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Sign Design CenterFree* Design and Marketing Services
Good signs incorporate Marketing.Identify, Communicate, create the Image you desire. Signs must be memorable to help a business succeed. As an example, Dr. Brad Boeke recently hired us to design a new sign and logo to replace a sign we built for him 10 years ago; he was changing his business name. He told us “I couldn’t remember your company’s name but I remembered the logo – the brush going through the letters – and I remembered the distinctive letter style.” Obviously the work we put into our own design paid off.
Whether it's channel letters, a wall cabinet sign, a Monument sign, pole sign, electronic message center or video display, pylon sign, or other signs a sign is 3-dimensional, it is seen from far away, and it probably lights at night. Sign thickness, minimum stroke, construction materials, lighting choices and colors (day and night), 3-D paint options, and installation requirements all must be considered to make a sign "work." These considerations are detailed in this website. Don't overlook the message, the size, and the impact of your sign compared to other signs around it. Remember that you are competing for attention.
Rather than purchase a larger, blank, rectangular message center and display your name and all other information on it, consider incorporating signage that constantly displays the messages you want to constantly display. It will cost less, and look better! For pylon signs or pole signs a single cabinet encompassing the pole, rather than two displays, one welded to each side of a pole, is much more preferable. When deciding on letter colors consider which direction the sign will face. Shadows from building elements and letters/raceways can dramatically affect the daytime readability of a sign. Borders make signs more readable...quicker. The single exception to this rule is electronic message centers where the entire face lights in color; but if your message only contains wording and the background is blank, project a lighted border. A second color in a sign's lettering increases retention. Consider Signs Manufacturing Corporation's Special Effects options for channel letters; Trembler™ signs, Backplates, Backlights, Spectralites™, Letterlites™. New, modern-look signs that use lighting to advertise during the day, such as LetterLites™ Channel Letters and PinLights™ Cabinet Signs are well worth considering. Signs and logos that help businesses succeed are not an accident. The Small Business Development Center (one page up) has also determined that poor sign design causes 89% of business failures. "Jim's Place" may be the name of your business, but as a sign it will do NOTHING to attract new customers! What does the business do? How many major retailers can you think of that don't have a logo or incorporate a distinctive letter style, or both? Something to help people remember them.
We can help so long as your landlord and the City understand the importance of good signs and allow you to install signs that will help your business. Unfortunately this isn't always true. Choose your location(s) wisely (and receive your landlord's approval of your signs package BEFORE you sign your lease.) City Signs Ordinances, and Landlord Lease Restrictions, can doom a business. We have lots of experience. We can help you design signs that will meet City and Landlord sign restrictions, and your needs. Most City Sign Ordinances can be accessed by visiting our "Permits & Approvals" page after accessing our "Installation & Service" page if you care to learn about them without contacting us. However we have worked with them for so long we know most of them by heart. Because every member of the Watson Family has a University business degree our education and experience causes us to look at the sign business differently than most. The principal owner of Signs Manufacturing™ formed several successful businesses for large and small corporations and was heavily involved in the marketing and advertising necessary to make a business successful prior to starting Signs Manufacturing™ with the Family. He saw an opportunity to build a sign company to serve local and regional businesses that understood marketing issues, a huge void even today, to help customers become successful. We understand what it takes to make a business successful, so we develop “looks” and processes that benefit our customers by giving them continuously better, more productive signs at continuously lower prices. Design Center assistance is usually free* with a sign purchase.
Sign Design Safety IssuesSigns that are too small to be read easily under existing driving conditions cause traffic congestion and accidents, in addition to not helping a business become successful. Carefully examine our Letter Visibility charts listed under the Design Center page. Monument signs can potentially block traffic visibility and cause accidents at driveways and intersections. Moving them away from the street makes them more dangerous and less effective (above) unless they are significantly larger. Externally lighted signs cause traffic congestion and accidents on dark or rainy days, and at night according to Penn State studies. Monument signs, because of their smaller lettering when compared to pole signs and pylon signs, cause traffic congestion and accidents, verified by a different Penn State study. An excellent place to learn about the critical, mechanical, aspects of sign design necessary for a safe and successful sign is at www.usscfoundation.org/USSCGuidelineStandards.pdf. It would be nice if cities would read this before creating sign ordinances; there would be less congestion and fewer accidents in business districts. Businesses in the City would be more successful, also! Electrical Sign Design Safety IssuesIt is a criminal offense in Texas for a unlicensed individual to design an electrical sign, or an electrical system. A licensed Master Sign Electrician or Master Electrician is required, or a design company approved by statute, regardless of whether the signs was manufactured within or outside of Texas. We have both Master types involved in designing our signs. Our employee's State of Texas Electrical and Sign Master License numbers are: 00002753, 00007305 and 00238434. If you wonder if a sign-seller can legally design, install and service electrical signs in Texas go to http://www.license.state.tx.us/LicenseSearch/, enter "Electricians" in the "Inquire by License Type" box and the name of the sign business or person in the "Inquire by Name" box. The Value of “Listed" SignsVirtually ALL cities, as well as the State of Texas, adopt the National Electric Code as law. The National Electric Code (NEC) requires that for electrical, structural, and installation safety all electrical signs be "Listed" (tested and labelled with an appropriate Listing Mark.) Certification (testing and labelling) organizations acceptable in the USA to test to the multitude of Standards signs are required to meet are determined by OSHA. For you the Listing Mark is insurance. It means that the sign has been tested to insure that it is structurally and electrically safe, and will be installed properly. You benefit from the knowledge that it is not solely us telling you that our signs are safe, this is what the testing laboratories and the US Government says also. Will your sign be tested and approved for safe use in a Wet (Outdoor) location? Not if it’s not Listed! Underwriter's Laboratory (“UL” Listing Mark) and Intertek (“ETL” Listing Mark – originally Edison Testing Laboratory founded by Thomas Edison) are the premier certification organizations and 80% of all things electrical are tested by them. If the sign you are purchasing does not have a ETL or UL Listing Mark label the sign is probably not legal to install, anywhere in Texas. There are a few local city ordinance exceptions. Buy carefully.
Whether it's channel letters, a wall cabinet sign, a monument sign, pole or pylon signs, electronic message centers and video displays, neon or other electric signs Intertek and Underwriter’s Laboratory pose the toughest design, structural, electrical, and installation standards on the products they approve. We are the 9th oldest UL Listed Manufacturer in North Texas. (File #UXYT.E149959) To see if a manufacturer is a UL Listed sign manufacturer go to http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/ccnsrch.html and enter "UXYT" in the "UL Category Code" box, replacing "%ccn%" for lighted signs, or "UYFS" for electronic signs. To see if a manufacturer is an ETL Listed sign manufacturer go to http://etlwhidirectory.etlsemko.com/WebClients/ITS/DLP/products.nsf/ and enter "UL-48" in the search box. We are the third oldest ETL Listed sign company in Texas. ( File #4007685) (One of the two older companies makes lighted scoreboards, the other makes lighted office door signs.) There are many sign companies that pretend to be Listed, but are not! Incidentally, ISO (International Organization of Standardization) Standards, such as ISO 9001, are NOT electrical Listings (similar to a UL or ETL Listing) that allow a sign to be installed in Texas. That said, components in our electronic signs also meet ISO 9001 and 2008 standards. Underwriter’s Laboratory and Intertek do NOT judge the appearance, appeal, or the longevity of a product. This is why our many years of experience serving international, national, regional and local customers, and our investment so that we can apply the knowledge we’ve gained, will give you a superior product which will impress your customers for years to come. Electric Sign Authority Listed Signs
Good signs require more than sound
mechanical and electrical design. While Underwriter's Laboratory and other listing companies test and approve mechanical, electrical, and installation aspects of sign manufacturing, only the Electric Sign Authority (ESA) supervises the design, marketing appeal, appearance, and longevity of signs. Look for the Electric Signs Authority (ESA) Listing Label (right) in the advertising of Sign Companies committed to providing their customers with a better advertising and marketing product that will look good for years. Our ESA Listing number is: ESA107474. Discover how we make signs to last; including the use of CNC manufacturing, rust-proof metal, structural-steel frames, high-end automotive paint, high-impact plastics, and most importantly, sophisticated protective coatings. All our signs include these many hidden features, critically important to you but often ignored by competitors to lower their cost. We even add self-cleaning properties. We champion brighter, energy-saving signs solutions that save customers money while protecting our environment. No matter what type of signs you are considering, please explore our "Lighting Choices" tab for that product, with its own "Energy Savings" tab. Click on our "Energy Saving Signs" tab on the "Sign-Types" page to view a comparison of energy consumption for all types of electrical signs. Visit Our Unique Sign Lighting Laboratory andDemonstration Showroom with LED Video DisplaysUnique in the entire sign industry, Signs Manufacturing™ built an 85’ by 50’ (over 4,000 sq ft) indoor sign lighting laboratory for testing the longevity, visibility, and effectiveness of all the lighted signs we manufacture. We have opened our laboratory to the public, for FREE, adding a Sign Showroom that includes LED Video Displays because we realized how important one would be to consumers.
We invite you to observe all types of signage, viewing them up close as well as from a distance, under varying light conditions (and stay out of the weather while doing so!) Will your Sodium Vapor or Metal Halide parking lot lights affect the colors of your sign at night? How visible will your pylon sign’s border neon be during the day? Should you consider PinLights™, LetterLites™, SpectraLites™, or Trembler™ signs? Brighter Signs™ neon or Solarbrite™ LED lighting for channel letter signs? Fluorescent or HID lighting for your monument sign? Do Daylight or Cool White fluorescents make your sign’s colors look best? What are the differences between a flex-faced, a Lexan™, and an acrylic-faced sign cabinet? How will shadows affect my sign's readability during the day? Should the wall behind my sign be light or dark colored? Would a different type of sign look better on my brick wall? Should I consider a routed sign face with push-through letters? Don't buy a sign from a drawing when you can actually see and compare real signs. No one else, sign company or not, can offer you this unique opportunity. Be sure to take advantage. Your business will be better because you do. If you don't visit it could cost you thousands every year. Can you afford not to? Energy Saving SignsWe champion energy-saving signs solutions that save our customers money while protecting our environment. No matter what type of signs you are considering, please explore our "Lighting Choices" tab for that product, with its own "Energy Savings" tab. In fact many of our unique sign designs can easily and efficiently be Solar Powered! Portable Signs, Banners, and Pendants
We furnish our customers a "Grand
Opening Package" featuring a free 4' by 5' parking lot
"Coming Soon" free-standing portable sign or a free banner to attract We can also supply other banners and pendants. "Coming Soon" and/or "Grand Opening" Banners, pendants (small plastic flags on a rope), and portable signs are very good ideas if your landlord and City allow them.
We will file for your Portable Sign, banner, and pendant permits for free while we are filing for your major sign permit. See our "Permits & Approvals" page under "Installation & Service." We only charge for the actual cost of the City permits. Almost no City allows banners to be placed on existing free-standing signs, fences, or between light poles. Click our "Other Products" tab for construction details on banners. Unless we are doing other work for a customer we do not make banners, portable signs, or do vinyl lettering, even though we have the equipment to do so. Our skills are better utilized in other areas. LED Message Center RentalsSigns Manufacturing™ rents SunburstDisplays™ LED full-color digital animated electronic message centers and video displays. This may be perfect for your Grand Opening or other special event. Contact us for details. Free Co-op Advertising for Customers and SuppliersThe number of links to a website, on other quality websites, is the major way a website is "quality" ranked for listing order by search engines. You MUST be towards the top of their “quality” list for your website to be successful! This website is ranked in the top 4.21% in the world. Your address link on our website will help you. It is more important that your website is listed on one quality website than on 100 average websites!
If you are a past,
present, or future (?) customer and would like to be
included in our
customer website link list
include If you would like to be included in our resource website link lists include www.SignsManufacturing.com in your website and email billwatson@signsmanufacturing.com with your website address(s) and where you should be included in our resource website lists. Or call Bill. We believe in Co-op advertising. Reciprocity. The “Average” Cost of Advertising
* US Small Business Administration figures. Assumes 10,000 cars per day – a very conservative figure for ANY business street, only 1 person in each car, and only a 10 year useful life for the sign. ALL very conservative! Most of the Newspaper, Television and Radio consumers reached are not in most businesses marketing area, a 5 mile radius of their store according to the US Small Business Administration. The actual cost of reaching a POTENTIAL consumer by these means is unknown, but much higher.
To read what USA TODAY Newspaper says about the cost of signs "click" on their logo to the left. Creative Letter StylesLetter styling is critical; look like everyone else, or look special. Signs Manufacturing™ has developed performance-proven distinctive letter styles which help our customers stand out in a crowd of signs. Letter styles that also make for readable signs. Letter styles like:
…and many more. Are you sure you want “BLOCK” lettering (also known as HELVETICA or ARIAL?) Protecting Our Works*A cautionary word or two about Copyright Law: Copyright protection exists in original works of authorship in any form of expression from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include written, pictorial, graphic works, etc. (our "Works.")
All Signs Manufacturing Corporation's Works are
Copyrighted, and may NOT be reproduced in any manner
without the expressed written permission of Signs Manufacturing™. This includes artwork,
communications, quotations, emails, etc. We do, in writing, allow Works like the drawing to the right and our product "Sign Buyer's Guides" to be viewed internally within an organization, but never to be reproduced. Please don't reproduce or communicate our Works to obtain competitive bids. Occasionally we discover our Works in the possession of other sign companies, or discover that our Works have been used to produce signs (because they're usually on the front of businesses they are easily discovered.) To protect ourselves we must prosecute whoever transmitted our Works. We do not enjoy having to do this. Because we allow access to our Works for free does not mean that we are transferring ownership of our Works.* * Our Works only become the property of others, including our clients, if they have been specifically purchased. In virtually all instances our Works remain Signs Manufacturing Corporation's protected property forever. Just for FunJust for fun, go to our "Not-so-Good Signs" tab to the left, above, to witness Signs Manufacturing Corporation's "The Not-so-Good Signs, the Bad, Ugly, Stupid & Dumb Signs" Awards Contest! State Licensed Sign Installation and Sign ServiceWe are a full-service sign company. We provide sign site surveys, sign permits, sign installation and sign maintenance services for electrical and non-electrical signs for our customers as well as other sign companies. We provide this work in Dallas, Fort Worth (DFW), and ALL of North Texas and Northeast Texas. State Sign and Electrical License Numbers: TECL17503, TSCL18015, TSCL18016.
ZIP Codes 75001 thru 76958. Area Codes 214, 254, 430, 469, 682, 817, 903, 940, and 972. Serving Collin, Cook, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Navarro, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, Titus, Van Zandt, Wood, and Wise Counties in Texas. We also have signs in 43 different states, and 6 other nations. |
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However, sign design involves many
more details than a good looking letterhead does..JPG)
Intertek is over twice the size of UL, and has a greater global presence. UL is the largest in the 
