Important Factors to Consider in the Outdoor Signage Process
By: Ashley Carney
Would you buy an apple if you saw that it was bruised on the outside? Probably not. When you’re in a grocery store, you seek out the brightest, shiniest, healthiest-looking apples in the bunch. We do this because, from our experience with apples, what is somewhat evident on the outside could only be a sneak peek of what lies beneath the surface.
If a family moves to your town and is looking for a school in which to enroll their children, do you think they want to send them to the “bruised apple” school or a “bright and shiny” school? More than likely, they would prefer to send their children to the school with the healthy-looking landscape, attractive outdoor signage, and well-maintained buildings.
The outer appearance of your school can impact more than just recruitment; it can also affect the public’s opinion of your school and the effectiveness of your messages. Investing in quality outdoor signage can present many new opportunities for your school, including increased community involvement and support.
Improving Public Image
An important part of a productive and thriving school is the presentation and maintenance of the grounds, which includes its signage. This is often the first impression that a passerby gathers of your institution. If your school has inadequate or unkempt signage, it can send the wrong impression to parents, as well as members of your community. On the contrary, if your sign is effective and of high quality, your school will be more successful in communicating that those same qualities are present inside as well.
To achieve this, the appearance and longevity of the sign should be equally important factors in your purchasing decision. An attractive school sign not only serves as a valuable recruitment tool, but a communication tool as well. Be sure to ask the sign company for testimonials from schools whose public images have been improved by their new signs. This is a good indication of the quality of the company’s products.
Mending the Parent/Teacher Communication Gap
It is a constant challenge to keep busy parents informed about what is going on at their child’s school. Flyers and paper reminders are only effective if they are actually delivered, and it is safe to say this does not always happen. Signage and message boards are very useful in these situations.
If the school book drive is coming up or if the big game is on Friday, putting up a reminder at the front of the school can help parents catch the reminder en route to work or when they are picking up their children. Posting announcements and messages is also a great way to get the community involved and to gain support, as well.
Encouraging Community Support
A new school sign doesn’t just affect the school; it also has the ability to positively affect the surrounding community by getting them involved. When you rally support from the community, you are helping to increase the camaraderie among citizens in your city or town. Local businesses may allow you to host a fundraiser at their establishment or even donate some of their own profits to support your cause. Once your sign is erected, announcing activities and inviting the community to your school events can assist in future support as well.
Community involvement increases participation in local events and can help enhance the local economy through networking and building business relationships. When asked, local businesses often donate funds towards a school’s sign. Most businesses appreciate a simple “thank you” displayed on the new sign they helped make possible. This can influence others businesses to donate funds or services to the school, which becomes highly beneficial to the school’s continuous growth and prosperity.
What to Look for in a Quality Sign
Choosing the right sign for your school is quite simple when you realize what constitutes a quality sign. For instance, you want to start by researching the potential companies that you will be asking for quotes. Find out how long they have been in business, what their rating is with the Better Business Bureau, what kind of signs they specialize in, what parts of the country they serve, and what their price ranges are.
There are a number of additional factors you will want to take into consideration, one of which is how their signs will stand up to the obvious environmental factors that impact your location. Can it withstand extreme heat as well as extreme cold? If so, how does it do so? What is the windload rating? The company should be able to provide this information to you in their presentation or on their Web site. If in doubt, count them out. You can’t afford to have your investment ruined by harsh weather conditions.
Another characteristic to consider is the warranty on the sign. Does the company offer a lifetime warranty? Are there service contracts involved in the warranty agreement? Some companies will only cover particular parts and services and refer you to the manufacturer for the rest. This is certainly something to be wary of when you are thinking about purchasing a sign from one company or the other.
Additionally, the quality of the materials used may contribute to how often the sign needs to be serviced. When shopping for a school sign, it is important to find out if the materials used are industry-leading or industry-standard brands. This will make the difference in how your sign will hold up aesthetically in the years to come. A sign is often a source of school pride, which can be a challenge when it doesn’t reflect what it should. Addressing product quality at the very beginning will leave you better off in the long run.
Here are some specific features to look for when researching your sign.
1. LED Brightness
If your school is opting for an LED sign, ensure that your LED display can compete with direct sunlight; you should seek out sign companies that prioritize LED brightness as a significant feature. Ask how bright their LEDs are in millacandelas or MCDs, which is the unit of measurement for luminosity. The industry average is 2500 MCDs, but the higher the MCDs, the brighter your sign will be and the longer it will last.
2. Graphics and Logos
To keep your graphics and logo looking colorful and vibrant for longer, find out what type of process the company uses to create them. Vinyl that is solar grade and UV-resistant will keep its color much longer than any other standard vinyl. In addition, graphics applied to the inside of the sign, as opposed to being painted on, will resist chipping and scratching and keep your sign looking its best.
3. Ease of Operation
To make the maintenance of changing the sign’s message as easy as possible, see what features are offered to assist you in the sign’s message center area. For a changeable copy sign, a cover that glides and locks into place at a 90-degree angle is extremely helpful when changing the message. For an LED display, the message software should be user-friendly and simple to operate.
4. Powder Coat Paint
To ensure that your sign’s paint won’t chip or crack, you should look into a company that offers an industrial powder coat paint finish. This process bonds the paint to the structure’s surface and boasts high gloss retention, enhanced color, and an impact-resistant layer on the surface to protect your sign.
5. Vandal Covers
To prevent your sign’s message from being tampered with or the message area being damaged due to vandalism, a vandal cover can be very important to preserving your investment.
6. Electronic Ballasts
To save money on electricity and conserve energy over a period of time, electronic ballasts as opposed to magnetic ballasts are a beneficial feature for changeable copy signs that help you “go green” while saving some green.
When it comes time for your school to purchase a school sign, these are all important factors to consider in the purchasing process. Don’t let your school become a “bruised apple.” Let it shine with a quality sign and healthy landscape that you can be proud of for years to come.
Ashley Carney is an advertising assistant for Stewart Signs, www.stewartsigns.com.
Sidebar
LED Video Screens Becoming Popular at Schools
Friday night lights are shining bright in Texas again thanks to one of the largest and highest resolution video displays in the country being installed at the Episcopal School of Dallas.
The newest addition to the north end of the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Stadium is a giant high-definition LED digital video display provided by Addison-based Ultravision Media, www.ultravisionmedia.com. The new video display measures 14 feet, 2 inches high by 26 feet, 6 inches wide and boasting a resolution of 480 x 896.
“We are so proud to be a part of this project. Over the past few years, we have seen more and more video screens making their way into high school stadiums,” said William Hall, president of Ultravision MEDIA.
“We are fortunate to have so many members of the Episcopal School of Dallas community, including donors like Sera and William Hall, who understand that quality and excellence define the programs and activities in which our students learn and grow,” said David Tollison, ESD athletic director. “Our community is very grateful for their gift. This high-definition display enhances the ESD atmosphere, going far beyond basic scorekeeping into exciting graphics, live feeds, and streaming video.”
During normal game use, the high-definition video screen will show pre-recorded animations, player profiles, and promotions for school and booster club events, and is also capable of showing instant replays.
“At first glance, the video screen looks like a big video scoreboard. A really big video scoreboard,” said Brian Bachman, director of sales for Ultravision Media. “But really, the screen is much more than that. It’s a versatile state-of-the-art communication tool, and can be a revenue-generating tool as well.”
In an educational environment, high-definition digital displays can also be used within student curriculum.
“The enhancements this technology offers are endless,” said Julie Clardy, ESD director of communications. “The display gives ESD the opportunity to host new events for our community, such as outdoor movie nights. This display also provides curricular enrichment by which ESD film production and digital arts students can demonstrate their craft.”
The MVP Panel represents the latest advancement in the LED industry. Its revolutionary design saves schools time and money on upfront costs for the display and installation, as well as lowering the total cost of ownership by providing ease of service and lower energy bills. The MVP utilizes Ultravision’s Enhanced Pixel Technology (EPT) to deliver crisp, vivid full-color video images via high bright, energy-efficient diodes, which, aside from creating spectacular images, reduce heat and overall power draw, thus reducing the overall cost of ownership.
Product Roundup
CaptiVue LED Electronic Message Displays from Fair-Play
CaptiVue LED electronic message displays from Fair-Play are an investment in the future growth of your school. It does not merely sit in front of your facility displaying the same message day after day. Instead, it has the vital task of greeting students, inspiring others, and creating a great first impression of the school. Fair-Play is aware of the need to fit new projects into existing budgets and the ones that various Christian schools are working under. LED message centers use targeted messages that capture your audience with light, motion, and color.
www.fair-play.com
Signs Plus' Unique School Signs
Signs Plus' Unique School Signs are the ideal tool to increase communication with students, faculty, parents, and everyone who passes by your school each day. Let your community know what great things are happening at your school. Announce events, invite volunteers, and recognize achievements. Signs Plus offers a diverse line of signage, ranging from traditional outdoor manual lawn signs to state-of-the-art LED moving message signs. Signs Plus offers quality, warranty, service, and price.
www.signsplussigns.com
Signs by Bedford Technology
With Bedford Technology, if you dream it, they can create it. They offer durable, long-lasting signs made out of 100% recycled plastic lumber. Their lumber and lettering is available in a variety of colors to meet your signage needs. Bedford Technology has been manufacturing recycled plastic lumber since 1990.
www.plasticboards.com
FASTSIGNS
With more than 525 locations worldwide, FASTSIGNS sign and graphics centers use innovation and technology to make the sign buying process simple by offering consulting, design, production, file transfer, delivery, installation for a full range of custom sign and graphic products, including wide format banners and POP, site signs, exhibit graphics, window and vehicle graphics, decals and labels, safety and identification signage and floor graphics for interior and exterior use.
www.fastsigns.com
Stewart Signs
If you are looking for a way to expand your enrollment and enhance the appearance of your school facilities, look no further than Stewart Signs. Since 1968, they have been providing schools with quality signage and superior customer support. From electronic displays with graphics to changeable copy message centers, Stewart is committed to giving you the best products available, backed by their signature lifetime warranty. They offer a variety of graffiti and vandal-resistant signs.
www.stewartsigns.com
SIGNARAMA
SIGNARAMA is a full-service sign outlet using the latest technology and the highest quality products. What does that mean for you? The security of knowing the sign they create for your school will be exactly the way you want it and will reflect the image you want to project. From the distinctive monument sign outside your location, to way-finding signs, and banners, SIGNARAMA can do it all. They have 950 independently owned full-service locations around the world, and they can consult and give personal attention to all your signage needs.
www.signarama.com
