ARCHIVE: Category Archive for: Others

Inside Metro Signs – John McNally, Lead Fabricator

Inside Metro Signs – John McNally, Lead Fabricator It’s just another day at the factory for John McNally, the lead fabricator and working foreman in Metro Sign and Awning’s fabrication shop. It usually starts with an intense look at one of the sketches the design department hands off to him when they give the go ahead to build a new sign. “Then it’s up to me,” says John. “Basically, I have to figure out the best way to build it so it lasts.” Living in a world of square and rectangular tubing, sheet metal, and various kinds of clear and translucent plastic, John keeps busy using band saws, radial arm saws, welding equipment and very high bonding adhesives to slice

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which first became the law of the land in 1991, has made incalculable improvements in the lives of countless people. More recently revised in 2010 and made mandatory as of March 15, 2012 for virtually all new construction and renovations, the ADA has resulted in a system of “best practices” that make it possible for disabled persons to access and enjoy an extremely wide range of public and private built environments. Many people think the ADA just requires Braille on certain signs, but it’s considerably more comprehensive than that. Compliance can impact a great many of your project’s signage (and design/construction) specifications. Unfortunately, the ADA’s requirements are sometimes ambiguous. That’s one reason Metro Sign

It’s hard to drive or walk far in today’s built-up areas without encountering a pylon sign, sometimes called a pole sign or a roadside sign. As the name implies, this is single- or double-sided signage supported above ground level on some kind of slim vertical support. Along highways, pylon signage can tower 200 feet or even higher. In urban areas, they’re likely to top out at 30 feet or so, the better to be visible to foot traffic and to link the sign’s messaging more closely to a particular piece of real estate. The pylon sign itself usually consists of an illuminated sign cabinet supported by one or two unembellished poles, which may be square, round, or of an interesting

OK. We admit it: we love signs and signage. It’s fascinating. We can’t get enough. And we love to learn more about technology, industry developments, and basically anything that has anything to do with signs. That’s why we’re fascinated by the following stories (and we hope you are too): “Judge Rules … Signage Rules … Unconstitutional” It’s far away, but Saugutuck, MI, is the location where a county judge recently decided that restrictions on signage are unconstitutional! Basically, a couple of homeowners posted signs declaring their opinions on a very large number of matters (see accompanying photo). Neighbors objected, and the case found its way to court. The result? Now there’s a new precedent that gives property owners virtually unlimited

Monument signs have a great look: solid, substantial, historic, even permanent. Such three-dimension constructions have a long history, having been made for generations from stone, earth, and other long-lasting materials, and more recently from semi-permanent materials such as concrete, stucco, and brick. But you’d be surprised to learn how easily we can achieve that look with lightweight, low-cost materials and processes. Today, monument signs can be fabricated “to order” from man-made materials that give that permanent look while being lighter, easier, and cheaper to fabricate, transport, and install. Modern Materials; Venerable Look These modern monuments often begin with a solid core of molded expanded polystyrene or something similar, bonded onto one or more vertical PVC pipes that will later provide

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night….” That’s the legendary inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City. But lately we’ve been thinking of carving those same words into the wall of our own fabrication facility, because our guys have been warriors when it comes to installing signage under difficult or even adverse conditions for our customers. For example, the photo accompanying this post shows Glenn Stetzler up in the cherry picker in the middle of some exterior installation work at Crossings. It’s a shopping plaza managed by KeyPoint Partners, who asked us to do extensive work, including building signage, main entrance identity signage, and exterior way-finding signage. We have faced a lot of

In addition to working with individual businesses to handle their signage needs – inside and out – Metro Sign & Awning also offers Design/Build turnkey services for developers. While we’ve done our share in North America (from Canada to Puerto Rico and all over the US) we’re very excited about some of the projects we’ve completed in Boston – including Waterside Place, North Point Residential, One North of Boston and The Victor. Developers tell us they like working with Metro Sign & Awning because there’s no middleman: From initial concept design discussions to sign schedules, permitting, and all the way through to installation, Metro is capable of handling the entire signage process. West Coast Partnership Comes to Boston With hundreds

LEDs have become commonplace in our modern society. We see them on our smartphones. They illuminate many different indicators on our appliances and in our cars. Soon, they’ll be illuminating your home and your workplace. They work so well, in fact, that lately we’ve begun retrofitting all types of exterior and interior signage with them. Aside from their brightness, long life, and power-saving nature, one of the most exciting attributes is their ability to change color. In point of fact, however, no single LED actually does change color. What the human eye perceives as a color changing LED is actually a group of LEDs housed together, and packaged with a tiny computer that controls their operation. In the usual configuration,

Retail sales depend greatly on giving prospective customers a clear idea of what you’re selling, and then making it fast and easy for them to get what they want, when they want it. That’s why retail stores often live (or die) on the quality of their signage. Whether you are running a “Mom and Pop” sandwich shop or coordinating brand and local signage for a regional chain, here are some simple suggestions to help you open a new store, or improve the signage in any retail operation: Keep Your Signs Looking New In most retail situations, nothing turns off potential customers more quickly and permanently than the feeling your store is old, out of date, or dirty. Your signage serves

Signs may be in her blood. Elena started her career managing national accounts at a small sign company in Haverhill, MA, before moving to another sign company in Hudson, NH. Polishing her skills and learning the business, she pined for an opportunity to combine national accounts marketing with business development and trade show action. Just about the time she began to feel confined, she learned of an opportunity at Metro Sign and Awning, and leaped at it. It was a perfect fit. Elena was looking to flex her marketing muscles, and Metro Sign was looking to grow. “We have great people in all the right positions, ” she explains, “and I have all the tools to create my own success.