Rentapod

Outdoor Sign Materials

// August 11th, 2011 // No Comments » // Seen about town, Sign Products, Uncategorized, Wall Graphics

“What’s the cheapest material we can use that will work with our project?”

We hear that question a lot.

Following are five examples of different materials for the most common outdoor sign projects. Some are better in some applications than others, all are reasonably priced.

MDO Board:
Exterior plywood panels that have a resin impregnated fiber overlay and that has been fused to the surface of the panel. The overlay virtually eliminates surface checking, and looks better.

Application:
MDO sign panels are often used as site and billboard type signs.The main advantage of wood is that it doesn’t easily flex and therefore, is very sturdy in a post-&-panel application. A disadvantage is that, being a wood product, it will absorb water over time and will often warp, crack or peel. You can help minimize this effect by treating the edges with filler and paint or plastic edging.

Aluminum Composite:
An 1/8″ sheet of plastic, laminated to 2 thin painted aluminum sheets provides all the benefits of a traditional aluminum surface while adding rigidity for easy of use. Composites are available in many colors and sizes and will not crack, chip, flake, peel or swell.

Application:
Post and panel signs, hanging signs, wall mounted signs, multiple panel signs, point of purchase signs, cut-outs, kiosks and most other types of exterior signage.Solid core aluminum composite is fast becoming one of the more popular products in the sign industry and in many cases, it is replacing MDO. This product gives the user the amazing outdoor durability of Aluminum, with the rigidity of MDO, in a lightweight product.

Acrylic:
Acrylic or “plexiglass” sheets are produced from a methyl methacrylate monomer and have outstanding physical, mechanical, optical, chemical resistant, and thermal properties.

Application:
Acrylic is most often used in lightboxes, being translucent it is perfect for backlit applications. Acrylic is ideal where a very high gloss finish is desirable.

Coroplast:
Coroplast is corogated plastic sheeting and comes in a variety of thicknesses. It is one of the more common short term substrates as it is both economical and readily available.

Application:
Coroplast is used in many temporary sign applications such as election signage, realestate promotions and a myriad of retail and event type applications.

Banner:
Banner is a nylon-reinforced vinyl material commonly used as temporary signage. Unlike rigid substrates banner comes in a roll commonly 5 feet wide by 150 feet long, making very large single piece signs, possible.

Application
:
Like coroplast, a banner is commonly used when a temporary, economical sign is needed. The advantage of a banner is in its versatility, being soft it can often be installed very quickly, just about anywhere.

Paradise at Your Backdoor

// August 4th, 2011 // No Comments » // Portable Outdoor Display System, Seen about town, Sign Products, Wide Format Printing

Last weekend I decided to take a leisurely afternoon drive to photograph a display-board project that we helped create with Three Point Properties and Breakwater Media. It has been a while since I traveled to Port Renfrew and what started out as a semi work trip quickly transformed into a driving adventure on our gorgeous west coast. The drive to Port Renfrew is simply stunning… part adventure, part serenity, part jaw dropping and all wonderful. I was gone for all of 3 hours and it felt like I had been on a week-long vacation to Avatar’s Pandora, only better.

Being at Victoria’s back door, I need to go there more often just for the change from the paradise we live in to the paradise we live next-door to. If you haven’t been there recently, its still just west of Sooke, if you’ve never been there its darn near Shangri-La.

The display board certainly does represent these beautiful cottages in this magnificent setting!

Do you fear being fooled or swindled?

// August 2nd, 2011 // 2 Comments » // How to...

We recently received the results submitted on a municipal RFQ. The price difference between the competing bids was significant, with the highest being almost 3 times the lowest. There were 14 submissions in total, from what appeared to be competent suppliers. If this price spread was difficult for me to understand, it must have been utterly inexplicable to the client.

What steps can we take to ensure that we’re not paying too much and still feel confident that our choice of supplier will provide a quality product in a timely manner and stand behind their work should the need arise?

Here are five easy tips that may help:

1. Get competitive quotes from several companies even if you are comfortable with your current supplier; there is no downside to being informed. Don’t worry about unduly “teasing” suppliers; take it from me, we are accustomed to the “win some, lose some” nature of RFQ’s and we all appreciate the opportunity.
2. Be as specific as possible about what you are looking for, this will increase the chance that the quotes will be comparable and give your potential suppliers the necessary information to produce their best possible price. Confusion about what is being requested is perhaps the most common cause of over/under pricing.
3. Ask for and contact references. You cannot know every company and they will all put their best foot forward. Ask the reference if the company produces good quality work and if it is done in a timely manner. When references are at arms length, they are often frank and reliable sources of information.
4. Beware of high or low price proposals. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is (on the low side) and (on the high side) if it feels like it’s overpriced, looks like it’s overpriced and reads like its overpriced, it’s probably overpriced. This does not prohibit you from taking either the lowest or highest price when you feel you have good reason as long as it’s not too far from the median price.
5. Speak to a representative in person. Similar to a job interview, there is no substitute for a personal connection to determine if this is a company you can work with. I find that the most reliable “gut” feelings are obtained when face to face with a prospect. A personal meeting is also a great place to see product samples and perhaps view some of the company’s past projects.

Getting quality work at a great price in a timely manner doesn’t need to be scary or difficult when following a few common sense guidelines.

Please use the comment section below if you have anything to add to our list. We appreciate all your input!