Tucker public library signs

The ability to work in house with aluminum is a strong asset to any sign shop. Many sign companies have to outsource the fabrication of aluminum structures to a local metal shop to offer this type of service. As RC Signs grew over the years, strong emphasis was placed on the ability to be a one stop source for all of our clients needs and today nearly every aspect of our products are fabricated completely in house. RC Signs’ in house metal shop is fully equipped to cut, weld, bend, cnc route, and paint aluminum and steel opening up a world of possiblilties for our clients signage needs.

One recent project that illustrates this is the Dekalb County Public Library in Tucker, GA. This project consisted of a two main aluminum entrance monuments, parking signage, and stud mounted text on the building.

As with many projects there was a very short lead time to complete this project before the grand opening. For this sign package a considerable amount of time was required just to cut and weld the aluminum structures for the two main signs. Once assembled, the aluminum frames and sign faces were painted using Matthews satin paint, and the aluminum text was given a brushed look by our fabricators and sprayed with a clear coat. Everthing was preassembled in the shop and then partly disassembled for delivery. Once on site our installation crew set the foundation, completed the brickwork, and assembled the signs. The client was very happy with the final product.

Stacie,
Everything looks great!  The Owner was very impressed with all of the signs and lettering, and the Grand Opening was a complete success.  Thanks to all of your team for the hard work and getting things completed by the deadline. 
In fact, the Owner was so impressed with the monument signs, that they would like to see what the cost would be to add another one to the Old Norcross entrance. 
Thanks!
Kevin Blankenship | Project Manager 
HOGAN CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC

 We would like to thank the design firm Leo A Daly  www.leoadaly.com and express  our appreciation to all the folks at Hogan that helped make this job happen.  www.hoganconstructiongroup.com

Below is an overview of the construction, installation, and final pictures of the project.

Aluminum arch in construction.

Aluminum frame and waiting for paint.

Hand brushed aluminum text awaiting clear coat.

Main panels predrilled for studs.

Initial foundation work.

Sign frame set in place.

Sign panel sliding into frame.

.25" brushed aluminum text.

 

Completed double sided sign.

Second view of stud mounted text.

Side view of double sided sign.

Front view of single sided sign.

Side view of single sided sign. The second entrance sign can be seen in the distance.

Parking sign.

How do you make a sandblasted sign?

Sandblasted signs have been a popular choice for years for most any application, including but not limited to subdivision entrances, park wayfinding signs, resort signs, and business signs. Offering a great alternative to vinyl signs, sandblasted signs are more of an architectural element, which adds to the overall design and feel of the location, rather than just getting the job done with a flat, printed sign. First impressions are important, typically the first thing people see is your sign, and a sandblasted sign will go far in helping you make a great first impression and giving you the opportunity to stand out from the start.

Sandblasted sign

Choose a substrate. Originally the substrate of choice was cedar planks. Cedar is a great sign building material because of its resistance to bugs and rot. Cedar is easily sandblasted and the resulting signs can last many years. The downside is that cedar is a natural product and no matter how much care is used in the fabrication of the cedar sign the wood is still (eventually) subject to decay. Cedar is also becoming harder to come by.

HDU (High Density Urethane) is the most popular choice of substrate for sandblasted signs today and it’s the material we use for the majority of our signs. It is impervious to insects and rot and unaffected by temperature changes. Unlike cedar, HDU is readily available, is stable, carves easily, and paints beautifully. It also looks just like wood when painted.

Substrate

Cut and apply sandblast mask. Once the substrate is chosen the sign blank is cut to shape on one of our CNC tables and is prepped for the sandblast mask. Using a vinyl plotter the artwork for the sign is cut from a rubber stencil material called sandblast mask. This mask is then applied to the face of the sign blank. The areas to be sandblasted are removed exposing the raw substrate. The exposed areas are blasted down to depth of 1/4 inch to 3/8 of an inch leaving the graphics and borders raised. This give the sign its dimensional look.

Blasted sign before priming.

Prime and Prime again. The sandblasted sign is primed in the spray booth, allowed to dry, sanded, then primed again. Priming is an important step and it’s important that shortcuts are not taken with this step. An even, smooth coat of high build primer will give you the base you need for laying your color in. Once priming is complete, dry, and well sanded, the sign is cleaned of any dust and is then ready to paint.

Primed Sign

 

Paint with commercial grade enamels. Matthews paint is applied to the background of the sign by hand and allowed to dry for 24 hours. We use Matthews paint for all of our sandblasted signs because they dry hard, have a beautiful satin and smooth finish, and last a very long time. After the background color is completely dry the graphics and borders are painted. Painting the text and graphics of the sign is called “Lettering” the sign. The paint is usually applied with a brush but rather than painting the color on by using brush strokes the paint is gently laid on the top of the letter with the brush. Because of Matthews good flow, the paint evens out leaving a smooth finish with little or no brush marks.

Completed sign

 

Package carefully. After drying for another 24 hours, the sign is carefully wrapped, crated, and shipped.

Crated and ready for shipping!

Highwood Apartment Homes

While we do fill many single sign orders our specialty is complete sign packages.  Existing apartment complexes benefit greatly by updating  their current signs. A well designed sign package can do as much or even more than fresh paint on the building. When it comes time for a property management company to consider its options for  updating an existing property, such as painting, landscaping, or complete renovation, the sign package should be at the front of the list.

Recently we completed a sign package for Highwood Apartment Homes. This included the main entrance signs, guest services, parking, building, and pool rules signs.

The majority of the signs at Highwood are constructed from  a .125 aluminum backer, cnc routed on our Multicam table, with a .5″ PVC face with either v-grooved, vinyl, or digitally printed graphics. All surfaces were painted with Matthews paint.

This unit sign is one of many we installed throughout the development.

 

The highlight of the project for us was the main entrance signage. The mast arm structure of the sign was constructed from 6″x6″ aluminum square tube, cut, welded, and assembled in our shop.  The base of the sign is expanded polystyrene with a hardcoat, then finished with a brick facade. The sign face itself is an aluminum piece with PVC text elements. All finishes are Matthews satin paint. Click on any of the pictures above to dislpay a larger version.

RC Signs featured in Digital Output magazine!

In early October of 2009, Kim Crowley of Digital output magazine contacted us after finding our website through a Google search. Kim had been searching for sign companies to feature in a new article she was writing which focused on sign makers that mixed both traditional hand carved signage with digital output media. Below is an exerpt from the article, the full article can be found on Digital Output’s website.

Sandblasting the Moon

About 75 percent of RC Signs’ output is traditional, while 25 percent is digitally printed. “RC Signs celebrates nearly 20 years in business,” notes Larry Holbrook, account manager, RC Signs. “We always offered digital solutions when required, but with our move to a larger facility early last year, we now offer more digital print options.”

Offering traditional signage and digital print services expands possibilities for RC Signs’ customers. “Digital prints can be added to traditional sandblasted or carved signs for a unique look. For example, if we have a high-density polyurethane (HDU) board that needs a lot of text, the main portion of the sign is blasted for a dimensional look and the main body of text is digitally printed and then applied to the sign,” explains Holbrook.

Clients often require traditional signage and digital prints. “A development may contact us for an entrance sign, but they also need marketing signs, banners, window graphics, and/or vehicle wraps—all of which we are able to provide,” he adds.

RC Signs’ signage production equipment includes MultiCam CNC routers, safety cut panel saws, a full metal shop, and a Matthews Paint system with a fully enclosed semi-downdraft spray booth.

Also used, black diamond sandblast media and Hartco, Inc. SandMask vinyl resist for sandblasting applications. The black diamond is a recycled product from the coal industry. “It gives a beautiful sandstone texture to the sign when blasting and cuts great,” says Holbrook.

Much of RC Signs’ work incorporates a lightweight HDU used to simulate wood called Sign Foam3 from Sign Arts Products, Corp. The shop also uses a Sign Arts Products’ Grain Fraim device to simulate wood grain. A Grain Fraim is placed in front of a pre-masked sign, then an operator sandblasts through the Grain Fraim wires until a desired depth is achieved.

For digital print applications, RC Signs uses two 54-inch Roland DGA Corporation VersaCAMM SP-540V large format printer/cutters and cold laminators.

Traditional signmaking techniques and digital printing were used in a sign for Full Moon, a vacation home complex located on the Gulf Coast of FL. Sandblasting mimicked other signs in the area. A digitally printed frog icon complete(d) the sign.

RC Signs first cut the sign shape on the MultiCam CNC table. Next they applied Hartco SandMask to the face of the blank and weeded, or removed, the background mask. This exposed the raw one-and-a-half-inch Sign Foam3 HDU and left the text, borders, and shape for the moon and wave element covered. They then sandblasted the background down to a quarter-of-an-inch using black diamond sandblast media.

After sandblasting, the sign blank was primed and painted with 1 Shot enamel paints from Sprayalat Corp. The gradient was sprayed onto the background, then the borders were painted. “Painting was the main challenge. To get all of the gradients and different colors we probably custom mixed 15 shades of blue,” says Holbrook.

The moon and wave 3D elements were cut from HDU. They were primed and painted with 1 Shot, then attached using silicone adhesive and aluminum studs.

The frog character was printed on 3M Graphics Market Center’s Controltac film using the VersaCAMM printer, then applied to the sign. Finally, Sprayalat’s 1 Shot gloss clear coat was sprayed over the entire sign and then 24k gold leaf was added to the text.

Full Moon’s sign features the traditional, high-end look of local sandblasted signs, with superior handcrafting and the added pizzazz of digitally printed elements. “We are thrilled with the sign, as is the client,” says Holbrook.

RC Signs in Alpharetta, GA is a custom sign company, founded and operated by Patti Huxford, which specializes in commercial and residential developments. The shop creates all types of signage in addition to vehicle wraps and offers consulting, design, permitting, fabrication, installation, and maintenance services.

New testimonial from Joanne Flores at My Clayground

Please take a moment to visit our friends at My Claygound online!  www.myclayground.com

________________________________________________

Dear Serena, John and ALL of the staff at RC Signs,

Thank you SO MUCH for everything! Not only did you have the BEST and MOST creative designs and ideas for my exterior and interior signs, but you made the process fun and relaxing for me. John and the install guys were great and had me laughing the whole time they were doing the install and with one day to opening, all that FUN helped me to relax in a time of craziness.

I recommend RC Signs to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You will be 100% satisfied~ as I am!

You guys are now like family and will always be MY sign company!

Sincerely,
Joanne Flores
My Clayground
Pottery Painting * Glass Fusing
Clay Sculpting * Art Studio

Starry Nights Lights

R.C. Signs is proud to have provided all on & off-site marketing pieces for Starry Nights 2009 , Memphis TN. These included signs, displays, and banners. Patti Huxford, president and CEO, traveled to Memphis for the VIP Opening Night gala. She was joined by multiple local celebrities and dignataries as Shelby Farms Park Conservancy unveiled their newly resurrected light show.

Jen Andrews, manager of communications at SFPC, writes “I was thrilled you guys came up for the VIP party. Everyone was extremely impressed with your level of dedication to the project.”

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

In January 2008, a gentleman walked into our facility to discuss a “rather large project”.  Two and a half hours later, we had begun the process that would result in the complete sign package at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA.  It was a process that would go from inception to installation in less than 5 months! 

RC Signs crew installing one of the Verizon signs.

Working with the developer, managing partner and consultant, R.C. Signs designed, permitted, fabricated and installed every sign there. The product types cover the spectrum.  The main entry is a fabricated aluminum face with a radius mounted on custom designed columns that mimic the architecture of the venue. There are channel letters, lighted cabinets, massive fabricated aluminum wayfinding posts, printed concession menus and identification signs, building identification signs, 52 changeable system advertising sign panels with printed fabric faces and more.  

Main entrance sign for Verizon Wireless amphitheatre.

Due to the sheer number of signs and the complexity of the package, this could have easily have taken 10-12 months to produce and install. But, since we didn’t have the luxury of time, the team at R.C. designed and monitored a very rigid time schedule and stuck to it. There was a lot of cooperation and coordination necessary to pull this project off, but the outcome was exceptional.  R.C. met all its deadlines and the signs… well, they speak for themselves. 

Banner signs for Verizon and Bud Light.

If you have not had the opportunity to visit this venue and see these signs in person, please take a minute and enjoy the pictures. These, along with the letter we received from the consultant after completion, say it all.

Bradford Pointe apartment entrance sign.

V-Grooved HDU sign with aluminum post structure

This months featured project is a main entrance sign for an apartment complex in Augusta, GA, Bradford pointe. Stacie Valez, the RC Signs account manager on this project, needed a unique sign solution to replace her clients existing and aging entrance sign for their apartment complex. Having the ability to utilize a variety of substrates really opens up the possibilities of what we can build in your shop and, for the Bradford Pointe sign, we incorporated aluminum, faux brick, and HDU.

Close up of main sign

The main post assembly is constructed from 6″ x 6″ aluminum tubing, completly cut to size, welded, and painted in house. The main sign face is HDU that has been v-grooved on one of our two Multicam tables and also finished with Matthews paint. In the photo above you can see a side view of the v-grooved text.

Secondary V grooved Sign

A smaller, double sided secondary sign was also installed on site. The main entrance of the apartment complex is located slightly off a busy intersection so a second sign was needed for added visibilty.

View from the landscaping

Landscaping can make all the difference.

Deconstruction of existing sign

Once on site, our installation team deconstructed the origional sign and hauled away the debris. The new sign, having been completly prefabricated in our shop, was installed in just one day.

Just before the install

Entrance signs can be as simple as vinyl on MDO mounted between posts to a completly custom, prefabricated aluminum post structure with a dimensional sign face. It just depends on the what the client is looking for. For the Bradford pointe sign the final product turned out great, the apartment complex was thrilled with their new sign as were we.

Next week we will go over all that went into building this sign structure, including a step by step photo tour.

Hello world!

Welcome to RC Signs blog!. We have been working on some great projects over the last few months and will be showcasing them here in our blog. Also, each month we will be featuring a project of the month with a step by step photo essay of the construction of the sign. Please feel free to sign up to follow our blog!