ShieldCo Art

Custom Metal Signs & Business Logos

Custom Signs

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A unique, attractive, and creative sign is surely the first impression of your business on the targeted customers. Well–designed custom business signs showcases an impressive style, professionalism, and overall presence of your business. Basically, it will convey to people who you are, what you do, and where you are located. In simpler words, it reflects your business image to others.

Well, there are a number of trends in signage, that are ruling the market, but one of the most popular ones is lighted and non lighted signs. Both of these are considered as popular choices for those looking for something creative and distinct for their business.

Nowadays, customers are highly attuned to marketing messages, and can quickly pick up on visual cues such as exterior signage. You can make your business or enterprise easier to find with an outdoor light box sign. Hence, these are the perfect branding and advertising solutions. Agreed?  

But before we go on to use these, let’s have a look at the difference between the uses of lighted and non lighted signs-

Lighted Signs

Catches Customers’ Attention

It is a fact that eyes get attracted towards light and vibrant things, which is why lighted signs are able to grab more attention than the non-lighted ones. Simple! If you have signage with the right graphic element and light, it will look spectacular even in the daytime when lights are on. So, it is always a good idea to go for lighted outdoor signage as it looks amazing throughout the day, be it bright or dark outside.

Better Visibility!

Bright lighted signage placed at a good spot can help your customers find you even from a distance. This works really great when you have first-time clients visiting your business, and you don’t want them to have a hard time in finding your place. Visible signage equals more customers.

Non Lighted Signs

Now let’s have a look how non lighted signs are also a good idea. Here are some reasons:

Costs Less

If you are looking for attractive outdoor signage that can be installed at a really low price, non lighted ones are a great choice to go for. Because of the material and technology required for these, installing them is an affordable option in comparison to the others. 

Requires Less of Professional Maintenance

Over time, any sign will start to wear out; however, non-lighted signboards last for longer time period than the lighted ones. Moreover, these don’t even require professional maintenance to last for a longer time span – pretty easy to maintain.   

Good for Indoors as Well

If you think only lighted signage is a good idea, you need to give it a thought again. Non lighted signage works brilliantly for indoor and can be used for various purposes. It can be used as safety signs, like fire exists, directional signs, office signs etc. Also, it can bear the logo of your company, be a promo announcer, and some of it can be exclusively designed to add extra features.

In short, both lighted and non lighted custom business signage are an interesting and the simplest way to advertise or promote a business. But, you need to understand that both of them have distinct features and roles to play. So, you must know what you are looking for in order to buy the best product. 

Interested in custom business signs and want to read more? Here are some other posts about metal business signage:

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If you are expecting the article to begin with a clear, curt answer to the question, it is NO! Any sort of custom business sign must not cost you a leg and an arm unless you are falling for some unrealistic promises. Well, there is a lot that your signage can do for you, but it doesn’t mean that you must spend on it recklessly. In fact, investing on implementing marketing strategies does require some considerable capital that must be kept aside for it (including business signs), and these do pay back in full measure, but only in due time. However, this certainly does not require you spending off limits, because you must do everything remaining in the viable limits of your budget.

How Much does Signage Cost Anyway?

There are a lot of different types to signage, and it totally depends on what kind you with to choose – the permanent exterior signage, the temporaryoutdoor/indoor banners, the small sized portable one. You can start from as low as $20 and go as high as $5000 or even more. So, here is a basic round up of how it goes.

Durable Signs

Roof-top business boards, store fronts, and other kinds of durable/permanent ones usually start ranging between $300 and $600 depending on the size, placement, lighting, colors, and craftsmanship involved. That is pretty basic. If you are looking for attractive, quality outdoor signage, odds are that you will have to shell out a few 100 more for a minimum basic board. You can get decent work done starting from $1000, and yes, there may be no upper limit for it, but you need to see your budget and the marketing requirements of your business. And, the choices here are many; you could go for aluminum signage, alumalite, MDO, acrylic, and so much more. And, it is primarily the material, the cost will vary with.

Temporary Signs

For promotion at events, what one may prefer is something that is low on cost, less bulky, but still attractive. Businesses do not prefer using metal signage for this purpose. Plastic banners, flex, magnetic vehicle signs, window splashes, and the like, are much less durable (usually custom made for just one-time use). These are pretty economical, and can start from even $20. Even the most elaborate and big ones are not likely to cost you anything above $400-$500.

So, Is it Just the Sign Board You are Paying for?

Nay! Nope! Niet!

When we talk of signage, no matter if outdoor or office signs, we do count in a lot many factors.

  • The raw material that goes in is of course, accounted for.
  • The labor that goes into the making of any sort of signage will be included.
  • The quote that any signage company gives you will also usually install it.
  • The charge will also include the company taking care of the regulations as laid by the law for the display of sign boards.

To be honest, it is quite a deal, but you must look for a custom business signage company that does cater to all that, and is reliable. That way, it really won’t drill a hole in your pocket. 

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Increasing the visibility and conveying the message in order to attract clients is the motive of all businesses. In the past, flyers, posters, and newspaper ads used to be the common ways to convey the business message. But with changing times, advertising methods also changed significantly, and the most popular trends that followed included the use of outdoor signage.

Walking down the street you will see a majority of the shops with different signage like 3D lettering, LED lighting, and illumination. Among all, 3D signage has significantly grown popular due to a number of reasons.

If you too want to change the traditional signage of your business, you must opt for 3D display sign. Here are the reasons that elucidate its benefits –

Visible Round-the-Clock

Unlike traditional signage that starts to fade in the dark, the 3D display signs are completely the opposite of it. These signs are visible round-the-clock, thus allowing businesses to attract the visitors’ attention even at night. Thus the use of this signage is beneficial for all businesses and especially for the ones who open late or want to advertise their brand when the city nightlife starts.

Better Way of Conveying Business Message

Conveying business message among the targeted audience and attracting them towards the business is not a child’s play. But 3D signage helps make this possible. It not only serves the purpose of advertisement, but also allows businesses to convey their message to the targeted audience in an attractive way. These signs can be used for both indoors and outdoors thus creating a good impact of business on the customers.

Visible in any Weather Condition

Come hail come sunshine, 3D signage is visible in all weather conditions. This helps reduce the cost of maintenance which is likely the problem with other signage as they can’t bear the harsh weather conditions.  

Help Improve Credibility

Yes, credibility! With the use of 3D signs, businesses can show how serious they are about their marketing. Consequently, it leaves a good impact on the customers and improves business credibility.

Help Gain an Edge over the Competitors

Numerous businesses try to attract the customers’ attention with the best possible methods like an appealing arena, beautiful interiors, and eye-catching exteriors. Not to forget the custom business signage that adds a feather to the cap. The 3D display signs allow businesses to reach their targeted customers in a unique way. At large, it helps them gain an edge over the competitors.

So, whatever you are looking for from the signage, it’s worth considering the 3D display signs. While these are usually considered for exterior signage but you can also use it for your interiors to create a good impact on your customers.

Though there are different types of signage that can be used in different situations, yet going with 3D display signs will help your business stand out among the crowd.

Interested in custom business signs and want to read more? You can read some other posts about metal business signage.

Interested in custom business signs and want to read more? Here are some other posts about metal business signage:

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Well, custom signs is one sure thing that we are bound to see as soon as we step out of our houses. And, we cannot deny the fact that we do see it everywhere, whether it is billboards or office signs, or even the street signs. However, we may not think much about it till we become the first hand consumers of signage. So, when that juncture comes, along come some doubts and questions, one of which is whether you should go for signage that’s made with plasma cutting or laser cutting. Yes, different companies follow different processes.  

For ShieldCo, we always use lasers for the highest end final products of our custom metal signage.

The fact is that none but the experts can guide you on this. But, what is still necessary is a basic understanding of the difference between the two, and the pros and cons thereof. So, here it is, some basic information about both the methods.

Laser Cutting

When it comes to variety in material, laser cutting has a broad range to cover – glass, metal, non-metal, and even ceramics. As the namesuggests, it is done with the help of laser (carbon dioxide in either in gaseous or solid state.) And that is because of its high level of brightness and strength while cutting. The result – high precision, high speed and no subsequent reprocessing, more often than not.

When we talk of sheet cutting, especially for outdoor signage for billboards or ads, this method proves to be advantageous in more ways than one.

  • The cutting surface, because of the small laser cutting slot, can be used for welding directly, without polishing.
  • The speed is incredible, and way faster than plasma machine.
  • If the machine is high-end, the deformation will be very little, and it produces almost negligible surface roughness. This is why it’s a good choice for custom business signage.
  • The precision level is very high.
  • Apart from metal, it also shows good results on plastic, wood, rubber, organic glass, leather, PVC, ceramic, textile, and much more.
  • The only thing that one may be worried about is the high cost. But given the precision, it is a price you will be willing to pay for your business.

Plasma Cutting

This method uses a pressurized stream of gas which is blown at a high speed. It is a lot cheaper than laser and is very much preferred for thick sheet cutting as it has the ability to attain very high speeds of cutting thick plates.

But here is why not many may prefer it, especially for metal signage.

  • The surface that has been cut with a plasma machine is due to exhibit a striated structure.
  • Partial burring can occur, but that happens in the case of laser cutting as well.
  • There is a considerable amount of gas emission.
  • You can expect some tempering, deformation as well and changes in the structure of the material.
  • Also, the gas pressure can be problematic with thin sheets because of the inability to maintain a distance. So, one may not get as good results in aluminum signage or other thin materials as one may have expected.

 So, at large, the choice depends on what type of material you are willing to use for your kind of signage. So, if you have been wondering what kind of process works better for you, you can take a cue here.