Does your business need a new sign? Are you shopping around for a sign for your company, but don’t know the right questions to ask? Are you unsure what type of sign your business needs? At Arizona Commercial Signs we can help you, from taking your idea, designing the right sign for you, fabricating your sign, getting your sign permits and installing it at your location. We have highly skilled designers and fabricators that can help you every step of the way, giving you the best sign possible for your business. We have compiled a small list of frequently asked sign questions. If you have a question not listed below, feel free to give Arizona Commercial Signs a call at 480-921-9900.
Q: How can a commercial sign help my business?
A: Your company’s image and how you present your locations is by far one of the most important aspects of branding and how prospects and potential customers identify you. A lot of people make purchasing decisions based off the look of your business and branding. Signs that are well designed and good looking send the best message to your potential customers.
Q: How much of the process does Arizona Commercial Signs provide?
A: Arizona Commercial Signs can help you with every stage of the sign process. From the initial permits for the sign, to sitting down with a designer that’ll take your ideas and the character of your business and make it into something eye-catching and exciting. We will then fabricate your sign at our in-house facility, get it to your location and install it anywhere in Arizona.
Q: What if I don’t know what kind of sign I want?
A: With such an important decision and with the investment you’re making you’re not the only one wondering what type, design, colors, or installation type would be best for you, your business and your location. Most people come to us with a specific skill or talent that they provide to their customers, but aren’t experts in sign or logo development or fabrication. And that’s perfectly OK, because we can’t replace the radiator in our cars either, so believe us, you’re not alone. We all perform services that make the world go round, and our service is to make your business look great and professional. We will ask tons of questions and provide recommendations when we have fully understood your ideas and your vision. Then we will produce a product that will work great for you, your business and your brand.
Q: How do I know if I’m going to like the original design or the finished product?
A: Before we take your dream sign into final production, we always provide a full color proof so there is absolutely no doubt that you and your customers will love the final product. You’ll receive an e-mail that details the design of the sign. If you need to make changes, we will provide another proof until we come up with the final design that you are 100% satisfied with.
Q: What if my business is outside of Arizona?
A: We ship signs directly to you and then you’d hire a a local sign installation company to do the installation for you.
Q: How much does a sign cost?
A: All of our projects are custom made and come with a variety of costs. Quotes will be provided before the final decision is made. We have all kinds of signs that can fit just about any business’ budget.
Q: Do I need a sign permit?
A: Yes, you will need a sign permit. Local municipalities have different rules and regulations. If you need help obtaining your sign permit, call Arizona Commercial Signs at 480-921-9900.
Q: Can I approve the final sign before it’s made?
A: Yes, before we begin the production side of your sign, we require approval of all colors, artwork, spelling and layout. Once you are happy with what we come up with, we will begin building your sign.
Q: How do I submit files/ artwork?
A: We work with the best design applications including Adobe, Corel Draw and Illustrator, etc… If we’re cutting the lettering or logo out, we will need the original vector file it was created with. Otherwise we can digitize the artwork you provide us. JPEG, TIFF, PSD & GIF files will be an additional charge. You can e-mail us your “print ready” artwork or mail us a CD-R, DVD or USB drive with the files on them. Please be sure to only submit high resolution files. If you have questions about submitting a design please e-mail us or give us a call at 480-921-9900.
Q: What image resolution/ quality is acceptable for the artwork I submit?
A: Please make sure you send in at least 150 dpi images. We can also use a one-inch-to-one-foot ration (Example: If the art is going to be 6 feet long and 4 feet tall, the artwork you submit should be 6 inches long by 4 inches tall at 300 dpi)
Q: What is DPI(dots per inch)?
A: DPI is a standard of measurement for the resolution of images that describes the number of dots per inch (DPI) that are used to create the image. The higher the DPI is, the higher the resolution is going to be, which translates to having better quality of your final product. So if you want the best looking signs for your company, ensure that you’re sending files with high DPI.
Q: What is the difference between bitmap and vector images? And which is the best?
A: Bitmap and Vector images are the two major graphic types. Both are made up of many individual objects, and both respond differently when reduced and/or enlarged to produce different sizes of images. We can use both types of files, but preference is vector files which can change sizes easily without sacrificing the image quality using the original vector formats. Vector images can be output at the highest quality in any scale because they are made of panels and lines rather than pixels or dots. Vector images are resolution independent. Common vector formats are ai, eps and pdf. These formats are available in most popular graphics design programs.
Q: What is a Bitmap Image?
A: A bitmap image (also called a raster) is made of pixels (referred to as dots). The number of pixels in one square inch of the image is called the DPI (dots per inch) aka the resolution of the image (Example: 150 dpi means that the image has 150 dots per square inch within that image). The larger number of dots contained in your image, produces a higher quality of reproduction. Bitmap images tend to lose quality when they are sized up/down from their original size and must be created with consideration for their output use. You can build the bitmap files at a smaller size than the final usage size, but you must increase the resolution accordingly. For example, if you build your file at a ratio of 1 inch = 1 foot, you should build the file at 300 dots per inch. In this case, you would build a 2 inch x 2 inch file at 300 dpi to print a 2 foot x 2 foot image at 150 dpi. Common bitmap-based formats are jpg, jpeg, gif, tiff, png, pict and bmp. Larger resolution files also use more kilobytes of memory & may require special methods to transfer the images.