About Impact! Signs
Order Process
- How do I start?
- How do I get a quote?
- How do I place an order?
- What if I want to pay by check.....?
- Do you accept Purchase Orders?
- I ordered today. What happens next?
- Can I talk to someone to discuss the best products for me?
- Can I order over the phone?
- Do you send free samples?
- Can I get a printed catalog?
- How do your products ship?
- What is the lead time for your products?
- What is your return policy?
Layout, Design and Artwork
- I don’t have a logo yet. Can you help me design it?
- What format do I need my logo in? What is Vector Art?
- What if I do not have my logo in the right format (.ai or.eps)?
- Can I see a layout before I place an order?
- Can I see my layout printed at full size?
- Can I use a custom font?
- Can you match our PMS/Pantone colors?
- What will the length of my sign letters be?
Impact! Architectural Signs sells directly to retail consumers in a wide variety of industries including general contractors, graphic designers, corporate, government, education, and retail clients. We do not provide trade discounts to sign companies for resale. So as a customer of Impact! Signs, you know you are buying direct.
While we do have very competitive pricing, we can not guarantee that you will not find a lower price. We do guarantee that all products we ship will be of the absolute highest quality, finished to the most exacting standards. There are many companies that will take shortcuts on finsihing, use inferior materials, and therefore sell at lower price. Sometimes, we know, it will be hard to differentiate. We have built our reputation on quality, and plan to keep it that way.
That being said, if you do have a lower written price, we would be happy to evaluate it for you. We will see if is possible to match while maintaing the highest quality and durability standards, or we will tell you if we feel that something on the quote does not seem likely to live up to your standards.
Sign Letters
A basic rule is that 2" letters are readable from 10-15 feet away. Then add one inch to the letter height for every 20 feet of distance they need to be read from. Obviously if you can fit a larger letter size, they will be easier to read.
Please make it known on your quote request what your maximum line length should not exceed. We will then calculate what size letters can fit.
You can also use our line length calculator. (Coming Soon!)
We ususally refer to size for a logo as the "overall length". This means you would say you want your logo 4 feet long, 6 feet long, etc. This is best determined by taking a measuring tape and some masking tape into the reception area or wall, and actually putting the masking tape on the wall, and trying to visualize the appropriate size. View from outside the doors and from all angles to see how the sign would be noticed. It is also a matter of personal preference though. There is no hard and fast rule. One rule of thumb is to leave enough space on each side of the logo. For example if your wall is 10 feet wide. A 6 foot logo would give you a nice 2' of space on each side. We do need you to give us the overall length you would like in order to give you a quote.
This is completely based on personal preference. We always would recommend a solid metal logo if your budget allows it. Metal conveys an image of stability, trust, and quality more than acrylic or foam does. There are a wide variety of metal finishes available.
Any logo that is stud mounted, such as cut metal, or cut acrylic, can be easily moved. You should save your installation pattern in a safe place if you plan to move your logo as it will be impossible to position accurately without it. Simply pull each piece out of the wall, clean the studs, and you are ready to re-install.
The best way to start to process of ordering architectural signage is to determine your needs. Browse through our site. Look at the samples on our product pages in our portfolio. Determine what materials and products would best suit your purpose and budget. Determine what sizes you need. We can not give you an accurate quote until you know all the specifications you would like regarding material, size, quantity, fonts, finsihes, etc.
Feel free to call us if you need help determining materials and sizes.
Then, fill out our get a quote form. Or if your order is for standard fonts and sizes of sign letters, you can order online. (Coming Soon!)
The best way to start the uote process is by using our Get a Quote form. This form captures all the necessary information we need, and allows you to attach you files and logos.
You can place an order any way that is easiest for you. Once you fill out the get a quote form, we will respond with a quote (or we will email or call with questions if necessary). If your quote has a link to order, you can place your order with a credit card directly from that link. If your quote does not have an order link, we would need you to call us with a credit card to place your order.
If you are more comfortable phoning your order in, you can call to discuss and order over the phone with one of our experienced architectural signage specialists.
We can send you an invoice for the full order amount, which you can submit to your accounting department for a check. If you are checking out online, click "Pay by Check". Print and Mail the Order Confrimation along with your check. We can not begin working on your order until we recieve your check for the full order amount.
No we do not. For many educational institutions and organizations, however, we have found that you can submit to your acocunting department for a check using our invoice (see above) and mail the check with the Order Confrimation page. Please ask us to send you an invoice for your order.
You will receive an email order confirmation. You can also track your order on our website using your order number(Coming Soon!). Once your order ships, you can also track by UPS and Fedex tracking numbers, which will be linked to your order number (Also, coming soon!) Your order number itself is not a valid UPS or FedEx tracking number.
Sure, call us any time. We would be happy to help you. We are available typically between 9:00 AM and 5:30 PM CST.
Sure. We look forward to talking to you. If you plan to place an order, we will need your credit card information.
No. To keep the cost of manufacturing down for you the end-user, we recycle all of our scrap or unused materials. Therefore we do charge a nominal $25 for two sample material chips.This also covers the shipping cost. If you would like, you can order a full size sample letter in your font and desired finish (Minimum order is $75). This letter can not be used later, however, in your final order due to the installation template.
We do not have printed catalogs. We tried to be as comprehensive as possible in organizing and providing relative samples of our work. For your convenience though, many of the pages do have full color printable brochure sheets that you can take to meetings, share with your team, or decorate your walls with.
We offer free shipping by UPS or Fedex Ground within the 48 contiguous states for all orders over $100. Overnight, 2nd day, or other expedited delivery would be charged accordingly, as would shipping to Hawaii or Alaska. Larger products may need to be crated and shipped via local freight carrier, and additional charges may apply.
Below are approximate current lead times. Please do not hold us to them exactly. If you need your signage by a specific date, please tell us. We will try our best to accomodate your needs. Rush Chares may apply. Lead times are in Working Days. Lead times do not include shipping time. Please allow 2-5 days for ground shipping depending on where you are located:
- Changeable Sign Letters: 1-2 days
- Formed Plastic letters: 3-5 days
- Acrylic Letters: 5-7 days
- Cast Bronze and Aluminum Letters: 8-10 days
- Cut Brass, Bronze, Aluminum & Stainless Steel Letters: 7-9 days
- Gator Foam and Foam with Metal Laminate: 12-14 days
- Injection Molded Plastic Letters: 2-3 days
All of our sign letters and architectural logos are custom made to order. Therefore, we can not accept returns on any product, unless it is defective , in which case we will definitely correct the situation immediately.
Sure. All Impact! Architectural Signs products ship with a precise installation pattern, making the installation really easy and straightforward. You can also hire a local installer if you feel you need to. Please look at the installation instructions on the Installation page of our website.
An installation pattern is a full size, pre-spaced, paper print of your signage, with all holes for studs marked. This pattern shows you exactly where to drill the necessary holes. Without an installation pattern, you would have to eyeball the placement of each letter. We ship an installation pattern standard with every order of sign letters, dimensional logo, or plaque.
If you are in the Chicagoland area, we offer an installation service through our company. If you are outside our area, customers have found success in contracting their own local installer or handyman service. It should be straightforward for anyone who is comfortable with a drill. Please visit our Installation page for detailed instructions of various sign type installations.
Most exterior letters, logos, and plaques will require some maintenance to retain their original luster and shine. We recommend all plastic and metal letters to be cleaned simply with a good dishwashing soap and water, and a very very light brushing like a soft toothbrush or the like, or even a towel. This will remove any dirt and pollutants gathered from the environment. Please do not use any harsh or other chemicals, as we can not guarantee the effect it will have on letter finishes. If the face of a metal letter gets scratched, the polyurethane coating can be refinished using a high quality car wax.
We do not do logo design. We recommend you contact a professional graphic designer to help you with that. Alternatively, for basic logos, you could use an online logo design website. One we like best is www.logoyes.com. You can create clean, simple logos which can be easily made into a sign, and get your logo in the right format (.ai or .eps)
For all logo and plaque projects, we need your art file or logo in a vector format, with all fonts and objects converted to "curves" or "paths". The file types would be .ai or.eps. This gives us actual shapes which our equipment will follow when cutting your logo. Also, a vector file can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Other file formats such as .jpg, .tif, .pdf. etc. are "raster" images. They are also known as bitmap images. They consist of only dots or pixels, and no outlines or paths. Therefore, our equipment can not read what shapes need to be cut.
If a graphic designer originally designed your logo, most likely it was created in a vector format originally.
Images taken from websites and word documents are not vector files. There is no easy, push-button, or "save-as" way to make a bitmap image into a clean vector file. A graphic designer would have to spend time to convert your bitmap into a usable vector file. We can do this for you for a fee.
Here are visual examples showing the difference:
Example of Bitmap Image - Bitmap images cannot be scaled larger than original nor can they be internally edited to change specific areas.
Example of Vector Art - Each path is able to be edited and scaled
[images missing]
As shown above, vector art remains clear at any size or scale and can be edited.
There is no easy way to convet a .jpg, .tif., or other bitmap logo into a clean, usable, vector file. You can not simply "save-as" on a bitmap image to convert it to a vecotr file. While you may be able to save as an .eps or.ai format, it will not have the outlines we need to prduce your signage.
See if your marketing department can provide you with this file. If your logo was designed by a professional graphic designer, most likely it was originally created in a vector format. Also try to see if they can provide it to you. Otherwise we can convert your file for you. The fee will range from $50-$250 depending on the complexity of your logo.
We do not provide any proofs or layouts before an order is placed.
Typically for plaque orders we do provide a layout for approval, whcih is included in the price. For logo orders, there is no need for a layout, as we will be using your art file exactly, and provide all specifications in writing regarding materials and details. For standard sign letter orders there is also no need for a layout.
Yes. There would be a charge of $65-$95 whcih would cover a full size printed layout of your logo, letters, or plaque, and shipping it to you.
Yes, you can use a custom font for your sign letters or plaque project. You would need to email us the font in a .ttf (True Type format) It is located in the fonts folder on Windows based computers. A $45 charge would apply for each custom font used.
Yes. A $95 paint match charge would apply for each PMS or Pantone match.
Please make it known on your quote request what your maximum line length should not exceed. We will then calculate what size letters can fit.
You can also use our line length calculator. (Coming Soon!)
Information on this topic is coming soon.
Impact! Architectural Signs guarantees all products for life. This means that if your letters fade, break, or contain any another defect, we will refinish or replace the defective letters at no cost. This assumes they are installed in the original location, and have not been damaged due to installation. Foam letters are not meant for outdoor use.
Information on this topic is coming soon.