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In addition to the fabrication equipment and inventory, you will need a good-sized paint booth and a paint mixing station. You will need an exhaust system that meets local code and an air supply system. In addition to that, you will need storage, crating, and staging areas and a loading dock...

I calculated the surface area of the proposed sign to be approx. 33% more than the Arbys sign. Combine the increased area with a higher center of pressure and the ballast requirement will be significantly more than that required by the original sign. If you could decrease the area of the new...

ACM will work if you frame it on the top and bottom as well as the sides. It just isn't designed for the stress load. It might work for a 4x4 or smaller, but a 4x8 will catch too much wind. You might consider LustreBoard® or something similar. It has the modulus strength of plywood with an...

Sandman nailed it! The quickest and easiest calculation you can make is determining whether the steel will support the new sign. In any case, in most municipalities you will need a stamped engineers drawing, but you can easily calculate this yourself with fairly good accuracy using the...

I'm guessing some of you have little experience with electric signs. Go ahead and do what you want. Sometimes the best way to learn is by making mistakes. Please be careful!

An LED retrofit is in order. My advice is not to even touch an electric sign unless you are qualified to work on them (that includes changing faces). The general rule of thumb is the last person to touch the sign assumes all liability if something goes wrong.

I either collect a deposit covering materials cost or set up a payment schedule detailing what gets paid when. If the project gets delayed, I still collect on the agreed upon schedule for completed work and materials cost. I also go over the payment process and determine what the client will...

I can get about $350.00 for that size in my market. You make your money on the install, which is your rate x how much time you think it will take. If you've got the only install crew in town, you can ask a higher price, but most of us are dealing with dozens of competitors which generally...

Try these guys. $30.00. https://thebadwrap.com/index.jsp I like ProVehicle Outlines better, but Bad Wrap will sell you one template.

It's all ones and zeros. It shouldn't be that hard to compile a program that can read .ai files and interpret attributes assigned by AI. Adobe CC is readily available as a checksum. The cost of an Adobe CC subscription should be a minor concern considering the thousands of hours you will spend...

The whole Mac thing for graphic design started back in the mid eighties with PostScript and the LaserWriter, which revolutionized the industry. It took a few years for the PC side of things to catch up, and by that time most graphic designers and print shops had invested in Apple equipment and...

Man am I glad I don't have to worry about any of this stuff. I use up-to-date Macs and Adobe CC. Very few problems, and when there is one it is easy to figure out. Industry standard file types and a universal language that the majority of collaborators understand. I have nothing but...

The location of a sign in those circles is just plain stupid. Why not allocate space for channel letters in a sign band above the windows (which is probably the original intent of the architect). Then you could layout the business name in a readable size. You could add the "B" if you wanted to.

$3980 plus design (without the high roof). Hardware removal extra. Specialty vinyl extra. Color flip extra (they are tricky because they have to be perfect). If the graphic lasts 5 years, that's less than $100/month for 24/7 advertising. An insanely good deal as long as the design is good...

The size and depth of the box is critical to LED selection and spacing, as is whether a pan face is used or not. I totally agree with "Marlene" regarding who should pay to fix this. That said, I can't tell you how many times I have seen people put flat faces on signs designed for pans. In my...

Not "being in the loop" with sales is a recipe for disaster. No retainer? There will be no good outcome here. You should be consulted before your supervisor just tosses a project at you and expects it to be competently completed in an unrealistic timeframe and without adequate information...

I intended no insult when I mentioned Stevens' book. Many of you are familiar with it, as it has become a standard reference for sign makers since it came out. But it is rare to find someone from outside the industry who has even heard of it. Many of the design principles explained in the...

I suspect a local welding shop could make up a couple custom brackets for about $75.00.

Consider more margin around the logo and text (it will be smaller, but it will read better, and that is usually what you are try to achieve). Do not box in "PLASTIC SURGURY", "Creative Creations Graphics" has a good idea. Also, you can make the "B" smaller so "Bluewater" can move up and maybe...

You've got to consider the incident angle of the light from the source and map the foot-candles on the reflected surface. A wide angle beam will yield the best results in most cases (the one linked to below is 110º). Econolight has a lighting design tool that can prepare photo-metric diagrams...