Decals – an easy way to brand your retail store
Last week I was contracted to make and install about 30 decals of a well-known brand of residential and commercial paint. The owner of two retail stores, one in Waynesboro, Virginia and one in Staunton, had renovated their store interiors, repainting the shelving fixtures in an updated color. When they repainted the store fixtures, they painted over the old logos, so they hired me to make new ones.
The shelves ranged in width from about 48″ to 65″ and the decals were designed to fit all widths. I provided a scaled sketch and presented a color swatch of the decal color. The customer could not get a copy of the logo in vector format, so I was able to vectorize what they provided as a jpg. The project took about 10 days to complete from the time I received their proof approval and deposit check, taking about a week to get the vinyl material, a day to cut and prepare the graphics, and a few days to schedule and make the final deliveries and installations at both stores.
Even though it was an interior application, I used high performance 10-year exterior Avery vinyl film for the decals so they will last a long time.
Mark Hackley, President of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 22980. 540-943-9818
RECIPE FOR A WOOD SIGN
background, then you peel the stencil and the sign is done. However, that isn’t always the case, and more than half the time you have lots of touch ups or worst case is you end up having to re-sand, prime, and paint because the stencil pulls the finish.
the cost per month (CPM) of the advertising. If the sign lasts 50 years with 3 maintenance periods and the monthly cost ends up being eleven dollars a month for very high-impact branding. Unfortunately, the C.F. Richards Christian School is not on a main thoroughfare, so the traffic count is mostly made up of parents, staff and neighbors and their friends living on the residential street where it’s located. Otherwise, if on a highly traveled street with high traffic count, the cost per impression would be extremely low at $11.00 a month. Compare that with TV, radio, magazine or newspaper advertising, and you’ll see that signage is one of the few marketing options that has great value. Kind of up there with blogging on the internet!!
I started and ended the year off doing what I like best: restoring old wood signs. Some of the signs weren’t worth restoring and needed to be replaced, but usually if they were built from woods like cedar, redwood, or mahogany, then restoration was the best option for my customers. MDO plywood signs that aren’t framed may not be good restoration candidates and replacement is usually best. Such was the case with a sign I replaced as a signage subcontractor for a local landscaper. Last January, I replaced the oval panel for the 
Unframed edges will allow moisture into the panel over time. It doesn’t take Mother Nature very long to penetrate and destroy unprotected edges! For metal signs, I try to make sure the framing and support structures are strong enough to help the signs stand up to the sometimes harsh Augusta County winds and rains and other forces of nature.
and fire lane signs and striping for the parking lot after the fire inspector recommended them.
business or non-profit with limited capital for signs, banners can be a good option to get your name out there for a few years. If your banner is not being used for temporary advertising, you’ll probably need to investigate whether a sign permit for the banner is required.
When I owned and operated Tree Street Signs in Crimora in the 1990’s, I did my share of vehicle graphics. Lettering the vehicles for service contractors with fleets of commercial trucks was a large portion of the workload. Now that I downsized with Augusta Sign Company, my shop can only facilitate small vehicles. The fleet of cars I lettered for Valley Vital Care fit perfectly in my 14′ X 30′ garage. I can also handle decals and magnetic signs easily from my smaller shop, and have done many of these for customers over the past year. In warmer months from spring through the fall, I can also letter larger trucks and vans in my side lot, and I also utilize my customer’s places of business to install vehicle graphics year-round on larger units.
doing signs on a part-time basis. During my period of hesitancy, one thing pastors and counselors would tell me over and over was, “You can make a mission of your business.”