By Andy Bordi
Posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2021
This 15-by-120-in. fascia sign is typical of the sort of sign we’re called on to produce for businesses in nearby downtown areas. Downtown districts often enforce a fairly restrictive sign/design code. Not only does a sign have to conform with structural requirements, but design and color choices must also be approved.
This customer was on a limited budget and, being a new business, didn’t have a logo yet. By streamlining production I was able to work within the customer’s budget and still have a few minutes to put together a simple, legible logo for them.
The whole project went together quickly: design, production and installation took just a little over five hours. My eight-year-old son, Cameron, filled in as photographer so that I could concentrate on building the sign—and on putting this article together for SignCraft.
Andy Bordi’s shop, Bordi Designs, is in Merchantville, New Jersey.
Materials list:
Aluminum-faced 1⁄2-in. plywood
Vinyl film
Application tape
Paint
Printed/laminated graphics
Misc. supplies
Labor:
Meet client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 min.
Design/layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 min.
Coat MDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 min.
Prep to cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 min.
Cut, weed, mask . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 min.
Apply graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 min.
Paint copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 min.
Cut to shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 min.
Seal edges . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . .10 min.
Paint edges and back . . . . . . . . .15 min.
Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 min.
Total . . . . . . . . . . . 5 hours, 15 minutes
1. Layout and design: 60 minutes The completed drawing was printed for the customer to approve.
2. Prep to cut: 15 minutes Here’s the file on the screen, ready to send to the cutter and printer.
3. Print, cut, weed and laminate: 45 minutes After the graphics were printed on our Mutoh printer and cut on the Graphtec cutter, I laminated them with my Daige laminator.
4. Apply graphics: 15 minutes The dark green Oracal vinyl was applied to the prefinished aluminum-faced plywood panel from Laminators Inc.
5. Hand letter main copy: 40 minutes I brushed cream 1-Shot enamel on the lettering, allowing the white background to show as an outline.
6. Cut panel to shape: 15 minutes After applying and painting the lettering, I cut the panel to shape.
7. Seal edges: 10 minutes I sealed the edges of the panel using acrylic latex caulk, then painted the edge ivory to match the lettering.
8. Installation: 60 minutes Installation was just a matter of screwing the sign to the fascia.
SignCraft, January/February 2007
