Signarama

SIGNARAMA President.” AJ says his main job is “to look at the horizon to see what’s coming and what could be the dis- ruptors in the marketplace.” Some years ago, Ray Titus looked at that horizon and saw digital print- ing. “When we first started the business 32 years ago, there was a vinyl plotter and a cutter; there was a person on staff that hand painted signs; and then, there was a darkroom for developing film to use in signage,”AJ recounts. “So, as the business evolved, my dad wanted to add a digital printer and a lot of people said, ‘You’re crazy; it’s too expensive; there’s no way it’s going to work.’ And now, you wouldn’t dream about owning a sign company without a digital printer.” Today’s disruptors are manifold. “We have a 3-D printer that prints Braille,”AJ continues. “We have UV-resistant, latex ink with vibrant colors that dries immediately. Back when digital print- ing came out, there was a cure period; it was all oil-based and you had to let a sign sit overnight. Now, you can print something and apply it within seconds. There’s flatbed printing, where you’re printing directly to a material, instead of printing on a piece of vinyl, peeling it, and then placing it onto something. So, you can take a door off of the hinges and print on the door directly, as crazy as that sounds. The technology is there; it’s been growing and evolving just like the world around us, and I’m looking forward to where the next ten years takes us.” Once a new technology does prove itself, Signarama offers it to its franchisees. “There’ll be a press release or news article that we’ll post internally to our franchise owners, giving them the pros and the cons, and at the end of the day, they may not want that piece of equipment; they may not need it in their mix of business,”AJ says.