From Signs of Seattle.. A Seattle Sign Company An effective lobby sign gives you Instant Prestige! Visitors can sense your integrity just from the look and feel of your entrance area. The choice of materials a lobby marquee can be made with are as endless as there are construction methods and techniques. We will explore some popular and effective  reception area sign methods and materials. Some common considerations are: What treatment will make my company logo look best? What is my price range? What is my wall covering? Is it wood covering, dry wall, wall paper, wood paneling? Signs can be adhesive mounted to drywall, but most other surfaces require drilling.   Am I the space long term? How long will this sign be up?

If you want to move your sign in the future,  we recommend a rigid substrate backing such as clear acrylic or brushed metal DiBond. Not every logo can be made with every process. For example, highly intricate logos works best with laser cutting, but can be challenging using other cutting methods. Not every logo can be made with every process. for example highly intricate logos can’t always be cast or water jet metal.

The entry level lobby sign is typically made with cut vinyl. This is essentially a cutout sticker. This will last 3-5 years. It is removable, but cannot be reused once removed. $200 to $1200 installed Simple Cut Vinyl Graphic It essentially looks like its painted. This is the same principle as the simple cut vinyl only it’s a digital print. $200 to $1200 installed. Printed Vinyl Graphic These can be made with a special low-tack adhesive for easy removal. Technician applies then squeegees the adhesive vinyl graphic

If you really need your sign to “pop” against a busy surface, this does the trick.  $150-1000. Installed Acrylic on standoffs with cut vinyl graphics A hugely popular and cost effective option is Brushed Metal on Gatorfoam $400 to $1100 Installed Brushed Metal Face on Gatorfoam   This is very similar to brushed metal faces on Gatorfoam but done on acrylic and of course for a higher price. It is more durable and has crisper edges than Gatorfoam backed signs $600 to $1900 Acrylic with Brushed Metal Face This is PVC plastic with a custom paint match. The edges are not as crisp as acrylic and the plastic not as hard. $400 to $1100 Installed Painted PVC For multi colored logos a good choice is  Painted and Cut acrylic $600 to $1600 Installed Painted Acrylic This example combines Gatorfoam Letters with Brushed Metal Face and a digitally printed background  on Dibond. (Dibond is an aluminum composite that has two aluminum sheets sandwiched together with a polystyrene center.) This is good when you don’t want to damage the wall too much. The ridged back allows it to be hung much like a paining or framed picture. It’s also good for complicated logos and seals. $800 to $2000 installed Gatorfoam Letters with Brushed Metal Face and a digitally printed background  on Dibond. Rigid acrylic backer board with decorative standoff hardware and Gatorfoam letters, some painted black and some with brushed metal faces. $400 to $2000 installed Acrylic on Standoffs with Gatorfoam graphics $1200 to $2200 installed Brushed metal Dibond (aluminum composite) back with gold metal laminate acrylic letters. Painted acrylic LED lighted letters on a digitally printed backer When you need it to last a lifetime, Cast Metal Letters are the best choice. These classic letters create an elegant look that adds prestige to any environment. They are available in a number of traditional finishes including brass and bronze, plus cor-10 rusted steel and copper patina.Cast Metal Letters, Logos and Symbols Cast Bronze For More info visit: http://signsofseattle.com/indoor_signs.php

From Signs of Seattle.. A Seattle Sign Company

• Set up and tear down is easy and fast
• Easy to travel or check on airplanes
• Affordable and effective
• Professional polished look to your presentation

 
Typically they come in a latched cases that can are easily stored or stowed on airplanes.

The traditional way these type of displays are made is with a carpet type covering that accepts Velcro so graphics can be easily interchanged. This type of display is good for many years of service. 

Even though the graphics are made on plastic sheets that are attached with Velcro, they still flood the entire area of the display for a polished professional look.

Great for

• Schools
• Hospitals
• Volunteer Groups
• Political activists
• Corporate tradeshows
• Small business tradeshow displays and faire presentations
• College campuses
• Non profits
• Municipal and government offices

Typical displays are about 4′ wide and the biggest go up to 6′ wide  x 3′ tall.

Custom displays are also available.

Triangle Table Top Display

Table Tent

More info on Seattle Displays and Exhibits Here: www.signsofseattle.com/exhibits_displays.php

From Signs of Seattle a Seattle Sign Company

There are key advantages to vinyl wall graphics:

• If it gets damaged, it can be replaced.
• It’s far more cost effective than problematic wall paper or hand painting
• It can easily be cleaned with a wet rag and mild soap
• In high traffic areas, It takes ordinary bare walls and turns them into a marketing source.
• The graphical content can be most anything from photographs, art pieces, cartoon clips or most any computer generated art file.

Wall Mural made with old black and white photos.

Old photographs can give your lobby a museum feel.

A Column Wrap is a great way to take advantage of the space.

Great for restaurants because you can clean it.

 A cartoony look is easy to achieve and very effective at conveying your message.

Simple graphics are a very cost effective way to bring a blank wall to life.

Pre-opening/Grand opening mural graphics

Signs of Seattle Expert Technician

How it’s done:

Images are prepared on computer.	Then printed on a large format printer
The vinyl has an adhesive back.	This is applied to the wall
Heat helps it conform to uneven surfaces	Squeegees are also used for this
Finished Product

For more examples of wall graphics, visit our website. signsofseattle.com

Ever want frosted or etched glass for your doors or windows but were stymied by the cost? Here is an affordable alternative. Get an Upscale look for your space with Frosted or dusted crystal vinyl treatment.

….It’s the Cadillac treatment for the Chevrolet price.

• Perfect solution for window privacy
• Goes on your existing windows within a few hours
• Film can be removed if you need to relocate

The 3M dusted crystal film has the uniform appearance of etched glass.

The 3M frosted crystal film has the uniform appearance of sandblasted glass.
It also has subtle sparkles.

Partial covering.

Here the frosted vinyl is used to block the view from the street. Add the black graphics to turn the windows into a great marketing source.

  ]]> http://signsofseattle.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=30 0 http://signsofseattle.com/blog/?p=15 http://signsofseattle.com/blog/?p=15#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:11:50 +0000 Dave Desrochers http://signsofseattle.com/?p=15 Continue reading →]]> What is a vehicle wrap? Is this the same as repainting my car? Will it damage my paint job? A vehicle wrap is actually a digitally printed vinyl material that is professionally adhered to your car and can resemble a custom paint job. Your vehicle’s original paint job remains untouched and even protected beneath the surface.

Signs of Seattle Portfolio Why should I use a vehicle wrap versus traditional advertising? Studies have shown that in a city with a population of 50,000 a vehicle wrap will get over 8 million impressions per year. The city of Seattle is estimated at more than tne times this amount, approaching 600,000 people, so the cost is relatively low compared to traditional forms of advertising. Whether driving through traffic or parked on the streets your vehicle wrap spreads the word about your business even while you sleep!
What can car graphics do for you?

• Adds credibility to your company and gives you a professional image.
• Increases your brand awareness.
• Makes your vehicle a less attractive target for theft
• Easy to fine your vehicle in a crowded parking lot
• Makes you look cool!

Perforated Window Graphics
Perforated vinyl has tiny holes all over it which allow the driver to see through rear and side windows. This design allows for safe visibility from the inside of the vehicle, but limits visibility from the outside to ensure privacy.

What is Cut Vinyl?

Cut vinyl is simple graphic shapes cutout. The traditional way to do this is with a single color or only a few colors.

What is Print Cut Vinyl?

Nowadays we can print an image an digitally cut it out.

What other kinds of vehicles can I wrap?
A vehicle wrap can be applied to vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from Smart Cars to semi trucks, boats to motorcycles and beyond. We are always open to new ideas and custom designs. When in doubt, just ask! Signs of Seattle Portfolio

Technicians apply it

Lettering and Basic Logos
The surface is decorated by shaped pieces or strips of adhesive vinyl. Most of the original surface remains uncovered.

Partial Wrap
The surface is significantly covered, but much of the original area is still exposed. For example, wrapping only the hood, trunk, and doors of a car would be a Partial Wrap. Partial Wraps can be color-matched to blend with the unwrapped portion. Wraps may also include one-way perforated window graphics.

Full WrapThe item is completely covered; none of the original surface is exposed. A Full Wrap can completely change the appearance of an object. Full Wraps are the best option to protect the paint job of a vehicle from fading. Full Wraps may also include one-way perforated window graphics.

Video: How Vehicle Wraps Are Done

What is Vector art?
In a vector file the computer remembers the shapes of the lines.
What is Raster art?
In raster, (sometimes called bitmap) the image is comprised of tiny dots that
when viewed as a whole display the image.

Photo Editors are Raster Based. A raster image is made of thousands of
little dots, or pixels. Creating or editing an image with dots allows you to
provide for rich detail in an image. Because every dot can be a different color,
you can allow for any kind of color change. Raster images are wonderful for
rendering rich, full-color images, like photographs. Raster-based programs do
have some drawbacks, though:
* Raster images are file-heavy. All of the zeros and ones that are used to make
up each pixel result in large files sizes. Your computer must keep track of the
zeros and ones and must change each one when editing. This is memory-intensive
and may cause slower editing.
* Rasters do not resize well. When you resize a raster image, the pixels just
get larger, making the image appear distorted and chunky/grainy.
Photo editors, like Adobe PhotoShop, use raster-based images to allow for
precise editing and total freedom in image appearance.

Illustration Programs are Vector Based

Vector-based programs approach image creation in an entirely different manner. A
vector-based program does not render images on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

In a raster-based image creation program, a square would be made of thousands of
pixel dots.
In a vector-based program, the same square would be made of only four dots, one
on each corner. These “vector points,” basically allow your computer to play
Connect the Dots. Each vector point has information in it telling your computer
how to connect each point with straight or curved lines, and with what color to
fill in the closed shape.
In the printed image, the vector points would be invisible.
Because the computer only has to keep four points in its memory, it is much
easier for the computer to edit vector-based images.
If you resize a vector-based image, it loses little or no detail. The vector
points spread out and the computer just redraws the image. You can easily color,
or recolor, a vector-based image very easily using a drawing program. Vector
images can also result in smoother lines because the lines are not hand drawn.

Vector images do have some drawbacks, however. They are generally filled with a
solid color or a gradient but can’t display the lush color depth of a raster.
They also work better with straight lines or sweeping curves.
Drawing programs, like Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw, primarily use a
vector-based drawing mode to allow for scalability and clean lines.