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Never got a chance to Read this months issue of Signs & Digital Graphics, and in some ways due to case history when it comes to the electric sign trade, why bother? So we won't even mention them beyond this sentence Leading the way again is Signs of The Times. Why? Well, because their articles are getting better, their impartial and it’s a different magazines these days. SIGNS OF THE TIMES #1 http://www.nxtbook.c...MG/sott_201208/ Check out Nisa Khan’s, “Hype versus Reality” article on page 32, that’s what we’ve been discussing on here for years now and Nisa is just stating it in a more “elegant” fashion, rather than our more, cold, brutal honest way things fly around here. “Build To Last”, hit home for me because I’m real familiar with Stanford Signs & Awning out of Chula Vista. Jamie Del Rio their master fabricator is one of the most craftiest sign fabricators there is in the sign industry, known locally by all and you’ll catch a small phrase in the story that reads, “manual fabrication equipment”. Stanford Signs does not have a Channel Letter Machine, their true “artisans” and journeymen lead by Jamie. I’ve known Jamie and family for almost as long as I’ve been in this industry and I started in 93’. I look at some things they’ve built and I often wonder to myself “how the hell did they do that”. This Shelter Island sign displayed in SOT is beautiful to say the least, but it’s no where near the accomplishments that they have already put up in the past. This company is VERY lucky to have the fabricators that they have, any company would. Believe THAT! If you read this magazine these days, and you weren’t familiar with the insights of the industry, what you would take from this read is that there is a LOT to the sign industry. It’s journalistic right now with little bias in it. Is this the same magazine we use to always talk to badly about? When it comes to the TEK screw issue, panels where the average Joe can take part in and feel important are great and all, but a lot of this goes beyond the realm where a panel can reach. UL has gone beyond the standards and that should be known, no panel can fix what they've turned into a profit farm, they don't want that touched, they want it all exclusive. I'm not so sure we can even label them "non-profit" any longer. There is a fight now, because there is another competitor called MET Labs. It's a small burning ember that's starting to grow. http://www.thesignsy...he-hands-of-ul/ SIGN BUILDER ILLUSTRATED #2 http://issuu.com/sig...ugust_2012_full I’m partially in this magazine under “Illuminating History” page 33. I’m VERY glad to see that they used me more than I thought they would, I’m the only one that properly balances the facts out about light sources and that’s not saying much BECAUSE, they need to seek out others as well for future articles. More impartial individuals need to be sought out for such articles. You’re not going to hear the honest truth about light sources from a LED manufacturer like GE, nor are you going to hear it from the Magic Mouth out of Jacksonville who’s probably never even seen or touched a Neon lamp. So it doesn’t surprise me that they’ve only been using nothing but LEDs for all their signs. He likes for nothing more than his clients to believe in his card reading tricks. We must note that we're all STILL waiting on the Magic Mouth to come back to us and tell us about your amazing “Savings” and detail your amazing “proprietary” works that only Harbinger Signs can do in saving 85%, or was it 95%? Can’t remember. http://www.thesignsy...ber-2010-issue/ Just ignore us and keep hitting “marketing statements” that can NEVER be explained. Sign Builder Illustrated needs to "zip" the "Mouth" and never quote him again, their doing this industry of our which they serves, a dis-service. SBI was asking some short answers, but some very IMPORTANT questions that need true answers, so before I submitted my response to a few questions for this write up I sent my answers to a few manufacturers to fact check, and to check for accuracy. Now what you must understand IS, there is no short simple answers to these questions SBI was answering, it's important to get them right and correct as possible. So BIG credit to Sign Builder Illustrated for asking some real questions and I was glad to give it to them, it's typical information that's circulated and verified here on a daily basis, but not really circulated much in the marketing world of the Sign Industry and sometimes this information is a BIG awakening slap in the face, or kick in the nuts to those who believe, start, or enable marketing campaigns and statements for manufacturers. I think having a lil bit of The Sign Syndicate.com in this months SBI issue is what saved it from being another marketing piece and glad to see I was there to counter the Magic Mouth. Anytime or anything bad for the Mouth, is GOOD for the industry. We need more like this from SBI, they need to be bold and seek out other individuals that go against the status quo. Why not? SOT is already doing it, I want to see my favorite Trade Magazine follow suit. For those of you that have upgraded your free membership you can read my full write up in the Board Patron's forum http://www.thesignsy...e-full-article/ I hope SBI will use this in a future article down the road and make it available to the public. This is the kind of article that can keep SBI very competitive with SOT.

I haven't seen all issues yet, but did browse through SOT. Wade's loosing his "Community Organizer" title name with me. And rightly so, his magazine is now well deserved of it. If you get a chance hit up the last page, similar as to what we reported here http://www.thesignsy...-ul-green-leaf/ It IS all about education when it comes to regulators, all you have to do is have a conversation with NEWOA's Environmental Wacko, errrrrrr, Director Ms.Knabel If I can spare anyone a conversation I should be deserved a peace award! In a side note, now that SOT has reported Neon as a "Green" Product there's no going back. This is a plus for the Electric Sign Industry, because it now carves a path for future articles that once mis-characterized Neon. Other trade mags to follow when they come out

We'll Sell to ANYONE! Should be the title of this article instead of "The ABCs of Channel Letter Installation" By Reagan Dickinson http://sdgmag.com/ar...er-installation To better understand what I'm about to say, you have to go back to a thread I started "Honesty In Trade Magazines Part II" of July 09. This is whoring our industry out, plain and simple. This is also why LEDs are so prevalent, everyone wants the Quick, Fast, Up and "collect my check" attitude, not the attitude of a true craftsman and tradesman. This poor attitude is perfectly illustrated here, and probably why the question was never answered in that above thread I started those years ago. There is a list on their website of installers because they will "sell to anyone", probably even end clients. If Direct Sign Wholesale & Superior Wholesale Signage Inc. had any idea of legal ramifications of licensing they would not have that on their website. A unlicensed sign company CANNOT, subcontract a licensed sign company. Clearly they don't care as their attitude is the same as the magazines attitude, "Any monkey can do it". Just pop your head above the ceiling tile and this is what you do, this is what you look for the call us on toll free number! They want anyone to get involved in this activity. Now on to Neon Unbelievable! These WHOLESALERS sound like they have a weak customer base, a makeup of hack/low budget companies who they shouldn't even be enabling to be in our industry. So let's sell to a hack, is that the business and ethics approach? Seriously, if you're getting have service calls galore from your sign, YOU need to stop making signs. Open up a print shop, you can't hurt anyone there. NO wonder why this Magazine Signs & Digital Graphics is dead last in our polls by quality sign companies. I mean, they only got one vote, and it' probably by someone form the magazine. The gun sounded to run and they didn't even get a chance to take one step off the line. Truthfully let's look at this article through the prism of anyone who knows what they're talking about. LEDs are easy to install, yes. Neon too is easy to install, takes time on the field, but LEDs take time in the shop. You may save a couple of hours in total project time, that's all. When bringing up service let's be real, for any true professional sign shop who knows wha their doing, not the companies being catered to from this article which is all about sales, you can have a costlier disadvantage with LEDs in service should you pick the wrong one. Some modules start going out, and the LED line you just bought has been revised and is a different brightness and color, your "fucked", or your client is, you just collect hoping the warranty is out of the one year. You're now having to retrofit with newer product just to get a nice even match. Yes the same thing can be said about Neon should one lamp go out (that's non-red), but it's a closer match than LEDs. LEDs revise about once a year. Since 2008 on our testing here some of the major manufacturers revise their line once a year. This is a shit on all light sources BUT LED article written by a noob and contributed by individuals I doubt have even personally handed/touched anything but an LED. The wholesalers here just want to sell to whoever. Direct Sign Wholesale has a nice testing set up and tests their own LEDs, but that's sort of tainted now that they have their own LED called the "Liberty", that's why they're so eager now to push LEDs. What they don't also talk about is the vast number of LEDs out there, too damn many in a matter of fact, but hey, it's a free market. But let's bring up service again, it's easy to service Neon & Fluorescent lamps, there's just too many LEDs on the market to service a sign quickly for your clients. You're hoping its just the power supply when you do so. None of these point are discussed or brought up, that's because it's just another Marketing ploy, aimed at the noobs of the sign industry , who are the only ones who read this magazine. In turn, it hurts our industry because we have a trade magazine, the worst one in my opinion, along with a group of wholesalers who want to make our custom crafted trade into a commodity. They prefer to sell LEDs with their channel letters only because it's "Quick and Fast", and they get to collect. They don't need to employ craftsman, but they want to say they are craftsman. I don't think we'll ever see a true and honest article which explains that all light sources have a place depending on the application, and that each light source has their advantages and disadvantages. We would really have to go back to as far as Sign Builder Illustrator Nov 2010 Hate to toot my own horn, but that's a VERY unbiased article. I don't understand why some people need to bash one source to sell and make excuses for another, each stand on their own merit. Why do you need to ABC anything to your fellow tradesman about electricity? Be it low or high voltage, in either case you still work with the dangerous primary. ABC, printing, or ABC's of vinyl selection.