Search results

Egyptian is a carry-over from the "Egyptomania" that swept Europe (and the Americas to some extent) as a result of Napoleon's Egypt campaign. Sans serif alphabets were at the time exotic, and became part of the exotic oriental "Egyptian Style" that was popular at the time. Likely that the...

Print that bit over again and mortise it in with an Xacto knife.

Helvetica is a great font when used properly. It has a mid-century modern feel and works great with a lot of corporate designs (think John Massey and Paul Rand). It needs space to work and cannot be distorted or manipulated with arbitrary leading, spacing, and tracking without looking clumsy...

Cast air-release vinyl with top lam: around $9500 with all those rivets. Calandered: around $8000. Add for truck washing (have them take it to the truck wash first). You'll still need to wipe it down before applying vinyl. Add $70/hr - $100/hr for any file prep, and of course whatever needs...

Why not just buy them from Sticker Mule for 20¢ each (plus shipping, of course). I'm guessing around $625 for everything. PS: Don't let the client know or let him anywhere near a computer or smart phone. Sticker Mule is the first thing that pops up in a Google search.

??? I'm the most expensive (per hour) guy in a bucket truck in town (35' foot Versalift on a 350 Econoline). Even the union shops charge less. The sign forwarding companies are reluctant to work with us because we are too expensive (they are starting to come around). Anything bigger I charge...

I always add up my "burdened" labor cost (what you pay the guy plus your share of payroll tax, general liability insurance, workmans comp, and any other benefits payments such as 401k, simple IRA, ancillary insurance, health insurance, etc.). That's what you pay to get the guy in the field...

Well, the good thing is pot is legal now...

Installation is where the money is at. The types of signs you listed are easy to have fabricated and shipped, and for the last few years very competitively priced. Margins are razor thin, as many of these signs can be ordered directly by the customer. Unless your business model is shipping...

I'm glad your parents survived COVID. My brother did not.

I gradually started outsourcing, starting with Gemini letters and channel letters, then moving to cabinet signs. When wholesale printing started coming down, we just pushed the printer and laminator into a corner to collect dust. Ditto the welder, neon plant, overhead conveyors, MAP paint...

Same definition for net profit. The money that is left over after everything, including all salaries, taxes, overhead, expenses, etc. is paid for. Everybody here gets a salary, including the owner. Goss profit is revenues minus cost of goods sold. We shoot for 20% net profit, but usually fall...

You may be right. We average 40% GPM on out-sourced products before overhead, which, like I said, varies. I also have 25 years experience owning and operating a full service sign company. I am currently on the payroll of a construction company with a sign division which I manage. They have...

...you can also place chain in your bottom pole pocket if needed (those convention halls can be pretty drafty). Putting a pole in there is dangerous!

7 oz. material used in billboard faces is available (and cheap). Also you can easily engineer tubes with stretch cord inside (put a caribiner at each end) that will allow you to have 2 section poles which will UPS. No tools needed, and allowed in all union convention sites. You'll still need...

The survival rate is likely much higher. Nobody knows. We will learn more as the years go by and we collect more data. What the science does indicate is that COVID can cause serious health issues and kills people, and that the risk of developing dangerous symptoms increases with age and in...

If you don't understand the science (and some on this forum apparently do not), just talk to your doctor.

Might as well go straight to the pro stuff.

Your best bet is to use cast film. Most short-term vinyl will dry out in 5-6 years and be difficult to remove. In addition, many short-term vinyl products us more adhesive to counter-act peeling and curling due to shrinkage and movement. There are products designed for short term use (less...

Because of the mix of revenue streams in our shop, knowing the blended GM is less useful than knowing net profit for individual product and service lines. Overhead costs factor differently depending on what is being sold. I can say with some confidence that if we don't hit at least 10% net...