Graphics Evolution in the Sign Industry

We’re all familiar with the saying and the 1963 Bob Dylan song “The Times They Are A-Changing.” I would like to modify this saying, slightly, to portray our industry direction, “The Signs They Are A-Changing.” The sign industry has experienced a continuous Darwinian evolution, where the strong survive, and adaptation is essential. I know some don’t accept Darwin’s evolution theory, but it’s analogous to where signage came from and where it’s heading.

Signage has been changing. From pictograms to the futuristic electronic gizmos of the movies, we all see the changes. Each step takes us to new, uncharted areas, and the crafts of yesteryear, which still persist, evolve with technology. In reality, the growth and changes have expanded our options, because previous tried and true technologies and art forms of the past help us appreciate future developments.

Drawinius Signimus
Ancient Signs. Were ancient cavemen drawing signs or art? This raises a debate – whether this form of expression was used to advertise, editorialize, beautify or record history, it communicated. The crude drawings detail life and survival. How did people exist, and what did they do on a daily basis? All in all, they’re signs of what was ancient history.

Painterabilis
Handcrafted Signs. Although cave drawings were handcrafted, the real artistry in handpainted signs didn’t occur until many years later. According to ST’s September 1975 issue, around 3,000 B.C., signage began with brick carving. Many empires rose and fall. Years went by and the sign craft grew, becoming more complex and creative following the Dark Ages.

In the 17th and 18th Centuries, the artistry grew. More creativity and quality became apparent and colorful signboards hung from shops and banking houses. The artistry became omnipresent through the years, as new paints and techniques evolved. The addition of metallic paints, consistent glass storefronts, and booming economies drove the artistry to new levels.

In addition, screenprinting created an offshoot to the handpainted market. It allowed artisans to create and replicate signs for large opportunities and point-of-sale displays. First came line colors – simple blended inks in a solid color; then came four-color-process printing. Printing photo-like graphics became simpler. Four-color wasn’t cheap or easy – color separations, individual screens, moiré and squeegee pressure – yet another craft stemmed from signpainting.

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Technolocus Interruptus
Sign Cutting. Sign plotters and colorful vinyl came much later. These provided process graphics standardization and repeatability, on a larger scale, with exacting results.

Now, anyone can buy a plotter and some vinyl and become a signshop. Many have tried, and many have failed. The true entrepreneurs have shaped today’s business environment and continue to flourish in this tough marketplace. Additional technologies have lowered market-entry barriers and reduced costs.

Are artisans extinct? No! Although technology simplified trade entry, artisans customized their craft and specialty. Melding technology with the artistry of design and painting, handpainters keep painting. Many continue to flourish in the handpainting industry, and, in today’s technology world, many signmakers emulate yesteryear’s handcrafted signs and try to impart a handcrafted look to their vinyl graphics as well.

Digitalmaximus Revolutionium
Digital Printing on Vinyl. With sophisticated computers, and even more sophisticated printers, computer-generated art can be printed on receptive vinyl. Early technology versions were either labor intensive (because of image transfers) or impractical (because brittle coatings weren’t weatherproof). Then, printers were slow, and inks weren’t colorfast.

But today, a four-color graphic can be produced on a large scale with little effort.

Man’s genius conquers all, and new and greater technologies were developed with thermal transfer, drop-on-demand and piezo-printhead technologies. Don’t forget the software that can RIP the colors and tell the machines how to drop CMYK inks precisely to get the perfect red or realistic skin tone.

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Early solvent printers were expensive. Their messy inks produced low print quality. Genius stepped in, and the presses, inks and printheads evolved to make today’s beloved wide and superwide printers. Prices became affordable, and many rejoiced being able to print realistic graphice – not just colored, cut vinyl.

Graphiclopithicuss Rigidum
Digital Printing Direct to Rigid Substrate. We thought printing vinyl was fantastic, but now we can print directly on those rigid substrates, sometimes up to a few inches thick. Solvent and UV-inkjet printers and ink technologies now simplify printing directly on corrugated, doors and signblanks – almost anything.

Neandertalenses Electrus

Electronic Signs. First, there were simple LEDs and single-color electric signs. Messages then changed with programming, and we had variable graphics. Of course, mall, flat-screen TVs and panels showed their variable images. But wait. Look how the newest technologies light up the night. Electronic signs change automatically or on preprogrammed intervals.

These new signs generate fear for some and revenue for others. How far will they go? No one really knows. Some studies suggest these technologies are too fantastic – creating distractions on our roadways and increasing accidents and congestion, and other studies prove the reverse. We’ll let the academicians and governing bodies perform their studies and let us know.

Where do we go from here?

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No one knows exactly where the market is heading. Maybe, like science-fiction movies, displays will generate images based on the statistics on the pass-by’s implanted microchip. New technologies may make clouds, water and air the signs of the future, morphing into human-controlled advertising mechanisms. Or maybe the human race will leap forward and no longer need signs; everything will be done in our heads, and direct beams of information will be generated, filtered and created based on the individual’s special needs.

However, not one sign-business evolutionary process has completely displaced another. Unlike human evolution, as new "species” develop and evolve, the old masters, albeit fewer, stay around and complement the marketplace growth. Extinction hasn’t happened as the doomsday reports purport. Each technology gain has added to the craft and given many new tools to generate the art of signage. Some of the so-called old-fashioned sign methods have become truly artistic crafts and provide us all with glimpses into the past.