Rob Cooper: Sketches and lettering
When Rob Cooper left Miami for his native New Zealand (and ultimately to Thailand) around 2000, he had to travel light. One of… Read More
signcraft
PVC columns make great sign mountings
One way to increase the mass and overall visual impression of a sign is to mount it on columns instead of posts. A… Read More
Q&A – When the customer doesn’t buy
One of the popular features in SignCraft from years past was called “Reader to Reader.” In the days before the Internet, it was… Read More
Q&A – Mask for sandblasting glass
One of the popular features in SignCraft from years past was called “Reader to Reader.” In the days before the Internet, it was… Read More
Design & Price: 2-by-16 ft. overlaid plywood sign
In every issue, SignCraft gives a few sign makers an imaginary project. We ask them to do a sketch of the sign they… Read More
Put complementary colors to work
One of the tools Bob Behounek uses in his great-looking sign designs is the color wheel. It’s essential to a good understanding of… Read More
Doc Guthrie: 1943-2022
On Saturday, September 3, Ralph “Doc” Guthrie, sign painter and legendary instructor at the Los Angeles Trade Tech College Sign Graphics program, passed… Read More
Sell a sculpture with the sign
3D letters can add a lot to a sign, but a carved graphic or better yet, an actual sculpture, can really make a… Read More
Carson Lev: A return to sign painting roots
Carson Lev grew up in the Lakewood/Long Beach area of Southern California—the hotbed of car customizing, custom fiberglass bodies, welding, painting and lettering… Read More
Getting the most out of PVC board
PVC board is a great material for sign making—for letters, sign panels, cabinets and even monument structures. It’s durable, easy to work with… Read More
Tips & Tricks: Save the type info on the layout
When I do a layout, I always break the letters in the layout apart and convert them to curves so that I can… Read More
Tips & Tricks: Add a watermark!
In printing, a watermark is a transparent image or text that is applied over a layout, usually to protect it from being used… Read More
Misplaced emphasis can wreck a sign’s effectiveness
Our shop is located in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada, which is the North Shore of Lake Erie. It’s on the South Coast of… Read More
Prefinishing PVC sign panels makes routed signs more practical
One way to keep production costs down on CNC-routed signs is to finish the panel before routing the letters. PVC board makes this… Read More
Q&A: Which digital printing media and laminate combination?
One of the popular features in SignCraft from years past was called “Reader to Reader.” In the days before the Internet, it was… Read More
Q&A: Should I clear coat over gold leaf?
One of the popular features in SignCraft from years past was called “Reader to Reader.” In the days before the Internet, it was… Read More
Easier sales: Show them what you can do
Time and time again sign people have told us of three things that make selling signs easier: samples on the showroom wall, photographs… Read More
7 ways to ramp up your flat sign designs
Not every customer can afford a 3-D sign, but most like the appeal of dimension. There are plenty of ways to create the… Read More
Then and now: Gold leaf is a natural for fire apparatus
Americans have been decorating fire apparatus for a long time—by most accounts, for over 200 years. The embellishment has always been elaborate, and… Read More
Nine tips on cutting it in the custom sign business
There are a lot of different types of sign businesses, each aimed at satisfying different markets. In some areas the need for a… Read More
