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The bottom example is an ok starting point, but none of the three samples has enough margin to be effective in a real world application. Viewing a sign with no margins against a white background is can be misleading; the effectiveness of a sign must be determined within its local context.

Great stuff! Watched the first four episodes. Burns does a good job of exploring the confluence of folk music and commerce. He spends more time examining the myths than digging through the roots; but for anyone who is interested original, historical recordings are easily available these...

I always have at least one fully functioning computer in the wings, waiting to be pressed into service. A few years ago, I needed to replace a hard drive on my main production computer; no downtime other than wasting a half a day trying to figure out what was wrong! I also keep all my...

In my area (Central Illinois) most national corporate accounts and all government projects require that you use union labor or pay "Prevailing Wage." That is essentially modeled on union scale pay, including most of the benefits. That means that it costs around $65 - $75.00 an hour to put an...

...as long as you have the rights to use the original image. Derivative works are under the protection of the original creator's copyright. You will need the creators permission, usually obtained by paying a license fee (like from a stock company).

Whatever the customer wants. Price accordingly. The cost of having a reputable specialist remove the box, create a work space for the wrap job, then re-attach the box would be prohibitive to most customers. I would recommend designing the project so that the box does not need to be removed...

There is no standard model. You will get exponentially more production per employee in a highly automated production company doing large print runs than you will running a small commercial shop doing custom signs and one-offs. You will get more production out of a crew running an Elliot...

Everybody has a different business model. For the average commercial/electric sign shop that installs and services electric signs (paying union or prevailing wages) the number is probably closer to $250,000 per production employee (journeyman or equivalent). Office personel get paid less, and...

I have closed a few deals when the client sought financing. There are lending companies that understand and will consider outdoor plants and electronic displays, and offer realistic terms. They will usually specify the asset, and will only finance objects they can put a lien on (or un-bolt and...

Epoxy resin is not a good choice for outside use. Especially in climates that have freezing weather, the film will develop micro-crystalline fractures that appear as a blush. Also, like any clear coating, the UV resistance will depend largely on how much tint (usually amber colored) is mixed...

If your vendor can't fix it, try LedControllerCard.com. By the time you figure it out, you will be able to build your own LED display and program it yourself! I used this company to repair a homemade sign another sign company installed and abandoned when they couldn't get it to work. They...

The "P" and the "R" are already symbols, presumably representing the name of the business. Turning them into symbols of trees and rivers gives them an additional symbolic meaning, which runs cross-current to the original symbolic meaning. That automatically sets up a rejection in the viewers...

Good economical! That's like a cold hot cup of coffee. What kind canvas? Canvas can be made from anything, most commonly cotton, linen, polyester, acrylic, and PVC. Hemp is still used in many areas. Often clients will want "canvas" because it does not look like greasy vinyl, and it is used...

SVG files are vector image files descibed by a text format based on XML. SVG is used for displaying vector graphics on the web. I usually convert them to .ai files and use Adobe Illustrator (Corel Draw works fine too). Vector files can be found all over the internet, and licenses can be...

A tensioned solvent printed reinforced vinyl can be used, but cast colored vinyl film will last longer. A rigid substrate with a high grade exterior grade pigmented paint will last even longer (bulletin enamel or, my preference, artist's acrylic paint such a Golden or NovaColor). For best...

A common mistake is to look at a sign proof on white paper. Against a real backdrop of buildings, trees, cars, people, other signs, etc., that logo will be entirely lost. By the time you add adequate left and right margins, the logo will simply be too small to read. I would consider just...

It would just take a few minutes to draw it in Illustrator. Why bother trying to identify it?

I store my fonts by foundry or collection, and use Suitcase Fusion to manage them. I have a file for customer supplied fonts and others I do not have a license for, and do not use those fonts for Collins Design projects. I only keep a hundred or so fonts activated, and typically use only a few...

Here's a 10' x 24' banner I did. It was up for 6 months before someone noticed I had mis-spelled "Welcome". I had to make a patch for it, but it was complicated by all the gradients and outlines. Turned out fine; it's almost impossible to see the correction. This sign went through a half a...

I use Sika Post Fix. About $10/bag, weighs next to nothing, and takes a few minutes per hole. Can't figure out why everybody doesn't use this!