Signature Signs & Image (Niagara Falls, ON, Canada), in business since 1983, is a full-service sign-
shop that designs and fabricates sandblasted-wood signs; monument and building-mounted, 3-D signage; and wayfinding and architectural-sign systems, among other types. Jeff Wallis co-owns the business with his wife, Elaine, and son, Mark. Mark said sign-related technology has advanced hand-in-hand with increasingly complex design and production.
“I can remember when our sign designs involved simple squares and rectangles, with just a bit of lettering on them,” he said. “Now, our work has exploded into complex curves and dimensional shapes, and we’ve kept up with programs like CorelDRAW, the Adobe Creative Suite and [Autodesk’s] 3ds Max [CAD] software.”
Although Mark admits he and Elaine still sometimes begin work with a hand-sketch that’s scanned into their PC workstations, he praised how the software facilitated their job.
“3ds Max allows us to see inside our design, and confirm connection points for mounting and assembling the structure,” he said. “With this, we can develop designs that test the limits of fabrication. Newer programs also allow us to import more types of files and create usable files.”
Mark continued, “CorelDRAW allows us to progress quickly through simple designs for flat graphics, but, when a complex design requires a lot of layers, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator tend to work more effectively.”
He noted that site surveys assist in determining all key design and fabrication points. Mark said they help determine colors and how they’ll relate to a sign’s surroundings, and influence the sign’s shape and dimensionality.
“Sightlines are important to consider,” he said. “When we show our clients viewing angles, we use Photoshop to superimpose the proposed sign. Also, surveys help us determine how we’ll power the sign, and how many sections we’ll need to build. We prefer to build signs in the shop to minimize time and hassles at the jobsite.”
Wallis brought up several key points to consider in 3-D sign fabrication:
• Verify internal illumination doesn’t create unsightly shadows;
• Make sure component weights are balanced. Otherwise, lifting it with a crane will create an uneven load and increase the risk of damage;
• When attaching a sign to an existing structure, contact an engineer to verify the sign meets wind-load requirements;
• Simplify future service calls by making ballasts and electric connections easily accessible. Place service doors and power shut-offs in strategic locations. And, above all, keep thorough records so the customer or any service technician can have questions easily answered.
Mark cited a particularly challenging dimensional sign for a Margaritaville restaurant that opened in Niagara Falls. The sign incorporates four layers of lightboxes and channel letters, with white-neon halo lighting that reflects a black backer panel.
“The sign was enormous,” Mark said. “It literally weighed a ton, and required half a mile of neon. We secured the palm trees to the wall with 3/8-in.-diameter, steel HSS beams, and mounted the letters and the parrots with hidden square tubing and stainless-steel hardware cantilevered off the tubing. And, we had to strategically place eight transformers carefully inside the letters and cabinets.”
Mark lauded the shop’s new stud welder, which enables bonding threaded bolts up to 3 in. long directly to the substrate while avoiding exposed fasteners, as a vital tool in the shop’s dimensional-sign production. He also credits lower-profile LEDs and thinner electronic ballasts for providing solutions that help him make 3-D sign projects lighter and more manageable.