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Tim Toad makes some good points. And this is not meant as a slap in the face to Texas Signmaker or a comment on his particular situation, or that of anyone else. The fact is, the single greatest problem in the sign industry today is depressed pricing. Closely followed by design work produced by...

I think the above answers are good. Having said that, I have lettered walls, and even trucks, minutes before a rain and got away with it. No marring or spots and the paint shined beautifully. Of course, that was a vertical surface, not horizontal, and the rain was not intense. On other...

This has happened to me, too. I have put paint on plastic that would not dry. This happened a number of times in the past, always with One Shot enamel. Once I was given some banner material by another shop and asked to paint it and cut it up into pennants. It was two or three weeks before the...

I worked for a short time for a company that did backlit awnings and fascias for truck stops. Some of the fascia panels that were installed on the canopies over the pump islands were 90–100 feet long. Shipping them in a large tube was the only practical way. It was expensive (they were usually...

Are these really blank forms? Are these silhouette images really blank forms according to the US Copyright Office's definition of a blank form? Each silhouette shape appears to be an original work of art (authorship). Each image is a one-of-a-kind shape that differs from the next based on which...

Autoexebat, When you say “template,” I assume you are talking about the collections of scale drawings of vehicles that many of us use to produce proofs for clients, right? You are asking if these drawings are protected by copyright. The list of things that can be protected by copyright is a...

Does anyone have much experience with this tool? Our installers like it. It seems to work great but after a while the roller part starts to lose its shape and ruins the application. They installed about 400 lineal feet of laminated prints on a block wall before they had to stop using the tool...

Exactly. A generation ago we faced a similar issue with screen printing. You must be paid for the setup time, even if you only print one. That meant that back then (70s) there were times you charged 125 dollars for a single pull of the squeegee. But the more pieces you print the easier it is to...

We had the same issue a couple years ago. HospitaI room signs with a printed clear, second surface, and a backer. I can't remember how it was resolved and I can't ask the installers at the moment. We are all gone for the day. Some of the installers speculated that the silicone was attacking the...

I have used components from Outwater Plastics for .040" or .063" faces with lightweight tube framing on the back. There are other manufacturers that have similar products. It's lightweight, but it's easy and cheap. An angle aluminum face frame makes a finished look. Looks nicer than a flat panel...

Texas signmaker, Using angle aluminum for returns on aluminum pans is how I was taught to do it at one large electric sign shop. This shop had three fulltime sheet metal fabricators, but they were kept busy doing more important jobs. They did not like to stop what they were doing to make a pan...

It sounds like the client is not really wanting a sign that can be changed out every two years. That sounds like a deception to get what he wants—the cheapest possible lighted sign by ignoring industry standards and best practices. I am tempted to suggest raising the price significantly on the...

One advantage of using flexible face material, such as Cooley, is its durability. It can be installed and lettered, then stripped and re-lettered later. I have done this many times. Unless I am eradicating, I would install the blank face material for this sign and then apply vinyl graphics on...

This is true. If I buy brickwork from a bricklayer, he gives me an invoice and I pay him from that. Then the invoice goes in my files. That piece of paper is now mine, right? I will share it with my tax preparer to use as a tax deduction to save some money on taxes. I may show it to friends of...

Ikarasu, If this is what he is asking, then I did misunderstand. I'm not sure on the legality either, but asking for permission would be proper protocol. Good advice. Brad

Trademark law is not so much designed to prevent copying artwork. It is to prevent confusion among consumers. For example, if a real estate company uses a logo or mark that is confusingly similar to that of a competitor, it is unfair, a trademark infringement. Trademark law is part of the body...

Sometimes a problem can have multiple contributing factors rather than just one. I used to work on cars. I could hang parts with the best of them. But troubleshooting is a different ballgame. I never pretended to be good at it. When two, three or more problems present symptoms at the same time...

A static charge can quickly build up in a piece of acrylic. This has been a traditional problem in sign shops when painting plastic faces for lighted signs. When spray painting acrylic second surface it is always important to thoroughly neutralize static just before spraying, otherwise, the...

RoccoG is right. I spoke off the top of my head without researching. Greenlee does not make a draw-bolt type D-punch this big. All their big punches are round (like for conduit). My D-punch is larger than any of the Greenlee D-punches and has no markings on it at all. I assumed it was a...

Greenlee makes multiple sizes of metal punches, both for round holes and D-shape holes. Here is a listing from their website for a punch that makes a D hole: Greenlee 61080 Specifications: • Hole Size: 0.625" x 0.594" (15.9mm x 15.1mm) • Minimum Pilot Hole: .500" • Capacity: 14 gauge mild...