2024 Reader Survey – What is your minimum shop charge?
One of the questions we asked in our recent Reader Survey was, “Do you have a minimum shop charge and if so, how… Read More
Articles
Cover photo: Floral Culture – Scott Martin
Scott Martin was an outstanding sign maker from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, who passed in October of 2020. We had been planning a feature… Read More
How to do an easy hand carved background
Hard carving the background on HDU signs is a unique effect that can add a lot of interest—and it’s easy. Dayna Reed, creator… Read More
Cover photo: F&B Oyster Co., Sanibel Island, Florida
Like many readers, one of the things we here at SignCraft miss about the print edition of the magazine was the cover photo…. Read More
2024 survey results: How do your gross sales compare?
In 44 years of doing SignCraft, we’ve rarely asked readers to share their annual sales numbers in our Reader Surveys because we assumed… Read More
Q&A: Do you calibrate your monitor?
A reader wants to know: “Do others calibrate their display to match the output from their digital printer? If so, how do they… Read More
Video: Ross F. George and The Speedball Textbook
Sam Roberts at Better Letters did a video with the folks at Letterform Archive on Ross George, the creator of the Speedball pen… Read More
The signs of Fisherman’s Wharf
San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf is among the most popular tourist destinations on the West Coast—packed with sights to see, places to shop and… Read More
What will a sign shop look like in 2025?
Not long ago we got a note from a reader, Janine Townsend, Townsend Legacy Signs, Bagdad, Kentucky. She reminded us of an article… Read More
Mike Jackson: Five decades in signs and graphics
Back in 1981, a packet of photos arrived in the mail at SignCraft from a young Oklahoma sign painter named Mike Jackson. We… Read More
Want a cool 3D effect? Try embossed copper sheeting.
The “anything goes” approach to creative sign making gets used frequently at Southpaw Signs, Oceana, California. Looking through examples of their work, you’ll… Read More
Two colors, high impact
Signs face a lot of visual competition out in the real world. Other signs, billboards and traffic are all drawing readers’ eyes away… Read More
Inbox – February 2024
New Australian sign magazine for sign painters Jumbo Magazine aims to capture in print the stories of the tradition of hand-painted signage from… Read More
Step-by-step – Making a multilayer 3D sign
Router-cut letters on a smooth or textured background give a nice 3-D feel, but layers accent the dimensional effect even more. Dayna Reed… Read More
Q&A: Choose a durable chrome film for vehicle graphics
A reader wants to know: “I’d like to hear what others think is the best chrome film for computer-cut vehicle lettering.” Chrome- or… Read More
Sean Beauchamp: Custom signs on the California coast
Custom sign shops are unusual, creative places. While many businesses buy products and resell them or manufacture a line of products to sell,… Read More
The sign designer controls what gets read—and when
It’s true: a picture—or a simple graphic—is worth 1,000 words. This Instagram post is a great example that carries a powerful message for… Read More
Roger Cox: Back to sign making
Roger Cox waded into the sign business right out of college in 1988, a graduate from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design…. Read More
SignCraft’s Instagram delivers loads of free inspiration
If you’re already an Instagram user, be sure to visit @signcraftmagazine to see over 1500 images of outstanding signs of all types—trucks, 3D, … Read More
6 type tricks that make sign layouts more effective
There’s more to creating an interesting, effective sign layout than grabbing a cool typeface and typing the text into the layout. The spacing,… Read More
