How Much Do Electric Signs Cost?

www.holidaysigns.com-richmond-va-cost-of-electric-signs — Realizing the many different applications may give you a better understanding of the range of investments that can be made in electric signs and the value of those investments as part of your overall marketing strategies. A basic set of channel letters, as pictured above, was installed at the storefront area of a local veterinary hospital. Average single storefront channel letter jobs like this typically fall in the less than $5,000 – $10,000 range.

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 20-story building lighting up at night to advertise the brand across the city costs more than a simple set of channel letters for the walls of a single-level veterinary hospital down the street.

KEY INDUSTRIES

MWV — At first it may appear this set of channel letters is pretty similar to the lettering for the Vet Hospital pictured above. But big differences occur in size, installation processes, and even with the construction of the letters themselves. Although these letters appear white at night like the vet’s letters, they are made with special 3M films that produce a blue logo color by day, then turn white during nighttime viewing. The signs were also specially engineered for low maintenance and ease of access when maintenance is needed. Six figure investments are typical for these types of extremely technically challenging projects.

Our typical customer is usually part of an executive management team within these key industries looking for exterior or interior branding solutions for their buildings or sites:

Commercial Development
Financial
General Retail
Healthcare
Industrial
Institutional

TYPICAL SIGN TYPES

Our projects generally fall into these categories:

Signs for high rise applications
Highly customized Iconic signs
Historic restoration projects or other sign renovations
Signs for multiple sites in need of re-branding after acquisitions
Signage systems for large campuses
Signage with electronic messaging components
General free-standing signage
General wall-mounted signage

WHAT DRIVES COST?

Electric sign projects can range from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousands of dollars, but why the huge price variations, and what are the primary factors that drive cost?

SITE CONDITIONS: Consider the place on your property where a sign will have the most impact and return the most response from your investment. What type and size of sign would fit the spot and do the best job? If you need to brand a multi-story building, then probably the best spot for signs is high in the air. Costs for both manufacturing and installation escalate the higher things get. Manufacturing costs increase because of size. The farther away an object is, the smaller it will appear; so signage at a distance is a lot larger than you think. And the larger the sign, the more materials and labor are involved in making and installing it. We recommend our customers consider prototypes to nail down best results prior to the manufacture of final signage for high-profile applications. We also recommend that signs for hard to access areas like rooftop walls, be manufactured in a way most economical for service and maintenance. These suggestions usually mean spending a little extra up front to avoid a gush of dollars spent later for maintenance and repair.
NUMBER OF SIGNS: More times than not, one sign won’t do the job. A four-sided building usually needs signage on at least two or three sides. A typical commercial lot has more than one entrance, so free standing signs are usually required to be duplicated in some fashion to cover all the main entry points. Campus sign projects utilize a large quantity of signs of various types. More signs, more investment, but sometimes the cost per sign is less due to the possibility of ganging some of the steps involved in production.
OVERALL DESIGN: The purpose of putting up signs in the first place is to get your business noticed. So the more customized and eye-catching the design, the better. Sometimes the graphics can serve as the eye catchers but many times the shapes of the signs themselves are the best way to get attention. Whether you use standard box type signs or custom shapes, the amount of customization always affects the level of impact and cost.
MATERIAL CHOICE: Will you use traditional colors and materials or produce something that is visually outside the box? Also, how long do you want your sign to last between maintenance periods? These questions help you select the best materials for your sign. Options like stainless steel, glass block, or cut stone are all good investments to add pizazz. LED lighting versus neon reduces maintenance and operating costs over time.
LIGHTING EFFECTS: Will the sign be a traditionally illuminated light-box type sign, or will you choose to use custom effects like backlighting, edge-lit components, or other interesting lighting methods for special effects?
ELECTRONIC MESSAGING: If you want the ability to both brand your site and interact with the customer with calls to action, then adding a digital messaging component is a wise investment.

Contact a Holiday Signs Project Manager to discuss a specific project’s cost.

Further Research:

Our Approach to Selling Signs:

                Part 1-Finding Your Unique Image
                Part 2-Budgeting for Digital Signs
                Part 3- How to Stand Out and Blend In at the Same Time?
                Part 4-Sign Viewing Distance and Sight Lines
                Part 5- Sign Prototypes and Demonstrations

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ON HOW OUR SIGNS ARE MADE…

How Much Do Electric Signs Cost?

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