Entries by Mark Hackley

What Can Go Wrong on Sign Projects?

What Can Go Wrong on Sign Projects? COMMUNICATION    Custom-manufacturing a product for a client takes on many facets, and signage projects can sometimes have their share of challenges. Over the years I found most difficulties, especially those encountered in the more challenging sign projects, stem from inadequate communications. Here are some tips to avoid problems: […]

What are the Leading Maintenance Issues with High Rise Signs

Dominion Enterprises: Limiting the Cost of Maintenance Issues with High-Rise Signs Photo by Russell Manning HIGH STAKES   Maintenance issues with high rise signs are the same as any other electric signs: electrical problems in the power supply or wiring, lighting failures, bad sensors, or some type of sign damage stemming from accidents or the […]

What Are The Problems With Digital Signs?

What Are The Problems With Digital Signs? NOT USING THEM  The biggest problem involving digital signs is not utilizing them for your business or organization. If zoning allows them and traffic counts indicate digital displays would work in attracting more business to your location than cost, then there’s a problem if you don’t consider their […]

How Much Does Sign Replacement Cost?

How Much Does Sign Replacement Cost? TO REPLACE OR UPGRADE- THAT IS THE QUESTION   There are some electric signs around Virginia you just can’t replace: like Richmond’s pre-Depression era Hotel John Marshall’s historic rooftop sign, or the historic marquee at the Virginia Repertory Theater. In cases of historic signage, restoration is always the first […]

What’s the Cost of Signage Design?

What’s the Cost of Sign Design?   UNIQUE FIELD  When I first started my career in construction and signs, I was a civil engineering technician in Bethesda, Maryland; then an architectural draftsman in Charlottesville; then the primary design and sales person at my own custom sign company in Waynesboro, Virginia. I understand sign design, and […]

What’s the Cost of Electric Signs ?

What’s the Cost of Electric Signs ? CUSTOM SOLUTIONS Price tags on electric sign projects usually follow the level of technical challenges involved. Thus, the cost of electric signs can vary greatly since signs are custom-designed and fabricated for the sites on which they will be installed. Customized electric signage for the top of a […]

Typical Cost of Shopping Center Sign Renovations?

  What’s the Typical Cost of Shopping Center Sign Renovations? GLAMOUR LOST?   If your shopping center’s signs have been around more than ten years, this article may help you ponder a sign renovation project. Replacing or upgrading signage at shopping centers is a good way to turn humdrum entrances and storefronts into dazzling attractions. […]

What’s the Typical Cost of Sign Renovation?

What is the Typical Cost of Sign Renovation? UPGRADING YOUR BRAND   What is the typical cost of sign renovation? Although there’s always a cost, investing in commercial renovation projects that include quality signage will definitely improve perceptions of your business or organization. For customers, renovations indicate store vitality and growth. For employees, working in […]

What’s the Average Sign Project Lead Time?

What’s the Average Sign Project Lead Time? What’s “AVERAGE”?   First of all, what does the term “average sign project” mean? If “sign projects” range the gamut from the “I’ll Work for Food” marker-on-cardboard signs to the mega-digital signs at New York’s Time Square, then where does the average sign project fall?    Instead of […]

What’s the Cost to Upgrade Message Boards?

What’s the Cost to Upgrade Message Boards? SPONTANEOUS PEOPLE  Have you ever made a spontaneous retail purchase? I recently bought a gift after an electronic message sign told me roses were on sale and it just happened to be our anniversary. Since this kind of thing happens to me often, I firmly believe that digital […]