A
few years ago it would have been foolish to even consider a
sign
business unless you were well qualified to hand paint
letters
and illustrations.
But
the modern age is upon us: the sign business is no longer
confined
to those with special artistic talent. Although it would
be
helpful to be able to paint your own signs, it is certainly
not
necessary. Some very expensive franchise today involve little
more
that a computerized machine that cuts out letters and
figures
from self-adhesive sheets of plastic.
This
business can be very profitable one, however it must be
prommoted
as a sign fabricating as opposed to sign painting
business
from the beginning.
You
will have little problem explaining that your signs are not
hand
painted, and that if hand art work isnecessary, you can
always
send it out (for aan additional fee).
Your
products arevery bit as stylish, longer lasting and cheaper
than
the average hand painted sign -- facts that help gain rapid
customer
acceptance.
In
addition to hand painted signs, which are not the subject of
this
booklet, there are two basic types of signs that are well
within
the average person's ability to learn to produce in a
professional
manner: permanent and changeable.
Permanent
signs have letters and symbols that are held in place
by
nails, glue or self-stick backing; changeable signs are those
with
tracts that accommodate letters and symbols that can be slid
in
and out to displace various messages at the customer's
discretion.
PERMANENT
LETTER SIGNS
These
are signs where each letter or symbol is monted
individually.
The only necessary artistic quakifications are an
eye
for letter spacing. generally, round letters (O's P's) should
be
closer together, square ones (M's I's) further apart -- which
will
then appear to be equally spaced.
This
is usually easy for most people just by looking at the
letters
arranged into words on aline. All that is really
necessary
is more those O's closer until they "lok about right"!
The business of permanent
letter signs
involves little more than
buying or
making the letters and/or
symbols,
arranging and applying them
to
desired surface.
For
letters on a building, once the size of the letters is
determined,
a means of anchoring them must be devised. They can
be
set onto holders or platforms nailed to the roof, screwed to a
wood
surface or they can be glued in place.
Most
letter suppliers have different systems for anchoring the
letters
that can be purchased at a nominal extra price (which the
customer
pays for). Many letters on buildings are held in place
with
clear plastic silicon that comes in caulking tubes. The sign
man
applies a bead of resin onto the back of the letter and
sticks
it in place. If the letter is heavy, masking tape or brads
(painted
tomatch, of course) through small drilled holes can be
used
to hold the letters until adhesive sets.
before
we leave permanent signs, if you have much call for truck
work,
look into screen printed fleet signs. These can have about
any
type of copy (even photographs), can be nay size, and are
available
with permanent glue. To remove them (after they have
"cured"
one needs a sander!
Generally
speaking, orders for less than a dozen orders are much
cheaper
by the screen method. Just be sure to have your customers
order
a good supply of extras. The extras cost suprisingly little
--
and even can be "free" if the number of extras takes the order
to
the next price break level.
Tip: if you use plywood for
sign OR
CUT OUTS, use genuine
signboard
This material is more
expensive than
plain plywood (about the
same as
cabient plywood), but is
much better.
It will stand up; the other
will not.
Many
of those red octagonal STOP signs are
made from 5/8"
signboard,
and they last for years!
Also,
any wood you use in your sign work (except signboard) MUST
be
treated. At thevery least, apply liquid silicon (like
Thompson's
Water Seal) before painting to help prevent
deterioration.
Let your customers see that your signs last.
Extra tip: to make a nice
looking
magenetic sign, apply
self-stick letters
and symbols to white full
magentic
sheeting!
Buy
the sheeting in rolls or lengths, cut to size, lay out the
pattern
in light pencil or chalk dust and apply your letters.
Also
note that in emergencies, you can order extra pieces of
self-stick
vinyl make your own small symbols (arrows, parens,
undelines,
even logos if you are talented with the scissors).
CHANGEABLE
LETTERS
Profits
from changeable letter signs can be made on both the
holders
and the letters. Small units are usually sold as kits
that
include a basic supply of letters. These units range from
small
open/closed door signs and 3 foot wide reader boards for
restaurant
menus, to flashing units with 2-3 inch etters
displayed
in store windows and those outside flashing arrow
signs.
Although
most of thelarge ones also come with a set of letters,
they
can often be more effective for the customer with additional
colors,
symbols and sizes of letters and symbols. if you deal in
these
types of signs, it would ne advisable to either keep a
stock
of alternatives on hand or have a supplier who can get them
to
you fast.
There
are two popular types of letter material: vinyl and
styrene.
The plastic letters are usually clear, but they come in
two
sizes. The wider ones are much more expensive and are usually
on
thicker material.
Vinyl letters are long
lasting and easy
tocare for. Scratches can
be touched
up and the letters
"rejuvenated" with a
little Armor-All or similar
product.
Styrene letters (usually
white
backgrounds, seldom over
6" in
height) are for inside use.
Outside,
they will yellow and crack
in just a few
weeks of sun. Both types
are sold in
sets called fonts.
A
font is a selction of letters based on their use: many t's and
e'
fewer j's and q's). A font of letters is designed tobe
sufficient
to display most messages without running out of
letters.
Note
that it is possible to alter or even re-paint the letters.
An
R can be made into a P by masking off the tail and using a
little
acetone to wash it away. If you do much of this, get
plastic
paint (see JOHNSON PLASTICS under BUSINESS SOURCES).
In
addition to numerous types, colors and syles of wod and
plastic
letters avilabole from commercial suppliers, there are
many
kinds of patterns, special saws and jigs available to enable
one
to mass produce their own letters.
You
can also design and cut out your own. For example, with an
opaque
projector (available at any art store) you can show a
blown-up
image of a company letterhead or logo onto a large
screen
(or the wall).
Cover
the image with paper, trace the image and, Presto... a
customized
template of your client's logo and/or lettering.
Next,
transfer the template to a sheet of treated plywood
(signboard
is best), cut out and finish the symbols for a
professionally
produced sign that is well worth what you charge
your
customer!
Tip:
you can also use a pinwheel punch (a wheel with perforating
projections)
to trace over your lines on any pattern.
When
you tape the pattern in place on the desied sign surface and
dust
with chalk, the dust penetrates through the pin holes in the
pattern.
When you remove the pattern, you have a "paint by the
number"
outline in chalk!
With
a little practice, you shouldbe able to produce good results
and
sign fabricating -- a system that has been used for years by
many
professionals.
The
easiest way tohandle this business is to buy ready-made
leteers
and apply them to prepared surfaces.
In
most cases, this involves showing the client a catalog of
letters
and letting them pick ou what they want. Then you order
the
letters and plan how to apply them. While waiting for the
letters
plan to layout and do any necessary measuring on the
building.
The
customer pays retail (catalog price0 for the letters plus
your
labor. You make 40% on them plus any extras. You should be
able
to make at least $25 per hpur for your labor, plus
approximately
40% markup on all materials.
One
of the "big secrets" in this business is getting the sign to
look
professionally proportioned.
certainly
it would be difficult to arrange those big letters on a
15
foor ladder and come out anywhere near symmetrical.
This
"trick" performed with mirrors, its is done with cash
register
tape (buy it at a surplus store).
Mark
(paint) a straight line of your garge floor and lay the
letters
the way you want them to appear on the sign.
When
staified with the alyout, tape a piece of cash register
paper
to the floor along the bottom of each letters so the bottom
of
the paper equates to the bottom of the line of letters.
next,
trace the bottom section of each letter onto the cash
register
paper. Mark the center (if your sign is tobe centered),
and
you are ready to mount your letters.
Measure
where you want the bottom of the letters to appear on the
buillding
and chalk a line (with a snap line) at the BOTTOM of
each
line you plan to install. Also snap a center line on the
building
surface. Then tape the applicable register tape to the
bottom
on each line, lining up the center marks on the top with
the
one on the building.. Next, arrange the letters one at a time
to
conform to the letter bottom outlines on the cash register
tape.
It
might be helpful to have a helper stand a short distance away
just
to make sure you get each letter straight. When finished
remove
the cash register paper and let the public admire your
talent!
Another
category of adhesive letters is die-cut self-stick vinyl
letters
with peel-off backing.
It
is also quite possible to build your own changeable letter
signs
-- either stand-alone, or as part of larger displays. Most
of
the signs in this category will use 4,6,8, and 12 inch letters
and
some signs will be lit ( from light behind or within the
sign).
Building
a changeable letter sign involves selecting a background
(solid
or translucent for lighted backgrounds) and applying the
proper
spaced tracking to hold the letters. If the sign is to be
lit,
you can even build a case to hold fluorescent lights and
cover
it with translucent plastic. About the only limiting factor
is
that the holding frame must fit the fluorescent tubes you plan
to
use.
For
example, to build a 3 by 4 foot sign with two four foot shop
lights,
take the light fixtures apart and position the four bulb
holders
inside a inner box proportionately, so the bulbs will fit
properly.
Then build the rest of your sign around that box.
The
inner box serves two purposes: first, it gives strength to
the
sign; second, it serves as a spacer between the sign face and
the
insides. If the inner box is made from 1x5 inch strips and
the
outer box from 1x7 inch pieces, there should be room to fit
the
plastic inside the 1x7's to rest on the 1x5's and still leave
a
half inch or so margin on the outside. When the sign face is
installed,
cut strips of quarter round (plastic is fine) and ring
the
sign face.
The
precise measurements will depend on the width of your sign
face
as well as the space needed for the inside light fixtures.
The
objective is to finish with the quarter round about even with
the
edge of the outside box.
To
make a unlit sign, the cheapest way is to use one face and
place
plastic letter strips on that one side only. If you try to
use
both sides of the sign, the shadow from the side facing the
sun
will show through on the other side and make it unreadable.
To
avoid this problem, and still have a two-way sign, use two-way
sign,
use two sign faces with a 3 to 4 inch "dead" space between
them.
Most
changeable letter signs these days use plastic track, which
comes
in 8 foot lengths of double and single slots (the single
slots
are for the top and bottom rows.
The
tracks are positioned with spacing boards for top or bottom)
and
jigs (usually tin cut to letter size) for spacing between
lines),
and fixed in place with 1/8" rivets. On ribbed plastic a
1/8"
hole is drilled and riveted every third rib.
Although
most commercial signs are metal, it is quite possible to
build
good, long lasting changeable signs from wood. The wood
should
be treated (especially the bottom), light weight and
strong,
such as white pine or fir. The corners should be
re-enforced
with metal brackets and galvanized screws are
recommended
for long use.
These
signs can be mounted on poles in the ground or on bases. Be
sure
your stands are sturdy, treated and that they are large
enough
to keep the sign from blowing over. In some areas stakes
are
placed in the ground and cables run to the sign tops for
extra
strength. And,if there is a problem with letter pilferage,
build
a frame and cover it with 1" mesh chicken wire to position
(lock)
on the sign.
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