How long does a sign last?!!!

[heyskull]

I am at the moment working out roughly how long a shop sign lasts and what is the typical life span of your average sign.
Typically I am re-signing a shop/company between every 4-5years.

Occasionally we get a client that expects a sign to last forever!
I currently have one running that was signed 11 years ago and is expecting to reuse panels and trim!!!!

Also I have a school that we supplied a printed banner 3 years ago which has been outside all this time and is complaining that they would have expected it to last longer!
I know that a banner is a temporary sign and if they last 6 months you are doing well.

Just looking for feedback on this as I am trying to work out with current customers and new how long stuff lasts.

SC

 

[HDvinyl]

Direct sunlight is the killer.

 

[Billct2]

It's all about budget/materials.
Used to be a typical painted sign would last 5-10 years.
Then vinyl which could easily last as long.
Now digital which has cut that in half.
But at the high end signs can last decades.

 

[Marlene]

it depends on materials, sunlight, wind/rain and 1,000 other factors. I have a sign cabinet with painted faces out there that I did when I first started back in 1987. up close, I bet it doesn't look great but from the road it looks good. since Alumalite says it lasts 10 years outside, I would put the average sign made from that with vinyl at 5 to 7 years. there will be some that are still out there in 15 years and some that are out there just the 5 years. that pretty much is what we tell people when they ask. as for banners and coroplast, they are temp signs and shouldn't be expected to last pat the event.

 

[soundhound]

sign system went in in 1988

We have been watching this one pretty closely to answer exactly the initial question. In 1988 the system was installed using aluminum extrusions with baked enamel (dark bronze) and 3M engineer grade lettering and graphics. The very last of the original signs is being replaced this year. They could have all made it for the 27 years, but they started to look bad about 5 years ago, and the reflective was chipped everywhere. The company that made the original signs went bankrupt soon after these were installed, and we replaced and updated using similar signs, but were unable to ever find as good a finish as the original baked line enamel, trying epoxy 2-parts, Matthews, azko, etc etc etc. Most of the signs replaced or updated faded fairly quickly from bronze to grey, but almost all are still functional and when mixed in with "new" finished signs the overall effect is comforting. We even use faded sign panels with brand new posts to create some interesting 2 tone effects.

A few years ago we decided to add in some fiberglas sign panels on aluminum posts, having seen how well the fiberglas survives the high UV count up here. I had been watching some other fiberglas systems installed back around the 1988 timeframe that are still in play and look good. Time will, of course, tell all.

 

[heyskull]

Our biggest issue is the weather here in Cumbria, England.
Sadly our issue is sunlight (more like the lack of it!).
The weather here changes from wet, very wet to deluge!
Also doesn't help being near the sea which causes issues.
Finally, it is cheap *** customers expecting quality and only having money for cardboard!

SC

 

[Marlene]

Our biggest issue is the weather here in Cumbria, England.
Sadly our issue is sunlight (more like the lack of it!).
The weather here changes from wet, very wet to deluge!
Also doesn't help being near the sea which causes issues.
Finally, it is cheap *** customers expecting quality and only having money for cardboard!

SC

same kind of customers over here. it does seem like the cheap guys are the ones who push the "how long does it last"

 

[Billct2]

There are three jobs I drive by about once a month that I did when I was at another shop in 1981.
One is an electric box with yellow acrylic background with black cut out acrylic letters & logo, still looks like new.
One is an awning that was lettered with One Shot Japan Color, still looks good.
One is a white aluminum belt sign with black one shot lettering, starting to fade a bit.
34 years is too long

 

[ddarlak]

Customer: How long does it last?

Sign guy: Depends on mother nature and how much you spend...

I remember making a banner for a guy, two sides of a single pole. I fashioned a couple brackets, told him it would last 6 mounts max, 4 years later he had to take it down because he was moving. He came into my shop just to tell me that he was impressed it lasted so long since I told him to be prepared to see it fail in 6 months...

Then there was a sandblasted monument sign on a concrete base, with fancy brickwork. The guy wanted this sign to last until he retired 10-15 years. 4 years later I stopped by to check out the sign. The sun had destroyed it, it looked like it was 20 years old. year later I saw another sign company replacing it...

sometimes you just can't foresee how long it will last...

 

[visual800]

If we use autotive paints with urethane clear it can go 12 years

 

[Gino]

All the could'ves, would'ves and should'ves won't get you a penny more.

The majority of people have been beaten down with the onslaught of lower prices and you only need to push a button mentality.

The sign shop of today, proudly has the customer come in, look around at all his/her equipment and then shows how easy it is to do and then says, well, I have high overhead, so the signs will cost far less today then that of 20 or 25 years ago when they used good materials and their hands.

I understand that the mindset today is totally different from what it was when I was young, but the standards are also different.

If someone comes in and wants quality, longevity and service, they are the kinda people who will go to a high end restaurant, instead of Red Lobster. They're not gonna buy a refrigerator at Lowes or go looking for a Ford station wagon. That's why a three tier pricing method with a tad higher level works so well.

Sure, we can make that for you and be competitive. Do you want you sign to last 2 to 3 years ?? Perhaps a better one at maybe 4 or 5 years or one around 7 or 8 years ?? Then, if you want, we can make one that will last for umpteen years, but it will cost. Let them decide how long they want it to last and make it accordingly, rather than them paying for a Hugo and wanting a Maserati guarantee.

 

[truckgraphics]

Sign Lasts Too Long

I am at the moment working out roughly how long a shop sign lasts and what is the typical life span of your average sign.
Typically I am re-signing a shop/company between every 4-5years.

Occasionally we get a client that expects a sign to last forever!
I currently have one running that was signed 11 years ago and is expecting to reuse panels and trim!!!!

Also I have a school that we supplied a printed banner 3 years ago which has been outside all this time and is complaining that they would have expected it to last longer!
I know that a banner is a temporary sign and if they last 6 months you are doing well.

Just looking for feedback on this as I am trying to work out with current customers and new how long stuff lasts.

SC

Sometimes a sign lasts too long. Other times, not long enough.

I had a thoroughly disagreeable customer about 10 years ago when I got into the business. Lied about having a finished design, the price I quoted (not in writing)...delivered a dirty truck for a wrap and was insulting (to me and anyone around me) every time I saw him.

Today, I would throw him out of my shop. But then, I did the job. And every day on my way to work, I pass by that darn truck and it still looks beautiful. I wish the graphic would just sluff off the side...But then, I'm sure the miserable owner would appear in my shop demanding a refund !

We had another customer that we made magnetic signs for (his truck). Not a miserable guy. Just a customer. Five years later, he appears at my shop complaining the magnets were cracking around the edges. He hadn't removed them in five years ! (How they made it to five years, I have no idea !) He didn't get a refund. On the one hand, he wasn't too disappointed - I suppose he just wanted to try to see how far we would bend - but he didn't buy anything new either.

 

[heyskull]

Yes truckgraphics I have had plenty of that type of customer....LOL

I had a client who was an oriental gent with an Indian food restaurant wanting me to guarantee his wooden sign for 10 years!!!!
A wooden sign in this climate will last a maximum of 3 years no matter how much you prepare and paint it.

Some people!!!!!

SC

 

[ol'phart]

No Gaurantees

I only give a 1 year warrantee on anything I do. Anything more than that and you are assuming some responsibility for the materials you used. If the 5 year material you used fails in 3 years then you have to make it right. Most material manufacturers will replace the material but you are on the hook for everything else. Go to any appliance store and ask what their warrantee is and you will almost always hear 1 year as the answer. Why should we be any different. What I do tell my clients is they can reasonably anticipate certain materials to have different life expediencies. The better the material the longer the life.