I’ve always believed that I can make anything if I set my mind to it. However, if you have no idea how something is made, you may think that making it should be a ‘piece of cake.’ But making a cake is not so simple and neither is printing yard signs and banners.

The commercial printing of yard signs and banners is actually rather fascinating. At a previous company I created a variety of different marketing materials. I helped with the size and shape of marketing materials and also proofed them for any possible errors. Nevertheless, I have never seen the actual process of a blank canvass go to a finished printed product.

Graphic designers are capable of creating beautiful commercial artwork. But transferring the artwork from an electronic file to corrugated plastic or a vinyl banner has more challenges than I realized. The worlds of creation and commercial printing can be as different as Venus and Pluto.

The first thing I did in my new position as Customer Service Representative was learn how signs are created from start to finish. I learned today that the method in which artwork is saved and sent to us makes a big difference. To help you save money, Super Cheap Signs requires all artwork saved as eps, ai and cdr. These are file types. If you would like to know more, SCS has a Help page called File Types. Even with the correct file type there is still more to it than just how you save a file. The design also has to be vectorized (also known as outlined).

Wise Geek defines vector graphics as “ The method using geometrical formulas is known as vector or vectorized graphics.” The reason vectorized graphics are good thing is because the image can be enlarged or reduced easily without losing any artwork quality.

If a file isn’t vectorized (outlined), our designers have to recreate the file or request from the customer that the artwork be resent as a vectorized file. Resending the file as vectorized is always the easiest choice. On the other hand, some artwork has been commercially purchased or saved from older programs that do not have the ability to be updated. When this happens, our designers will try to recreate the artwork in our studios.

If you want a better explanation of what a vectorized graphic looks like, check out the WebGrrl article “Convert any image to a vector image.”

Being the new kid in the office is always a bit awkward. Fortunately for me the group at Super Cheap Signs is a great bunch of Joes…and now a Jane with me as the new and only female addition. That alone should make some interesting story telling. Thankfully, I’m not the only new family member. Super Cheap Sign’s newest Sales Representative is Danny Harvill.

Danny is here to assist customers in determining which of our products will best fit their various needs. Super Cheap Signs realizes that every customer is different and so are their advertising needs. We want to make sure that each and every customer gets what they need and only what they need in a timely manner…and that they get it super cheap!

One thing I am particularly happy about is the relaxed atmosphere in the office and the thoughtful way in which people treat one another. Everyone is very friendly and open, so I haven’t had any problems asking questions and getting to know all of the Super Cheap Sign products and services. In fact, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning how signs are made.

As much as I would love to go on and on about how signs are made and how cool the process really is — I believe I’ll leave that for the near future. I feel very lucky to be part of the Super Cheap Signs family and look forward to talking to all the current and future Super Cheap Sign customers.

I have a new buddy who owns another sign shop.  Not just any sign shop, but a directly competing sign shop!  We were talking today and he said a great thing about customer service, “I don’t focus on trying to get new business, I focus on trying to get repeat business!” because he determines success by the level of customer service he provides, and the number of repeat orders is the measuring stick.

Attached is an impassioned email from a loyal customer in the DC area. It’s about some of the laws that have been passed regarding the placement of so-called ‘Bandit Signs’, or Yard Signs, and their response. This customer game me permission to post the email, on the condition I leave out the author’s name. It’s a bit long, but for those of you interested in the topic its still a very good read.

You’ll also see there is a letter attached from a Real Estate Investor to the ACLU…

Happy Reading!

-Jon