Soft Signage, Strong Impact: Wide-Format Pros Share What Works

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THOUGH ANOTHER SHOP had installed a monument sign outside the New Eastwood Rehabilitation Center in Eason, PA, when the time came for a new custom and illuminated fabric awning, the center sought a referral that led them to D-Signs & Awnings (Allentown, PA). Owner David De los Santos says he takes pride in shaping his community’s infrastructure. Being a trusted local leader in signage and architectural enhancements created the referral that brought them this project.

D-Signs experienced no issues with the client’s logo. Using SAi Flexi software, the shop ensured the logo would be reproduced with the correct colors, sizing and proportions to maintain brand consistency. They work closely with clients to ensure their logos are accurately represented throughout the design and production process. “Flexi offers excellent features for vector editing, color management and preparing files for print, ensuring high-quality results for every project,” De los Santos says.

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Fabric and Printer

Sunbrella, known for its durability, fade resistance and long-lasting color vibrancy, made the ideal choice for the awning fabric, he says. D-Signs used their HP Latex 365 Printer for its superior print quality and eco-friendly water-based latex inks, De los Santos says, adding that the eco-latex inks used provide excellent adhesion and color. “The Sunbrella fabric and HP Latex 365 combination ensures that our prints maintain exceptional quality while aligning with eco-conscious production standards,” he says.

The awning fabric comes with a 10-year warranty, which reflects its durability and resistance to fading, UV exposure and weather-related wear. However, De los Santos points out that actual lifespan depends on factors such as actual weather conditions, level of sun exposure and maintenance practices. So, given a typical climate experience, the fabric can last 10 years. Regular cleaning and maintenance, such as removing debris and preventing mildew buildup, can help maximize the fabric’s longevity.

Awning Frame and Lighting

D-Signs fabricators constructed the awning frame using 1-in. aluminum tubing in a staple-system design, ensuring a lightweight yet durable structure, De los Santos says. “Aluminum was chosen for its corrosion resistance, strength-to-weight ratio, and ability to withstand various weather conditions, making it ideal for long-term outdoor applications.”

For lighting, the shop uses HanleyLED fixtures from Principal Sloan, due to their energy efficiency, high-lumen output and long lifespan, De los Santos says. “These LEDs provide consistent illumination with minimal power consumption, making them a cost-effective and sustainable choice.”

Transportation and Weather Concerns

The two biggest challenges when installing these types of awning signs, he maintains, are transportation and weather conditions. Due to the awning’s wide load and large frame, extra care is required during transport to prevent damage. “Proper securing and handling are essential to avoid bending or warping the aluminum frame,” De los Santos says. “Depending on the size, special transport permits or escort vehicles may be necessary, adding to logistical complexities.”

In addition, installation must be carefully planned around weather conditions, particularly wind, he cautions. Because awnings are large, lightweight structures, even moderate wind can make handling difficult, posing risks to both the installation team and the awning itself. Wind can also cause instability when lifting and securing the frame, requiring additional safety measures and sometimes delaying installation.

Survey and QC are Critical

Obtaining an accurate site survey and ensuring strict quality control throughout the process are the two most important things to keep in mind for fabric awnings, De los Santos says. A precise site survey is critical to ensuring the awning fits correctly and aligns with the building’s structure. Maintaining strict quality control from fabrication to installation is essential for both durability and visual appeal.

The New Eastwood Rehabilitation Center project took four weeks from initial contact to the final installation. “However, we typically provide our customers with an estimated four- to six-week turnaround time, allowing for design approvals, fabrication and any unforeseen delays such as weather or material availability,” De los Santos says. By the time this job was finished, everyone on the D-Signs install team’s shoulders were sore. “Between lifting, positioning and securing the awning, it felt like we had an unexpected upper-body workout — so much so that we joked about skipping the gym for the week,” he laughs.

Soft Makeover for Metal Supplier

While a growing number of shops are selling fabric and soft signage, most still seem to be working with wholesalers or other vendors for production. For example, when Trav-Ad Signs (Huntsville, AL) needs soft signage printed, they turn to Miratec (St. Paul, MN). So, when Huntsville Metal Supermarkets came to Trav-Ad for their major building upgrade as they were getting ready to open for business, Trav-Ad readily spec’d soft signage with the confidence that they would deliver only the best.

The scope of work for Trav-Ad’s upgrade to the signs was to remove existing faces, evaluate and refurbish the existing building cabinet, and replace with fresh faces, according to Dave Hostios, the company’s graphics manager. “We determined that soft signage via a Miratec print would be the best solution for this very long horizontal design challenge as the size would dictate for us to be outside of our standard material sheet sizes,” he says.

Refining Client Design

The customer supplied the artwork, so the job at Trav-Ad Signs was to check size, scale, colors, resolution and formatting for production, Hostios says. The graphics department, which he manages, uses a mixture of SAi Flexi Sign and the Adobe Creative Suite (mainly Illustrator and Photoshop). “Most art provided by our customers needs a little bit of help to ensure scaling and resolution are production-ready,” he says. “Most designers without sign industry experience are not used to working at full scale, so we stand ready to help!”

The biggest challenge that Trav-Ad runs into most for a sign like the one for Huntsville Metal Supermarkets is when the composition is mismatched to the design space. “In this case, because we are working with a cabinet retrofit, we have a very long horizontal space that needs to be filled, so obviously a more square composition would not work,” Hostios says, adding, “Long sign? Long design.”

Wholesaler-Printed

Once the design was set, Trav-Ad was ready to send it out. “We only use Miratec for a very limited range of things we do not print in-house, so our graphics team is well-versed at providing color-corrected, full-scale artwork, and setting up the team at Miratec for success,” Hostios says. “One of the great things about working with Zach [Tuttero, inside sales account representative at Miratec], is that he knows all the correct questions to ask to deliver a back-lit masterpiece without much of a headache.”

Trav-Ad Signs will normally get a Miratec print in about three weeks from “twinkle-in-our-eye to applying vinyl,” Hostios says. “There are often clarifying questions about color specifics and resolution, but we do our level best to head those questions off on our end.” Miratec printed the soft sign face on Panaflex from Unisign, a translucent canvas made with special substrates that permit light to pass through it.

Install Prepwork

Challenges surrounding Panaflex installation are similar to all other installations, according to Hostios: ensuring the install crew knows what they are getting into, that the survey is accurate, and that the installers have the proper training and equipment to be successful. It’s a matter of being well prepared, he says.

Trav-Ad has developed a pretty good system surrounding odd or over-sized Panaflex prints. “While Panaflex installations can be tricky, ensuring proper folding, storage and temperature can ensure the PVC material doesn’t suffer from any stretching or creasing prior to installation,” Hostios advises.

During the course of Trav-Ad Signs’ dealings with the Huntsville location of Metal Supermarkets, some of their local sales team visited the signshop and Hostios went up to greet them in Trav-Ad’s lobby. “I was astonished to find one of my colleagues from a previous job I had in a completely different industry over 10 years ago!” he says. “Sometimes it is jobs like this that remind us of how small the world can be at times.”

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Expo Graphics Made Easy

Small projects can be a good way to get started in fabric and other soft signs. Finn’s Painting, a brand new house-painting business, recently reached out to Minuteman Press – Annapolis (Annapolis, MD) because the Sherwin Williams paint store that Finn’s patronizes is located right across the parking lot from the print and signshop owned by Rita Siprak-Weill. “So I quite often get contractors that buy painting supplies and then stop by with questions about custom apparel, forms, etc.,” she says.

Finn’s Painting was looking for simple tradeshow booth materials: a backdrop, a tablecloth and stretch table covers. The client, Tyler Finnigan, came to Minuteman Press with an idea of what he wanted his logo to look like and the colors that he preferred. “We designed 3-4 logos for him to choose from in house using InDesign and Illustrator software,” Siprak-Weill says. Very few clients come with a good clean logo. Most of the time it’s a JPEG or PNG file because they use the logos mostly in online ads. “Very few have true vector art so it’s a product that we charge for $60 and then send them the files (.ai, .eps, .png, .jpeg),” she says, adding, “After that they know that we will always have their logo on file.”

Vendor Appreciation

Siprak-Weill is very happy working with B2Sign (Pomona, CA) as a soft-signage vendor. She ordered both the backdrop and tablecloth from them. “I’ve always been pleased with the quality of B2Sign. They are quick, it’s a quality product and it ships fast especially now that they have a location in the East Coast,” she says. “We get our backdrops, banners, retractables, tablecloths, tradeshow signage and flags from B2Sign.”

Minuteman-Annapolis used ULINE Color Business Card & Sticker Printing (Carlsbad, CA) to produce the stretch covers (including a dye-sublimation logo) for two side tables. “We ordered DTF transfers and pressed the logo on here on our heat press,” Siprak-Weill says. “Originally we wanted to put the logo on the side but the material is so stretchy that we were concerned that it wouldn’t last long so instead we moved it to the table top.”

Signshop’s Role

She made sure to let the customer know that her shop “saved the day” by realizing that the table top was a better location for the logo. “Think, it’s how you give the message to the customer,” Siprak-Weill says. “Don’t wait for them to ask, and literally tell them that I saved them from a bad result. I look good and they feel good for picking my shop,” she adds.

Start with small orders, Siprak-Weill advises, maybe in one category and get comfortable with one or more vendor’s quality and ordering process. She can run easy jobs like this one for Finn’s Painting through her shop fast and easily because all Minuteman Press – Annapolis has to do is set up the artwork and work with the customers. The vendors do the actual job production. “They key is working with a good vendor and I think my customers work with me for these items instead of ordering them online because they trust me to get the job done correctly,” Siprak-Weill says. “I take the stress out of ordering for my customers.”