What’s it cost to produce this overlaid plywood fascia sign?

By Andy Bordi

Posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2021

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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

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