Recent content by Jean Shimp

We have a monument sign with some decorative elements that will be attached with tapcon hardware. The architect specified black hardware. Thinking about spraying the tapcons with black rattle can type paint and wondering if it will hold up well over time. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks.

We bought a new Graphtec FC9000 about 3 years ago. It has problems. I am glad I kept my old FC4100 as it still runs flawlessly even though it is probably pushing 30 years old. We bought the new one thinking we would need it as a replacement for the aging one, but the new one doesn't cut at the...

I see more and more of bad kerning every day. Aren't they teaching this stuff anymore? Also I'm noticing typo errors in printed media - legal documents, books, websites, etc. What ever happened to the old saying "cross your T's and dot your I's". The details matter. The scary part is when...

Simplicity. It might be better to say what we don't need. I don't want/need to track each job progress, inventory, customer relations or bookkeeping in the estimating program. I have other software/processes for those tasks and I like the simplicity of having specific programs for specific tasks.

There has been a lot of discussion about sign software management. It will be hard to find a "one size fits all" program. I am in a very small shop and our needs for software are very different than a bigger shop. I have been using EstiMate software just about every day for over 25 years...

Agree with you on the reports...I don't trust myself to keep up with the changes in payroll reporting to the IRS and/or other government entities. I have made mistakes in the past that caused me a lot of time and aggravation to correct so that's why I bite the bullet and subscribe to Quickbooks...

Paying the employees is the easy part. In my state I am required to fill out quarterly and annual reports for unemployment payments made on behalf of each employee. Also there are payroll reports required by the IRS. If these are late or done incorrectly there will be penalties to pay and...

We have been asked to install letters on this type of interior wall panel. It looks like corrugated wood running vertically on the wall. The "peaks and valleys" are about 1" wide. The size of the letters vary from about 6" to 2" high. There are a lot of letters. I don't think a clear acrylic...

I have the book on the right side. I thought that is what they (Signs365) are using. I am going to have to get with them and find out exactly which PMS book they are using.

I have gotten different color shades by sending the same RGB colors at different print times. I was told by 365 the only way to get matching colors is to request a match to a PMS color number. On a large project I can't order all the prints at the same time so that is why the PMS match is important.

Yes, I have been using the color match option and typing in the PMS color number. So far, the color matches have been very close but on the grays and beige colors, not as good.

Thanks for your feedback. I don't have Adobe Illustrator. I am using CorelDraw.

I buy a lot of prints from Signs 365 and am happy with their service. I had a couple of prints made that were to be matched to a PMS color. The prints came out OK but not close enough for my ultra picky customer. They reprinted them for free, but still they don't look dead on. I know it is not...

Is there a vendor that can make small ADA compliant signs quicker that 4 to 5 weeks lead time? I ordered some in mid November and they telling me they are are scheduled to ship on Dec 31. Not looking forward to telling my client this.

What is the best method for prepping steel or aluminum posts? I would imagine painting the faux finish is the fun part. We typically use aluminum instead of steel on smaller signs because steel rusts quickly in this climate. We have had mixed results painting aluminum. Seems like it is labor...