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This dimensional lobby sign on clear acrylic looks great mounted with standoffs on the wall, it's a real show piece, by Signs for Success, Spokane for Oral Surgery Plus, office signs, stand-off mounts, lobby signs spokane

Polish Off Your Sign with Stand-Off Mounts

Give your tenants a classic look with Acrylic suite signs on standoffs, easily changed as tenants change, gives a uniform look to the whole building, great for office buildings or apartment complexes, stand-off mounts

Suite signs for office building with stand-off mounts

How you mount a sign and what type of hardware you choose is a vital aspect to the overall look of the sign.  To get a modern, clean and professional look, go with stand-off mounts.

Stand-off mounts give a unique look to:

  • Office buildings
  • Doctor offices
  • Department and Retail stores
  • Grocery Stores, and more!
Printed Brushed Aluminum with Polished Stand Offs

Printed Brushed Aluminum with Polished Stand Offs

Through-grips hold signs firmly in place and make changing out signs simple.  If you prefer not to drill holes in the sign, edge grip brackets are ideal – they allow graphics to sit comfortably in the display channels.  If you have signage that’s already fixed to the wall with screws, standoff caps are the finishing touch.  Simply putting a silver or bronze cap on exposed screws gives a polished and professional look with minimal effort.

For most stand-off mounting projects, we use mono mounts, which is a two part system used to mount signs on almost any vertical or horizontal surface. Stand-off mounts can hold heavy, permanent signage without unattractive exposed screws.  In addition, they increase visual impact by offering a three-dimensional look.

Printed Brushed Aluminum with Polished Stand Offs

Printed Brushed Aluminum with Polished Stand Offs

Varying stand-off distances can be achieved according to customer preference, and mounting hardware is available in multiple sizes, colors and finishes.

General Sign Mounting

We supply many different types of sign hardware from hooks and chains to banner poles and real estate sign posts.  By considering what kind of sign you are mounting, whether it is a pole banner or a poster, you will be able to narrow down the long list of mounting hardware to what will best suit your needs.

Some signs require specific hanging hardware.  For example, pole banners come with a spring action pole and hardware specifically made to handle high winds.  Other signs merely require a few screws.  We can manufacture your sign with premade holes or grommets for easy hanging.  This hanging

Digital Print with stand off mounts

Digital Print with stand off mounts

method is frequently used for mounting safety signs, site signs, or traffic signs that are legally mandated.

Many other signs are easily hung with VHB Tape.  VHB Tape is sturdy enough for lightweight signs like posters, or for temporary signage where you don’t want to damage the mounting surface.

Contractor site signs for showing upcoming Construction projects with skid frames and rigid signs, skid signs

Create Interest with Custom Skid Signs

Contractor site signs for showing upcoming Construction projects with skid frames and rigid signs, skid signs

Barton Jeep Spokane site sign

For professional-looking and sturdy temporary signs, try our custom skid signs.  Skid signs, site signs, and panel signs generate awareness and create interest in new construction or upcoming events.  Identify your business, sell or lease space, direct customers, announce building projects, and more with custom skid signs!

Temporary site signs or skid signs to show wayfinding, direction, or new information

Skid sign for Unify Community Health

What are Skid Signs?

“Skid signs are temporary signs for wayfinding, direction, new information, new construction, financing, etc,” Signs for Success designer Vanessa Bogensberger said.  Skid signs are usually 4’ x 8’ or 4’ x 4’ although custom sizing is also available.  “The skid frame is for temporary use, usually under a year, but they have been known to be left up for many years.”

Skid Signs are most commonly used for:

  • Construction site signs
  • Real Estate signs
  • Financer signs
  • Sponsor signs
  • Parking signs
  • Event signs

Skid signs are quick to produce, and we can include setup and removal of the sign(s) as well.  They are large, sturdy and durable –skid signs are highly visible and can withstand the wear and tear of a construction site for several months.

Let people know what you do with temporary construction site sign either on posts in ground or on skid framing

Global Credit Union post / panel sign

Digitally Printed Skid Signs

Our digitally printed skid signs are very cost effective and provide portability to take your message wherever you want. Our signs can be permanently set in the ground (site signs or panel signs) or installed on a temporary footing system (a true skid sign).

Whether single or double sided, your custom sign will feature a unique and modern design to get seen wherever it is placed.  We offer design, printing and installation, all from a trusted, local business.  Contact us for a free quote!

custom sponsor school signs hanging in gym for schools by Signs for Success near Mead and Chewelah

Use School Signs to Raise Money

custom sponsor school signs hanging in gym

High school sponsor signs printed on corrugated plastic

School signs provide a vital means of communication between a school and its community, parents, students and teachers.  From sponsor signs to event signs to safety signs, custom printed school signs are a great addition to any campus.

Use school signs to:

  • Thank sponsors and volunteers
  • Promote fundraisers
  • Maintain safety indoors and out
  • Recognize student, teacher and school achievements
  • Announce school functions
  • Promote sporting events
custom printed school signs, Rogers High School in Spokane

Rogers High School literacy sign

School signs can be printed on a number of different materials.  The most cost-effective material – and perfectly adequate for temporary signs – is corrugated plastic.  Often called coro or corex, the material has a corrugated core and a smooth plastic face.

“We print sponsor signs on corrugated plastic for Rosalia School District, Liberty School District and Northwest Christian School.  It’s a great way for public and private schools to raise the badly needed funds to enhance their sports programs,” Signs for Success designer Vanessa Bogensberger said.

We digitally print the custom design or message, then add grommets or heavy duty double stick tape for easy hanging.

Custom printed school signs

Custom printed school sign

For long-term school signs, there are many more rigid sign materials to choose from.  We printed these literacy wall signs on high impact polystyrene and gatorplast for Rogers High School.  The purpose of the signs was to develop and increase students’ love for reading and literacy in their school, and they will be sure to last many years.

Some other materials for indoor and outdoor school signs include: Aluminum or Aluminum Composite Material (ACM), Lexan, Acrylic, and PVC.  Aluminum is great for safety signs, whether they’re in the parking lot or in the science lab.  Show your school pride with parking signs, visitor signs, and security signs with custom printed school name and/or mascot.

Whatever school signs you might need, Signs for Success can create the perfect custom signs for you.  Contact us for a free quote!

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

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!

Restored arcade pinball glass with digital printing by Spokane Signs for Success

Retro Art Restoration: Recreating Pinball Glass

Restored arcade pinball glass with digital printing

Restored arcade pinball glass

Because we create custom digital prints, we often get interesting and unusual requests.  These are fun projects that test our creativity and show off just much our equipment can do.  We were recently asked to restore a retro pinball machine to its original pop art glory.

“The customer had purchased a used pinball machine online.  It was a Williams Heat Wave machine.  He said he used to play it for hours when he was a child,” Signs for Success designer Will Oakley explained.  However, when the customer received his beloved pinball machine, the glass was broken into three pieces.  “It appeared at some point someone had shot it with a BB gun,” Will said.  “We scanned the pieces he had, recreated the missing areas from scratch and reprinted the image onto a piece of glass that the customer provided.”

Before and after photo of recreated glass, pinball machine glass, digital printing

Before and after photo of recreated glass

Digital Printing

Signs for Success specializes in custom large-format digital printing.  Digital printing can translate into car and truck wraps, large signs, posters, banners, decals, and so much more.  This project incorporated our extensive knowledge and experience in backlit signs.  Digital printing makes full color backlit signs possible, but getting the color and saturation just right can be tricky when a sign is backlit half the time, and front-lit the other half of the time.  Too often, we see dark sign graphics during the day and washed out signs at night.  So we came up with a solution – layering color with white ink during printing allows a light-blocking layer so the same color and saturation can be seen whether the sign is lit from the front or back.  We used the same technique for the pinball glass.

“There are areas of the image that don’t show up until the image is backlit.  We were able to recreate these areas using layers of white ink and color,” Will explained.  When the lights come on, the graphics really pop out thanks to a layer of white ink and a second layer of color behind those images.

With a little design savvy, state-of-the-art FB500 flatbed printer, and understanding of color and white ink, we were able to recreate the broken pinball glass.  The customer was ecstatic that we were able to restore his pinball machine and will be able to once again “play it for hours.”

Tradeshow displays, retractable banner stands and promotional products are produced by Signs for Success in Spokane

See the difference our triple strike method produces, everyone else in town prints backlit like the frog on the right, Signs for Success produces full color like the one on the left, come see us now for a fast quote

How to Get Perfect Backlit Signs Day and Night

See the difference our triple strike method produces, everyone else in town prints backlit signs like the frog on the right, Signs for Success produces full color like the one on the left, come see us now for a fast quote

Signs for Success triple strike backlit sign test

Driving around Spokane, you may not see a whole lot of full color backlit signs.  That’s because full color outdoor backlit signs present a special challenge: constantly changing ambient light.

In the beginning of sign making, backlit signs were hand painted with translucent paint that looked great when lit from the front by the sun as well as at night when lit from behind.  The transition from hand-painting to cut vinyl made the process easier, and translucent vinyl worked well for both day and night settings.  The downside to the vinyl was that it was and still is very expensive compared to other options.  In addition to a high price tag, the vinyl could only produce spot color, so images and text had to be simple. Photos, gradients and special effects were not possible.

Digital printing has solved both of these problems, but naturally, it leads to some of its own complications.  Digitally printing a sign face is more cost effective than either hand-painting or ordering and cutting several colors of translucent vinyl.  It also allows for a multitude of nearly unlimited color choices, and digitally printed gradients produce a realistic, vibrant image.  The complication arises when different lighting – from the outside by the sun, and from the inside by electrical lighting – hits the print.  Backlit signs have to not only look good at night when they’re lit from behind, but they also have to look good all day long when the light source comes from outside. “Traditional digitally printed backlit signs look washed out at night.  One option is to bump up saturation, which makes the sign too dark during the day,” Signs for Success owner John Bogensberger explained.

Balance Eternalle Day Spa in Spokane wanted more visibility at night, so this backlit signs light up great and shows hot stone massage

Balance Eternelle Day Spa Backlit Sign during the day

The solution?  Over several weeks of testing, we found that the best combination was printing the image in color, then a layer of 50% opacity white ink, and finally another layer of color.  These three layers make it possible for the image to shine through no matter what direction the light comes from.  “During the day, the white backs up the outer layer, and during the night, the second layer of color comes through due to the backlighting,” John explained. “This allows the sign to look great day or night.”

In the picture above, we printed the same image using three different processes.  The image on the right shows a “single strike,” or just one layer of ink.  This type of printing is great for most signs, but as you can see, the backlighting washes out the image at night.  The image on the left shows the same image printed on the front of the sign face, then printed in reverse on the back side.  This “double strike” method gives better color, but can be very difficult to register exactly on both sides.  The center image is a “triple strike” with color, white ink, then color printed on the sign face.  Our test image is printed with 100% opacity white ink, but by lowering the opacity to 50%, the image is bright and clear.

Change the faces for the backlit signs logo and readerboard on pole signs in Spokane, done fast by Signs for Success

Spokane First backlit sign

Even with the extra ink and extra printing time required for a triple strike, this is still the most cost effective option for vibrant full color backlit signs that look great in any lighting conditions.  The color will be sure to last at least 3-5 years, and if the sign is laminated, you can expect 5-7 years of life.

We coined the phrase “backlit triple strike” – since perfecting the method, we just don’t do backlit signs any other way.  “Triple strike” refers to the three trips the material takes through the printer, first receiving the sign graphics in full color, then a layer of white ink, then another run of the graphics in full color.  This technique allows the intended color and saturation to show through whether the light source comes from outside the sign or from within, creating great backlit signs day or night.

See More Back-lit or Illuminated Signs or Request a Quote today.

Eloika Pines reflective highway sign in daylight

Custom Reflective Signs for Highway

Eloika Pines reflective highway sign in daylight, custom reflective signs

Eloika Pines reflective highway sign in daylight

Custom Reflective signs are used for highway signs, stop signs and other important landmarks so they can be clearly seen day and night.  When business signs are positioned near a road, reflective vinyl can be a good choice for these too.  This far North here in Washington, from November to March most businesses open before sun-up and are still open hours after the sun sets.  One way for signs to remain viewable at night is to use reflective vinyl.  It’s less expensive than a backlit sign and just as clear when illuminated by headlights.

Eloika Pines Mobile Home Park had an old highway sign north of Riverside, WA that needed to be remodeled.  It was more than ten years old and was also ineffective at night.  Loren Acuna from Eloika Pines, managed by Summer Creek Properties, wanted to not only update the sign but have it visible at night.

Eloika Pines reflective sign at night, custom reflective signs

Eloika Pines reflective sign at night

These large custom reflective signs are made up of three 4’ x 8’ panels and stands sixteen feet above the ground.  The adjacent highway runs eight feet above ground level, and with vehicles passing at the same height as the sign, the headlights shining on reflective vinyl create the look of an illuminated sign.

After performing a site survey, we recommended replacing the three 4 ‘x 8’ MDO plywood panels with a single 8 ‘x 12’ FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood) panel.  Applying reflective vinyl to the sign offers an opportunity for low cost additional impressions through the winter months.

The redesigned custom reflective signs graphics were printed on our HP FB 500 printer, then laminated for greater outdoor durability.  Then the laminated reflective film was installed on the FRP panel.  There was a slight delay for on-site install because of a record snowfall in November.  After a couple weeks of warmer temperatures we were finally able to get to the site for installation.  To attach the sign to the existing post we used 1.5″ angle ironon both sides of the sign. The angle iron was painted, attached and sealed at our shop.

Signs for Success has a great solution to virtually any sign project.  Our experienced design and production teams can assist with everything from layout and material selection through production, installation and maintenance. See more rigid signs, or better yet, contact us for a quote.

See the whole project, watch the video!