Tradeshow & Promo Archives

Get Fast Turnaround on Custom Drink Coasters

April 14, 2015/in Branded Promotional, Logo Branding, Tradeshow & Promo/by John Bogensberger

Spokane Symphony Coasters made right here in Spokane

Custom printed coasters aren’t just for restaurants; they can be used at any business or promotional event for additional exposure. Since we added full color drink coasters to our long list of promotional advertising options at the beginning of the year, we’ve seen many orders for these thoughtful special event favorites.

We started making drink coasters when one of our long-time clients was in a pinch with his regular supplier. “It was just before Christmas, and his usual supplier was closing for two weeks around the holidays and could not deliver in time for their event on New Years’ Eve,” Signs for Success designer Vanessa Bogensberger explained. “We called a few more of our vendors but received the same answer.”

Vanessa immediately began the search for a suitable material to print custom drink coasters on. She collaborated with Signs for Success Production Manager Denise Gillit, and they came up with X-board. “We decided to use X-board, which is very much like matte board for framing, and it’s a better quality product than most coasters are printed on,” Vanessa said. “We were able to print the coasters full color, double sided for similar pricing as the ad specialty products, but we got a far superior product.”

These custom printed coasters were completed on time for First Night Spokane, a Spokane Symphony event, and our client Clint Burgess was thrilled with the result. He ordered 4,000 double sided, full color coasters for his New Years’ event, and loved them so much that he has come back to order more every time they run low. Custom drink coasters have become a regular advertising tool for Spokane Symphony.

Drink coasters are great for:

Special events
Fundraisers
Weddings
Restaurants
Bars

Clifford 80th Birthday Celebration Items

A drink coaster is a great place to advertise upcoming events, special deals, and contact information such as logo, website, phone number, and social media. We can do single- or double-sided full color printing to really maximize the advertising space. We now advocate our in-house custom printed drink coasters over other vendors because, as Vanessa says, “Our coasters are superior quality of both print and material, done locally, done more quickly, and at a very reasonable price point.” It just doesn’t get any better than that!

See more options for Promotional Products here or

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Custom canvas wall art; photography by Cathleen Balfour

Custom Canvas Prints Turn Photographs into Fine Art

April 3, 2015/in Banners, Posters/by John Bogensberger

Gallery wrapped canvas prints on display; photography by Cathleen Balfour.

Custom Canvas Prints

Personal motivator Cathleen Balfour is inspired by her many travels, and photos taken during trips to Hawaii, Mexico, and Arizona conjure feelings of faith and beauty. Cathleen wanted a way to display her favorite photos and share them with others. What began as a personal collection of memories has turned into an art collection titled Sacred Prints that has been showcased and even sold as individual pieces.

To print her personal photographs on canvas, Cathleen simply sent Signs for Success the digital files to work with. With Cathleen’s approval, we cropped a few of them slightly to fit the frame size. Blown up and digitally printed on canvas, these are each a beautiful piece of fine art. A matte finish gives the photos a gallery look, and stretched over a wooden frame, they are ready to hang and be enjoyed.

Custom canvas prints wall art; photography by Cathleen Balfour

Custom canvas wall art; photography by Cathleen Balfour

Our canvas material comes in 28″ and 56″ rolls, which will allow for a large sized print about 4 feet by however tall or wide you would like. The smaller roll is ideal for prints with a finished size of 2 feet or less. Cathleen’s first two prints were 36” x 42” and 42” x 48”. She sold both prints immediately, then ordered several more to be showcased at an art show. Cathleen describes her work as “art with hope and spirit.”

Signs for Success can help you with reproducing your photograph on a number of different products, from gallery wrapped canvas, foamcore or other rigid surfaces, even flat material you provide!

This temporary back wall for Brooks & Dunn concert advertisement at Spokane Tradeshow is made of foamcore, but could easily be a banner or other substrate, foamcore displays cheney, printed foam core spokane

Custom Foamcore Signs

March 23, 2015/in A-frame, Displays, Post and Panel, Posters, Rigid Signs, Standees, Tradeshow & Promo, Wall Signs/by John Bogensberger

This temporary back wall signs for Brooks & Dunn concert advertisement at Spokane Tradeshow is made of foamcore, but could easily be a banner or other substrate

Scored foamcore panel for Brooks & Dunn concert advertisement at Spokane Tradeshow

Foamcore, or foam board,

is definitely an underutilized sign material. Though foamcore must be used solely for indoor signs, because it is both inexpensive and professional looking, foamcore signs can be used either as short- or long-term signage in almost any setting.

Use foamcore signs for:

Hanging signs
Point of Purchase signs
Directional signs
Exhibit signs and Kiosks
Tradeshow displays
Custom shaped signs
Easel signs
Presentation displays

Decorate with affordable styrene, paper, foamcore signs, gator posters in your retail clothing store, by Signs for Success in Spokane

Retail store signs

Foamcore is a paper product with a wood-fiber veneer. It has similar thickness to corrugated plastic, but with a smooth face, and it’s perfect for indoor displays and indoor hanging signs. Unfortunately, the soft paper exterior of foamcore means it is not outdoor durable, and should be kept away from moisture and high-traffic areas.

Even though it can be fragile, foamcore’s positive qualities prevail:

Holds a high-quality digital print
Very lightweight; ideal for indoor hanging signs
Inexpensive
Professional looking interior signage

Our foamcore signs are custom, full color signs that can be printed either single- or double-sided. See descriptions of foamcore and other sign materials. Our experienced design team can take a concept and create a one-of-a-kind look for your next custom sign project. Contact us today to get started!

This vista sign doesn't have the printed info in it, just the frame so far, but it looks great and is totally changeable whenever you want to change the message

Modular Sign Systems

March 16, 2015/in Rigid Signs, Tradeshow & Promo, Uncategorized/by John Bogensberger

Vista modular sign on wall

Modular sign systems offer sleek, professional looking signs to give an office building a unified look, inside and out. We have partnered with Vista Signs to offer a modern and functional modular sign system called “modular curved frame technology,” or MCFT. These modular signs offer any type of way finding sign, all with a modern, professional, unified look. Vista describes MCFT as “contemporary euro design,” which uses a modern curved shape that is both functional and attractive.

Among the types of modular signs offered are:

Wall frames
Flag signs
Directory signs
Table stands
Double sided pylons
MCFT Signs
Suspended signs
Post pylons
Triangular pylons
Lighted signs

The MCFT Advantage

Modular signs are easy to update. The curved frame system accommodates many types of sign substrates including plastics such as styrene, metals, or paper. The sign is easily inserted or removed to update a sign. The curved shape keeps inserted materials firmly in place using its strong tension grip. In addition, the frame system can be used in conjunction with engraving, vinyl, ADA, digital printing, and more. The modular system is highly versatile since standardized units can be assembled in different ways.

We’ve partnered with Vista to provide custom modular sign systems

One of the newest modular sign products is Slider Signs. These signs are perfect for displaying “OCCUPIED/ VACANT” and come in the standard curved frame extrusion. They’re made to match all the other curved frame signs offered by Vista, adding a new option to the professional line of indoor and outdoor signs. “They look great on a wall, a door, or next to one of our signs!” Vista representative Ashley Charles said. There’s a growing demand for sliding signs, and Signs for Success can get them for you! Use other modular curved frame signs in conjuction with slider signs, and you’ll have a complete, professional look for your office building. Learn more about Vista signs or request a quote.

These lap desks are printed and laminated, double sided, then cut out, given to school kids in Africa for a great learning experience

Aluminum Composite Lap Desks Transform Education in Africa

March 6, 2015/in new and cool, Rigid Signs, Tradeshow & Promo/by John Bogensberger

PAL Lap desks are custom printed aluminum composite material

PAL stands for Portable Academic Lapdesk. “PAL was born out of years of working in Malawi and Zambia and seeing the dire needs of the schools there,” PAL Non-Profit founder Jackie Wells said. “In 2009 we developed the idea of making a lap desk that contained all the basics of education on either side of the lap desk. This would give the students both a desk to work from and basically a visual textbook.”

It took Joel and Jackie Wells several years to develop their non-profit organization, design and copyright the lap desk, get a design patent, and try different prototypes. During the prototype process, Jackie contacted Signs for Success to see what they could come up with. “John was willing to think outside the box and came up with the idea of printing directly onto Aluminum Composite. By laminating over the printing we are providing extra protection as well as UV protection,” Jackie said.

Aluminum Composite Material

Aluminum composite is made of two sheets of thin aluminum with a solid polyethylene core. It is outdoor durable, heat resistant and water proof. Lamination increases the life of the print and further protects from UV rays and normal wear and tear.

Signs for Success designer Vanessa Bogensberger helped with setup and corrections to provided art files. Running test prints for the double sided printing took some time and tweaking to get it just right, but with approval from the customer, hundreds of these unique lap desks went to production. Finally, in June 2014, after much preparation and determination, Joel and Jackie completed the production and distribution of 550 PALs throughout African countries Malawi and Zambia.

PAL lap desk are a hit with teachers and students alike

Lap desks Get Enthusiastic Response

The distribution to village schools included teacher training. They’ve since heard back from several teachers about the success of the lap desks. One teacher wrote, “By seeing the PAL some of our older learners are self-correcting things they had learned wrong.” Another wrote, “teaching becomes simple to me because learners participate actively using these PALs.”

In a letter of endorsement from the Director of Basic Education in Malawi, Dr. Chimombo states, “The PAL gains the attention of our students with its bright and colorful presentation and gives them a global perspective. Many of our schools have limited supplies. If we can establish the distribution of this tool into these schools the PAL will provide them with a much needed resource. The teacher’s manual that accompanies the PAL will provide great support to instructors.”

Joel and Jackie are in the midst of a RocketHub social media campaign that will last until April 15 to raise funds to take 600 more PALs into Africa in September 2015.

Learn more about our custom rigid signs or request a free quote.

Life Sized Standee for grocery store advertising shows Tom Sherry at Spokane Trading Co Stores, cut out of Styrene, Gator, or Coro, free standing coroplast signs spokane valley

Coroplast Signs: Beyond Yard Signs

March 2, 2015/in A-frame, Displays, Fence Slats, Post and Panel, Posters, Rigid Signs, Standees, Tradeshow & Promo, Wall Signs, Yard, Political, Realtor/by John Bogensberger

Coroplast Signs: Life Sized Standee for grocery store advertising shows Tom Sherry at Spokane Trading Co Stores, cut out of Styrene, Gator, or Coro, free standing

Tom Sherry life sized coro stand for grocery store

Coroplast Signs, also known as coro, corro, corex, fluted plastic or corrugated plastic, often gets overlooked as a serious sign substrate. Its versatility and other great qualities lend itself to several situations, indoor and out, temporary or long-term. Even though coro is great for yard signs (perhaps its most usual niche), its potential goes far beyond the front yard.

Some other ways to use coroplast signs include:

Menu boards
Event signs
Directional signs
A-frame signs
Construction signs
Tradeshow signs
Standees
Indoor hanging signs
Point of purchase signs, and more!

Parking sign out of Corro coro corrugated plastic, coroplast signs for Hillyard Florist in Spokane, make a great yard, political, or real estate sign

Hillyard Florist Parking sign

What makes coro so versatile is its lightweight, durable material. It’s 100% recyclable and water- and weather-resistant. Coupled with the inexpensive price, coroplast is an easy choice for many sign solutions.

Coro is relatively inexpensive, and it can often be used in place of a banner. “Coroplast Signs have the same look as a banner when you put it up, and it’s cheaper than banner material,” Signs for Success designer Vanessa Bogensberger explained. “We had a customer who wanted a 3’x7’ banner, and we suggested printing to coro instead. They got two 2’x8’ coro coroplast signs for less than it would have cost for one banner.”

Signs for Success stocks Standard and Opaque Corrugated Plastic in both 4’x 8′ and 5’x 10′ sheets. Contact us today to get started on your next custom coro sign project!

See coro & other substrate sign materials.

Garage door Wraps is something we do at Signs for Success, Spokane, like this image of a tank, call now

Garage Door Wraps – Tank

February 17, 2015/in decals stickers labels, Paparazzi Photo Backdrop, Tradeshow & Promo, Wallpaper, Window Graphics, Windows, Walls and Floors/by John Bogensberger

Custom garage door wrap featuring a tank

Garage Door Wraps add dimension to your building

Doors make a great advertising wrap surface. Business entrances, elevator doors, and even garage doors maximize your marketing budget by promoting your business in places you already own and customers frequent.

When it comes to getting the most out of your advertising dollar, we always recommend using every available space to promote your business and services, from vehicles to walls, floors, and/or entire buildings you have access to. At Signs for Success, we’ve utilized large signs, custom window shades, vehicle wraps and fence slat signage, but we didn’t stop there. We decided to take our own advice and makeover our 12’ x 12’ garage door with custom garage door wraps.

The concept for the garage door wraps wrap design started with the idea of creating a trick of the eye. Signs for Success owner John Bogensberger envisioned an image of the garage with an unusual object inside so that at a glance, it looked like we were actually housing a train, aircraft, or whatever strange vehicle we could come up with.

Signs for Success designer Will Oakley began the design with a train engine, given the area’s rail yard history. However, the steam from the engine couldn’t be manipulated easily to look like it was confined to the inside of the garage. Next, he superimposed a plane, but the wingspan was too large, and even folding up the wings (similar to how airplanes are stored and moved around on an aircraft carrier) didn’t look quite right. A fire truck didn’t seem interesting enough. Finally, Will tried a military tank. It was unusual yet realistic and had just the effect John was going for.

This tank design for garage door wraps was printed on 3M IJ35c10 Intermediate Conformable Vinyl and was installed in one afternoon. By starting with a photo of the room (in this case the inside of our empty garage), then superimposing the foreign object, we achieved unique garage door wraps that serves as an example of our large format printing capabilities as well as a fun conversation starter.

Quick Turn on Large Format Posters

February 6, 2015/in Banners, Paparazzi Photo Backdrop, Posters, Tradeshow & Promo/by John Bogensberger

Wicked Paparazzi Backdrop Wall

Searching for Posters?

“We come up great in searches for off the wall stuff and high profile projects, but we don’t for [posters],” Signs for Success designer Vanessa Bogensberger said. A lot of people know us for our vehicle wraps or the unique sign solutions we have come up with, but the truth is, we do simple sign projects like posters, too.

Indoor Posters with lighting

Our large format flatbed printer allows us to print very large signs, banners, and large format poster prints. A poster is one of the easiest signs to print. We stock a 54” roll of heavyweight satin paper, so we can print up to 53” wide by any length right away. We design and print everything in-house so our customers get a quick turnaround on any project.

The satin paper has a beautiful finish with low glare. Extra large posters and even custom paparazzi backdrops are finished quickly at Signs for Success. We’ve printed dozens of paparazzi backdrop walls for special events and even a set backdrop for a television interview. To create giant poster prints, we print several panels to cover an entire wall.

Wall coverings or posters are affordable decorating and easily changed, by Signs for Success, call now for fast service

Custom posters for retail panel signs

Use large poster prints for:

Hanging signs
Indoor panel signs
Point of purchase signs
Presentations
Window signs
Paparazzi backdrops

Contact us for a free quote and mockup of your large format poster or large digital prints today!

Settlers of Catan custom printed game boards for groomsmen gifts

Settlers of Catan Custom Game Boards

December 29, 2014/in Branded Promotional, Rigid Signs/by John Bogensberger

Settlers of Catan custom printed game boards for groomsmen gifts

These particular printed custom game boards were created for a groom-to-be with a love for Settlers of Catan.

“My son Jim just graduated from Gonzaga and will soon be stationed as an Army officer in Hawaii with his wife Hannah. They were married this past weekend and he wanted to make something truly unique for his groomsmen gifts,” Signs for Success owner John Bogensberger said. “Since Jim has been working around the sign shop since he was a kid, he’s got a good feel for what we can do. With our state-of-the-art design and printing technologies, we can come up with a solution for just about any project. Even though it was our first time working on a project like this, Jim knew it could be done, and with style.”

Digitally printed wood game boards with shape cuts

Jim came up with the idea of printing the game on a thin 1/8” wood board and personalizing the games to each groomsman. Signs for Success designers Vanessa Bogensberger and Will Oakley created the designs.

After purchasing raw wood, Jim applied a layer of clear finish to the entire printing surface. Then the graphics were printed with our HP FB500 and covered with another layer of clear finish. He then took the boards to Decade Awards where Ted & Adam laser cut the shapes out of the board. Jim used transfer tape over the surface to protect the graphics from the laser.

Next, he printed a parchment background on the back side of Marine Grade vinyl upholstery fabric to give the fabric the look of Parchment. On the face of the vinyl fabric Jim printed the cover and back, each of which were customized with a nickname and the event date. The custom game boards were then attached to the parchment side of the fabric.

Custom printed wood game boxes

To take it over the top, Jim decided to make custom wood game boxes that required a lot of cuts and finishing. The custom game boards box lids were printed with our HP FB500. Because the inks are translucent against a non-white surface, we utilized the white ink channel and put a layer of white ink, also called white ink underflood, under the graphic in order to maintain the color.

“There was no money in this project but it was great fun working with my son and learning new things that can be done with our equipment. We learned we can laser cut wood after printing on it and we can print on both sides of the Marine Grade Upholstery fabric,” John said. “Kudos to his mom and one of our designers Will Oakley for working out all the print and cut files. That alone took many hours.”

Here’s a short video about the project:

Custom Canvas Prints Turn Photographs into Fine Art

Custom Canvas Prints

Settlers of Catan Custom Game Boards

These particular printed custom game boards were created for a groom-to-be with a love for Settlers of Catan.

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