Augusta Sign Company

Refresh your image today!

  • Contact us
  • About the Company
  • Services
  • Blog

Vinyl Lettering and Logos on Interior Walls

May 22, 2018 By Mark Hackley

Vinyl Lettering and Logos on Interior Walls: A Project for Valley Vital Care

IT STICKS!

www.augustasigncompany.com-waynesboro-va-22980-wall-letters Applying vinyl lettering and logos on interior walls is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to draw attention to your brand as customers enter your organization. A few weeks ago I was hired to do exactly that for a local Waynesboro, Virginia business expanding into Winchester.

I used to think that applying vinyl lettering and logos on interior walls wasn’t a great idea, because most interior walls have a flat or eggshell finish and I used to think vinyl lettering would a) not adhere well; and b) not look so great with the glossy vinyl reflecting light from the graphics differently than the flat or semi-gloss background. But I was wrong on both points. Unless there is a spot light directly on the lettering, the glare effect is not a big problem, and the vinyl always seems to stick very well to the flat latex walls as long as the vinyl is not wet-applied. I have also used graphics with non-glare laminates for certain applications.

VALUE OF USING ONE SOURCE FOR ALL YOUR SIGNAGE BRANDING

www.augustasigncompany.com-24401-Vinyl Lettering and Logos on Interior WallsThis particular customer has had me incorporate their brand into their fleet of vehicles, their front door and also on their interior entry walls. The benefits of using the same sign company for all your sign branding include: a) colors and typestyles and proportions are consistent across the various places you post your branding signage; b) you have a good idea on upcoming costs when budgeting your sign marketing for new offices, or new vehicles; c) if a sign or letter gets damaged in the future for some reason, you have a source of the original design artwork used to cut your designs, saving a lot of time and potential cost in repairs and maintenance.

If you’re considering branding your entrance lobby or other interior wall area and need a local sign contractor in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia, contact Mark Hackley at 540-943-9818.

 

 

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: branding my office wall, indoor signs, interior wall lettering

Applying Gold Leaf to Carved Signs

May 21, 2018 By Mark Hackley

www.augustasigncompany.com-charlottesville-va-applying gold leaf to carved signs Applying Gold Leaf to Carved Signs

ATTENTION-GETTER NEEDED

Applying gold leaf to carved signs is a great way to garner attention and give your signage a look of elegance and help add a look of sophistication to your home, office or entrance. I was recently hired to make a small carved wood sign for a horse farm that would replace the existing entrance sign. The original sign was in the same size range but was made of painted plywood and had a white background with black lettering. The old sign’s shape was rectangular but the customer wanted an oval shape that matched a wood sign system she had seen in Charlottesville, Virginia.

There are many commercial sign shops in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia where Augusta Sign Company is located, but there are few who can create durable signs in carved wood.

GO FOR THE GOLD

The customer wanted to know the cost of adding gold leaf letters instead of just plain, painted letters, and after Iwww.augustasigncompany.com-22980-applying gold leaf to carved signs presented my proposal, she elected to go for the gold! Gold leaf is an ancient art form. “The Temple of Solomon was profusely gilt,” says Homer in his early writings. Gold leaf was widely used in old Roman art, architecture, furniture, and carved lettering. Gold leaf is actual gold that is beaten down to a fine sheet and applied to surfaces with “size”, a special type of “glue” that the thin metal sheets stick to. To make the sign for the horse farm, I first ordered the cedar panel and had the letters and borders CNC-routed from my customer-approved design. Once the letters and borders were carved, I sanded them with fine-grit sandpaper to smooth out any course grain in the lettering. Once sanded, I cleaned and primed the entire two-sided sign with a quality oil-based primer that seals the wood and provides an adequate base for the finish coat, which in this case was a brush-painted Hunter Green sign enamel. It helps to tint your primer to the shade of your finish coat, so I added some black tint to make a gray primer coat. I use the 2-2-2 method in my finishing of wood signs: 2 coats primer, 2 coats background finish, and 2 coats for the graphics, which for this project meant two passes of gilding to catch any missed areas and pinholes.

WAXING GLOW

www.augustasigncompany.com-Staunton-VA-applying gold leaf to carved signs-wood-signsOnce the gold was applied and cured for several days, I burnished it with a cotton ball and completely waxed the entire sign using Nu-Finish synthetic auto wax, available in most auto parts stores. The post was constructed from a 6″ X 6″ X 13′ long Southern Yellow Pine column with a beefed-up area at the bottom of the post, suggested by my customer’s architect. The sign post was colored black to match the black iron scroll bracket, which was a stock item from my supplier. I used stainless steel eye-bolts and quick links to attach the sign to the bracket. The sign was planted in a 3 foot deep hole and surrounded with fast set concrete.

I appreciate opportunities to make signs with gold leaf, and have done my share of them over the years. I learned this specialized art during my career as a sign painter at Andrews Air Force Base in the early 1980’s, and received extra training in the early 1990’s from a sign carving workshop led by expert sign carver, Jay Cooke of Stowe, Vermont. Applying gold leaf to carved signs is a specialty thing that I especially enjoy. It adds substantial cost to your project, but it provides a level of attention not doable by other sign media. If you’re interested in purchasing signs with or without gold leaf for your farm, store, or office, give me a call anytime and I’d be happy to take a look at what you have in mind.

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company in Staunton, Virginia. 540-943-9818

Filed Under: Sign Knowledge, Uncategorized Tagged With: Gold Leaf Signs VA, how to apply gold leaf

Source for Hand-Lettered Signs for Virginia’s Downtowns

March 9, 2018 By Mark Hackley

Source for Hand-Lettered Signs for Virginia’s Downtowns

Virginia only has seven cities with populations in six figures. Most of it’s cities and towns fall between about 5,000-75,000, with about 10 over and about 120 under. Most of the towns in the Shenandoah Valley, where my shop is located, are perfect places to hang interesting, hand-painted wood signs. And it so happens those are exactly the types of signs I make in my shop near Staunton, Virginia!!

My favorite types of signs are the types of wood signs with carved lettering. The wood panels are glued up end to end, sanded, and then routed using a computerized CNC routing table. After the routing is complete, the signs are sanded again and finished. Usually they are primed, painted, and then lettered with high-quality, eye-catching, durable enamels.

Another type of hand-crafted wood sign that gets lots of attention is the sandblasted type. Usually a stencil is made and adhered to the flat surface, then wherever the stencil does not cover the wood, it is blasted away using a high-pressure sand gun.  Various size nozzles are used for different effects. After blasting, the signs are stained with a high-quality, durable solid-color oil stain, then hand-lettered. These signs are very long-lasting and can be easily maintained with scheduled periodic annual cleaning and refresher coats of paint every decade. The sign pictured above for Waynesboro Florist was put into service in the mid-1990’s and is still looking great with only one maintenance call a few years ago, where I rehabbed the fading paint.

Another type of wood sign is the framed plywood panel, like the sign for Valley Pastoral Counseling Center shown at left. With a painted mahogany frame, the edges are sealed from potential water infiltration that would eventually break open the plywood board. With the frame, the signs will provide a long service period just like their solid wood relatives listed above. This particular sign was put into service in the early 1990’s and has had one known maintenance period. The sign is as solid as it was new more than 25 years ago!

www.augustasigncompany.com-staunton-va-wood-signs-downtown-areasHanging the signs is usually accomplished using iron scroll brackets and chain with hooks. There are several standard bracket types in use, and brackets can also be customized for a much higher investment. Probably one of the biggest things to remember about quality wood signs is their regular maintenance. Just as a great musician would tune her piano on a regular basis to ensure good quality sound, a great business owner would clean, re-stain, and repaint her sign periodically. The rule of thumb for signs manufactured by Augusta Sign Company is every about 5-10 years. The cedar and redwood and mahogany boards themselves will last a lifetime with no maintenance, but the branding that is painted on the signs will have to be periodically refreshed to keep up a positive image.

Call Mark Hackley, founder of Tree Street Signs that later became Augusta Sign Company for all your downtown signage needs. Not only can he help you with wood identification signs, but also door and window lettering, wall lettering, banners, and other temporary advertising signs like sandwich boards that you’d use in marketing your awesome downtown shop. He can be reached at 540-943-9818.

 

Thanks for all the business, Virginia!!

Filed Under: Sign Knowledge

What Types of Letters Are Best for Walls?

February 22, 2018 By Mark Hackley

What Types of Letters Are Best for Walls?

THE INSIDE SCOOP

What Types of Letters Are Best for Walls? It depends on a few factors. First, is it an interior or exterior wall? If it’s www.augustasigncompany-staunton-va-What Types of Letters Are Best for Wallsinterior, there is an assortment of materials you can use that are potentially less expensive than those that have to withstand the elements for many seasons.

I recently lettered an interior wall for a law group that has multiple offices across Virginia. I had sold this customer similar interior wall signs as an account executive with Holiday Signs, and they continue to utilize me for signs now that I’m with Augusta Signs. They use a laminated acrylic letter for their interior corporate branding. Laminated letters are great for interior use, but they will eventually de-laminate outdoors and aren’tWhat Types of Letters Are Best for Walls recommended for exterior applications. The particular style used had black edges and brushed silver laminated metal faces. They were stud mounted with spacers to cast a nice shadow from the office lighting. The customer painted the accent wall themselves and the rich blue background really sets off the lettering and makes for a very eye-catching branding statement!

Generally speaking, labor costs to mount letters in drywall is often less than that required for exterior wall for letters (brick and concrete drilling), so material and labor costs for interior sign jobs are usually lower on the scale. That being said, there are some really neat options for interior letters that aren’t always available for outdoors, and some options will end up costing the same or more than exterior options. It all depends on the design.

Other options for interior wall letters: painted acrylic, acrylic with digitally printed laminated films, PVC, clear acrylic, wood, gilded letters, ACM.

www.augustasigncompany.com-Staunton-Waynesboro-VA-Wall-LettersTHE GREAT OUTDOORS

Now for exterior wall letters. I have been choosing and installing letters for wall signs since I started my career in the Department of Defense in 1980. Mostly, these types of letters nowadays are CNC cut, laser cut, injection-molded, or cast. Back when I first started I hand-cut wall letters, but it’s not my biggest strength. There was a lot of labor involved in cutting, filing, sanding, priming and painting. Today, I get most of my wall letter products from Gemini. I would guess that most sign companies do the same thing, so as you’re shopping for wall letters, ask for Gemini letters and the pricing should be reasonably close among the sign companies. Some may have a higher mark-up than others, but always consider the companies track record and things they may bring to the table above and beyond the competitors. A few things to look for: do they offer design services, and do they provide sketches thatWhat Types of Letters Are Best for Walls show how your letters will look an the wall? Do they provide final proofs for approval prior to production? What is their turn-around time? All Gemini letters and plaques come with a lifetime guarantee, another good reason to specify the Gemini brand, as do many architects.

Today I completed an exterior wall sign for a local church. They are in the process of a sizable church renovation project and they wanted to set off the upgraded church facility by adding their name in wall letters as people come into church. The building committee wanted a letter style that was easy to read, so I recommended Gemini cast aluminum letters. They wanted a subtle look, so brushed aluminum seemed to fit the bill. They didn’t want insects or birds making a mess so extending them away from the wall wasn’t an option, thus I mounted the letters flush to the wall with hidden aluminum mounting studs. They will be spotlighting the sign at night with LED.

What Types of Letters Are Best for WallsThe most common options for exterior wall letters: Cast aluminum or bronze with natural satin finished or cast aluminum with painted finishes; Cut out aluminum with either natural or painted finishes; Cut out acrylic letters with painted finishes. All these types of letters are the best for walls.

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company. Augusta Sign Company began in 1991 as Tree Street Ltd., then became The Roline Corporation in 2000. It traded as Tree Street Signs through early 2000, and began trading as Augusta Sign Company full-time in July 2015. In September, 2017 the company moved its shop from Waynesboro to Staunton.  Call anytime: 540-943-9818.

 

Filed Under: Sign Knowledge Tagged With: cast metal letters, dimensional letters virginia, Gemini Letters Virginia, wall lettering

Window Signs- A Great Way to Get Attention

January 16, 2018 By Mark Hackley

SEVERAL TYPES OF WINDOW LETTERING MATERIALS

www.augustasigncompany.com- Staunton-VA-24401-Window Signs- A Great Way to Get AttentionWindow Signs- A Great Way to Get Attention!  I’ve been lettering things that don’t move, and even a few things that do move, since I was a teenager. Glass windows are just one of the many surfaces that are prime real estate for signs.

There are many ways to letter a window. Most people now days use vinyl graphics, but back when I learned how to paint signs, we did it with real paint! Whether you decide to have someone use cut vinyl or paint for your window lettering, choose a reputable sign shop that has experienced sign technicians capable of designing the best sign for your space, which includes sizing it correctly, and specifying the best material options. Here are a few material options you could use: 23 K gold leaf (usually shaded and backed with black or a dark color paint); high performance opaque vinyl can be used, but it won’t allow any light from inside the doorway to penetrate the lettering colors, so be careful how you design the sign with opaque graphics since they could end up darker than you want; Translucent vinyl is a great choice to allow the color to shine through if there is good lighting in the room accommodating the doorway or window where the sign is installed; Specialty vinyls that appear to look like etched glass make nice choices as well, especially for professional office windows and doors.

Whatever you choose, consider Augusta Sign Company for the project!!

 

WHITE’S USUALLY THE BEST READ

More than likely, white lettering will be the best color for window letters. Since glass windows reflect their surroundings and tend to cast a dark background color or mixture of reflected colors that white lettering usually www.augustasigncompany.com-Staunton-VA-Dentist Signspenetrates through the best, you can’t go wrong by choosing white lettering for window and glass door lettering; but or course you can make them any color you like.

Another thing that’s helpful for sign readability is outlining colors in white to help them pop out at you against the backdrop of a clear glass surface. Pretty much every business posts their hours of operation on the front door. Well, if it’s a glass door, chances are the letters are white in color. It’s just the standard for windows. And it’s so much easier now days using cut vinyl for the lettering versus having to layout and hand-letter all those words and then double-coat them!! Much easier today!

GOLD LEAF ON GLASS LOOKS SHARPWindow Signs- A Great Way to Get Attention-GOLD-LEAF-SIGNS-VA

23 K Gold Leaf reflects the sunlight and stands out over any other type of window lettering. There is a high cost for this type of lettering however, so be prepared for sticker shock when you get the estimate from your local sign company. The reason the cost is so high is the material is truly solid gold. It’s just pounded down to a thin sheet and applied to the window or door and then varnished. Modern day materials once again can make the process easier using real gold that is embedded in a vinyl sheet that can be cut on the computer just like regular vinyl graphics. I used this type of gold leaf product for a sign I did for a local law firm in Staunton, Virginia, and it really looks great!

SUBTLETY MAY BE YOUR BAG

Gold leaf letters and white letters can really stand out, but sometimes you may want a more subtle look. This is the time you will want to consider etched letters. Ask your sign shop about “Etchmark” brand or similar vinyl sheeting in which you can cut your logos and letters, apply to the glass, and it looks like it was etched right in the glass.

I recently lettered an entry door at Eastern Mennonite University where I suggested Etchmark vinyl for the graphics. It looks very nice and it’s not that much more expensive than regular vinyl. I noticed that it is also available in colors which could make some really cool entry ways.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ALL AT ONCE

Last spring I lettered the main window for a local pizza shop. The pizza shop had several storefront windows, but the owner was just starting, so to save start up money he only ordered the main entry window glass to be lettered with his main brand. Then as he got settled in the business for a while, he called again to add another full glass window of bullet points listing all the many menu items available to passersby.

When you order signs, just like ordering food at a fine Italian restaurant, it’s good to know you don’t need to order everything all at once!

PROMOTING SPECIAL EVENTS

Entry doors and windows are great places to announce things like business anniversaries, or special seasonal deals. I lettered the glass door for a local printer who was celebrating 70 years in business! It’s a great thing to have all your walk-in customers see as they enter your space. 70 years is a long time and it must make them feel just a little proud of you as they come in to see you.

Another thing I used to do all the time was temporary window messages for a local car dealer. Every month or so, they would post a big, bright, colorful message across their entire storefront, all hand-painted in poster paint that was easily scraped off and www.augustasigncompany.com-virginia-universities-signs-and-graphicsreplaced every month. Temporary window signs are great ways to keep people in touch with your business, especially if you’re located on a busy thoroughfare.

CONVERTING EMPTY WINDOWS INTO WAYFINDING KIOSKS

I once helped a university customer take a vacant room near the entrance to a hall and converted it into a wayfinding sign for students and visitors. I used translucent vinyl for the top palladian window and an opaque ACM metal sign for the big map below double-back taped to the glass. It looked really nice and became an important functional component of the college wayfinding system.

Whatever your need for window signs, contact Mark Hackley, owner of Augusta Sign Company for your next project. 540-943-9818.

Filed Under: Sign Knowledge Tagged With: lettering on glass, window graphics, window lettering, window signs

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • …
  • 17
  • Next Page »

Copyright © 2016 · Augusta Sign Company · Log in