Cool Donor Walls and More in June’s Inbox

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• We require 1/2 down to start a job. For one of our good repeat customers, we [recently] let that slide in order to begin it right away to meet a deadline. We had a pylon face already made when they told us they were going with someone else because they thought our price was too high. So much for trusting good repeat customers. So now we have to go back to “all customers have to pay 1/2 down” before we start on anything, including permit. — Carey Gray, CAT Graphics Inc., Great Falls, MT

Corrections Notice

• Tod Swormstedt, founder of the American Sign Museum (ASM, Cincinnati), has provided the following corrections for the May issue’s Benchmarks (see page 36) on historic signmaking techniques. We apologize for the errors made and have corrected the online versions of the article accordingly.
• Neon began to rise in popularity in the late 1920’s after Georges Claude had perfected the electrode and brought the technology to the US. The “GAS” neon sign shown is from the early 1930’s, not the turn of the century.
• Before Flexlume received their US patent, William S. Hough, Jr. of St. Catharines, ON, Canada, received the patent shown in the picture. Flexlume and the Canadian company fought in court until Flexlume emerged the winner.
• In creating a vacuum-formed sign, the plastic is in the frame which is brought down over the mold. It is not brought down separately, as suggested in the article.

On Past Issues

• The 2026 Women in Signs Award article was amazing. 😉 (see st, April 2026, page 22) — Lynsey Washington, Signarama Lancaster, PA
• I love seeing the historic signs. — Rick Ream, Media 1 Wrap This, Sanford, FL

On future suggestions

• Would love to see some highlights of cool donor wall/donor recognition projects, or company timeline-type projects. Stuff with lots of pieces! — Lauren Cassel, Fastsigns of Harrisburg, PA
• Possibly a column where people can share acknowledgement to people who have dedicated their lives to the sign industry. Also share some of their best accomplishments with the industry. — Derrick Weinbrecht, Creative Signs, Topeka, KS
• More on digital installations. — Jeff Bayer, Jetscape Signarama Inc., Fort Myers, FL
• I want to learn more about the AI tips and tricks. — Mary Gasca, Redrum Graphics, Simi Valley, CA