Editor's Note

Extra! Extra!

We will continue our “summer of this content.”

Published

2 years ago

September 8, 2022

Mark Kissling Signs of the Times September 2022 Issue

“SO LITTLE TO publish, so much room in the magazine,” if I may paraphrase Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka. “Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you.”

Indeed, we have much more content than can fit in these pages — news, for example. Hopefully, you’ve noticed our regular news posts online, many of them plucked from the pages of newspapers all over the country, even the world, and delivered to your inbox by our 5x weekly bulletins.

Often when we have extra details or images from our feature articles and columns, we include that material on our website. This month in the online version, you can see all the installers, equipment, materials and software from the Sign Contest-winning entries— congratulations, by the way! Our cranes article also has a link to download OSHA fact sheets and more. All the responses to our popular Real Deal scenarios that aren’t included in the issue and the rest of the images from the Benchmarks projects are regularly added online.

But we’re also posting editorial online extras — articles completely new and separate from this magazine — as with our recent three-part pieces on smartphones in July and “side gigs” in August. Derived from survey questions asked of our Brain Squad, these articles offer unique, nontraditional insights into the industry and the lives of sign professionals.

So if you think about it — stay with me here, almost finished — signsofthetimes.com is your “golden ticket” (not limited to five) to the wonders behind Signs of the Times magazine.

5 Smart Tips from This Issue

Consider the many advantages of using a UV printer and inks. (Tech Products)
Get NCCCO certified for crane use before taking on any large installs. (Power Lifting)
Obtain a 3M DI-NOC certification for referrals of good-paying vinyl jobs. (Mark Kissling)
Always remember you are in a people business as well as the sign business. (Maggie Harlow)
See what sign pros suggest a sign company should do when getting unfair or fraudulent reviews online. (Real Deal)

Introducing the Sign Industry Podcast

The Sign Industry Podcast is a platform for every sign person out there — from the old-timers who bent neon and hand-lettered boats to those venturing into new technologies — we want to get their stories out for everyone to hear. Come join us and listen to stories, learn tricks or techniques, and get insights of what’s to come. We are the world’s second oldest profession. The folks who started the world’s oldest profession needed a sign.