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What happens when you get caught? Usually an audit will be triggered if you are buying from out-of-state and not paying use tax. You're supposed to self-asses, and pay quarterly. So if you buy something online and don't pay any usage tax, you're supposed to send that money in an envelope to...

To further complicate matters, at least in Illinois, labor to construct anything that could be considered real property (such as a permanent sign installed on a property) is not subject to use tax, but the materials used to construct it are subject to tax (to be paid by the purchaser). It is...

If the customer can get it cheaper than they can from you using a good vendor like Direct Signs wholesale, they are either getting junk or your competition is losing money. Quality fabricators like Sign Builders, Quality Manufacturing, Sign Fab, Direct Sign Wholesale, World Wide Signs, and AI...

I keep a pocket notebook and pen on me. New prospects and new jobs get a manilla folder and put into a tickle file for further sales action or production. Digital files go into a simple directory based file system by customer/job. I use Quickbooks for estimates and invoices (and other tax and...

I would need to talk to the client and survey the site. I would be reluctant to hang a sign from that wooden architectural detail, it might look cheap or gaudy. I need to see how the whole property works, and what role the other signs on the property fill. A small post and panel sign to the...

...which, of course, comes from "LIVESTRONG", which is copyrighted. I see copyright violations every day in the sign industry. Most sign designers are low paid, have no formal education and little knowledge of copyright laws. Usually, if they see a useful image in "Google Images", they just...

Don't worry so much about it. Send her a registered mail letter to cease and desist, and file away your transactions with her, along with a time-stamped copy of your original art. If she ever makes a fortune selling her T-shirts, plenty of law firms would be happy to take your case. If you...

Why not just call her up and negotiate a license fee?

The schools around here specify that the vinyl can be removed with no damage to the wall. They use a low VOC epoxy which sticks to the walls and cleans easily, but can pull off easily with household tape (teachers are required to use blu-tak and cannot tape things to the wall). Removeable...

I am in dire need of updating a ten year old web site. I can do it myself using Wordpress. I am wondering if any of you have any experience with exceptional hosting companies. All evidence points to wpengine, but at $30.00./month seems a little pricey. I am currently using GoDaddy at around...

You can get 18" x 24" mailers with adjustable height from U-Line for around $4 each. I mark them up and add it to the shipping cost. Bigger shipments: bigger boxes. I used to order by the case. If you are only shipping once in a while, shipping costs can be a game stopper. For me to drive...

When you place a 10' wide image file in a RIP with a 5' wide path length, usually you have to indicate how you want the RIP to tile the image and specify how much overlap. The software isn't smart enough to know whether you want to turn it 90º and print as a whole piece, or tile it with...

I had an Estes Rocket altimeter when I was a kid. You would site down it then pinch the string when the rocket reached its highest point. Then you would cross reference the measurement to a chart that had columns for how far away you were from the launch pad (50', 100', etc.). I have no idea...

Ha ha! That pencil method is the same as my fancy-schmancy photo method. It's really nothing more than a triangulation formula from level 1 geometry. For equipment, I use an old Canon Elph 100 HS which maxes out at (35mm equivalent) 112mm. It gets the job done. I have better cameras and...

A 35mm lens is a wide angle lens. Some consider either a 35mm or 50mm lens to be a close to what a human eye measures, but there are variables because of how the eye works (maybe 43mm on a full frame 35mm camera). For this kind of measuring, the shallower the depth of field, the more accurate...

In my area I need a contractor's license in order to pull a permit. At the discretion of the inspector, they reserve the right (via ordinance) to request engineering drawings, which they usually do for most signs bigger than 4x8s. Wall mount signs often need an engineering drawing specifying...

Some members have recommended the Spike tool. Its limitation is the wide angle lens on your cell phone camera. For most estimating, it will be fine. The methods I outlined above are more accurate and just as easy, and if you already own a telephoto or optical zoom lens considerably less...

I also use a telephoto lens for taking pictures that I will later place into Photoshop and crop using the perspective mesh tool. With a reference measurement in the photo, this can be very effective. I use this method for vehicles and storefronts too. If you are standing on the ground looking...

You will need a tripod with this. I use an inexpensive camera tripod that I keep in my truck.

In our town, and surrounding towns in our service area, freestanding signs may have a maximum height of 100 feet above grade when located within 1,320 feet of the right-of-way line of a Federal Aid Interstate Highway interchange. I am not a crane operator or an electrician, but we had highly...