Posted by Ann Durso on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 @ 06:54 PM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
As the old saying goes, "A business with no sign is a sign of no business." You've all probably heard that one a hundred times! I'm sure I've said it at least one hundred times in the past twelve years of selling signs. Signs of all types are the first point of communication that many businesses have with their clients or potential clients.
Not everyone can afford a million dollar per minute commercial during the Superbowl to grab the consumer's attention. I can't state how important it is that you spend a good deal of time putting some thought into your on-premises sign package before signing a lease or spending any money on signs. It is a key decision to the success of many types of business, especially consumer oriented businesses. This important part of your start-up or new location requires a detailed thought process and most importantly a BUDGET!
There are many things to take into consideration before deciding what type of sign is the best investment for your business. Part of your decision will be dictated by local sign ordinances, your landlords requirements/preferences, and your location. It is a good idea to enlist the help of a local sign company with your decision making process.
Look for a sign company that is experienced with manufacturing and installing the types of signs you think you might be interested in first. Then ask them if they have knowledge or
expierence with the local sign code. An experienced sign company can speed up the process for you by eliminating sign types he/she knows will be rejected by your town, city or even landlord. If you don't know what type of sign you are looking for, a sign company like Express Sign & Graphics, Inc. is a great place to start and learn about different types of signs. We have a lot of photos and information on our website as well as a beautiful showroom full of samples. We are also experienced in dealing with sign permitting in many towns and cities throughout Massachusetts and Southern NH.
Here are some items to start thinking about when selecting a on premises sign or sign package:
Your Business Location
Are you on a busy road? If so, at what speed are cars driving at? The faster the speed, the larger the lettering that is needed to be readable. If you have a lot of foot traffic, for example in a mall or a downtown area, you may be able to get away with a smaller sign or different colors than someone on a road where cars travel 30 miles per hour. Color also has a direct impact on the readability of your sign. Be sure you have enough contrast between the background and the lettering or graphics.
What is available currently for lighting? For example are you in a well lit parking lot, on a main road where street lights shine on your property, or inside a well lit mall? Or, are you a sole business with little exterior lighting, or in a business condominium where there are not many lights? Take into consideration that you may need to provide external lighting for your signs, or purchase internally illuminated signs such as channel letters or a lightbox to make the sign visible at night.
Does my landlord or location allow for enough signage for my business? Many towns and local cities have Historical Districts where illuminated signs are not allowed and sign ordiances are very specific. Talk to your local Building Department to see what is allowed in the location you are considering. Also, in some cases landlords have specific requirements or only allow/provide an onsite directory for your sign. Check with them to be sure you understand what options are available to you.
Sign Location on the Premises
Where on your premises is the best location for your sign? Consider whether you want a street sign such as a monument style, post and panel sign, or pylon style lightbox. Is there room in the parking area or lawn for the sign? Do you have enough setback from the road for this type of sign?
If you are thinking of a sign on the building, understand the structure of your building and check if it will support the type of sign you are considering. Also take into consideration how you will bring electricity to your sign from the building if needed. Keep in mind that in Massachusetts as well as other states, electrical work must be completed by a Licensed Electrican and separate permits must be pulled for this part of your sign installation.
Sign Type Allowed/Permitting
Your next step, or your sign vendor's next step is to check with your local Building Department to find out what the time frame and process is for permitting for your sign. Many cities and towns are now doing permitting with online applications, others use both online and 
in person and some towns deal strictly in person. Check with them to see how long it takes to get a permit as you want to plan enough in advance to have your sign permitted, ordered and installed before you are scheduled to open. Again, an experienced sign company can help you with the process. Express Sign & Graphics offers partial or full permitting services for you and we are happy to answer your questions on permitting.
In our next blog, we'll take this discussion a bit further an discuss other considerations such as:
- Width and Height of Sign
- Your Logo/Colors Will They Work?
- How Much Information to Include on Your Sign
- And more...tune in!
In the mean time, check out this article in the SBA's archives for more information: http://archive.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/pub_mt12x.txt
Posted by Ann Durso on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 @ 01:12 PM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank You to all of our loyal customers who have been with us for almost 12 years and thanks to all of the new clients we met this year. 2011 was a great year for Express Sign & Graphics thanks to all of you. Also, special thanks to our trusty vendors who get us the products we need to make our customers signs fast and at great pricing.
We've had numerous projects this year both small and large and have enjoyed using our creativity and experience in making our customers wishes come true. We are truly looking foward to a more prosperous new year in 2012 for all of our friends, clients, and acquaintences.
We are also watching the political arena with hopes that a candidate will come through with some great ideas to move the economy forward and bring America and it's people back to economic greatness. Our prayers are going out to all of you who are still looking for work. Let's hope this is the year the Great Depression ends and the economy comes back full steam. Here's to 2012 having 5% Unemployement or less!
We have added two great employees this year, Andre and Daniel. Both have been extremely instrumental in our success at completing our projects on time. Special thanks to both of them for all of their hard work. I am hoping to have the opportunity to add additional staff in manufacturing and administration next year.
Again, enjoy your New Years! Thank you all so much for your trust and support. Nick and I are looking foward to working with all of you in 2012!
Posted by Ann Durso on Sun, Nov 20, 2011 @ 09:46 AM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
This weeks product of the week is Banners. Versatile, easy to hang, and simple to store and reuse, banners are a great investment for any type of business.
Banner Materials
At Express Sign & Graphics, we have a great offering of banners. We offer various weights of banner material for different purposes. Our most commonly used material is 14 oz. banner material which is suitable for all indoor use and for outdoor use when hemmed. We also carry 18 oz. heavy weight block out material for larger banners and two sided banners such as "over the street" banners.
We use primarily scrim banner which is a very durable product for full color banner printing and vinyl lettered banners. Scrim banner material is polyester scrim between two layers of vinyl. It can be opaque or not. Opaque or blockout material is best for two sided banners. Our banner materialis available in both matte and glossy finishes.
Banner Fabrication Methods
Banners can be vinyl lettered or digitally printed on our wide format printer. For really large banners, we offer superwide printing to allow for huge banners for indoor and outdoor use. For banners that are to be used over again, say for a play, town meeting or annual event, we can offer a vinyl lettering to allow for inexpensive date and time changes, or a combination of digital printing and vinyl lettering to make the banner reusable. In some cases, on a full color digital banner, we can provide smaller sections that can be velroed on with the date and time of an event.
Banner Finishing Options
As far as finishing on the banner goes, we offer grommets and wind slits at no additional charge and tape hems, sewn hems, roping, reinforced corners, webbing, pole pockets and "D" rings for a nominal charge.
Banner Styles
Boulevard Banners - Boulevard banner are an attractive way to advertise an event or showcase your logo. Many universities use them throughout their campus to create a uniform look and display their school throughout the campus. They are also great for seasonal displays at malls, town commons, as well as real estate advertising. We offer several types of bracket systems for pole mount and wall mount displays and can custom fabricate banner poles if needed for larger projects.
Over the Street Banners - For over the street type banners, we use our heavyweight 18 oz. opaque material. These are great for advertising town or citywide events such as Christmas Lightings, Town Meetings, Special Elections and other events. In general, we use vinyl lettering on your choice of colored backgrounds so that the banners are reusable. You can bring them to us every year and we can change the dates, times and or locations for your event. This represents a great savings to our customers.
Trade Show Banners - Express Sign & Graphics offers many options for trade show banners. There are literally hundreds of different types of banner stands, retractable stands and displays to choose from. In many cases, fire resistant material is required by trade show venues. We use products that meet the fire codes to help you comply. We can offer you full color digital printing with attractive results that will get you noticed at your next tradeshow. Our talented designers can also help you by using your logos, photos and information to design an attractive display such as the ones shown here.
Grand Opening and Coming Soon Banners - We offer great pricing on banners for grand openings, special sales, business closing and so much more. We can make you a great design that will attract attention to your business.
Real Estate Banners - Banners are great way to advertise commercial properties for lease. Cost effective and durable, we offer both full color and vinyl lettered banners that can be used over again to further save you money. From simple one color vinyl lettering to more attractive full color digital printing showing property logos or interior photos, we have what you need.
Other Banner Uses - We make banners for other uses such as displays in gymnastic facilities congratulating their winners, tennis teams and so much more. We have customers that return year after year to add to their banner displays. We keep their designs on file so that have a consistent design for their displays. We also make banners for parties, graduations, weddings and many other events. In many cases, we leave room for attendees to sign the banner, making it a great keepsake for the graduate or retiree.
Banners are a cost-effective way to get your message out. Whether is one or one hundred, we can offer you great pricing and products. At Express Sign and Graphics, we help our clients create innovative, eye-catching designs that sell. We also will happily install and remove your banner for you.
Take advantage today of our November/December banner specials. Order now and receive 10% off our list prices!
Call 1.877.SIGN123 or 978.250.9890
Posted by Ann Durso on Tue, Nov 15, 2011 @ 06:14 PM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
We are in the process of installing all new computers this week. Our old systems (5 years ...old?) were getting a bit slow so we are upgrading to the latest and greatest. Hopefully all goes smooth with the transition from XP to Windows 7 with all of our software. Jen from Team Logic IT is helping us with the setup. 10 years of graphics files are being transferred which might take a couple of days. Hopefully our customers understand any delays in getting e-mail responses and quotes from us for the next couple of days!
We will be happy to respond to any phone calls for quotes right away. You can reach us at 978-250-9890 or toll free 1.877.SIGN123.
Posted by Ann Durso on Sun, Nov 13, 2011 @ 09:31 AM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
Our product of the week this week is Safety Signs. At Express Sign & Graphics, we work with many of our clients to provide both standard and custom safety and warning signs. We take into consideration the location of the sign (interior/exterior) the visibility distances required, whether or not they need to be night visible (reflective signs), or even glow in the dark.
A DAM GOOD SIGN
A good example of a custom safety sign is a recent sign project we completed for our longtime client Boott Hydropower in Lowell, MA. They required a durable sign that would be placed at one of their dams along the Merrimack River. This is a very busy location with lots of foot traffice, therefore the sign needed to be very visible and in three languages to ensure the safety of passersby. It is also inside the dam so would be taking quite a bit of abuse from water flowing in the dam area. We created a durable 4' x 8' sign for them in reflective white and red vinyl in English, Spanish and Cambodian on Diabond which is a very durable sign substrate. This sign replaces the sign that we did for them almost 7 years ago which lasted quite well considering the location.
PORTABLE HAZARD SIGNS
Another example of a client in need of a custom sign is Diagnostic Laboratories of Burlington, MA. Diagnostic needed hangtags for their carriers to identify the contents as a Biohazard. We created a custom graphic for them and had it screenprinted on a plastic tag with a leather strap to be attached to their containers. These worked very well for the client and we've been providing them for the customer for years.
KEEPING IT SAFE AT LANTHEUS
At Lantheus in Billerica, MA we created a new set of Speed Limit and directional signs for their facility. Housed in seven buildings, the Lantheus campus is a series of parking areas and roads that travel between the buildings. In addition to cars and delivery trucks there is a lot of pedestrian traffice between the buildings. For Lantheus we use .080 aluminum signs with clearly readable messages directing traffic, indicating stop areas and identifying parking areas. The result is not only attractive, but creates a safe walking and driving environment for their employees.
We work with many of our clients to create custom signs for their warehouses, parking lots, and facilities. Commonly purchased signs include;
- Visitor Parking
- Directional signs
- Evacuation Meeting Area Signs
- Warehouse marking signs
- Danger signs
- Construction safety signs
- Traffic signs
- Pedestrian traffic signs
- and so much more.
We can design custom signs for your specific need, or meet MUTCD and OSHA requirements for traffic, danger and informational of all types. We can make your signs on many different materials including:
- Adhesive Labels
- Lightweight Plastic
- .040, .063 or .080 Aluminum
- Corrugated Plastic
- Carved or Sandblasted
- PVC and more!
For more information on these types of signs, visit our Safety and Regulatory Sign webpage, call us at 978-250-9890 or 1.877.SIGN123, or e-mail us at info@signs.123.net. We will be happy to provide you with a quote, or bid on any construction projects for you.
Posted by Ann Durso on Sun, Nov 06, 2011 @ 08:39 AM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
Like it or not, the holiday season has begun. With the frost barely on the pumpkin (unless you live in New England whose already had it's first snow storm), the holiday buying season is in full force. Retailers are stocked with Holiday decorations, gift items, and more. With the current state of economy, it is important for retailers and others to grab the most they can out the largest buying season of the year. Express Sign & Graphics offers all types of sign products to help you get your message out.
Keep in mind that holiday shoppers are looking for "value" when they purchase. With the economy as it is, larger retailers are already offering lower prices and special offers as a way to grab shopper. Small retailers, restaurants, services such as salons, spas, and even dog groomers can take advantage of creating "value" for their clients too. Special offers, BOGO's, added services such as gift wrapping and delivery are valuable ways to help your customers feel they are getting a great "value" by shopping with you.
Signs are critical in letting your customers know what you have to offer. Express Sign & Graphics creative team can help you get the message out to your customers with attractive signs that sell. Banners are a great way to advertise your message. Both inside and outside your location, banners offer an inexpensive means of advertising. We offer full color digital printing to make your banners more exciting and grab attention. Point-of-Purchase signs which can include A-Frames, Corrugated Signs, Sign Stands, Easel Back Signs, Posters and Shelf Danglers are a great way to increase impulse buys, direct customers to products through out your store and announce special deals. Even Vehicle graphics can advertise a special offer, inform customers of your store location(s), or increase interest in your product.
It is important that your message stands out and doesn't get lost in the noise of holiday decorations, music and crowds. Think bold colors, simple text and graphics that are easy to read. Utilizing QR Codes, those funny little squares on your signs can direct mobile customers to your website, a product video and more. These can easily be created on free QR 
Generator websites such as: http://www.qrstuff.com/. You can include these on your signs, vehicle lettering, t-shirts, giveaways and more. These codes can link to a specific product landing page on your site, your Facebook, page, or even a telephone number.
Check out our pre-design Holiday Poster selection for quick and easy signs that can be ready for you in 24 hours.
Don't wait for the holiday season to be in full force. Call us today and be on your way to increased sales for your business. You can reach us at 1.877.SIGN123 or 978.250.9890. Stop by our store Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm at 9B Kidder Road, Chelmsford, MA, or e-mail us at info@signs123.net. We look foward to working with you.
Read More about Holiday Retail Sales Expectations:
http://blog.nrf.com/2011/11/01/top-ten-holiday-trends-for-2011/
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1206
Posted by Ann Durso on Thu, Nov 03, 2011 @ 07:50 PM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
Beginning this week, we will be posting blog articles about the many different sign materials we use. There are so many substrate options for interior signs, exterior signs and even banners. In an effort to help our customers with determining the right material for their sign project, we'll explore a new product each week.
PVC Signs
This week we'll begin by talking about PVC or, Polyvinyl chloride. Wikipedia has a detailed description of PVChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride, specifically they mention that it is "cheap, durable, and easily worked". Unlike the PVC used in pipes and even clothing, sheet PVC which is what we used is a very durable formed flat sheet. PVC boards are available in a variety of thicknesses including 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1". Most commonly PVC is available in 4' x 8' sheets, but some thicknesses can also be available in 4' x 10' for larger projects.
Sintra http://sintrapvc.com/ is one of the most commonly used brands of PVC for signage. Komacel http://www.kommerlingusa.com/ is another popular brand.
PVC signs can be cut using a saw or router. It can be cut into sign sh
apes, sign letters, or logos and it can even be carved like wood or High Density Urethane (HDU). Unlike wood or HDU, it is a bit more difficult to get perfectly sanded edges on carved signs or the edges of dimensional letters due to the porous nature of the material. It does however make a very durable carved sign as it will never delaminate, rot or split like wood. Being porous does provide a benefit in that you can provide a thicker material without the additional weight and cost of thicker wood or HDU. For an additional charge, edges of the sign can be sealed with an epoxy to create a smoother edge.
Vinyl is another form of PVC that is a plasticized PVC that is very thin and can be cut using a plotter...but that's for another week!
Back to PVC Signs....
PVC offer
s an exceptionally smooth surface which is ideal for applying digital graphics. This is why we use it for many of our Site or Project signs. It allows us to create up to a 4' x 8' sign with full color graphics that is durable and fast to manufacture. It requires no painting unlike MDO or wood and makes turning around a quick job easy for us.
PVC is also great for painted and shaped signs as well. Once painted, you can not tell this difference between PVC and wood. It does however offer a longer lasting product as it cannot rot or split. In some cases, in the hot sun, a long thin PVC sign between posts or on a wall could present a problem with warping if it is not carefully mounted to prevent this. It is also highly recommended that both the front and back of a painted PVC sign be painted as the drying paint on one side only could lead to warping issues.
For mounting our PVC signs, we use many of the same methods as we do for a wood sign. Angle or flat stock brackets are a nice way to hang a wall sign without seeing screws in the face of the sign. For ground signs, matching PVC posts and caps are a great way to finish off your sign. Digital graphics printed on vinyl and applied to PVC, or Direct to Substrate printed are great for menu boards as shown in this photo.
For additional photos and information about PVC, visit our webpage --Post and Panel Signs in PVC, MDO, Alumilite and Me. For a fast quote for your sign project, call us at 1.877.SIGN123, or 978.250.9890 or e-mail your sign project details to ann@signs123.net. We look forward to meeting you. Stop by our shop to see more samples!
Express Sign & Graphics
9B Kidder Road
Chelmsford, MA 01824.
Posted by Ann Durso on Sat, Oct 15, 2011 @ 11:27 AM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
Many of our customers only buy permanent interior and exterior signs occassionally. New signs are generally purchased at the startup of a new business, a new location, or when moving. It can be a complex decision process when you are unfamiliar with the many options available for signage. With new products coming on the market every year, what was a great sign product 10 years ago may be replaced with something new, innovative and more durable.
Determining what product to use is just as important as deciding other factors of your sign such as colors, shape and size. Pricing varies considerably from one type of sign to another. For example, on a recent sales call to a customer who was remodeling, we quoted 1" thick solid metal sign letters (which are very expensive) per the client's request. We had questioned where she needed to be from a budget perspective, but were told that they weren't as concerned about price as they were about matching their existing signage.
When the quote was presented, the customer voiced concern about the cost of the sign fitting in her budget. We did explain to her in advance that 1" solid metal custom cut letters was one of the most expensive options for fabricating her sign. Of course, being budget consious, the customer then decided to get comparative quotes and was presented with a quote from another sign company with much lower pricing. Upon investigation by our sales rep, the lower pricing was due to totally different sign material. The competitor quoted her sign using 3/4" acrylic letters with aluminum laminate. Upon realizing this, we requoted the same product to the client.
This brings about the point that when purchasing a new sign, it is very important to compare apples to apples as they say. Different sign companies specialize in or are comfortable with different sign types and tend to offer the customer the products that they have the greatest profitability on or that they are comfortable with producing. It becomes a bit of a game of cat and mouse for us sign companies to produce a quote that meets the customers needs when they really don't know what they want or what their spending limitations are.
In order to be able to purchase a new sign with confidence, it would be wise for customers to do some research on the different products available for the situation and determine their budget and preferred sign type. Many of our customers are reluctant to give us a budget number for their sign purchase as they are afraid we will use that to get the most money out of the project as possible. This is actually the opposite of why we are asking. With so many different material options for signs these days, we could quote your project 20 different ways with pricing varying greatly. This in turn creates a difficult situation for the client as they end up with different sign companies quoting different products, install methods, etc. and cannot really compare quotes.
At Express Sign & Graphics, we do our best to educate our customers on the options available for their sign. We have samples in our showroom that help them see what they are buying. In addition, we try to have a great selection of photos on our website to help them see installed versions of the many different types of signs. We can also direct you to physical locations of our signs so that you can see them installed in the field. Furthermore, you can browse our website where we provide a web page for almost every different type of sign product, describing it's uses, materials and longevity.
If you are ready to purchase a new sign, but are not sure what type of sign will suit your needs or your budget, we are ready to help you make that decision. Our knowledgable sales staff will provide you with samples of different materials and offer you cost-effective products and solutions that you can buy with confidence. Simply stop in our store at 9B Kidder Road in Chelmsford, MA. We are here Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. There is always a knowledgeable staff member ready to help.
Posted by Ann Durso on Wed, Oct 05, 2011 @ 10:21 AM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
I'll be you didn't know that Express Sign & Graphics is also sells flags and flag poles! And what's even better, all of our flags and flag related products and manufactured right here in the good ol' USA. Our manufacturer has been making flags right here in the USA since 1898 so they know their stuff.
We offer a wide selection of US, State, Country and Corporate Logo flags as well as custom flags, flag poles, Action or Attention flags, flag poles and flag brackets. We can custom make flags for interior or exterior use.
We normally stock 3' x 5', 4' x 6', and 5' x 8' US Flags, 3' x 5' OPEN flags, 3' x 5' and 4' x 6' State of Massachusetts flags at our store. Other sizes can be ready for pickup or drop shipped to you in about 3-5 working days. We offer "Sol-Tex" Nylon flags, "Poly-Guard" Polyester II flags, Cotton Flags, and flags that conform to US governement specifications (Type 1 Class A, CCC-C-476).
We also carry Histical US Applique Star Flags, Pleated Fans, Nylon Pull-Downs, Miniture Flags and City Flags (including Boston, MA). Our State flags have applique and sewn components. They are available in nylon and heavy-duty polyester II. We carry flags of the world for both UN and non-UN member countries.
Our selection of Military and POW flags is also great as is our selection of Nylon Message flags which include; Model, Now Leasing, Open House, Open, Sale, Welcome, We Finance and much more!
Our wide selection of Attention Flags and penants are available in several sizes and styles. We can produce custom colors in solids, stripes, wave patterns and more.
Looking for an Eco Friendly flag product? We now carry Eco-Glory flags which are American Flags made from recycled plastic bottles. 100% Post Consumer Recycled material from consumer PET bottles. All 100% American Made!
For more information about our flag productions, check out our web page: http://www.signs123.net/flags/, call us at 1.877.SIGN123, or 978-250-9890 or e-mail us at info@signs123.net.
Call between now and October 31st for 10% off your next flag order (including custom flags)!
Not only do we make sign buying as Easy as 1-2-3! We make flag buying simple too!
Posted by Ann Durso on Thu, Jun 16, 2011 @ 09:04 AM
Express Sign & Graphics is a full service sign company with over 20 years of experience designing, fabricating and installing all types of signs and vehicle lettering.
Everybody loves a winner, but Boston Bruins Fans are smiling this morning! After 39+ long years of waiting, our Bruins finally won the Stanley Cup. Not to age myself, but the last time we one, Nick and I were 9 years old. Boy does time fly.
My family (4 brothers) are not big hockey fans, but they were convinced this was something to see so they watched with us. Hockey is an exiting sport although at times a tad violent for the little ones, but the men in my house enjoy the hard hits as much as the great plays.
I know Nick and Andre are smiling today and hopefully both will show up for work tomorrow and not skip out to the parade. Who could blame them if they did.
Congratulations Boston Bruins! Boston is one of the best sports cities in the world and at times like these, it's great to be part of the fan base.
Next up - Red Sox......