360 Signs.com Blog

Austin Signs | Sign Foam Letters for Lobby and Building Signage

Sign Foam Letters are produced by cutting your design (either letters or a logo) from a flat sheet of high quality sign foam material using state-of-the-art cutting equipment.  Sign Foam letters can be produced in any typestyle or shape that can be routered. These quality dimensional letters will provide nice thick letter for your signage project at a lower cost than metal or acrylic.  Sign foam is available for both indoor and outdoor applications.   They are a great option for lobby signs and building signs. 

The sign foam material thickness will obviously determine the "depth" of the finished letters. As you can see from the Zoom Room letters, the blue foam creates a "drop shadow" appearance for the foam letters. The more depth, the more of this effect on your sign. You can choose a variety of thicknesses and layers of sign foam can be stuck together to create even larger letters.  the letters below are 1-1/2" of pink sign foam attached to 1-1/2" of white sign foam with an acrylic face.   It gives real depth to large signs.

Sign foam letters are a cost effective solution for a wide variety of interior signage needs including retail POP signage, special event signage, temporary sign letters, and tradeshow displays. Foam letters can be used unpainted natural white or black or painted in a standard or custom color with either a matte or semi-gloss finish. Foam Letters are extremely lightweight, and are available in a variety of thicknesses and finishes to serve all your signage and visual display needs.

Foam letters are also available with a metal and plastic laminate faces.  Metal faced letters are available in gold, silver, copper or bronze and can be ordered with a polished or brushed finish and the sides can be painted in any standard color.  Acrylic mirror faced letters add the reflective quality of mirror to a letter.  Acrylic faced letters are made by laminating Acrylic to the face of a Gator Foam substrate. The acrylic faces are backsprayed to give a deep shiny look. The sides can be painted any standard color. The letters are installed with double sided tape and adhesive.

There are many choices for materials for your sign.  Sign foam offers a wide variety of options at a reasonable cost. 

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Signs Austin | Letter Size Matters

Interior and Exterior Signs Letter Size Matters

Signs are used to connect with and attract new clients and customers. When you are designing your window sign (window graphics), banner, or car graphics or vehicle wrap you always want to make sure your target market can read what you want them to know about your business. The size of your letters and logos, and the colors you choose are crucial in creating interior and exterior signs that are visible and easy to read sign.

There are Letter Visibility Charts showing the maximum reading distance for maximum impact, and the overall readable distance. A good rule of thumb is every 1 inch of letter height equals 10 feet of readability for maximum impact. 3in. tall letters have their best impact within 30 ft.; however, it can still be seen and read at up to 100 ft.

When designing any commercial sign, consider the most important message, and how far away are the readers you are wanting to impact. If you are placing an interior sign for a sales ad in a retail store, your text need only be visible to the people in the store, so 1-2” or less would work just fine. However, if you are hanging a banner and want drivers on a nearby highway to be able to see your exterior sign, you would design your letters at 3”minimum, preferably much larger.

Font types also impact visibility of your text on interior signs as well as exterior signs. Very thin fonts and script fonts can potentially decrease visibility. A bold style font that is easy to read with sufficient spacing between letters is best for visibility on any sign. You can test this by typing in a few words in a computer program at different font styles, colors, and sizes, and printing them out and posting them on a wall. Stand back and view them at different distances to see how all these aspects come into play in choosing the proper lettering for your sign.

When you want the best impact on those you are trying reach you will need to consider a number of things. The size, colors, and styles you choose should all depend on what you want as your end result. Always consider how your sign will be viewed and who you are trying to reach. Trying to save a few dollars by purchasing smaller letters is not a wise decision; you may be wasting your investment and efforts when the sign cannot be read by the customers you are trying to attract. Be size wise!

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Color Choices for Your Sign

Often your custom interior sign, exterior sign, vehicle wrap or vehicle graphics are the first thing people see that is associated with your business, so a professional-looking sign is critically important.

The use of contrasting colors when designing your sign is vital. Text color with a contrasting background can increase the impact and visibility of your sign by making your text stand out more. On the other hand, using a background color that is similar to your text color can make your text almost impossible to see at any distance. Some of the most visible text colors include black, red, and white, each most visible with a contrasting background color. Readable distance can vary 10% or more depending on various color combinations.

Sign companies can match or produce any color scheme you desire giving you virtually a limitless option to choose from, choosing one color scheme and sticking with it can give your custom sign a more finished, professional look. Bright colors will draw attention to your sign; overuse can take away from your message or make it difficult to read. Using full color print photo is a great way to emphasize a company image or specific service.

Sign graphic artists focus on your message, the color wheel is a primary tool to show the importance of contrast, hue and value when choosing a foreground/background color combination. Opposite colors on a wheel complement each other. Red and green are a common example of compliment colors, exhibiting  contrast, but their values are similar so it isn’t the best when making your sign that you don’t look for a red background with green font (or visa-versa).

Colors next to each other on the color wheel, such as blue and green, make poor color combinations since their contrast is similar in both hue and value. It is hard to see any contrast. Alternating colors, such as blue and yellow, produce the best combinations since they have good contrast in both hue and value. Yellow and black are a good example of contrast of both hue and value.  The following chart lists good combinations ranked in visibility order.

Highest visibility color combinations to use on your custom sign according to the Outdoor Advertising Assoc. of America (OAAA) is as follows:

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Color Management Benefits

Color management can provide substantial benefits for clients and sign companies alike.  It enables sign companies to produce consistent high quality digitally printed signs that meet even the most demanding client’s expectations.  This is particularly important for applications like trade show graphics.

Steve Gustafson from Sign Solutions HD in Pondray, Idaho wrote an interesting blog article entitled “What is Color Management?” where he comments: “Color management is a defined procedure for maintaining consistent, predictable colors from scanning to proofing to final print.”

One of the ways that this is achieved is through frequent calibration of all of the monitors and displays in the design and production areas of the sign company.   With this in place, initial color proofing can be done on monitors vs. printing samples; this speeds response time as well as reducing costs.   If the client has similarly calibrated systems, initial proofs can be reviewed and approved electronically, which streamlines the design process.   Color matching to an existing piece can be done more effectively when all of your tools are properly calibrated.

With a properly implemented color management system a sign company can consistently and predictably deliver graphics that can enhance every client’s sign.

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Choosing Dimensional Letters

Choosing a sign that is right for your business- whether considering a lobby sign, a monument sign or a building sign- is an important decision.  Your sign creates an impression of your business by all who see it.  Finding the right look to your sign requires a number of decisions from type of letters to size of letters and also choosing the right color scheme to make your sign stand out. 

 Gemini letters offer several options for your coloring choice: 

Acrylic letters come in 32 standard colors or you can choose your own painted custom colors. Cast metal letters and Cut Metal letters can be painted in any of 45 standard Gemini painted colors or your own painted custom colors. 

 

 

The Cast and Cut letters can also be done with various types of finishes that are extremely sharp and appealing.  These come in a brushed metal finish, an anodized, an oxidized or a polished finish. 

There are variations of these in an Aluminum finish, Bronze, Brass, Stainless Steel or a Cor-Ten & Hot Rolled Steel finish. 

Whether you choose to paint your dimensional letters or utilize one of the attractive finishes, 360 Signs will provide you with the information you need to make that decision.  And, you can be certain that you will receive a sign that will enhance your place of business and your company image.

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Lobby Signs "A First Impression"

The sign in your lobby is often the first impression your business makes on a potential client.  It can creatively communicate that you take pride in the aesthetics, personnel, and overall vision of the company or it can leave a client unsure of the direction and capability of your organization.  A well designed and fabricated lobby sign can ensure that the first contact you have with clients, vendors or potential employees is positive.

A lobby sign is a dimensional piece of art and one of the least expensive ways to advertise your brand and display the name of your company.  It conveys that your business is dynamic and progressive.  An attractive, quality lobby sign can improve the perception of your product or service and differentiate you from the competition.

 

The options for creating this valuable communication tool are endless and are completely customizable to your organizations needs whether that is brightly colored dimensional letters, acrylic, glass, or brushed aluminum.  Your directory signs are like a welcoming greeter and should be plannned and constructed with care.  Let 360 Signs guarantee that your business conveys a postitive message by providing you with a well designed, well made lobby sign.  We look forward to working with you!

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Touch Screen Way Finding Signs

Touch Screen Way Finding Signs:

There is a growing interest in touch screen directory signs otherwise known as digital "way finding" signs. This technology is fairly new to the sign industry but is quickly gaining acceptance due to its effectiveness and flexibility.

With the ability to not only direct your clients and customers to their destination but also keep them informed of the day's news, weather, and traffic status this new technology is truly an asset to the look and feel of your facility.  This new display system utilizes the latest in flat screen display technology that can be directly connected to the internet to provide state-of-the-art solutions custom tailored to meet specific site requirements.   Graphics can include building, campus, and neighborhood maps with specific step-by-step directions for the user.

Site maps are created by the system supplier and like the rest of the system can be bi-lingual.   Way finding, visitor processing, and communicating current pertinent information are all benefits to your visitors.  These signs will help route visitors more efficiently and their impression of your facility will be enhanced by the experience. 

Unlike static directory displays, interactive touch screen displays allow visitors to search for their destination like they would on a PC.  

 

Interactive Touchscreen Solutions, of Crofton, MD (http://www.itouchinc.com)  is a leading solution provider of touch screen technology.  They provide complete way finding solutions.   Partnering with local sign companies like 360 Signs, they can create complete turn-key solutions that include local installation and support.

The ability to update these systems real time via your network is a benefit to visitors because the information is always up to date.  Changes are so easy that is makes your staff more efficient .   Static signage costs time and money while they are created and then become an eyesore when they become obsolete.

The growing number of tenants and the frequent changes to a lobby's strip directory,  can be a tedious headache to manage.  Once you install a touch screen solution, the feedback that you will receive from tenants and visitors will be positive, further generating traffic to your location.  

 

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Monument Signs - Letter Mounting Options

Apartment homes, neighborhood entrances, office parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes, doctors offices, cities, churches and schools are just some of the places you see monument signs.  The importance of a monument sign cannot be underestimated, it makes your business easy to find and leaves a memorable impression on all who see it.  A monument sign is part of your brand so consider a design that helps your organization make a positive first impression.

 

Two options for mounting letters to a monument sign are flush mounting and stud mounting with spacers. 

In flush mounting the letters are installed directly onto the face of the sign.  When using this method, it is important to choose dimensional letters that are substantial enough to be visible from a distance.  The graphics and letters should protrude from the sign by a minimum of 1/4" to 1/2".  This give the face of your sign depth and interest. 

In stud mounting with spacers the letters are secured to hardware that is then drilled into the face of the sign.  The hardware enables your letters to actually stand-off the face of the sign creating dimension.  Stud mounting provides you with the option of including lighting within or behind the letters to enable visibility at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever method you choose, 360 Signs will ensure that you have a well designed, solidly constructed monument sign that best fits the needs of your organization. 

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Dimensional Letters - Guarantee

You’ve purchased a beautiful lobby sign, a monument sign, or building sign with Gemini dimensional letters for your business… so what guarantee do you have for the investment you’ve made?  The good news is that with all Gemini letters you will receive a guarantee for life.  Should a letter fade, break or contain any defect, we will refinish or replace the defective materials at no cost to you, as long as the letters are installed on their original location.

 Keep in mind that most signs will require periodic maintenance (click here to watch video) to retain their original sharpness.  Plastic and metal letters will need to be cleaned or revitalized.  This can usually be done by simply using a good dish soap to remove dirt or pollutants that come from the sign’s environment.  Should the face of a metal letter get scratched, the coating can be revitalized using a good car wax.  You’ve invested good money in your sign, it is important to take good care of them.

All of these letters are designed to last a lifetime.  Materials and finishes are constantly tested and refined.  This includes harsh environmental testing such as with salt spray.  These products will last much longer than the life a sign you may install.  Gemini’s experience and testing insures that products are designed to last in excess of ten years without any noticeable degradation of their appearance.  We also know from specific experience with signs that have been installed all over the world that many of our products will last much longer than that.

A great looking sign can come with a great guarantee when you use Gemini letters.

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com. 

Austin Signs | Floor and Sidewalk Printed Graphics

You can get digitally printed, full-color, self-adhesive, permanent or removable floor graphics for both indoor and outdoor applications including: Supermarkets, Advertising, Promotional Events, Warehouse Signage, and Safety Warnings.

Today, many retail locations have their shelves full of products and visual advertising messages.  The floor is a highly visible, non cluttered space that really attracts the attention of the shopper.   In large venues, such as shopping malls or stadiums, floor graphics can help guide visitors to specific locations or for exciting new services, such as Bypass Mobile who are using floor graphics to help guide clients to pick up food at a stadium without waiting in line.

Floor graphics are primarily distinguished by their anti-slip surface, which is a use-specific, anti-slip film laminated over the self-adhesive graphic.  Bypass Mobile uses floor graphics to direct customers to their special pick up line.

The underlying graphic is distinguished primarily by the type of adhesive used to adhere the graphic to the floor. Adhesive variations include permanent or removable; and varying degrees of adhesion suitable for surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, wooden floors, vinyl flooring, sealed concrete floors, etc.

All floor graphics are printed with exterior-grade, solvent-based, UV-resistant inks for fade-free performance, indoors or out.  And as all our graphics are digitally printed on six-color machines, we can print just about any full-color design or graphic, quickly and economically.

Once printed, floor graphics can be contour-cut to any shape or size.  Give 360 Signs a call and we can print floor graphics for you in any quantity, be it one or one thousand.

360 Signs in Austin, Texas can help you with a wide variety of custom signage.   Give us a call at 512-442-2900 or visit us at www.360signs.com.