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Category: Signs

USDOT Standards for Reflective Traffic and Road Signs

large format Reflective Signage

As you drive down the various roads and highways, you’d certainly be lost frequently, especially at night, if you didn’t have reflective traffic signs.

Back when I was a young man in my early 20’s, I spent a few winters in the Southern U.S. and was amazed at the lack of such signposts! Even more, I was amazed at how people knew how to get around without them.

One conversation I remember having with a Southern gentleman, an old-timer in Mississippi, went something like this…”ya’ll just travel yonda up Hwy. 357 and you’ll see a big old oak tree standin’

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A History of Signs and Printing - Part 5

Wide Format Printer

In this final article on the history of signs and printing, I’ll show how the two came to be combined in such a way as to make the two categories as one. Flexography, offset printing, and lithography have all been magically combined into a new category (although the old categories have not completely disappeared) called digital imprinting.

Well, I thought I would be done with this series last time on signs and printing, and I did actually get into the late 20th century, but I didn’t really get to where they and makers crossed paths.

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A History of Signs and Printing - Part 4

lithographic printer

In this installment of the history of signs and printing, I’ll talk about history of printing system in human civilization with the vast improvements from the mid-1800’s until late in the 20th century. And where the two trades intersected to create a significant change  for many sign makers.

To recap the previous three articles on this particular topic, we’ve talked about how signage came to be used in the West and the wood display gave way (mostly) to electrical and neon in the past 100 years or so. This history has never been so fascinating –

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A History of Signs and Printing - Part 3

Bullock rotary press

The world is full of signage displays in the 21st century. Even in “3rd World” countries, there are lots of signs telling you where to go or marking stores or advertising. And while most of us may give passing thought to sign makers and printing, that’s probably the extent of your thought on the subject.

Recapping the previous two articles on the brief history of signs, we’ve now covered what they were used for and the standard media (wood) ones were made of up through electrical and neon in the past 100 years or so, hopefully this is somewhat interesting –

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A History of Signs and Printing - Part 2

Types of Signs

In this second article on the brief history of signage, we’ve now covered everything up until the 18th century until the present, and my hope is that you’ll have a great handle, whether you wanted a handle on it or not, all about sign making.

Hi again…as I said last time, if you look around, or drive around, when you live in any industrialized country on earth, your locale is full of signposts. Most of us simply accept that sign makers are all about signs and printing and that’s the extent of your thought on the subject.

From Neon and Internally Illuminated Signs to Full Color LED Displays

18th to 19th Century

As I stated in the final part of the of the last article,

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A History of Signs and Printing - Part 1

History of Sign Makers

If you’re like most people, you simply accept that sign makers are all about guide displays and printing, and that’s about it.

When you look around, or drive around, if you live in most industrialized countries on the planet, your world is full of signs. I’m going to give you a brief history so you’ll know, whether you wanted to know or not.

Where Sign Making, Printing, and Sign Makers Came From – A Short History

Stone Age

In the Stone Age, Grog and his wife, Groggette, sent a smoke signal invitation to Thor and his wife,

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Basic Screen Printing Compared to the Basics of Digital Printing

On-Screen Printing

Several hundred years ago when I made the fateful decision to get into the sign business, my first position was screen printing signs. Back when I started, you could print signs with lacquer inks and get high at the same time…those were the days!

Many companies who used on-screen print processing have switched over to digital printing, but there are still numerous companies that make use of this traditional method, and as far as I can tell, it isn’t going away anytime soon as was prognosticated by myself and other experts 5 years ago.

While digital imprinting has increased in popularity,

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