The following is a series of questions designed to help you in visualizing and deciding on appropriate signage for your business or Organization.

Remember:

When paying for signage, see it as the single most important advertising that you do. It directs traffic to your business, projects a company image, and most importantly, it lasts longer than newspaper, radio and television ads, or any other type of temporary advertising there is.

Step 1: What is the signage for?

Is it location signage? Is it directional signage?

Is it to notify or for safety awareness? How important is readability?

Step 2: Where is it going?

Is it going onto storefront glass? A vehicle? Or is it a freestanding sign?

Is it indoors or outdoors? Is there direct exposure to the sun or elements?

Does it need to be seen at night (Reflective vinyl is recommenced for night signage)

Step 3: Is it temporary or permanent?

How long will it be used for?

Does it need to be removable?

Step 4: What is your budget?

How long will the sign be used for? (Cost-time effectiveness)

Is there full-color printing or special materials required? (Budget more for these)

Do you have a logo on disk or a good reproduction that is easily scanable? (This will decrease the amount of setup time, saving you money)

Does it need to be installed? Is it difficult to install? Do you need a bucket or other special equipment to reach the sign? Does it need to be wired? (Installation fees can increase signage costs considerably - budget accordingly, or install yourself and save money)

Always remember: labor generally consists of 60-75% of any job. A sign that takes longer to make and install will cost more than a sign with more expensive materials.

Step 5: Other things to consider

When does it need to be done by? Is the time frame realistic? (Rush jobs can sometimes add additional cost if other jobs need to be stopped to accommodate short time frames)

Colours?

Do you need a logo designed? Can you provide a good scanable image of your logo, a disk or e-mail a useable file? (Providing any of these will reduce setup costs)

Acceptable file formats on disk or by e-mail are:

For cut-only files:

Corel Draw .cdr, Corel Presentation .cmx, Adobe Illustrator .ai, .pdf, Plot files .plt, Auto Cad .dxf, and Encapsulated Post Script .eps

For full colour print files and photos:

Adobe Photoshop .psd, .pdf, .jpg, TIFF .tif, Bitmap .bmp