Digital Output - March 2008 - (Page 23)

application spotlight bidding process by offering customers a professional quote in seconds. The shop uses the software to estimate jobs based on plugins they are already using, see the profit on a job, and archive customers’ past project estimates. Art & Sign F/X uses media from 3M and Avery. For the most part, the designers work with Macintosh computers, while PCs drive the printers and cutters. Spotlighted Applications Highlighted here are recent signs created by Art & Sign F/X. These projects include work done for a bookshop, an artist gallery, a clockmaker, and a home development chain. Art & Sign F/X created an outdoor sign for The Griffin Bookshop and Coffee Bar. The sign features hand painted and routed lettering, a 3D griffin figure, and rope work. For a local artist gallery, Brush Strokes, Art & Sign F/X shaped the gallery’s outdoor sign like an artist’s palette with two paintbrushes extending off the side. Another example of a unique storefront sign features a series of carved, metallic-painted watch gears suspended from metal scrollwork for Fox Clocks. Grand Entrance chain. Hazel Homes, a division of Hazel Land Companies, has spent 35 years building residential communities in central VA and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company specializes in single-family homes, townhouses, villas, and active adult residences. Its recent single-family home development, Hopyard Farm, features a number of amenities including a 10,000 square foot clubhouse, fitness center, pool, a boat ramp on the Rappahannock River, and tennis courts. Hazel Land chose Art & Sign F/X to put a dramatic face on this impressive new development. A real estate purchase represents a significant investment for a consumer and is made after careful scrutiny. To draw potential customers, curb appeal is key. For the Hopyard Farm development, Hazel Land Cos. needed a grand entrance to attract buyers. “We selected Art & Sign F/X for the entrance feature at our Hopyard Farm project in King George County after meeting and discussing the project with Troy Dawson several times,” notes Dan Sweeney, project manager, Hazel Land Cos. Hopyard Farm provided Art & Sign F/X with a logo from Spangler Erkert & Associates, an agency in Fredericksburg. The entrance walls were created from HDU and their final size is approximately 43x90 inches. After carving—routing—the letters, border, and contour of hops into the HDU, Art & Sign F/X applied enamel paint to the piece. The logo and hops were hand airbrushed on the carved entrance sign by staff artist Dan Ramsey. Dawson shares that the hand airbrushing was done to the sign “to give it it’s beautiful appeal.” To enhance the sign, striking landscaping was added to the surround. “We expressed our goal of creating an entrance that would both attract future customers and at the same time maintain the look and feel of the surrounding area,” says Sweeney. “I believe those goals were not only met but exceeded by Art & Sign through their ability to understand our vision and even improve upon it with ideas of their own.” The benefit of dealing with just one service provider for both signage and landscaping is appealing. For Hazel Land Cos. this made choosing Art & Sign F/X an easy decision. “The landscape division of Art & Sign allowed them to deliver a complete package and was a real plus in our decision making process,” explains Sweeney. He continues, “We worked with the staff arborist and were able to go to the nursery and help select the plantings for the project.” Hazel Land Cos. is very satisfied with its entrance monument. “We are more than pleased with the outcome and believe the features and landscaping package provided by Art & Sign F/X provide the ‘wow factor’ we were looking for,” says Sweeney. A Unique Model Troy Dawson established Art & Sign F/X as a sign provider with an eye for detail and value ad for the customer. In addition to digital and traditional signage the shop offers landscaping to deliver a great first impression. To extend the shop’s current success, Dawson tells us that he would like to get back into vehicle work. At the outset, Art & Sign F/X did mostly small vinyl or painted work on vehicles. Digital printing now offers a much more efficient vehicle graphic output. One employee has nine years of experience and is the company’s go-to person for working with and installing vinyl graphics. Dawson would also like to expand offerings to include digitally printed wall coverings, especially for use in children’s bedrooms and playrooms. He recently printed a Disney Cars mural for his son’s bedroom that he feels rivals painted murals. Surely Dawson’s many goals will help to expand Art & Sign F/X far into the future. D Art & Sign F/X is particularly proud of its recent work for a home development Circle 1 on FREE Product Info Card www.digitaloutput.net March 2008 Digital Output 23 http://www.arlon.com http://www.arlon.com http://www.digitaloutput.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Output - March 2008

Digital Output - March 2008

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