Erik Sine

First, I've removed all political comments from this thread. If you want to post political topics and comments do that here http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/forums/forum/41-bar-stool-madness/ My intention of this topic is to find out all the "going's on's" of our industry and how all you are doing and hopefully hanging in there and staying healthy. Secondarily , how all this shut down will affect us and our industry. Looks like most of everything is closed down until end of April. My kids are out of school like most and won't return physically until their next school year and class schedule done on Zoom Kgirl's been mostly busy at her other job working in the Hospital ER so she's on the frontlines so to speak. My feeling is we've already been hit with a mild case (she brought home with her) of the COVID, and the small flu we had came and passed, her symptoms were more close to the Corona than mine, loss off smell, taste, etc. Most of what she's run into and positive cases are just flu symptoms, quarantine and let it ride out. Very few death cases and when they are they were, they were elderly and individuals susceptible due to their current health, like most flu sickness can result in. I'm at a standstill with work here locally and any work is only coming from here. Right now.... I'm bored. Just been working out, running, biking, lifting weight, and making beer! Thought I'd share a small batch that I did of a Pale Ale And lot's of late Nights under the stars smoking Cigars Drinking my Beer and all while listening to Talk Radio Well the positive to all this I will most likely accomplish and finish all those things I said I would "Get too" Stay healthy out there!!

If I'm reading you right, for the Black faces on a white background I would go with white returns. Make it two-tone

I have to laugh at UL Right now. I just received that long boring..."our company is doing this to ensure yadda yadda..." on the Virus. With links to click on to ensure you're using "UL approved Medical supplies" Can they not be anymore retarded than they already are during these times, people are having to 3D print their face masks right now

I just got a "unsubscribe" from our newsletters and reason stated "Going out of Business". This comes from a pretty large longtime Sign Company here in California

Specialty Vinyl?

Nice!

As most know by know the Weekly Sign Syndicate Newsletters went out yesterday and already I'm getting a lot of "Automatic Reply" from members who's shops have been on "Mandatory Shut Down" and that they will be replying back from home or remote location. My Grand State of Whacko California went on official "Lock Down" yesterday, still unclear on that meaning

We have always been proud supporters of our Electric Sign Trade and have always been proactive in doing what it takes to help preserve our Trade and it's most valued tradition....that being Neon. Despite the misinformation that has been put out about Neon for decades now, Neon is very much a light/energy efficient light source and the most durable light source we have in our trade over time and we have plenty of case history to support this. WATCH OUT As most of you may or may not know, there has been a huge shortage of the availability of Glass Neon Housings for Neon....and what has been available has been a lot of Chinese Fake UL Marked (Embossed on the glass) Neon Housings in the market for some time. They Claim a UL mark, BUT...they aren't a U.L. Recongnized accessory or sign component .i.e. SSI / "Neo" Glass Housings have no valid listing with fake embossed UL Emblem The biggest complaint for some time has been the threads are terrible and it made tightening at times near to impossible. The other bad aspect was that the glass walls were too thin, and with just a little bit of heat they were cracking or a incidental drop bump might cause them to crack and break prematurely, some simply cracked on tightening mechanically to a sign body . Also, it's bad news if you're a Wholesale Shop or Custom Sign Shop integrating these knock-offs into your signs. It's passing along a fake listed product and should something happen like a "fire" I can't imagine Insurance Companies will be too happy about the use of a "knock-off" I've done my best in the past to look for and supply vintage housings that were listed for the Neon Arts and help with keeping that art going with Porcelain or older glass housings which we still do have plenty of (#100's & #300's). But now we have those hard to get components to keep those awesome Neon Open Faced Channel Letters and Wall Signs going without running into shortages of components or options. NOW IN STOCK - Westrim U.L. Recognized Sign Accessories #100, #200, #200P, #300 Neon Glass Housings You can Purchase these from our store or contact us to place an order or inquiry (858) 880-1400 | orders@thesignsyndicate.com NOW IN STOCK - Westrim U.L. Listed #100, #200, #200P, #300 Neon Glass Housings You can Purchase these from our store or contact us to place an order or inquiry (858) 880-1400 | orders@thesignsyndicate.com

So.... I've discussed this, but haven't really illustrated or given a visual of the BrightON II LED Modules like I have with the BrightON SunFire Here I'm big on visuals, because talking about it is one thing, SEEING it is something else entirely. Well, what are we looking at below? CHANNEL COMPARISON It's our Highly Light Efficient .8w BrightON II LED Module (175 Deg) vs NC's .9w LED(140 Deg) HLC LED Module Series with Samsung chips. You see these Module casings used by many GOQ, to just about any Korean or Chinese Based Module. There are a couple of factors that can make a LED module Light Efficient, optics and of course the chip. Our BrightON series has both, bigger part rests on the chip. I know this because early on development I tried to integrate the Samsung chip to our module casings, and well...with the amount of light we got from power driven....it got it's ass kicked by the one we chose. You can't just throw in any or some decent chip in a cool looking module with cool optics and expect it to go perform well.....that's like throwing in a Yugo motor in a Ferrari body and having great expectations Here is a what's in a 4" x 2' Channel with standard 5" depth NC has 6 LED modules. 6 x .9w = 5.52 watts and achieving 203 Foot candles of light on a #7328 sign surface, and doing it at 35 Foot candles per watt Our High-End BrightON II has only 4 modules. 4 x .8w = 3.36 watts and achieving 214 Foot candles of light on a #7328 sign surface, and doing it at 63.09 Foot candles per watt. We always hear marketing words of "Energy Efficient". What is Energy Efficient? It's comparing two equal sources and when one is doing it for equal or greater with a lesser cost of operation...that is "efficient" We're comparing one compartment with six .9w modules against another with only 4 modules that are only .8w each. You would think the bigger wattage LED should win right? Well....... Don't get me wrong about NC. In the LED Module world, NC LED Kicks the crap out of a lot LED Manufacturers, ALOT. I've shown and illustrated that many times here on the Sign Syndicate. But....Every Dog has his day... Wait, let me walk some of this back. Not all NC LED modules are the same as I've explained in the past, only our special configured Reckless was the one that really kicked ass. LIGHT SPLASH RADIANCE Both Modules are 3" from the wall surface. Check out that angle and splash radiance of both. You can't even identify the horizontal measuring tape with the high powered NC LED Module, look at the small light output range radiating from the NC LED Now the BrightON II...... That's SICK!!! Look at how much light is splashed on the surface each one of the modules is mounted to! In the end,....More light with lesser modules. Efficient Light, Efficient Cost, and it's doing it at a much lesser cost of operation. It bares repeating again, a huge important aspect about the BrightON II...it's VERY under driven, it has half the amperage running across the modules and wiring than a 12V LED Module along with less resistance and heat of a 12V module. That all adds up to longer life. I don't know what to say, we're quite proud of our BrightON LED Line, and it's only going to get better. Want more info on our BrightON II LED Module, read HERE Before I forget, with ever order of LEDs we'll also ship you a couple rolls of...

Guess I should have asked earlier. Besides existing work, anyone seeing a slow down of upcoming or pending jobs? I have to figure there is, but you never know

I've been meaning to respond to this thread but it's been raining for almost 2 weeks straight along with this "Pandemic". Kids are home. No Traffic in SoCal, if you can believe that. Kgirl works in the ER, they have tents outside for patients but so far, they haven't had to use them. Lots of Corona positive tests, it just appears to be a flu and they go home. We're supposed to evaluate in the next few weeks. Like all other areas everything here is shut down, Bars, Restaurants, etc. I'm not that active in Sign Production and Installation any longer, but it's slow AF. Most other shops I know are stressing, some had sign work for large events that are now cancelled. I'm sure a lot of projects for retail, food & Bev are on hold because of the shut down. Business's are defintelty being hurt with this shut down. How are you shops with employees doing with this?

HA, that's the one I use to use and couldn't remember. Thanks everyone for your replies!

KeK Should there be a Hurricane that week I already have a special name for it....TBA!

Holy Hell, the humidity in August! Well I guess something is better than nothing, and too into fall would be too close to next year's Vegas. Hopefully 5 months is enough time to get the media scare/travel restrictions of Corona out of the way and it's more manageable. Unfortunately for me I'll be on vacation that week.

Damn, you usually have one of the bigger floor spaces too. What a dilemma and unexpected wrench thrown in all this has been for everyone, who would ever have seen something like this coming? That's going to be some interesting talks between the ISA and the OC Convention. I'm sure there is some sort of clause in there that begins with...."beyond our control" and a headache with lawyers all in it's own. This is supposed to be the last year in Orlando, so that might be a factor of how aggressive to play. The uncertainty in the air sucks. I hope your losses are at the utmost minimal James. Put the logical choice on what to do on "heads". Let me know how it all shakes down. All the best to you and everyone else stuck in all this.

So, a little bird told me that it's rumored ISA is going to hold a vote on whether to continue with the show or not. Guess travel plans are being canceled and turn out is expected to be low. What a shame. But apparently a lot of other large events are being canceled. I have a friend in the Event/Planning Industry and their having to cancel a lot of large events all over the US. Well if ISA gets canceled I'll feel a little better about most likely not being able to make it out this year. For sure next year though! Who doesn't want to go to Vegas? Hopefully they plan it around the NFL Draft again, that made the trip more fun

Alright, so I've been thinking about this very topic the last few days as I've been simultaneously conversing with a component manufacturer from overseas that wants to come to the US market but, those damn UL SAM Fees, file fee's..inspections, more packaging costs...niche listing fees. Why pay more fee's when they're already paying CE for Europe??? I just got off the phone with MET Labs, a VERY good conversation. It's been a number of years since I've talked with them and I haven't had much conversation since their head guy left to go work with ETL. So, with all this mowing over in my head, there is a HUGE advantage going with MET labs over UL that I doubt ANY shop owner has even thought about beyond saving in annual fees. Not only will you as a MET Shop be saving money in annual fee's..BUT guess what.. You'll be saving huge against your competition in component costs. I'll give you an example, Trim Cap, switches, wiring, etc. I've been in discussions with a few MFG in the last couple of months. The biggest road block for them to stay competitive is the UL Fee for SAM. As for the last couple of years being involved with sign supply sales, I know what the difference in cost some of these components have had to tack on to you the consumers just to maintain in the US Market. Cut out UL SAM fee's and consumers (Sign Shops)will be saving very pretty damn good over SAM listed product, especially on large volume stuff you have to use with almost each job Well, I'm going to bring over products that will save MET Labs subscribers HUGE in component costs. Products that are equal and even better than what we use here currently. If you're a UL48 shops, guess what, you're going to have to stay paying the high price of components because the MFG of that component has to pay that UL SAM listing. MET shops as per my phone call verification, something I knew years ago but had to job my old mind......can use ANY listed product other than UL. The Sign Syndicate will cater to both listing shops in component sales. But if you're a MET shop, you're NOT only going to be saving more money annually in fees than your competition, BUT you'll be saving in component costs too. This is BIG! Believe it or not, not only does UL monopolize with the SAM, but some component MFG's also "Weaponize" the UL SAM to monopolize their products. I remember a big ordeal with GTO years back, and did it ever wind up a huge shit show that cost all GTO MFG's big in not only retooling, but more testing, more fee's...etc...all so a particular MFG could sell his products to sign shops. So, if you used GTO and wonder why it skyrocketed, this was why Stay Tune!

As I read your comment I was thinking to myself "20 years" is a long time. Then I did my own personal math of 2020 - 1993 = I just sunk into my seat, I'll leave it at that. But yes, most books in our industry are horrible. Most Magazines or Sign Associations hijacked or bought out most of those writers. Have some horrible strong arm stories, but that's for another time

Thanks for chiming in Rocco. In a pinch I ended up going with Vector Design https://www.vectordesign.us/ $8.00 for the work. Can't beat that!

We have had a many books in our Industry over the years. Some good Engineering to Gallery Books. What we have been lacking are some good "Technical" Sign Design Books Sign Design Books.com is by far one of the most unique books in our Industry. They have been more in the underground but I've known about them for sometime. No book by any means is perfect, BUT...as a Business Owners stand point, this book series I would make every employee read. From the installer, fabricator and sales force. Once someone is hired, these books are handed to them. It's a very well rounded book series that is updated regularity.... I would go so far as to say it's manual of "why" for our industry. I would like SDB to write test material to go along with this series for mere employment reasons. The other Books which I don't have hard copies of are How to Draw Attachment Details and their NEWEST How to Write Sign Specifications No matter what your position is in our Grand Trade / Industry, the more well rounded and knowledgeable you are, the more valuable you are. The same goes for our employees. We have a lot of installers, fabricators, and sales that DON'T understand what the other departments are doing and "WHY". WHY Sign Design is SO much different than Graphic Design. This series will break away the bad habits of the Graphic Designer and bring them closer to Sign Design. These Books build strong bridges between departments,. For your beginner Sign Designer staff, this book is an even BIGGER plus for them to start reading before company training even starts, they'll have a big head start that may make training even that much easier Go Visit them http://signbusinessbooks.com/ Tell'em "Large Marge Sent Ya"

I'd highly recommend Matt over at Excellart, they're good people https://www.excellart.com/ #2 https://www.signcomp.com/

Anyone know the name of the business that used to be advertised on the web or Brochure mags that would convert raster images to vector? Something like "Vector Done Cheap"? They were like $45 or something. Having a hard time trying to remember

Anyone know anyone flying out from one of the restricted travel areas and if it will make it hard for them to come to the this years ISA Expo which is about a month away? I might possibly come down this year last minute but also wondering if the restrictions are going to significantly shrink the show. From the sounds of it, it appears so. I've been talking to quite a few people in China the last couple of months. The Chinese New Year pretty much shut the country down resulting in late 3 to 4 week responses with government forced Holidays. Then the virus hit and all those videos I'm sure most have seen surfaced of police vans stopping at residential homes and forcing citizens into vans for quarantines. In back and forth correspondence with factory reps I was notified that the government sent them notices of forced factory shut downs, so communications and responses again have been delayed. Now those travel restriction areas have widened. Maybe I'll just sit this one out this year and plan a "Staycation"

Oh yeah, forgot...there is her too Seriously though... ....Let's stop mentioning her, otherwise she'll just end up asking for a raise

I'm going to talk to my mom about that