What’s it cost to produce this basic cut-and-roll 4×8 sign?

By David Showalter

Posted on Friday, May 10th, 2024

Here’s a fairly simple, straightforward sign, but it does the job. I think there’s more to it than what first meets the eye, if you think about the sign as a whole.

Materials:

4×8 sheet or aluminum composite material: $121

Lettering enamel: $18

Fine line tape: $6

Masking tape: $1

18-in. transfer tape: $9

9-in. roller cover: $2

Total: $157

Labor: 2 hrs. 40 min.

The eagle overlapping the SRI is a nice design element. But what about the rest of the sign? It’s all about tax and accounting, which is the message. The client asked me to include an eagle in the design. He had some artwork with him that was along those lines and liked the design we came up with.

This is one of those everyday sign projects done with the customer’s budget in mind. I used a sheet of 1⁄8-in. prefinished blue aluminum composite stock and the cut-and-roll approach goes quickly. Using a reverse panel across the bottom lets me add some interest without really adding any production time.

Layout and design on the computer: 20 minutes

Again, this was a basic design, so it didn’t take too long to create the layout. But it did take about 20 minutes. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the time we spend on layout—especially on routine signs.

Tape off bottom panel: 10 minutes

This photo shows the area I masked off using 3M Fine Line tape for the panel at the bottom of the sign. Here you also see some of the materials I’ll be using: lettering enamel, a Wooster TIZ foam roller, Fine Line and masking tape.

Masking for cut-and-roll: 15 minutes

The top part of this sign will be hand-cut, weeded, then rolled with lettering enamel. I apply 18-in.-wide transfer tape and squeegee it down really well so that paint doesn’t creep under the paper before I peel it off.

Pounce pattern: 10 minutes

Now you see me pouncing the paper pattern onto the transfer tape. I made the pattern on my plotter, taped it together, then positioned and pounced it.

Hand-cut logo and primary copy: 30 minutes

Using a No. 11 X-Acto knife, I hand-cut the eagle and the SRI copy, then weeded out the material I will be painting.

Cut and apply mask: 20 minutes

Here I’m laying down a computer-cut reverse mask for the “Tax & Accounting” copy in the bottom panel.

Apply paint: 20 minutes

Using lettering enamel and a foam roller, I rolled the exposed areas of the masked sign face.

Remove mask: 20 minutes

While the paint is still wet, I pull all of the mask off the whole sign and clean up any spots where the paint may have crept under the mask. The sign is finished.

David Showalter's shop, David Design, is in Bryan, Ohio.