What Makes Us a Different Kind of Sign Company

There is no single answer, because cost follows the type of sign more than anything else. A printed vinyl banner runs a few hundred dollars. Illuminated channel letters for a storefront usually fall in the low-to-mid-to-high four figures depending on size, design, and complexity of installation. A lit monument on frontage is a bigger number, anywhere from the high four figures into the tens of thousands once you add the foundation and electrical work a freestanding sign needs.

A sign is a manufactured product, and its price depends on how big it is and how it is built, along with the work to install it and bring power to it. A firm number takes someone looking at your specific sign and your specific site. Be wary of anyone who quotes a firm price before seeing your site and your sign type. Local code and permits influence the number too. Tell us what you want to accomplish and where it is going, and we will give you a real figure for your project.

Six factors shape the final price.

1. Size. Two things set the size: the physical space you have to work with, and the distance your customers are at when they need to read the sign and act on it. A bigger or longer/taller sign uses more material or changes the conditions of the build and support, so it costs more.
2. Sign type. A flat panel and a set of lit dimensional letters are built differently and priced differently. A freestanding monument is different again.
3. Materials. The substrate and the face material affect both the price and how long the sign holds up outdoors.
4. Lighting. A lit sign carries the cost of the LEDs and power supplies inside it, plus the electrical work to bring power to the spot.
5. Site and structural work. Every site is different. Mounting and powering the sign, including a foundation if it stands on its own, costs more or less depending on what the location requires.
6. Permitting and installation. Permit fees are part of it. So is the labor and equipment to install the sign, which rises when the sign sits high off the ground or somewhere hard to reach.

These six are where one quote differs from another. If you are comparing bids, this is usually where the differences are.

For a business with a physical location, the sign that usually returns the most is a well-lit exterior sign, either letters on the building or a monument at the street. The reason is exposure. That sign is visible every hour you are open, and after dark it keeps working while an unlit storefront disappears. Measured against the years it stays up and the number of people who pass it, the cost per view is very low next to advertising you pay for over and over. Whether a sign actually delivers that return depends on a few basics. It has to be placed where people can see it and sized so they can read it. If it is lit, it has to be on during the hours that matter. A sign that goes dark at night, or sits too small to read from the road, will not return much no matter what it cost.

Large exterior projects are usually paid in stages rather than all at once, and that is how we handle them. A deposit starts any job. For large projects, another payment falls due when fabrication begins, and the balance is due at installation for each sign. Paying in stages keeps you from carrying the full cost before the sign exists. If you need to spread it further than that, outside financing for signage and equipment is available, and we can point you to it.