts inside the tray.

This reduces the chance that you would lose a critical piece. You may also cover the tray bottom with a terrycloth towel.

Before you put your airbrush back together, check that the tip of the needle is not bent, examine the nozzle for cracks or other damage, and inspect the parts for dried paint that could inhibit airflow.

In reassembling your airbrush, only tighten the parts until they are snug. Be careful not to overtighten parts.

Conclusion Neglecting rudimentary upkeep eventually results in a major problem, requiring that you strip down the entire airbrush.

Disassembling your airbrush and reassembling it can be an unnerving task for a beginner. What’s more, an extensive overhaul can be time-consuming.

If you take a few minutes to completely clean your airbrush after each use, your gun will perform better, and you will spend less time troubleshooting and more time in production. signshop.com

G2G QIS “Thisto connect is easier than my

6 year old Danny, using QIS, beat adults who used wire nuts to connect modules.

He won a Optimus Prime and box of chocolate.

.

BRANDING SIGN PANELS

BY BRAY AND JEFF WOOTEN BYASHLEY BRENDA MURPHY-NIEDERKORN

A BRAND NEW WORLD Photo: Shutterstock.com/by Zoran Milic.

The variety of signage and branding in a COVID-19 landscape.

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he needs of retail shops have changed. In place of graphics advertising sales and new products, stores are looking for signs touting the importance of hand washing and social distancing.

“This is a huge opportunity. As economies open up, governments and businesses are putting in guidelines that encourage social distancing and actually require businesses to put in signage,” says Brian

signshop.com

Meshkati, vice president of Marketing for SinaLite, a wholesale trade printer. “Consumers may be apprehensive to visit retailers in person freely once retailers open up shops. Signage communicating key information regarding health and hygiene regulations for that retailer, safety precautions the retailer may be taking to ensure social distancing compliance, hygiene mandates for staff, and methods of handling products—these messages will be needed to al-

leviate any customer concerns and make the transition back to visiting retailers in person much smoother.”

Even in markets and states without specific regulations, Meshkati says that businesses will want to put up signage that shows they are responsible and safe areas for incoming customers.

For example, in an article from The New York Times, the newspaper writes about Simon Property Group’s plans to reo-

June/July 2020

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ucts include pole signage for easy hand sanitation locations in store; custom vinyl adhesives, static cling, and graphics for businesses; protective Plexiglass barriers; and instructional floor decals promoting social distancing.

When it comes to customized design ideas for vinyl to display on protective Plexiglas barriers, Garcia says, “We believe optically clear digitally printed graphics are ideal in allowing to show important information that may promote the safety of the workplace without compromising visibility.”

Plexiglass applications include both dry and wet mounting. “Wet mounting involves the use of a liquid (for the most part water) to position the graphic as needed,” says Garcia. “Once the position needed has been achieved with the use of a squeegee, the excess of liquid is removed so there is minimal to no water within the graphic. Leaving water is okay, as the graphic sits for twenty-four to forty-eight hours to dry.”

When installing graphics, be sure to first clean the surface. “Cleaning surfaces is very crucial to the longevity of the graphics and their presentation,” says Meshkati.

Meshkati also cautions that shops make sure the floor graphic is applicable to the surface. For example, not all vinyl graphics are well suited to application on carpets.

Whether a shop is installing a floor graphic on smooth or carpeted surfaces, Meshkati says the main difference is in the cleaning process. For smooth surfaces, clean the surface and remove any grease or oil. For carpeting, clean the surface by

June/July 2020

Floor graphics are great tools to use to enforce social distancing.

signshop.com

Photos: Sinalite.

pen its malls—including the necessity of new signage and messaging. Signs could include messages welcoming customers back, posters detailing safety precautions that have been taken, and directional floor graphics. “Temporarily closed” signage may also be needed for certain retail stores and locations within the mall.

SinaLite recently rolled out a collection of COVID-19 products for sale to the sign trade. The products include floor graphics in five designs promoting social distancing and decals promoting health and hygiene in eleven different designs. Both products are also available in custom designs.

Meshkati says sign shops should recommend applying decals and floor graphics at important checkpoints during a customer’s journey through a retail store, such as the entrance, exit, cash register, or any place with high traffic. Floor graphics specifically are great tools to use to enforce social distancing guidelines.

“Apply decals at eye level to ensure they are visible to customers, Meshkati recommends. “Apply them where they will not blend into the background.”

As for content, Maria Garcia, customer service representative at Flexmark USA, adds that decals need to include more than just information. “It is important to make sure to add eye-catching colors and different elements that will allow for these decals to be more appealing to your clients and their overall vision,” she says.

Flexmark USA offers COVID-19-related decals, shields, and preventative retail signage designed to help keep employees and customer safe. These prod-

vacuuming it well. No matter the surface, the next steps are to apply the graphic with a squeegee to prevent air bubbles and to let the graphic sit for twenty-four hours before exposing it to any foot traffic.

As for social distancing graphics, Garcia says the key for these types of graphics in reaching the attention of others rests in their design. “The layout needs to be simple. Avoid excessive wording. Feature enough key words that can relay the desired message which, in this case, equates to wanting people to be conscious of their space and surroundings,” she says, noting her company’s social distancing graphics allow customers to have visuals that can be easily accessible to ensure they know how to protect themselves and others.

Garcia adds, “The purpose of our social distancing graphics is to provide helpful visuals with information that benefit not only the customers but also businesses, hospitals, schools, and many other institutions that allow higher capacities of people in maintaining a safe environment and following the precautions needed during the current global situation.”

Meshkati says sign shops should also think outside of the box. “Go beyond signage and printables,” he says, recommending that shops also look to sell face shields and dividers/sneeze guards to retail clients. Many sign shops already have the equipment to make these products inhouse, or they can outsource the production through a company like SinaLite.

Shops should also consider apparel.

SinaLite offers shirts in seven designs touting social distancing, contactless payments, and the necessity for PPE like masks. These products are a great upsell to retail clients to remind customers, and staff, of best practices during this pandemic.

Sign Show Extra: Stand Out This Summer with StreetTRAX UNIQUE, VERSATILE StreetTRAX (STX1528P) from Mactac is available in more sizes for even more ways to safely and creatively send messages this summer. In addition to the original 54-inch-by-100-foot roll size, StreetTRAX is also now conveniently available in 54-inch-by-50-foot and 54-inch-by-150-foot rolls The highly durable 13.5-mil outdoor StreetTRAX sidewalk and floor graphic film requires no laminate. It is topcoated with a proprietary non-skid printable clear aggregate that delivers clean lines, sharp images, and slip resistance/high traction.

Mactac’s StreetTRAX is designed specifically for graphic placement on dry, unsealed, outdoor floor surfaces

that may ultimately get wet, such as: retail stores, private businesses, public buildings, manufacturing plants, schools and college campuses, sports arenas, entertainment venues, convention centers, marathon and races, and parades and fairs.

As one example, AIP Media works closely with national brands to execute graphic installations. The company recently designed and printed 36 49-inch-by-11.5-foot ra i n b ow- c o l o re d p a n e l s o n to Mactac’s StreetTRAX that, when installed, formed a forty-eight-foot circle of pride outside the corporate headquarters courtyard of TorontoDominion (TD) Bank, in an effort to show its support during a month-long

Pride celebration in Toronto.

The finished graphic was created using an HP Latex 360 printer. (Note: Solvent, eco-solvent, UV, Canon UVgel, and screen printing processes can also be used.) AIP Media handled printing and installing the graphic and removed it following the celebration.

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June/July 2020

Sign Builder Illustrated

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Sign Show: G2G’s Revolutionary Quick Installation System

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Sign Builder Illustrated

double-end male connector into a centrally located female connector found on the module chain, and wire seven- to ten-foot jacketed cable to the Power Distribution Connector (PDC) and connect the power supply in the same fashion. “The unique part is that we have a PDC so that you can highway or homerun to multiple letters w i t h o u t a n y w i re n u ts f ro m t h e secondary side of the power supply,” says Chen. “You can use the center connection to distribute the power.”

Doug Driscoll, national sales manager at G2G Lighting, adds, “From the power supply to the light engine, the QIS is a completely proprietary connection system for power and data. There is no need for splicing nor wire nuts. The [connectors] are a one-way connection system, indicated by elevated arrows to help make connections in low-to-no visibility that can only be fully connected if inserted in the correct direction.”

G2G Lighting has been doing specialty RGB lighting for over five years now and was familiar with some of the perils that installers can encounter here. “There are four wires when working with RGB, so from time to time, you’re making multiple connections or tens or hundreds of connections, so that can be pretty easy to get a wire mixed up,” says Driscoll. “The QIS has a mechanism built in not only for power but also for data, so it can only fully connect one way. It has an arrow indicator as well as a nub that keeps it from making a full connection unless it is inserted in the right direction. This helps make connections easier for customers and makes sure that the polarities for power are right and that the data connections are correct. ” According to Driscoll, with constant voltage modules, you can usually only run about twenty feet on a single highway or home run from the power supply.

“Because our modules have the female connector every so often, they can actually run forty feet by center pointing

June/July 2020

instead of running two separate lines,” he says. “So it makes fewer connections and decreases labor.

That helps with voltage drop.”

M o s t o b v i o u s l y, b e i n g competitive and having reasonable prices is possibly one of the most important decision-making points when a customer decides to buy, and G2G spend quite a bit of time with their partners doing research in the industry.

“First off, we didn’t sell wire before,” says Driscoll, “so understanding what customers were paying for wires helped us make sure that we were engineering it to a point where it makes it more efficient and able to improve their processes but also stay competitive. And we tried to keep all of our connectors within a reasonable price range where customers are buying their wires and wire nuts.”

The first phase of QIS is complete, and the second and third phases of transitioning all of their products to this system is scheduled to take place by the end of the year.

“In the future, what will change in the sign industry is innovation,” says Chen. “I think there will be another wave of inventions that will change the sign industry, and G2G Lighting will be at the forefront of that.”

Photo: G2G Lighting.

SKY CHEN, the president at G2G Lighting (g2glighting.com) in Delran Township, New Jersey, believes the United States has always prided itself on its “firsts,” especially when it comes to lighting—the invention of the first light bulb and the establishment of the first AC/DC connector, for examples. “And I hope G2G will one day be recognized as the most creative and unique LED company in the United States,” he says.

One reason for Chen’s positive projection is G2G Lighting’s recent introduction of its Quick Installation System (QIS), a new method for connecting and installing LED modules in channel letters, as well as LED sticks in sign cabinets. In fact, this product is the first phase of how Chen says his company will be bringing new products to market that he “expects to make big changes in the sign industry” in the United States.

The new plug-and-play QIS system promises to save time and money for installers. “We figured, with this system, we would make it an easy and more efficient step-bystep, where anyone could do the installation,” says Chen.

G2G’s QIS package features proprietary female connectors found on the module chain that accept G2G’s male connector by using watertight rubber seals to seamlessly secure the connection between the channel letters and the power—all without the need for any wire nuts!

The company has found that the IP rating (weather resistance) is a very important factor when it comes to lighting installations in the United States. Because of this, the QIS connector system features an IP67 rating connection.

Installation inside channel letters and sign cabinets is simple—install the QIS modules or sticks inside the channel letter or cabinet, insert the

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or many shops, bottlenecks in workflow can come in the fabrication stage and slow down an entire project. To alleviate the crunch, shops often outsource portions of a job they don’t have the capabilities to complete or that another company can do faster.

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. celebrates its 35th anniversary in business in 2020 as the leading sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 725 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS® centers in 9 countries including the United States and Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile, Grand Cayman, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, France and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE®).

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“FASTSIGNS” co-brand and conversion programs not only help business owners diversify their product lines and services to meet the growing demand for digital and state-of-the-art signage, but

also align with one of the most trusted names in the signage and visual communications industry,” said Mark Jameson, Executive Vice President of Franchise Support and Development. “When entrepreneurs partner with FASTSIGNS, they immediately benefit from our brand recognition and gain access to an advertising fund 2.5 times greater than our next largest competitor, as well unmatched training and support and a nationwide network of franchisees.”

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FEATURE NAME LIGHTING

The flashing identity sign for the Ritz Bar was a mainstay during the ‘50s and ‘60s.

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signshop.com

Photo:

BY JEFF AUTHOR WOOTEN

PUTTING ON THE RITZ SIGN A historical Milwaukee sign is rescued and restored.

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All Photos: Bauer Sign & Lighting.

he Ritz Bar brings back fond memories of cheeseburgers and fish fries to those who lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the ’50s and ’60s. The history of the establishment goes even further back with its flashing identity sign that possibly dates all the way to the ’30s.

The face of the Ritz Bar sign was made out of porcelain. It featured stainless letters with incandescent chaser bulbs in the middle and neon tubing surrounding the letters.

And while the Ritz Bar is no longer a part of the modern Milwaukee landscape, the good news is that its longstanding sign was recently rescued. Read on to find out how this vintage sign was restored to its former glory for the first time in nearly sixty years—bullet holes and all.

History in the Making Joe Anderer is a sign collector who lives in the Milwaukee area, and he was thrilled to have come across the Ritz Bar sign last year. However the at-the-time non-functional sign had seen better days.

Anderer was a regular customer of Bauer Sign & Lighting in Milwaukee, so he gauged their interest in restoring this sign. “We had done a few other neonon-porcelain restorations for [Anderer] over the past couple of years, so we were happy he brought this project to us,” says Chris Stemper, a tube bender and lighting specialist at Bauer Sign & Lighting who took the lead on this project.

Bauer Sign & Lighting is a full-service sign company with around twenty-five employees that has been around since 1982 (all under the same owner, Jim Bauer). The company manufactures, services, and installs mostly electrical signage in the Wisconsin and northern Illinois area.

Stemper also happens to be in the same “Old Milwaukee” Facebook group where Anderer is a member. Anderer’s signshop.com

post about his sign discovery in that group had already caught Stempe’s attention. “He had saved it from getting scrapped,” says Stemper.

The Ritz Bar sign arrived at Bauer Sign & Lighting as two separate, carefully crated porcelain panels. “The stainless steel letters were all intact and in very good condition other than being dirty and stained by years of rain, snow, and smog,” says Stemper.

But everything else needed tenderloving-care attention in order to bring it back to life. “The porcelain faces needed a new cabinet, all-new sockets, bulbs, brass hardware, a mechanical flasher,

THE CLIENT WAS ADAMANT THE RESTORED SIGN LOOK LIKE IT STILL HAD SOME HISTORY TO IT. and of course, neon,” says Stemper.

Stemper had to put on his detective hat for a couple of instances. One was figuring out the color of neon to use on the sign.

All the neon was missing—except for one broken center unit in the letter “A.” However this proved an important piece. “This sole letter was enough to determine with an ultraviolet light that the tube phosphor was standard blue,” says Stemper. “The fact that there was no evidence of mercury in the unit or electrode told me that it was likely filled with neon. This is how we determined the neon color was pink.”

All the neon housings were also missing, so Stemper had to study the hole sizes on the porcelain. “I concluded that the housings were #200s,” he says. “The back of the panel left me some questions that

would be answered once work began.”

Nearly all of the 221 sockets were still in place. However, although all the 11w incandescent bulbs were still in the sockets, not a single one still worked after all the years of inactivity. The cloth jacketed primary wires were all there, as well.

“This wire would obviously have to be replaced, as it was exposed in numerous places where the jacket had deteriorated,” says Stemper. “The backs of the sockets had all been covered with tar, which I assumed was done to provide some protection against any water intrusion.”

Stemper wasn’t sure he was going to be able to save the sockets, but he intended to do as much as he could to keep them.

He removed the sockets and soaked a few of them in lacquer thinner overnight to dissolve the tar. The next morning, he fished them out. “I discovered all the wires had been soldered to the their respective screws on the sockets,” says Stemper. “In addition, the tar soup that resulted from soaking them had seeped into the socket cup, making it a sticky mess.”

The decision was made: His team would opt for new sockets instead. This would provide a quicker solution and avoid spending unnecessary time trying to resurrect them. Stemper ended up using Leviton 9885 sockets and installing new 11w incandescent bulbs.

Stemper combined the neon primaries. “The incandescents had originally been split into six lines and one neutral,” he says. “This told me it was likely a scintillating effect. The connections to the sockets were mapped, as I removed the six lines one by one. The new wire was run in the same pattern.”

An FMS model 66 timer provides the scintillating effect today. “The secondary load of the neon was split into three Allanson SS935OX 120V/35 mA electronic transformers,” says Stemper. “We chose electronics over magnetic models to save weight on the sign, as each porcelain panel was already 150 to 200 pounds.”

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The porcelain panels had taken a few hits over the years—namely .45 caliber and .22 caliber bullet holes found on both sides.

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Sign Builder Illustrated

June/July 2020

In Depth About the Cabinet There was some debate beforehand on how deep the cabinet should be to keep the structure stiff without adding any excess weight. Since the two porcelain panel faces were stacked, head fabricator Tony Camacho built a 72-by-72-inch, 6-inch-deep cabinet out of non-galvanized sheet metal.

Stempe explains that the faces had a one-half 90-degree bend, which made fabrication fairly simple. “The return only need a one-inch bend on the back,” he says. “It was screwed flush to the porcelain face with #8 brass screws and nuts.”

The only structure necessary was a cross of two-inch angle centered from top-to-bottom and side-to-side flush to the back. “The back panel was divided into four sections, which allowed full access to the interior,” says Stemper. “We added a mounting bracket for the model 66 timer to one side of the cabinet.”

Bauer Sign & Lighting used brassbased tube supports on the neon and brass fasteners to secure the sockets, letters, and the face to the cabinet. “We saved as much of the old fasteners as we could and used them again in the restoration,” says Stemper.

Stemper prefers to use brass hardware with porcelain. “Brass gives the porcelain an old-school look, and it also helps keep rust from developing and staining the surface,” he says.

Anderer was upfront that he didn’t want Stemper to make the sign too pretsignshop.com

ty. He still wanted it to look like it had some history to it. Stemper had to give the new cabinet a rusted-out appearance to match the rest of the sign, so he took a cue from the playbook of This Old House host Bob Vila and applied a “tried-andtrue” method for “aging” metal.

After the sign was complete and the back placed on it, Stemper wiped down all the surfaces of the non-galvanized sheet metal with lacquer thinner to remove any oil from the surface. He then sanded it lightly with a 120-grit pad.

Next Stemper filled a spray bottle with white vinegar and sprayed all the exterior surfaces of the cabinet using a very light mist. “The acid in the vinegar immediately began to etch the surface,” he explains. “You can repeat this process as many times as you think you’ll need.”

After waiting about twenty minutes, Stemper then mixed a solution featuring 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt.

He shook it up in another spray bottle

and mist-sprayed all the surfaces with it.

“You’ll see the peroxide bubbling up and building a nice patina of rust,” he says.

“You can repeat this as necessary.”

Satisfied with the look, Stemper lightly sealed the surface with a clear coat. “Go too heavy, and you’ll get a shine,” he says.

“A light coat keeps the rust from rubbing off and preserves the look.”

Taking Aim at Not Erasing History As mentioned earlier, the porcelain panels featured real bullet holes.

“As is often the case with old signs, the neighborhoods in which they are located change over time,” explains Stemper.

“In the ’50s and ’60s, this was a tight neighborhood with a nice little retail block full of other businesses besides the Ritz. Things changed though, and crime and gunplay became more common.

“The sign took a few hits—a .45 caliber exit hole on one side of the panel and two .22 caliber holes on the other side.”

As mentioned earlier, Anderer was

more interested in making sure the restored sign still looked like it had some history behind it. “He told us to leave the bullet holes alone,” says Stemper, noting that these bullet holes actually give the flashing sign even more personality.

Restoration Reaction The restored Ritz Bar sign now resides in Anderer’s garage, where he keeps a lot of the other classic signs in his collection.

Stemper enjoyed doing this restoration and finds that fixing and restoring a sign like this is fun for him on two different levels. “I’m always impressed by the craftsmanship from the heyday of these porcelain signs,” he says. “The stainless steel letters on this particular sign were flawless.”

“But on a more impressive note is how many memories are triggered in people who knew this sign and this business. We never could’ve imagined the positive response this sign got when it was posted on the Old Milwaukee Facebook page.”

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FINANCING

BY JEFF WOOTEN

PAID

F

Financing large investments during a pandemic.

or sign shop owners struggling over the decision of whether to make large equipment purchases in the midst of current economic uncertainty related to COVID-19, there is a bit of silver lining. Some industry experts say that savvy shop owners have 38

Sign Builder Illustrated

opportunities to invest now so that they can pay off down the road.

Sign Builder Illustrated is taking a look at a couple of these products that require more consideration to not only help curious buyers ease their concerns now but also give some comfort to those who

June/July 2020

may be just starting out or be in the middle of paying for this larger equipment.

Digital Printing The good news is that graphic communication is going to be vital in getting the economy back up and running. signshop.com

Photo: Elliott Equipment Company.

IN FULL

FINANCING

Photo: Mimaki USA.

BY JEFF WOOTEN

As businesses move to reopen, there is going to be a need to clearly communicate hours, health policies, and other information. Print service providers will be poised to provide this type of support. “Wayfinding to reduce travelling back and forth in a store, floor graphics to help traffic flow, and signage in retail spaces clearly marking policies are just a few ways printing can support local communities,” says Michael Maxwell, Senior Manager, Corporate Strategic Development at Mimaki USA. With this in mind, Mimaki USA, through a partnership with North Star Leasing Company of Burlington, Vermont, unveiled their Wide Format Investment Program this past April, and it is offered through the company’s authorized dealer network. The company says that this service enables customers to “protect their cash, overcome budget limitations, and acquire the right printing equipment for existing jobs as well as future growth.”

The program (https://bit.ly/2SO6Qus) has brought down rates and payment options for prospective buyers, freeing up cash that businesses can use towards payroll or to purchase ink, media, and consumables for production.

Maxwell says that his company’s new Wide Format Investment Program is designed to provide a path for print service providers needing to invest in new equipment. “The biggest advantages are the time and low rates throughout the loan,” he says. “It may be necessary for PSPs to increase productivity or diversify offerings, but available cash may be hard to part with.”

Financing options are a great way for PSPs to add additional equipment.

“We are still unsure of the tax effects of government provided payroll relief programs or bailouts,” says Maxwell. “At some point, the government will need to recoup these funds somewhere, usually through taxes.

“One way to navigate situations like this is to invest in capital equipment and take advantage of tax deductions such as Section 179.”

For companies concerned about budget limitations when it comes to investing in wide format equipment today (or maysignshop.com

be even tomorrow), realize that the wide format printing industry has matured quite a bit over the past decade.

“Since the banking crisis, many manufacturers have improved production methods and many, such as Mimaki, have passed the savings on to customers,” says Maxwell. “There are many printers that will greatly improve workflow efficiencies and profitability without straining cashflow.

“Prospective buyers should look for a solution that addresses today’s needs and provides ability to add new services down the road.”

Maxwell stresses that paying special attention to the features is typically more important than the price.

“You could opt to spend a little more or less and end up with a product that has enough technology included that can reduce the stress of wasted time and materials,” he says. “A couple of dollars more on a finance program to obtain a product with more technology could save hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of the product in lost time and materials, which would outweigh the fractional cost difference each month.”

For more on the print market and COVID-19, listen to the latest episode of the Shop Talk podcast featuring Michael Maxwell.

Service Trucks/Cranes When it comes to budget considerations related to investing in service equipment, Bryan Wilkerson, vice president of Wilkie Mfg., urges shop owners not to sell themselves short. “Equipment is expensive, but it can also be a huge revenue/profit center if planned and executed well,” he says.

Wilkerson advises looking at what demands you currently have and what equipment is needed to meet those demands, then looking five to ten years to the future. “What will your equipment needs be? Will you take your company in a direction that might be a little or a lot different than it is now? If you currently need to go thirty to thirty-five feet high now, will you still be in that range in the future or will you be in the forty to fifty feet height need?” he says.

Wilkerson says one budgetary consideration is the amount you are currently spending on sub-contactors to do your elevated work. Another is the amount of work you’re turning down because you don’t have the equipment to do it.

“When the dollar figure reaches the same cost of what payments would be to finance your own equipment, you’re still not to the level of the total cost,” he says.

The Wide Format Investment Program, launched in April, has brought down rates and payment options for prospective buyers, freeing up cash businesses can use towards payroll or to purchase ink, media, and consumables for production.

June/July 2020

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39

40

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It may be necessary for PSPs to increase their print offerings.

things slow down, service work increases and becomes the daily cash flow for sign companies as their client’s budget will dictate repairing their current sign as opposed to doing a new install,” he says. “So make note of which vehicles are going out everyday and how many

June/July 2020

billable hours those are generating. That is where the focus should be.”

In the past, sign companies would buy a truck with a traditional loan, run it till it was paid off, and then put the money they were paying for the new truck into a separate account for several years. Then they would put that money towards another new truck, keeping the old truck still in service but adding to their fleet.

Or if the business was not expanding as quickly as needed for a extra truck, they would sell it or trade it in.

“But the modern business models have changed and some companies rotate equipment through their fleet on a threeto six-year plan of when depreciation or write-off is used up,” says Wilkerson.

Glazer stresses to make sure you have your financial support documents—financial statements, bank statements, and other related information—ready prior to applying for financing. “Being prepared and well organized will not only help the process go faster but will also help make sure you are making the best decisions related to the terms of the financing,” he says.

Interest rates are quite low and tax laws are favorable for making new equipment purchases. “Check with your tax accountant or CPA to see if a loan or a lease would better suit your business in the depreciation, write off, and deduction plans versus the debt weight so that you can get a better ROI on your service truck not only on the ability to provide additional billable hours, but also making the payments work for you,” says Wilkerson. signshop.com

Photo: Mimaki USA.

“Then add in insurance, equipment and vehicle maintenance, tags, permits, operator cost (wages, benefits, etc).”

Jim Glazer, president of Elliott Equipment Company, says that there are always advantages to bringing on new equipment, even during a “once-in-a-lifetime” pandemic such as Covid-19. “Businesses everywhere are looking to improve their work practices to increase efficiency and do more with less,” he says. “Bringing on new equipment at this time will give companies an advantage when businesses reopen and they can do more work more efficiently than their peers.

“Plus there may be additional tax benefits available from rapid depreciation of this asset and potential carrybacks to prior years.”

Wilkerson adds that Henry Ford, when the economy slowed, increased his business by reworking factories, adding new equipment, bringing on talented personnel, and modernizing his whole company. “Another thing is, when

SOFT FINANCING SIGNAGE

BY BYJEFF ASHLEY WOOTEN BRAY

TRENDING IN

TEXTILES

In-demand fabric products and how COVID-19 is affecting the market.

Photo: Lux Research.

S

oft signage and apparel have exploded, driven by demand from markets such as retail, tradeshows, and home décor. The World Trade Organization has assessed the value of world textiles exported as $315 billion and apparel exports at $505 billion for 2018. Both markets experienced the highest rates of growth since 2012: 6.4 percent for textiles and 11.1 percent for apparel.

Let’s take a look at the trends currently signshop.com

driving demand in this field, as well as how COVID-19 has caused sign shops to pivot to new products and applications.

Sustainability “Fabrics with sustainable options have been in the marketplace for a number of years now, but the price point has been high, which has kept them from widespread use,” says Ray Weiss, director of Digital Print Programs, PRINTING United Alliance.

Growing adoption from large compa-

nies is helping to change the price point.

“Lately large brands are requiring a sustainable option in their printing, which is driving up demand and helping to bring the cost down,” says Weiss. “As the costs come down, the acceptance and use across all sectors is going up.”

Consumers are also driving demand.

“Consumer demands have pressured brand owners to spearhead sustainable change across the value chain,” says Tiffany Hua, research associate at Lux Re-

June/July 2020

Sign Builder Illustrated

41

search, a research and data company. “In the last decade, Lux has seen a large shift in consumer values toward sustainability.”

Sign industry suppliers are offering a variety of sustainable options. For example, TVF (recently rebranded from Top Value Fabrics) offers Deko-Green, which is constructed of fibers made from plastic bottles, and apparel products manufactured with REPREVE® yarns from UNIFI®, also made from recycled plastic bottles. “Major brands are requiring Deko-Green due to its sustainability and 100 percent recyclability, as well as its being manufactured by our partner Georg+Otto Friedrich in their state-of-the-art green facilities,” says Michael Compton, product marketing manager at TVF. Personalization Also driving the fabric market boom is the increase in requests for personalization and customization. This is especially true in home décor.

“Customers want the ability to customize design elements and colors,” says Weiss. “Just looking in the dining category alone, you see that there are napkins, tablecloths, table runners, placemats, and wallpaper just to name a few of the items. Everything is custom designed for extreme personalization.”

Apparel has always been a market where customization thrives, but now digital personalization capabilities are also on the horizon. According to Lux Research, smart textiles or e-textiles are a range of 42

Sign Builder Illustrated

products that integrate electronic capabilities into common fabrics that can interact with the environment and/or the user.

“Smart connectivity or sensor integration in apparel can enable dramatic innovations in user experience, including improved wearability, added biosensor functionality, and seamless app connectivity,” says Hua, who anticipates five-plus years before the tech is commercially adopted.

COVID-19 Effects The COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on the sign industry, and the textile market is no exception. According to Andy Paparozzi, chief economist at PRINTING United Alliance, from mid-March through mid-April, sales fell 68.3 percent for the apparel decorators surveyed. For graphic and sign producers, sales fell 51.9 percent for the same time period.

“For most shops, it’s all about the markets they were serving pre-COVID-19.

Those in the medical, government, and food-product labels (packaging) are doing well, while others are at limited production or full stop,” says Weiss. “This is a time to look for new markets and/or pivot to new products.

“Many companies on both the apparel and soft signage side have pivoted to masks and PPE production as traditional signage and tradeshows are not in demand right now. One exception is social distancing signage, along with business open and curbside delivery signage.”

Weiss cites other fabric applications as

June/July 2020

signshop.com

Photo: PRINTING United.

Home décor is a growing market for textiles.

shelters, drive-through medical testing, and drive-through restaurant canopies and umbrellas. “And, of course, who has been on a Zoom or GoToMeeting virtual event and wished they had a pop-up backdrop to hide the bedroom closet or other unsightly element?” he says. “Think about other virtual events such as tradeshows, gallery exhibits, and concerts where branding and messaging are important. Soft signage serves these applications well.”

COVID-19 has also led to an uptick in demand for anti-microbial fabrics, which include an agent that destroys or prohibits the multiplication of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. The material is ideal for creating separation and divider walls. The material can also be used for masks and in retractable banner stands for social distancing messages.

“Anti-microbial fabrics are a better option than Plexiglas or acrylic, as textiles deaden noise. Less time is spent cleaning, and there are no fingerprints,” says Weiss.

“Anti-microbial fabric is 99.9 percent effective on bacteria and mildew. You can wash it without taking out the anti-microbial properties, although you don’t want to use fabric softener when washing. Dye sublimation or direct disperse are best processes so as not to cover up the properties.”

TVF recently announced its Deko-Tex 7048AMPGFS fabric, which has an antimicrobial finish and is also Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Class II certified for skin contact, making it ideal for soft signage and non-medical PPE like masks.

Lux Research foresees coatings, like anti-microbial, as having a medium impact in the textile space in the upcoming year or two. The company also points to hydrophobic and photocatalytic coatings enabling easy cleaning and additional protection of surfaces like billboards.

“Photocatalytic coatings use energy from light to break down organic compounds, destroying organic pollutants on its surface, leading to a self-cleaning effect,” says Hua. “Photocatalytic coatings also fight pollution and smog by neutralizing volatile organic compounds in the air.”

Ensure your clients know about your new services. “Customer education about these and other options that soft signage provides will help attract business that can be profitable for your operation,” says Weiss.

DESIGN

BY JIM JIM CIRIGLIANO CIRIGLIANO BY

DESIGNS ON AI

Photo: CADlink Technology Corp.

Using computer-generated design to explore sign design possibilities.

I

n a scene in the 2019 movie Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark asks his computer to render him a model of a device he is trying to invent in order to help the good guys turn the tide. In a matter of seconds, Stark’s fictional artificial intelligence (AI) program, called F.R.I.D.A.Y., produces a design for his device using the parameters he had dictated.

Although this scene sounds like futuristic science fiction, real-world de-

signshop.com

signers—both graphic designers and engineers—can use modern AI technology to aid their design and prototyping processes, using computer-generated designs to explore countless possibilities in the blink of an eye.

Best of all, arriving at a computergenerated design does not require an advanced understanding of AI or programming or an eccentric billionaire’s personal supercomputer.

Exploring in Bytes The fast-growing trend of computergenerated design, also called generative design, is a process of using AI to explore iterations on a design idea, using algorithms to quickly create and evaluate a vast number of possible permutations.

For sign shops, computer-generated design can be a powerful tool for efficiently creating innovative ideas and multiple design options to review with customers.

June/July 2020

Sign Builder Illustrated

43

Hand in Mouse Designers worried that computers and AI are going to automate away their jobs need not worry. Visions of computers spawning creative ideas without the need for human input, guidance, and evaluation are unrealistic with current technology. Even the best AI does not replace the need for the creativity and judgment of a professional (human) designer.

“Ultimately, the technology will enable signage and graphics professionals to reduce design costs and should provide a wider scope of creative approaches to signage and design in general,” says Chramtchenko. “It is not a replacement for artistic creativity found in human designers; it is a tool that can assist in the 44

Sign Builder Illustrated

actual creative design process completed by humans.”

Falsetto reaffirms, “These new tools may actually take away some of the complex and even frustrating tasks that typically eat up time. AI isn’t there to replace the creative aspects of what you do; the ideas, inspiration, and design approach all still come from you.”

Generative design helps produce a vast number of possible iterations, but narrowing the field of possible designs down to a select few to review with the client remains a job that falls squarely on the sign professional.

Given the large amount of options that generative design can provide, Chramtchenko warns users to avoid falling into the trap of providing too many choices to the customer for review. “Carefully review the options that were created with your team and select a manageable amount to present to the customer,” he suggests. “Too many options may reduce the customer’s focus and create a situation in which the initial design process becomes even more complicated given all the choices.

“In many cases it also would be worthwhile to have the design team refine the options prior to presentation.”

Adopting AI Given the likelihood that machine learn-

ing and AI will become adopted in some way in virtually every industry as the technologies improve and the costs fall, an argument could be made for becoming familiar with computergenerated design sooner rather than later. Thankfully these AI tools are being built into existing software platforms that designers may already know and use.

“Adopting AI-powered graphics tools is actually an easy and comfortable progression,” says Falsetto. “Even though our latest suite is using AI in an extremely natural way to deliver better-than-ever results, for the end-user, this process is actually pretty seamless. These new additions help graphics professionals get to the finish line much more easily than they’d be able to previously.”

“Given that the initial design processes can be so time consuming, technology that optimizes this process can mean a great deal to the bottom line for businesses of all sizes,” adds Chramtchenko.

No longer a feature of far-future science fiction, AI has arrived in many of today’s industries with the promise of making human lives easier. The power and tools being built into today’s graphics software would make even Tony Stark proud.

Explore an expansive toolbox of versatile, intuitive, and integrated applications with AI.

June/July 2020

signshop.com

Photo: CorelDRAW by Corel Corp.

The aid of AI allows a single designer the ability to create hundreds of iterations on a design idea in a matter of minutes.

“Automating this process will not only reduce the time associated with [presenting layout and design comps to clients] but also provide a much greater variety of design options that may have not been explored using the traditional method of having a designer provide a series of limited comps due to time constraints,” says Michael Chramtchenko, director of Marketing and Brand Sales for CADlink Technology Corporation, makers of the software SignLab. “AI is helping us create the next generation of graphic design applications that have the ability to respond and anticipate the user’s intent and deliver the results they need,” says John Falsetto, senior director of Products - Graphics and Productivity at Corel Corporation. “With the AI in CorelDRAW 2020, we’ve specifically focused on the tasks a graphics professional may be more than capable of doing but are typically tedious or involve a lot of repetition or manual work. AI assists with many common tasks, including bitmapto-vector conversion, image upsampling, and artifact removal.”

The development of AI and machine learning has been adopted widely in the traditional CAD/manufacturing markets, according to Chramtchenko, and will undoubtedly become more widespread in the signage and graphics space as knowledge of the tools expands.

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SHOP TALK

SHOP TALK | BY DAVID HICKEY, ISA VP GOV’T. AFFAIRS

Safety in Reach OSHA provides safety regulations through 2020.

Photo: Shutterstock.com/Richard Thornton.

F

or the most recent fiscal year data available, OSHA issued a total of eighty-six citations in two NAICS categories that are almost exclusively comprised of sign manufacturers.

There were another 693 citations with specialty trade contractors, of which sign manufacturers make up a small portion.

An additional twenty-one citations were issued to businesses that provide services related to advertising (another category with some sign manufacturing services).

The citations were significant. Of these citations issued primarily for sign manufacturing, the current penalties totaled almost $250,000 (or about $2,750 per citation). It’s also interesting to note that those eighty-six citations were issued out of forty-three inspections—meaning there were an average of two citations issued on every inspection.

The majority of these citations were issued in three broad categories: cranes,

ladders and fall protection, and protective equipment. These three areas have been emphasized lately by OSHA—and we expect that to continue well into 2020.

Crane operator certification requirements likely will receive a lot of attention this year as OSHA staff has now been trained on the mandate and what to look for on the jobsite.

ISA has been working to help sign companies and manufacturers prepare for this coming enforcement. One of the most immediate steps is to ensure that employees have the correct certification, including a written exam and a hands-on exam. These certifications are valid for five years.

The certification is just the first step.

Employers must evaluate employees (even those who have been certified) to make sure they have the skills, knowledge, and judgment to operate the equipment safely, as well as the ability to perform

Sign Builder Illustrated Magazine (Print ISSN 895-0555, Digital ISSN 2161-4709) (USPS#0015-805) (Canada Post Cust. #7204564; Agreement #40612608; IMEX Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada) is published monthly 11 times per year in the months of January, February, March, April, May, June/July, August, September, October, November, and December with the exception of June, which is a digital-only issue, by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 88 Pine St. 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices.

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COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2020. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information, contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@sbpub.com.

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.

hoisting activities for the assigned work.

The evaluator must be someone who has the knowledge, training, and experience necessary to assess equipment operators. The evaluation must be documented and available at the jobsite. If an employee’s skills are found lacking, retraining, re-evaluation, and documentation must take place.

There also is increased focus on employee exposure to silica, thanks to a 2017 tightening of regulations (signs.org/silica). The requirement mandates a written plan that describes tasks, controls, personal protective equipment, procedures, housekeeping, and restricted access to work areas. The plan also requires that a competent person be designated to implement requirements.Written exposure control plans must be reviewed annually and updated as needed.

The written exposure control plan must describe procedures used to restrict access to work areas, when necessary, to minimize the number of employees exposed to respirable crystalline silica and minimize their level of exposure.

Access also must be restricted for exposures generated by other employers or selfemployed individuals on the jobsite. If the employer sees another employer performing a task on material containing crystalline silica and generating excessive dust, employee access must be restricted.

“We must remember the main goal of these regulations—keeping workers safe.”

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407.

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

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Sign Builder Illustrated

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