Grocery Aisle Signage

[Taryn]

Hi all! I just recently (possibly) got a job from our local grocery store looking to replace the inserts in their aisle signs (some went missing as well, but anyway) and I was wondering if any of you had any good leads! I did do a quick search already and I think the stuff used is polystyrene? We're looking for 13x3" "stronger than cardstock" material.

Any and all help is appreciated (humor especially so)!

 

[Gino]

That will yellow very quickly.... even inside. Consider 1mil PVC.

How many do ya need ??

 

[Taryn]

Thanks Gino! I don't know for sure YET, but I imagine upwards of 30 if not 30 max. There was a lot of empty spaces in the signs when I quit working up there, excluding some inserts that really should be removed.

 

[visual800]

why not use 3 mil pvc, lightweight cheap, if they would slide in...... if we had a pic to go by it would help to determine better

 

[Billct2]

Use PVC, pick the appropriate thickness for the track

 

[Gino]

Take a piece of whatever you decide to use and compare it to what's in there now. Odds are, you can talk them into replacing everything so it all looks uniform.

Nothing says a dirty store, than dingy looking signs aside of brand new ones. That will turn customers off rather quickly.

 

[pjfmeister]

+1 for PVC....we recently replaced all of what sounds the same for one of our local grocery stores.... the ones we did were 4"x18" and the PVC worked great....

 

[Taryn]

Update for the thread info: turns out I MAY or may not have been slightly off before I got the item list, but we have 150 inserts to do. The people we already get our sign PVC from SAY they have 1mil PVC too, and we are currently following up on that. Pictures have yet to be snagged, but are incoming!

 

[Gino]

At that size, you'll need just over 2 sheets. When we do them, we do 54 inserts to a sheet (our sizes are larger). We flatbed print them and then guillotine cut them. Much faster than a CNC. 150 inserts would take about 35 minutes from start to finish. If you don't have a flatbed, you'll hafta cut, weed and apply one at a time. Whole job might take an hour and a half for you. I would not waste the time or money printing them onto vinyl and laying them down, first. For such a small order, you'd be looking at about $4.50 ea. Ours are 3" x 22" and we get $7 bucks a pop.

Hope this helps.

 

[Taryn]

Thanks, Gino! Only machine we have at the moment for lack of space is a vinyl cutter, so that's gonna be fun.

 

[FireSprint.com]

We do lots of this kind of stuff for the trade. Stryene is the most common but PVC is used as well. Depends on the required thickness and the time table the end user expects the signs to be up for.

You can get more information here:

https://www.firesprint.com/advance_search.php?search_section=1&search_val=styrene

https://www.firesprint.com/advance_search.php?search_section=1&search_val=pvc

You can also order a sample kit with all these materials in it, then you're prepared when you talk to your customer - https://www.firesprint.com/sample-kit/ Use my name GENE during checkout for $15 off your first order. Feel free and call or email with questions as well - 888-509-7446 | support@firesprint.com

 

[Taryn]

Reviving this thread to give a happy ending -- the inserts were made, the signs are now all pretty and uniform, and we got a job to help the grocery store redo the lettering on their delivery vehicles and dock signs (advertising delivery to fishermen) too! Everything went smoothly, and they're absolutely delighted by how the inserts, signs, and vehicles look now. Thanks again, yall!

 

[FireSprint.com]

Awesome!!

 

[Gino]

Great !!!

What material did you use ??

 

[Boudica]

Curious about the material as well. Our rec would have been HIPS. But I was surprised at the UN-recommendation for that Here. So... What did you go with?

 

[James Burke]

Here's a home-town solution...available most anywhere: Vertical Blinds (smooth, no texture) Tan or white, the stuff is amazing, and it's UV stabilized (PVC).
It's approx. 3-1/2" wide x 10 mil thick x 78" long and typically come as a 10-pack of louvers only (no hardware, etc...). Its cross-section is slightly curved with a very small bead on each edge for rigidity. Even when trimmed, they remain relatively rigid.

It cuts well with a paper cutter, knife or scissors and holds vinyl extremely well. We used to hot-stamp on it with black foil, and it held up outdoors approx. 6 to 8+ years.

JB

White Cordless Light Filtering 3.5 in. Vertical Blind Kit for Sliding Door or Window - 78 in. W x 84 in. L 10793478804986 - The Home Depot

Cover your large window opening or patio door with a vertical blind without spending a fortune. Vertical blinds provide an expanded view when opened and provide maximum coverage when closed. Wand tilt

www.homedepot.com

 

[Gino]

Did ya ever try to fit a 10mm piece of anything in the tracks of aisle signs ??

 

[James Burke]

Did ya ever try to fit a 10mm piece of anything in the tracks of aisle signs ??

Gino - not sure if that's directed toward my comment, but 10 mil is .010" (ten-thousandths). Roughly the thickness of 3 or four sheets of printer paper. Mils are not the same as millimeters.


JB

 

[Gino]

Yeah, guess I jumped the gun. That might work with certain track setups.

 

[Taryn]

We were trying to get the 1 mil PVC Gino recommended from our supplier at the time, but apparently the shipment they "sent out" was never actually sent out because they were going out of business. We did find another nearby supplier pretty quickly and they got us a couple of really nice sheets of 1mil (considering we're in Southeast AK, the sheets stayed really nice with only a couple edge indents).