Enhance Your Sign Vocabulary A-L

When you have an occasional need for a sign, there’s no reason for you to become a sign expert (that’s us!), but it can be useful for you to be familiar with some of the terms we might use during the process. If we ever use words or phrases that aren’t familiar to you, please ask us to define them.

Art. All the copy, graphics and logos used on your signs.

Candela (cd). A unit of measure indicating the amount of intensity displayed by artificial light.

Channel Letter. A fabricated or formed three-dimensional letter that may accommodate a light source.

 Dimensional Letter. A specific letter, logo or symbol that’s cut out, cast, molded or fabricated in material such as metal or plastic to “raise” it.

Embossing. Design features of a sign face that protrude from the surface.

Face. The surface area on a sign where copy is displayed.

 Flashing. Metal strips used when attaching a fascia or canopy to a building that cover open spaces at the top and bottom.

Kerning. The process of moving letters further apart or closer together to make them appear more evenly spaced, something that used to be done manually but is now automated.

Luminous Tube. Another name for a neon tube.

More to come! Check back to read the blog that will feature M-Z vocabulary words.

Enhance Your Sign Vocabulary A-L

Banner Shape Options

Professionally designed and printed banners are a great way to get out messages—but there are some things you need to be aware of with respect to shape before you move forward. Banners that are thoughtfully composed and the “right” shape can really stand out, while those that aren’t run the risk of being ignored.

The three most popular banner shape options are:

• Perfect square
• Horizontal rectangle
• Vertical rectangle

Which one is best for you? That depends on two things: where it will be displayed and the elements contained in your design. Thus, be sure to take a look at the place where your banner will hang; that alone will often be enough to make a shape decision.

If you’re still undecided, think about the artwork and copy you plan to have on your banner; in general, squares or vertical rectangles are best for text-heavy banners, while horizontal rectangles work better when you have a large art element (like a logo) and a small amount of copy.

Don’t despair if none of these popular choices resonate with you, as we can create banners of just about any shape, including circles, teardrops, and flags, or we can customize a banner to meet your specific needs. We look forward to using our expertise to design and produce banners that ensure your message gets noticed.


www.sdsar.com

Banner Shape Options

Don’t Sabotage Your Signs

Knowing you need a sign is one thing; making smart decisions about what it says, how it looks and where it’ll be placed is a whole different ballgame. We’re available to help—to make sure you don’t make choices you might end up regretting—but here are some things to think about before you sit down with us:

• Choose simplicity over beauty/artsy. In many cases, people will need to get the gist of your sign in just seconds, so make sure your message isn’t hard to read—but is clear and straightforward.
• Separate “art” and “details.” It’s a good idea for branding purposes to include your logo on all your signage, but you need to make sure your company name and appropriate contact information (phone number, website, address, etc.) appear separately. This is true even if the name of your company is part of your logo—since it’s probably pretty small and thus not easy to read.
• Don’t make assumptions. Think everyone knows what you do? Think again. If it’s not clear from the name of your company, i.e., Fred’s Print Services, make sure you note the product or service you provide in any sign used to market your business.
• Think 360 degrees. When most people consider vehicle signs or lettering, they focus on the sides of the car, truck, bus, etc. What about the front and back? You’ll miss out on thousands of views if you don’t also use that prime “real estate” to get your message out.
• Color with care. Full-color signs are expensive, and we haven’t seen any data that proves the added expense is worth it from an ROI perspective. We’ve created plenty of compelling one-color signs, although two colors is probably best. If your budget is tight, we can use tactics like reversing parts of the copy—so the “color” becomes the background and the text is white—to add punch to one-color signs.

Whatever your sign needs, we pride ourselves in coming up with solutions that are cost-effective and get your message out in a professional, captivating way.

Don’t Sabotage Your Signs

Using Custom Banners for Trade Show Displays

by LINDSEY BURSEVICH on APRIL 25, 2013

Trade show displays can be very useful for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Even individual service providers can benefit from displaying at trade shows by using custom banners to stand out from the crowd and show potential clients exactly what they have to offer.

SIGNARAMA has lots of experience designing and printing custom banners, perfect for displays at exhibitions and events. Fabric custom banners are a particularly popular product from their extensive range, and with very good reason.

Fabric custom banners are light and easy to transport, extremely important for use in repeated trade

The bottom line – choosing SIGNARAMA fabric custom banners can really help your booth to stand out from the crowd. Plus, our team of expert designers will ensure that your company has a cost effective, unique fabric custom banner that says exactly what you want it to say – time after time after time.

For more information on the SIGNARAMA store near you, be sure to use our online store locator.

shows and exhibitions. Strength and durability is also important when you remember that these custom banners could be used repeatedly over a whole season or even a number of years, which adds to cost effectiveness. Washable custom banners are also important, which is why SIGNARAMA’s fabric banners are completely washable. It’s pretty amazing how grubby this type of thing can get after being repeatedly put up, taken down, folded, and stored away until the next trade show or exhibition. Keeping your custom banners looking fresh, clean, and bright says something about your business – it’s fresh, it’s clean and it’s bright, and you care! Something to watch out for – all fabrics used at trade shows and exhibitions must adhere to codes from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Fabric custom banners from SIGNARAMA adhere to all of these codes and are manufactured from flame retardant fabrics.

Lindsey Bursevich – who has written 40 posts on SIGNARAMA Blog.
Lindsey Bursevich is the Marketing Manager at United Franchise Group, which owns the SIGNARAMA franchise. She received both her B.S. in Marketing and her MBA from Florida State University. Upon starting with UFG, Lindsey worked solely for SIGNARAMA, but has since expanded her role to work amongst all six brands. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and going to the beach, and is a season ticket holder with the Miami Heat. Lindsey currently resides in Palm Beach County, with her dog Bella.

www.sdsar.com

Using Custom Banners for Trade Show Displays

Summertime is Banner Time!

Sure, we live in San Diego, where the weather is good year-round…but even here summer has a distinctive feel to it—and people are apt to be out and about more than they are during other seasons. What does that mean to those who are promoting businesses or events? It’s “prime time” for displaying professionally made banners that attract customers and participants.

The variety of banner options might surprise you. In addition to custom vinyl banners—the most popular, versatile and cost-effective type of sign design used by businesses today—we can also produce any of the following types of banners:

• Fabric banners—washable, durable and very lightweight
• Mesh banners—durable, lightweight and popular for outdoor advertising
• Banner stands—an easy, cost-effective promotional solution, especially at trade shows
• Hanging banners—a unique way to advertise, with multiple hardware configurations available to meet just about any mounting method
• Inflatables—a great way to make a big statement, in shapes and sizes that were previously unheard of
• Flags—attention-getting and available in a range of sizes and colors

 What can we create for you? Whether you know exactly what you want or you need some guidance from our creative team, we’re here for you—all summer long!

www.sdsar.com

Summertime is Banner Time!

Avoid Grammar Miscues and Ambiguity

Many people have forgotten most of what they learned in English class—but that doesn’t mean you can be lazy with your sign copy. You never know who’s going to be viewing your signs; some people are likely to be troubled by grammar mistakes, which may make them think you’re not detail oriented.

It’s always a good idea to work with a professional writer on sign copy. If you choose to write it yourself, be sure to have a number of reviewers (ideally including a professional) take a look at it before you submit it to us. While our QC process should catch the most grievous errors, we don’t claim to be writers or grammar experts, and you will bear the responsibility for the copy you submit.

Grammar mistakes aren’t the only sign verbiage miscue you can make. Take a look at this sign, spotted at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida:

 

 

 

Does it mean the elevator isn’t working or does it point the way toward an elevator for people with special needs? It’s likely the latter—but it could be the former due to the ambiguous wording. All we can say is writer beware!

Avoid Grammar Miscues and Ambiguity

What Can We Do For You?

There’s no reason you need to be a sign expert—not when you can rely on us to use our knowledge

and experience to become your go-to sign resource. We take great pride in our ability to provide any sign-related service, from determining the type of signs you need to designing them, manufacturing them, installing them and maintaining them. With us “in your corner,” you can be certain your signage will communicate your message in an appropriate, professional way, and will adhere to all relevant sign regulations. That leaves you free to concentrate on your areas of expertise. In particular, here are a few services we offer:

Business Services. We can craft a signage program that reinforces your brand and helps you gain new clients. We also offer business-enhancing services such as toll-free numbers, which may increase ad response by 30 percent, and sign leasing, which can help you stretch your signage budget.

Design Services. Our highly skilled design team can certainly lay out your signs in a pleasing manner—but they can also design logos and provide full-service graphic design services. Whether you have existing images that need a bit of TLC or you need us to find artwork that reflects your company’s identity, our designers are “on the job.”

Digital Printing. Technology has changed the printing industry for the better, and we’re pleased to offer quick and affordable state-of-the-art advanced digital printing. Say goodbye to film and plates, and hello to high-quality full-color printing that can be used on everything from small decals to large format graphics. Our team is ready to support your team and all its signage needs. We look forward to establishing a relationship and earning the position of your trusted sign expert.

www.sdsar.com

What Can We Do For You?