Signs & Methodology

DIY Craft Project: How to add your name to old awnings and cover over previous names, and repair sails, tents and more. This is a practical Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Guide on covering over old awnings, covering old business names and adding your own, or repairing canopies, tents, sails and covers. What is the purpose of this article? We're going to look at low-cost options that may save you hundreds of dollars over replacing an old awning. We'll also cover how to cover up old business names on awnings, repair smaller non-structural tears, and even repair tents, sails and pop-up canopies! Where do I start? For the purpose of clarity, I'll refer to awnings, but this also works to apply in general to tents, canopies, sails, sport team uniforms and to just about any woven fabrics. Will it work on my fabric? Before going any further, you'll need to see if your fabric (awning, tent, jacket, sail, anything) has been treated with silicone, as nothing will stick perman...

" How much is a Sign? " While I'd love to have $17 million dollars* for every time I've been asked "How much is a sign?", I just have to stop and smile at the innocence of the  question .  (*Really, how much could anyone make if they only get a nickel for every time they hear a question?) The reason I get asked "how much is a sign?" at least once a week is likely due to signmakers having made very little progress over the past 40 years in educating the public at large as to the very wide variety of types of signage, identification, branding and directional information systems. Even the word "sign" can mean to put your signature onto something and translates poorly. We just don't have the vocabulary for the myriad of products and categories of signs, so smiling and taking a deep breath is probably a good response. I can hear someone's eyes rolling in their head already. Boring, perhaps but critical if you find yoursel...

Most of us have done this at one time or another;  "We've tried to save some money and time by going directly to a printer (or sign maker), instead of consulting with a graphic designer or marketing person directly. We think we knew what we wanted" even though if they had to put it into words, it might sound like this, "I ... really don't know why I did that" or "I can do a much better job, I've got PhotoShop!" "Oh yeah, that was a waste" or perhaps "I wanted to use every typestyle known to mankind on my 2 x 3.5" business card." The stuff of designer nightmares.  Okay, one more. "I've always liked the Park Avenue script font, but I want it in red with a blue outline and a drop shadow, set into an arch, in ALL CAPS on a brown background that's not too you know, brown, but brown enough. But not brown brown." This is a symptom as yet without a name. Perhaps we can refer to it as "The (wha...

Which is Better? Paint Mask or Stencil? This is a brief article to determine the best product for your project, using a side-by-side comparison of features and drawbacks to each method. Let's start with Stencils. What's a stencil?  Stencils were made of oil board, a resin-impregnated paper card stock, roughly from the 1920s to the 1990s. At that time, several specialty plastics and metals became more popular replacements for the paper and not as easily damaged. Currently, most street markings like the word "STOP" or turn lane arrows are made in sections from metal panels due to their size and the need for flat storage between uses. Polycarbonate plastic and styrene have all but replaced the original oil boards for stencil material. Stencil shows letter bridges to keep letterforms intact. How is it used? A stencil is essentially a panel with cut-outs in it, which mask the non-paint areas. The cut-outs are the place where paint will be brushed, rolled or...

The key reason for this guide is to establish function over design parameters. The optimal result of reading and applying the principals covered in this brief guide is to have a clearly visible, easily identified emergency and construction vehicles for first responders, highway safety and nighttime driving accident mitigation. A brief background as to the wide range of graphic elements on existing vehicles: There is no federal mandate to have uniform markings, however, making markings consistent and uniform makes the identification of key vehicles and obstacles less stressful and more clearly identifiable, especially in nighttime and weather obscured sites for both emergency and road work/maintenance crews. Diamond-grade conspicuity tapes available In a nutshell, there are a variety of driving skills evident in the number of vehicle crashes into other vehicles and into stationary objects on highways. The incidence of crashes increases with factors of weather, wind, operatin...

What are wall sign letters? For us, that term "Wall Sign Letters" refers to any lettering that can be applied or installed onto a wall or over an event venue, business or storefront. Different kinds:  There are flat cut metal, flat cut plastic, cast metal, fabricated (hollow) metal, injection-molded and standard molded plastics. All are made and sold with a lifetime replacement warranty (ask for details). What styles of letters are there to choose from? We make letters in a plain block, scripts, bold extended and compressed styles as well as lighted letters. Each serves best in a particular design or application. This is where our expertise comes in handy- Ask us about your project and how we may be able to guide you through the process. Which works best for your project? That's where this worksheet comes in handy. See below. Click the link below for the worksheet. Remember, the more information we receive, the better we can help you to get the best va...

You decided that you need non-lighted letters, so which kind is better? Molded plastic dimensional letters or Foam letters? What you choose may depend on one or more of these factors [1] your budget, [2] how long you want the sign to last, [3] a choice of styles and finishes and [3] local municipal ordinances. If you're thinking that "this is more than I can handle", you may be surprised; there is relatively basic information for installing these yourself (some municipal areas may require a licensed contractor if the project is over a certain dollar value). You can even order a paper pre-drilling and alignment installation template so that there is little to no chance of 'messing up'! See below for a guide to letters:  More about foam letters  | More about dimensional plastic letters Lifetime warranty on plastic letters Let's begin with what both kinds of letters have in common. They're available in different sizes, they're fairly easy t...