How Long Do You Want Your Sign To Last?

Have you ever thought about how long you want your sign to last?

This post panel aluminum powder coated sign is designed to last a long time outdoors

Hi Larry here with this months news.

A lot of times when people are asking for signs and signage they are not thinking about how long they want their signs to last.

This is an important question to ask when ordering a new sign.

Why? Well not all signs are created equal.

A sign maybe designed and manufactured or produced to last 1 year to 20 years or even longer.

That’s right. An expert sign maker will be able to advise you on what is best.

If you want a long lasting sign, meaning you plan on being in the same building for 10 years or longer then the sign expert will recommend different types of  raw materials that will accomplish this on their quote.

For example, lets say your a landowner or developer?

Whereas lower cost wooden signs are designed for 2 to 3 years outdoors

Your want to sell, lease or rent some space or land?

This would be a temporary type of sign, like a wooden sign.

As you may see from the wooden sign photo here, this sign is designed for the short term.

However, lets assume you are building a church, a commercial center, school or even a resort.

You probably want long lasting signage, correct?

If so, you want to consider raw materials and products like:

• Aluminum
• Powder Coatings
• Concrete
• Brick
• Tile
• Stone
• Marble
• Sand Blasting
• Lexan

These types of raw materials are designed to last a long time no mater what the environment is like.

You also want to powder coat the aluminum verse normal spray booth painting because powder coats last a lot longer then normal paint.

If you want to add a tile, stone or marble  then think about the lettering and text that will go on these types on signs.

This Monument ID church sign is over 20 years old and still looking good because its made with brick and tile

You may want to consider having the name, logo, text sandblasted into the stone, tile or marble.

Or you may consider raise routed aluminum lettering or flat cut aluminum letters that are stud  mounted to the sign face.

Sandblasting is the best option because the images, logo, text all become part of the sign face.

Take a look at the church sign photo here.

This church monument ID sign is over 20 years old.

When we produce this, it was sort of like building a mini home.

A concrete re-barb base support was set. Then cinder block brick was used to form the  sign. Then it was finished with a slate stone and tile face and perimeter.

As you may see, it still looks good over 20 years later.

The only problem that one may run into is cost.

Think of it like this. The longer you want your sign to last the higher the cost.

After all, if you want a sign to last well over 100 years. Yes, that is not a typo.

Expect this bronze plaque sign to last a long time outdoors

A sign maybe designed to last well over 100 years. How, make it from a bronze casting like the bronze plaque sign you see in the photo here.

So as you may see, signage maybe design to last as long as you prefer but expect to pay more for a good qaulity long lasting sign.

In sum, about 35% of those who order signs want the long lasting ones.

Most will go with the typical lower cost tex-coated paint lock metal or sheet metal sign types.

Sure it cost about half as much as a nice long lasting sign but it still serves the purpose the sign is intended for.

Tex-coating is simply the act of spraying a grainy sealant on a manufactured metal sign frame and or sign cabinet and then painting it in a spray booth.

Most shopping centers, commercial centers and resort hotels use a lot of tex-coated types of signage.

A note about going with a tex-coated sign is every 5 years or so these types of signs need to be repainted and sometimes replaced.

So if your looking for a sign and you want it to last a long time then ask a sign expert what is best.

The sign expert will explain the different types of materials which will work and how long you may expect the sign to last.

If you want an expert opinion? Contact signwestoutdoor.com today. You will have many options to chose from.

Until next month,think about how long you want your sign to last and remember, the longer the life the higher the cost.

Enjoy.