It has happened to all of us at least once – you will be driving along a dark windy road, GPS is not working, your map offers no help and you have no clue where the exit is! Creeping along at well under the speed limit, you begin to freak out when finally, up ahead, the road sign appears brightly illuminated in your high beams. You sigh a breath of relief and arrive safely at your destination.

If it hadn’t been for those reflective metal signs, you might have easily driven miles past your exit unknowingly, only to be forced to turn around and hope to locate it again. What a big pain in the neck that would have been!

Much like highway signs help you reach your destination, your company sign helps customers find the products they are searching for.

Imagine that there’s a customer driving around trying to find your store or office during wintertime when it gets dark so early — or even early morning when dawn has yet to fully approach the horizon. Using a reflective metal sign is certain to not only alert them of the location, but draw the eye of other potential clients as well! Why limit your potential consumer base by only being visible during daylight hours? People around you have got completely different daily schedules – so you don’t know what early bird or night owl could be trying to find a business exactly like yours.

How to use reflective metal signs to not only stand out, but stand apart!

To allow your company to be different from the rest, adding a reflective metal sign as part of your existing signage is really a shrewd investment – especially for businesses found on heavily traveled traffic routes such as highways and byways, main streets and industrial areas. There will always be a continuous stream of traffic at any time of the day. Using reflective signs will automatically increase your chances of getting seen and noticed 24 hours a day. Current and future customers will instantly have their attention captured when your message is reflected back at them.

So what precisely would YOUR reflective metal sign look like?

Almost any image you can imagine can be transformed into a custom metal sign! From a custom shape to full-color photos, any design can be digitally printed right onto the bright, reflective surface of the metal sign panel. So whether or not your business shuts down before dark, your new sign will keep on working tirelessly through the night to reinforce your presence within the community.

DOUBLE-DUTY reflective signs add another unexpected value to businesses

With both day and night visibility, your sign will provide DOUBLE the advertising worth of a non-reflective sign. What might not be as obvious though is that the LIFESPAN of reflective metal signs is more than DOUBLE that of standard metal signs! And get this – the reflective surface measures 30% brighter without the use of any electricity providing additional ongoing savings.

Double the value for only 33% more?

With a price difference of only 33%, reflective metal signs provide a meaningful value over standard, economy grade signs. Since 1986, TheSignChef.com has specialized in custom, reflective metal signs by serving the business community, contractors, real estate agents, municipalities, military installations, hospitals, schools, universities, churches and non-profit agencies.

Actually, these organizations have accidentally discovered a rather unique, online design service. So if you would like to explore your design options, this 4 minute design video will show you exactly how to get all your new signage, professionally designed online, absolutely free.

There’s not any charge. And there is no obligation to purchase, ever.

It’s just our way of allowing you to sample our services, completely risk-free!

Contributed by SignsUS.com

The screens use Panasonic’s Network Media stage content-management software.

Striving to continue to improve Raster Image Processing, SAi has developed this new stochastic screening-based algorithm. SpotON – the enhanced equal dot distribution – avoids banding and artifacts, which are often troublesome especially in lighter areas of prints. The new SpotON diffusion increases the accuracy of the ink placement and variable dots without sacrificing processing speed.

The unsurpassed gradient smoothness resulting from the new SpotON is available as a free upgrade to all users currently using Flexi 8.5 or PhotoPRINT 6.0 for Windows. Users should contact one of SAi’s value-add resellers to request the free upgrade.

In addition the new releases of Flexi 8.6 and PhotoPRINT 6.1 include several added improvements such as the new Ink Split interface, improved Linearization and over 80 new device drivers. This newest release with the SpotON and other numerous improvements is available as a free upgrade to current Windows users. Registered users with earlier software versions qualify for special upgrade pricing.

What is all boils down to is BETTER PRINT QUALITY!

Still designing on an old CRT?

Well although we would all like to be designing/gaming/browsing on one of these. The $13,000 price tag might hold a few of us back.

But I think it’s all time we evaluate the monitors were using. LCD’s have become very affordable. Now not all affordable monitors produce a quality image. Cheap LCD’s often have issues such as input lag, horrid viewing angles, bad bleeding.

Be sure to read up on a monitor before making any purchases. I highly recommend this 24″ Benq G2400WD LCD as ‘best bang for the buck’. It has 0 input lag (great for movies, games) and good viewing angles. Can buy it here for $380! http://www.provantage.com/benq-g2400wd~7BEN900W.htm 24″ for $380! That’s insane. Yes, you might find a cheaper monitor @ sam’s club, or costco, but how does it stack up? I will bet $ it doesn’t. Till next time…..

I’m not a huge mac fan by any means. But with the recent release of the new MacBook I’m definitely blinded by the light (maybe its the glare off the glass screen). The specs have been bumped up, and were no longer stuck in a plastic case! They have also upgraded the video for the standard MacBook.

This is one nice notebook. Photoshop will run faster on this then most of our desktops I’m sure. Prices are starting around $1,299. Check out the apple website for more information.

Time for a new mobile design station for your sign business? Possibly! We all need a good business excuse for new toys sometimes

Shrimpwagon shot this picture on his way to work this morning. Let’s all thank him for a good laugh.

Check out shrimpwagons blog @ shrimpwagon.wordpress.com

The article I’m about to post is from Lafayette City, LA. But keep in mind this does happen everywhere. Just a friendly reminder of what can happen when you don’t have permits, or go against the grain!

Lafayette City Officials are
targeting those businesses who have illegal signs. Those being targeted
are the small advertising signs that are being put in the ground.

Inspectors go around the city to look for signs that are up not following the proper regulations.

If they notice a problems with a sign, orange stickers are put on them.
Once the orange stickers are on the signs for a certain amount of time,
the signs are pulled.

City officials say business owners could face penalties if they have illegal signs.

If a business ignores the city’s request to comply with the
requirements of the zoning ordinance, the could be prosecuted in city
court.

Prohibited Signs

• 1. Signs Elected or Erected without a sign permit
• 2. Off-premise advertising signs except as allowed for integrated business centers.
• 3. Signs extending into or placed within the public right of way or an easement or affixed to any public property
• 4. Mobile Billboards or portable trailer signs
• 5. Signs with lasers or lights that blink, flash, revolve, or, strobe, including animation or video
• 6. Signs that contain mirror like surfaces
• 7. Signs that smoke, emit vapor, particles, sound, or, odor
• 8. Wind or fan blown signs
• 9. Snipe signs
• 10. Temporary product specific signs
• 11. On site signs placed off site signs
• 12. Off premises advertising signs in the unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish

Read the full article @ signindustry.com

We’ve seen some pretty extreme cases of excessive faith in GPS, but this may well be the first instance of the ill-advised practice nearly exactly repeating itself. As you may recall, earlier this year
a Bedford Hills, New York man trusted his GPS so much that he
apparently thought it was perfectly reasonable to follow the directions
directly onto a set of train tracks. That didn’t exactly work
out so well, for his car or the oncoming train. Now, as The Journal
News reports, another man followed his GPS onto the very same set of
tracks last night and, while he did get out in time to make a surely
embarrasing 911 call, that apparently wasn’t enough to prevent a
commuter train from slamming into the car a few minutes later, causing
an hour and a half delay but, thankfully, no injuries. Maybe it’s time
for some signs?

Adaptive Micro Systems Inc, a manufacturer of LED display products, installed one of it’s 14′ x 48′ MEDIAMaster digital billboards September 12, just outside of Madison, WI in 22 minutes.

Simply amazing if you ask me. Especially considering how nice these things look to your typical billboard.

Check out this septic truck

Check out the whole article @ signweb.com for more information on lamination procedures

Hasselblad is bringing a 60 THAT’S RIGHT 60! Megapixel camera in April 2009!

I guess it will never end..Price is set to be around $40,000. At least that’s what I understand from the read. It seems they say an additional $7,000 ontop of the current models $27,261 price tag =O

Adobe System Incorporated announced yesterday the Adobe Creative Suite 4 product family.

I won’t go over all the detailts, but most importantly it offers 64 BIT SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is huge for any of us running 64bit operating systems. Can’t wait to see the performance increase.

Check it all out over @ adobe.com

Above All Advertising Inc. is offering bamboo banner stands that, according to the company, promote conservation via the use of organic, rapidly renewable materials. The company offers a retractable version that measures 32.5 x 78 in., as well as customizable, non-retractable models.

(866) 552-2683; http://www.abovealladvertising.net

Leica is releasing a 37 MEGAPIXEL camera. Supposedly made to provide the quality of medium format, and the handling and flexibility of 35mm.

I don’t even want to imagine what the price is. I mean seriously. How many more megapixels do we need? I’ve seen images that are 1600X1200 blown up for huge prints, and they still look wonderful. I mean I don’t need an actual 8′ x 4′ picture to make it into a 8′ x 4′ banner.

Read the article about the Leica @ engadget.com

Never have time to catch a nap? Well…How about waiting in line for the bathroom? Maybe waiting for a train? How about a bus? Wait…Maybe a cab?

Well now you don’t have anymore excuses. “Office for the development of Substitute Materials” has devised a solution to are sleepless lifestyles.

Check out the entire article @ engadget.com

Well happy 75th birthday acrylic. Check out the whole article @ signweb.com

New York State has started inserting RFIDs into driver licenses. Step by step they are getting closer to putting these things into US =O

Check out the article @ engadget.com

For over a year German BMW owners have been using google maps, and more recently all of the internet. Luckily now BMW owning Americans are getting a peice of the action. AT&T’s GSM-friendly network is pushing out the service. Unfortunately US BMW owners will only be getting the google maps side of the internet. Hopefully they will add full internet in the future =O.

Read the whole article @ engadget

Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.

Read the rest of the article

Cemusa partnered with Grimshaw Architects is redoing all New York City Newsstands, Bus Shelters, and pay toilets. AT NO CHARGE! Smart move? Of course! Well maybe ‘no charge’ was the wrong term. They are doing it in exchange for advertising. It’s a 20-year contract and I can’t even imagine how much money they will make charging for advertising on these things. Soon as I get some information about the numbers of it all I’ll be sure to fill everyone in.

To read more about this check out the article on SignWeb

Also I’m from New York, and don’t remember any pay toilets =O. I took a quick trip to wiki though for some information. Here is a pic!

ENJOY THE WEEKEND!

Read more about this printer on the roland website

Head on over to the Walmart Page to see the new logo for yourself.  Also check out the chronology of different logos they have used in the past.

What do you think?