chatterbox

Graphtec 54" Cuting Pro FC5100-130. Cuts vinyl up to 52" wide. $1,500 A money maker. Will go fast. Power cable and the USB cable included. Works with Flex-sign, SignLab, or Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW PLUG-IN. Call Mike at 310-503-0484 (Los Angeles County, Torrance, CA) email: btrmike@gmail.com

Erik, If you need something let me know...

A line and a word underneath that line that says, APPROVED. They sign it. That's it. Date it also.

Very, very interesting.

Used, in good condition, GRAPHTEC CUTTER (for sign company, vinyl company, sticker company, or tint company.) SERIES NUMBER CUTTING PRO FC5100-130 48" wide to 54" wide. NEEDS cables. Call Mike at 310-503-0484 .....EMAIL: btrmike@gmail.com TORRANCE, CA (Redondo Beach/Gardena/South Bay area) Going to GO FAST. $2,500 (FIRM)

This is Mike from Chatterbox Designs in Los Angeles. I was researching the web as I do on a number of topics as is customary based on my job as Business Development in the Sign Industry. I am no expert on NEON or LED. I have been involved with designing signs for about 10 years with both electrical components. I came across this article on ELRO SIGNS. I wonder if you could read up on it and authenticate the information. As you are the expert, as are other members on the Sign Syndicate. http://www.elrosigns.com/ Please let me know as, to me, it just sounds like surface information. There is a lot more to this NEON vs. LED thing. Thanks. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs Los Angeles, CA

LOOKING FOR INSTALLATION COMPANIES: Flynn Signs & Graphics Inc. in LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA (Southern California) is looking for Independent Installation Companies (any size crew, and any size trucks). Must be an INDEPENDENT INSTALLATION SIGN COMPANY. Contact us. We want to talk to you. There is installation business at Flynn Signs. Thank you. Please contact: Mike Burke, Director Business Development Flynn Signs & Graphics Inc. 1-800-458-2784, x226 email: mburke@flynnsigns.com

Sign Installation Position - Hiring(free posting on The Sign Syndicate.com) HIRING EXPERIENCED JOURNEYMAN SIGN INSTALLER LONG BEACH, CA Must be an Experienced Journeyman. Do not apply, if you are a novice. Must have 5 years experience, minimum as a sign installer / service tech. Because of the volume of work at Flynn Signs, you must be dedicated to sign installation. Requirements:  Must be computer literate with email, Internet research, and navigating Windows operating system.  You must have a “Can Do Attitude.”  Must be a “team player.”  Must be “safety conscious.”  Must have a clean driving record and insurable  Must be dependable.  Must have “attention to detail.”  Must be able to “think on your feet.”  Have the ability to read engineering specs / blue prints / floors plans  Must know ADA-compliant signage  Must have customer service skills; know how to interact with people  Willing to work overtime, if necessary  Willing to travel and work out of town, if necessary Email only. Do not call. Email a brief introduction of yourself in an email with your resume attached. If you are interested in this position and fit “all” of these requirements, please email Install@FlynnSigns.com, and cc: info@FlynnSigns.com. Please call today. Thank you. Flynn Signs & Graphics, Inc., 1345 Coronado Ave. Long Beach, CA. 90804

One thing I am running into over and over again is how to focus and customize organization, management and elements about how business is handled within one particular business, whether it is a sign supply company, wholesale sign company, or retail full service sign company. Having a sign design book publishing company, my company is different, and needs to be approached differently than most sign companies. That said, I am not a sign company. However, I understand sign companies, since I have worked for many. Gemini Inc. continues to do a PRINT version of their catalog and has been noted to believe that the PRINTED MEDIA allows people to HOLD their product in hand. Since signs are a physical product to sell. Customers looking for signs are looking for visual impact. PRINT MEDIA is not going away, it is only less focused on, and rightly so, it cost money and less people utilize it. In today's (and it changed overnight) world of business (and whatever you consider your business model), a reduced amount of a printed BROCHURE is very, very important. I do not believe we need CATALOGS, in the since of a larger, item-by-item booklet showing everything. Brochures can fill the need for the "Instant-This-and-That" Society. We are beyond the MTV generation. However, providing TWO (2) PDF's of your companies brochure (and perhaps a digital catalog) are a must in business. Why two? One, a PDF download should always be provided on your website for easy, convenient access to customers. A PDF brochure should be located on every sales persons desktop/laptop/netbook/iPad/and even mobile device (my web designer sends a link from my website on his iPhone). The PDF brochure should be easily accessible for sales persons to EMAIL a PDF brochure to a perspective client/customer requesting the document. Visual brochures of your product and services, accompanied by photos and information, BOLD and SIMPLE to read, with your company information IS A MUST today, just as it was yesterday. I always look for a PDF download when I go to a company's website. I wouldn't even argue the point with colleagues. This a no-brainer. End of topic. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs & Digital Media. Torrance, CA.

Let's stop promoting the idea that anyone from anywhere can just jump into our industry and "Just do it." The Sign Syndicate author. I talk about this point in my book, "INSIDE SIGN DESIGN." There is a pervasive myth that the sign business, or making signs, or sign design is "easy." I get so many sign designs, or at least, attempts at sign designs by Architects (any sign companies agree?), graphic designers from marketing, branding and ad agencies, as well as (some) sign companies who "had" to hire someone who knew a drawing program. Most "real" sign designers are taken by the big companies, or sign companies that pay right. I know this to be true, because I started in the industry with the idea, "I have been designing for 20 years, I can design signs." My first boss (sign company) laughed and smirked. He said, "You know nothing about signs." There is a pervasive myth that the sign business and everything about it is easy. When I begin explaining signage to graphic designers, their jaw drops. "I didn't know."

Its a retro-fit. Nice job. I never seen this madness before. Nice colors. Red letters on blue background. I guess Indiana has no code.

If you are a threat, people don't like it. If you are a voice, people don't like it. If you are not a part of their tribe, people don't like it. Blaze your own trail.

THOUGHTS FROM CHATTERBOX DESIGNS. At The Sign Syndicate, we believe this portal is for experienced sign companies, sign owners, and sign industry people who want to know more about all the details of every facet of the business, including making quality signs. Just about every business (and the new ones opening) needs a sign, and a large percentage, electrical signs. Could we possibly sell more signs, and better designed signs, if the Sign Industry (the experienced sign people), interacted together and shared the knowledge of how to beat the marketplace? Are sign company owners interested in learning from one another, or do they just, "know-it-all." Is there a pervasive, kinda-a-like, "paranoia" that is in this industry, or is it something else? What I have seen in my 10 yeas is a thought, "if it sticks sell it." "If it doesn't, oh well." This is not my opinion, this is what I have seen from small and mid-size sign companies in many Western states. As a small business owner, I don't understand this attitude. I have never once, seen sign owners, I know, open to learning how to sell signs better. Most sign owners have the attitude, "Let's see how long this salesperson will last." There is absolutely no training involved." No weekly sales meeting, with a little training each week, feedback, and "how-do-we-do-it-better," mentality. What sells signs? How do you increase sales? Some factors to consider: 1. Initial assessment BEFORE even taking a job to determine if the customer is going to "buy" or is just "fishing?" QUALIFY the sign buyer. 2. Is it the "fast-talking" sign person, someone new to the industry hungry to get a sale, just a good sales person (without knowledge of signs), or experienced sign sales people that sells a sign? 3. A good sign design, a properly formatted sign submittal? Does it really help, or not? Does the customer need to see a design, or not? 4. The vibe of the market at any one time in the year, or a business needs sign regardless? 5. Fact: the customers needs a sign? Oh well, they may go to your competitor. Sometimes it is all about price, and the customer will go somewhere else. This is a given. But what about increasing sales by 25%, 35%, or more? Most people, in every small business, just want to make a quota, pay the mortgage, and get by. GET BY? I think America needs to wake up. EVERY OTHER NATION ON EARTH is nipping at our shores. Americans better wake up. Period. Do sign companies set goals for sales? Or, it is just that, sign companies love to make signs, and, oh well, it just happens to be a business?

Did they even talk about neon signs? Joe, take your hands out of your pockets. You're on national TV.

I think Matt from PHILADELPHIA summed it up with a to-the-point element. No experience sign companies who feed on anything that looks like a sign job and money, they are on it. That's why they get into the sign business in the first place, because they think it's easy. That's a myth. And that is why you need a CONTRACTOR'S LICENSE to do electrical signage. A whole lot of experience helps. And for custom sign shops, note custom, is the reason the large companies and franchises (Micky Dees, Subway, etc.) go to ELECTRICAL SIGN CONTRACTORS to have their stuff made and installed. A jacked up sign means a burned down building or a sign coming down and killing someone. You do not need novices doing this stuff. I am in the fab shop daily as a designer asking questions even after 10 years in the trade. I am always in the face of the installer too. They hate me cuz I ask tons of questions.

ILLEGAL SIGNS: The person to talk to about this is Mitch Chemers from Permit Wiz in Van Nuys CA. He has dealt with the City of Los Angeles on sign blight, signs everywhere, including illegal signage for years. The man knows the industry top to bottom. I have learned a lot from him. He is also working with CSA now. AS FAR AS ADA AND FIRE EVAC's: As far as how the Fire Department works. I have written a dozen Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and more LA County Fire Departments including their headquarters to get a GUIDELINE for signage for each county. OCFA has a basic guideline, but nothing comprehensive. They do have something. But they are into FIRE PREVENTION and FIRE FIGHTING and do the minimum requirement for signage code. As far as LA County, they have nothing. And that is from Headquarters. CASE IN POINT. Flynn Signs did a celebrity tower in DOWNTOWN LA. $80K in interior ADA signage. One week, the Fire Inspector comes out and says, "I want the Fire Evac's landscape." Okay. We begin to make all the "temps," and a lot of them. The following week, A DIFFERENT Fire Inspector comes out, and says, "I want the Fire Evac's portrait." WHAT? Our graphic designer spent 3 days (8 hours x 3 = 24 hours at $85.00 hour) REARRANGING the layout of each fire evac. Our answer to this and to all sign companies, "WHEN YOU DEAL WITH ONE INSPECTOR, make sure you get their CARD and tell them, I ONLY WANT TO WORK WITH YOU." No surprises. AS FAR AS BANNERS GO: When I drive by a park and see all the BAD BANNER DESIGNS and SIGNAGE, you can see where all the bad signage comes from. Walk in and talk to some of your competitors in town, and you will walk away shaking your head. There is NO SCHOOL, or TRAINING. So, people do the best they can. Have you see the 99c store sign and design? It's hilarious.

I have some very interesting idea of where the sign industry is going. With the Global marketplace, sign franchises growing, cities expanding, business cost skyrocketing, etc. I would like to hear some veteran sign industry people, preferrably SIGN COMPANY OWNERS, what they think is going to happen for the Sign Industry and Sign Companies, in general, in the next 3, 5, 7 years? Expansion, Contraction, Teaming up, Brokering, Wholesaling, etc. If you are a vendor and have been in the SIGN INDUSTRY for more than 10 years, I welcome your comments. Or, if you have some unique insight, I'd like to hear that. Not totally closed to vendors. Thanks.

Mauricio, I do not believe every city, or even the client, will go for this type of FLASHING type of sign. It may very well produce headaches. Also, it may produce an environment, similar to what draws the "element", in America, that means, signage that flashes tends to, over time, produce a ghetto-like environment. The definition of a ghetto, is a bad neighborhood. That is GHETTO. I understand that this is, maybe, a novel idea. Meaning, a new, exciting idea. But it is not practical, and has a very limited application. As a professional sign designer, I would never design something like a flashing light sign on any project. I would refuse to design it. Also, it would be impossible to render, and it could never be explain, to a client how it would look. This will go well in LAS VEGAS, RENO-SPARKS NEVADA, and ATLANTIC CITY. Those three cities, you might get sales. Come up with a good LED or NEON device that shines bright, is cost-effective, easy-to-install, and lasts a long time. I WILL HELP YOU PROMOTE IT. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs Los Angeles, CA

What's happening is the sign industry is maturing. People are taking their hard earned knowledge and (minus the overhead) becoming consultants. Because they know how the business runs. With companies such as Gemini, Advance Corp, Kroy, Watchfire, you can be a SIGN CONTRACTOR (with a license) and do business as a one person, or two, operation. The reason more designers are coming out of the woodwork is they too are maturing, and realize their craft is needed by all the 100s of sign companies who have terrible designers. Look around town and tell me what you see? Bad signs and bad sign design, literally, EVERY-WHERE! It's horrible. No one notices it. I do. It's bad. Every industry changes. Every industry goes through phase. Every industry changes with technology, plastics, digital printing, outsourcing, Internet marketing. All have changed in the last 20 years. There is no formal SCHOOLING for sign design. Come on, I may have written the first book on the subject and it's 2010. That's insane. This is America. We pioneer stuff. Why hasn't anyone written what commercial sign companies can use. THAT IS THE REASON there are so many bad looking signs. Hire Rick. He's awesome. Love Erik, he made this site. Those two guys jam. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs Los Angeles, CA

You should ask some people who have the truck and ask them their opinion. What do you think is wrong with it?

Kirstie, Guys don't wear lip gloss, that's for girls. We use lip balm. Shaka Laka is lip balm. Big difference. But yes, Shaka Laka has been around for 5 years. They are a island-inspired skin care company out of the Big Island of Utah. The owner is from Washington area, Pacific Coast area. He is so aloha, much more than Hawaiians. Shaka Laka connects and helps the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Keep a Breast, Surfers Healing (San Clemente), Women's Surf Style Magazine, BeachtownGirls Surf, Torrance Surf Camp, Aloha Beach Camp in San Clemente, Huntington Beach Longboard Crew, Christian Surfers Newport Beach, Christian Surfers Huntington Beach, Christian Surfers South Bay, Christian Surfer Girls, and about 10 more organizations. We have given out over 200,000 complimentary units in 5 years. Now, they we are doing sales all over the world. Shaka Laka will be at the MVP Volleyball in Manhattan Beach this year along with ASR in San Diego and Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. Shaka Laka is cool, has SPF, has flavor, wrapped in recycled paper, and lives aloha. Check it out: www.ShakaLaka.com Glad you like it. Now, lets get back to signage. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs Los Angeles, CA I am one of several Southern California Action Sports Ambassadors for the brand.

Welcome Mike, Great book. consign Hello Larry, Thanks for the welcome. We have sold several dozen copies, the first in Canada last week. So, it's moving. The testimonies I am hearing are blowing me away. As a result of The Sign Syndicate, we are getting hits from Italy, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The book is being viewed internationally. Based on the people we are talking to it will help North American sign companies through and through, since graphic designers hired by sign companies don't know sign design. Now they can learn in two (2) days what will usually take 1 year or more. Depending on the learning curve. Let me know what you think about it. Thanks again. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs Los Angeles, CA

Thanks Marianne. With all the bad graphic designs (would be signs) and all the bad sign designs, I had to write INSIDE SIGN DESIGN. Look around any city, any town, any shopping center, and you will see the reason a book explaining the basics and foundation to creating a format for sign design. There are so many sign monuments out there, that are, literally, scary to look at. Some of the channel letters sets I have seen, I start to say to myself, what was the owner thinking when they signed-off on this? The FACT is, most sign companies only have a pool of graphic designers to select from. The real sign designers, like the one's you meet on The Sign Syndicate, know how to design signs. There are quite a few out there. But not nearly enough to fit the huge amount of sign companies out there. The end result, is all the bad sign designs that go on business. Eventually, you get a city with sign blight. Or a shopping center that starts getting real bad looking because the LANDLORD (individual) or PROPERTY OWNER (sometimes a corporation) had NO SIGN PROGRAM, or what others call, a MASTER SIGN PROGRAM or COMPREHENSIVE SIGN PROGRAM. We have our work cut out for us. We all can learn daily. That's why I love this THE GREAT WHITE HOPE thing ERIK G is doing. No one is doing this stuff. I love it. The owner of Flynn Signs & Graphics (40 years in Long Beach CA) seen the picture of the LEDs lighting the panels, he was floored. We have to put up letters on a 7 story government building. We do not want to go back out to the site for several years. It cost $4,600 just to get a lift for the job. I love sign design. But I love the business end. And I love the quality end. And I love the customer coming back for more. America sets the pace. We should never give that mantle to another country. Mike B. Chatterbox Designs & Publishing Los Angeles, CA