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We are putting some small acrylic letters on a wall. Roman style 1.75" high. The thickest strokes are 1/4" wide - too small for 1/4" spacers. Could we glue 1/8" studs directly to the back side of the acrylic? This doesn't seem like a good idea to me but the customer is adamant about offsetting...

So very sorry for your losses. Will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Hurricane Irma is about to hit hard in Florida. As a fellow Floridian who has had to evacuate on other occasions I understand the stress it puts on a business. If I can help out any sign shops impacted by this storm I would be glad to volunteer to do so. Maybe help with sign layouts or setting...

I have a 12" Wacom Cintiq. I like it a lot - it took a long time to get used to it. Funny thing is a still prefer a pencil and paper to start out a design with. The motion of pencil on paper seems to feel better than the stylus on the screen. There is very little "drag" when drawing with a hard...

Third party mobile advertising is illegal here in our county. You can advertise your own business on your company vehicles but to my knowledge, not anywhere else - unless of course you can afford a city bus ad.

I haven't done a lot of tradeshows but we did one 10'x10' size last year and bought a package through Creative Banner. They have some very reasonable pricing for an entry level booth. Backdrop, table cloth, pop-up etc - makes it easy to order.

What's the most user friendly software program for designing signs in 3D. I've used Sketch Up's free version and am not too excited about it. I want to buy a program that's intuitive for sign making. I would like to be able to import designs from Corel, drop onto a sign shape and create a 3D...

If you are not supplying a cabinet with a clear locking acrylic window keep in mind that dirt can collect in the clear acrylic type tracks over time and look unsightly. You might be able to use aluminum track to avoid this problem.

We often get calls for quotes for outdoor signs for new tenants and they don't know what size sign they want or are allowed to have. We are trying to avoid making a trip to the site just to measure for a job that we don't yet have a definite order for. I'm looking for a program that can estimate...

I called Grimco about the problem with the banners not standing up right and they replaced the stands. That seems to have solved the problem - so it wasn't the weight of the vinyl apparently that was causing the issue. Sometimes you have to adjust the feet or flip the pole to get them to stand...

Very clever - thanks!

I received a request to bid on a metal plaque that will be installed on a curved brick exterior wall. Of course the client doesn't know the radius of the wall. The size of the plaque is about 2'x3'. Is it possible to get a flat plaque with some flexibility to conform to the wall or do we have to...

Kind of hard to say but you could charge $20 a square foot for a digital print/laminate sign or $100 and up a square foot for something dimensional. That doesn't include installation or design time.

We are working on Excel sheets for estimating CNC pricing. We have one section for out of pocket and material costs and one section for labor. We add a default amount of $5 for the bit cost on every quote. The sheets are complex in that we have drop down menus for types of routing (textured or...

I don't have a lot of experience applying see through vinyl on vehicle windows. I was asked to apply it to the back of an SUV where the glass is curved. Does the curvature cause the material to wrinkle when applying? If so how do you deal with that? Also, do you seal the edges once it is applied...

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm getting a sample of RealGold sent to me.

My customer loves the shiny gold vinyl and wants to use it on his boat for part of the graphics. I told him it won't hold up. Is there some kind of specialty vinyl used in the marine industry that will hold up for at least 5 years? Buy by the yard too?

the only time I've seen successful use of varnish on raw wood was when I worked at a boat yard and they would spray about 12 coats of clear over the wood. Otherwise, the varnish splits after about a year and then moisture gets to the wood, eventually turning it gray.

I would say $100 to $150 per sq ft for all that 3D work involved. At 18 sq ft that's $1800 to $2700. Getting someone to pay that much is the question. Making a sign without an agreed upon cost is a dangerous thing considering someone may lose big time causing bad feelings.

I have been buying the mid range priced retractable banner stand from Grimco. I like it because it is lightweight and has worked well in the past. It's only been within the past month that I noticed the new banners seem a bit unsteady. What brand of stand is the best? There are so many on the...