Author Archives: Doug

What Material Should I Choose for a Step & Repeat?

SignArtEtc offers step and repeat backdrops in both matte vinyl or polyester fabric. While both feature premium 4-color digital printing, which material you choose depends on your personal preference and which most suits your event’s unique needs.

To further help you decide, we offer this guide with the key advantages of each material.

Matte Vinyl

  • Budget-Friendly. Vinyl backdrops are less expensive than their fabric counterparts.

  • Durable and Weather Resistant. Vinyl stands up well against moisture and other damaging elements, making it ideal for both indoor and outdoor use. Vinyl backdrops are also less likely to rip or tear.

  • Easy Storage and Transport. Vinyl backdrops are shipped in a tube that can be re-used for transport and storage. Easy to roll and unroll, you can use the backdrop again and again without problems.

  • Wrinkle-Free. The stiffness of vinyl prevents creases and wrinkles from forming.

  • Easy to Clean. Dirt and other grime can easily be wiped off with a little soap and water.

Polyester Fabric

  • Minimal Glare. Fabric naturally absorbs light which prevents glare from ruining the shot. This makes fabric ideal for events with a lot of flash photography.

  • Rich Imagery. The graphics on our fabric backdrops are digitally printed using a process called dye sublimation — resulting in long-lasting, color-rich imagery.

  • Ink Longevity. Ink printed on fabric is less likely to chip, smudge or fade, in part because the ink is permanently bonded to the fibers.

  • The “Luxury” Factor. While vinyl is the more economical choice, sometimes an event calls for the more luxurious look of fabric.


Have more questions about which type of backdrop is best for your event or special occasion? Contact SignArtEtc today at 1-800-799-7436 or info@signartetc.com, we’ll be happy to assist you.

A step and repeat backdrop can give your engagement party a fun, beautiful atmosphere.

Engagement Party Ideas to Celebrate the Love

While traditionally the bride’s parents are in charge of the engagement party, it’s perfectly common for the couple to host it themselves. Whoever is planning the event, these ideas will help ensure a fun, beautiful event for both families.

Atmosphere
If you’re holding the party at a restaurant or function hall, you can work with them to help set up decorations, or bring your own. Whatever type of motif the wedding will have, an engagement party with a personalized backdrop can set the tone. At SignArtEtc you can design it yourself with custom text, colors and images. Or just give us the specs and image files and we’ll design it for you at no extra charge.

The happy couple, their families and other guests can pose in front of the banner, letting them practice for all of the wedding pictures they have coming!

Guests
While traditionally the engagement party was an opportunity for the bride and groom’s immediate families to meet one another for the first time, over the years it has become more of an opportunity to invite their closest friends and family to celebrate the happy occasion. Some couples include friends, colleagues and people they care about who might not be invited to the wedding. Some couples may stick with tradition and only invite their families and closest friends. For most, guests who are invited to the engagement party are also invited to the wedding, but really, it’s whatever the couple wants it to be.

A step and repeat banner will give any engagement party a beautiful, fun atmosphere.

Food
Unlike the wedding, the engagement party doesn’t need to have a proper sit  down dinner. Since the meal doesn’t have to be formal, you can serve whatever the couple likes. You can set up a buffet-style meal to make it easier, or even bring in a food truck if it’s outside. Hello Magazine suggested serving a cake with a cute message like “She said yes!” as the dessert. Just make sure it doesn’t show up the future wedding cake.

Drinks
Champagne, of course! Once the party is in full swing, hold a champagne toast to the happy couple. If you’d rather go the non-alcoholic route, sparkling cider or other type of juice is the perfect alternative. If there are other guests making toasts, such as family members, Punchbowl suggests that you find out ahead of time so you can allocate time for everyone. In addition to champagne, you could also serve a specialty cocktail of the couple’s choosing.

Get into the spirit this Valentine's Day!

Ideas to Plan a Love-Filled Valentine’s Day Event

For local businesses like bars, restaurants and nightclubs, Valentine’s Day can be a blessing or a curse. More than almost any other date of the year, consumers are inclined to hit the town for a day or evening of romance and adventure. At the same time, if your Valentine’s Day event doesn’t woo your prospective guests, you could risk losing them to “sexier,” more exciting local happenings.

Valentine’s Day can be big business for local establishments. According to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association “Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey,” consumers as a whole spend an average of $13.19 billion every year on the holiday, with the average per person expenditure a little over $100. Over a third of consumers celebrating the holiday will have dinner at restaurants. To make sure that your Valentine’s Day event hits its target like cupid’s arrow, consider each of the following ideas for turning your establishment into a can’t-miss romantic destination:

The Sign of Love
In dating, first impressions are supremely important. The same goes for throwing a Valentine’s Day event. You want your establishment to feel like something special, not business as usual. First, consider signage or banners that call attention to the events you have going on. If your guests don’t realize you’re doing anything special for the holiday, why would they bother to attend? A vinyl banner hung outside of your establishment can be a quick and easy way to signal that your business is getting into the spirit.

“Make sure that your Valentine’s Day event hits its target like cupid’s arrow.”

Set the Mood
Dimmed lighting, candles, rose petals and other aesthetic choices evoking the feeling of an intimate, romantic evening are all essential to transform your restaurant or bar into the perfect Valentine’s Day nightspot. A soundtrack of sultry R&B songs and romantic ballads can help complete the mood.

Celebrity Couples (for a Night)
One fun and flirty idea is to host a red carpet inspired soiree, complete with custom step and repeat for photos. Make couples feel like movie stars and celebrities by encouraging formal attire, providing a complimentary glass of wine or champagne and gift bags at the end of the evening.

A Kissing Booth
Alternatively, you can employ a branded backdrop to be the setting of a “kissing booth.” Encourage your guests to stage romantic pictures, exchanging smooches in front of your backdrop. Develop your own hashtag that includes the name of your establishment so that when couples tag their Valentine’s Day photos, you’ll be able to easily locate them and re-post.

Offer a Package
A restaurant that offers a full evening’s menu can attract more guests and streamline operations. Consider scaling back your usual a la carte menu offerings in favor of a package deal that includes an appetizer, dinner, wine and dessert for a single price.

Don’t Forget the Swinging Singles
If you’re looking for an idea that is a bit more offbeat and eccentric, why not host an event geared toward singles? Whether you decide on a purposely “unromantic” anti-Valentine’s Day event or a speed dating mixer, catering to a more niche audience may in the end help your establishment stand out from the crowd.

Just like you wouldn’t want to wait until the last minute to get your sweetheart flowers, don’t let Valentine’s Day event planning sneak up on you. For all your sign, backdrop and step and repeat needs, Sign Art has you covered. Contact us today to learn more.

Break out the bubbly with these New Years Eve party ideas!

New Year’s Eve Party Ideas for Bars, Restaurants, Clubs

For venues such as bars, restaurants and clubs, New Year’s Eve represents both an opportunity and a challenge: It’s a night when people are out and about in droves, looking for a fun celebration destination.  Yet at the same time, competition for even your regular customers may be stiff. It seems as though every December 31st, businesses are bending over backwards to portray themselves as the best party spot to ring in the new year.

How do you make yourself and your business stand out amidst all the noise? Here are a few New Year’s Eve party ideas that are sure to have guests lining up to watch the ball drop:

Turn Your Party Into a Red Carpet Extravaganza with a Backdrop
New Year’s is all about the promise of the year to come. Tap into the glamorous aspirations – or merely the fun of playing dress-up – by throwing a stylish, Hollywood-inspired New Year’s Eve party.

Break out the red carpet and velvet ropes, hire a photographer or two and put up a custom step-and-repeat backdrop with your venue’s name on it while you encourage your guests to come out in their fashionable finest. After pictures are taken, post them to social media with a custom hashtag featuring your establishment’s name and adding #NYE2018. This will help spread the word organically as your guests repost the glamorous photos.

Make It a ‘Rocking’ New Year’s Eve
Everyone has fond memories of watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve television special every year, so why not host your own take on it? Hire a DJ or popular local band to play classic songs and current pop hits, with a skilled MC to keep people in the mood in between tunes. Alternatively, a karaoke machine can turn your guests into rock stars themselves and keep them belting out the hits until it’s time to watch the ball drop.

Consider How to Keep the Night Moving
Regardless of your party theme, the key element is to plan the social trajectory of the evening from beginning to end. You want your guests to stay as long as possible, preferably buying food and drink throughout the evening. Make plans to have participatory games, trivia contests, a prize raffle or different drink specials that kick in throughout the night. Make your evening schedule known via social media and physical signs spread throughout your business.

step-repeat-woman-party-dress

Throw it Back with a ‘Blast From the Past’ Party
One fun theme that could help your party stand out from the crowd is a “Blast From the Past,” retro-inspired shindig. Decorate with a throwback style to a particular era (’70s, ’80s, ’90s and so on) and encourage your guests to break out their retro duds. Hold costume contests and award the guests with the best outfits trophies and prizes.

Take Advantage of Your Rooftop or Patio
Are you lucky enough to have either patio or rooftop space? This can be a very attractive feature for guests, particularly if your city has a prominent firework display. Weather permitting, set up your outdoor space with noisemakers and festive decor. Mini-heaters can make it all the more comfortable if you are based in colder environs.

Make It Free for Your Loyal Customers
While many businesses use New Year’s Eve as an opportunity to charge a higher-than-usual entry fee, you can stand out from the crowd by making your party a thankful celebration of your most loyal customers. If you have a loyalty program or mailing list, use this list to contact your customers and invite them to RSVP to a free, exclusive party, framing it as a show of your gratitude for their business throughout the year. When they arrive, have plenty of complimentary refreshments and small plates, with the option to purchase additional drinks or adult beverages.

New Year’s Eve After-Party and New Year’s Day Brunch
Sometimes the best thing you can do is be a festive destination for guests after their personal NYE celebrations. Bars that are open late can be a great stopover once the ball has dropped.  Restaurants offering a glamorous and refined New Year’s Day brunch can be a real hit for those who may have overindulged the previous evening.

Sign Art Etc has the custom banners, signs and backdrops you need to ring in the new year in style. Contact us today to learn more!

Update Your Retail Store’s Signs and Banners for the New Year

The new year is almost upon us! As the past year gives us all a chance to reflect and renew ourselves, now is the perfect time to update your retail store or pop up with a new look, including refreshing your signs, banners and displays. Your existing customers will be surprised and delighted and you may even attract new clientele. Here are a few tried-and-true ways to give your store an updated look and feel going into the new year:

Banners and Signs, Indoors and Outside
Take a peek at all the old in store signage and banners you’ve used over the last year and consider how things like colors and designs could be revamped. Maybe your store could benefit from a retractable banner that you can place outside to show off a sale? Or how about updating handcrafted signs with matte vinyl? A full-scale re-branding effort may mean that you have a new logo, font and color scheme that you should integrate into the sign design.

Much of what will attract customers to your shop takes places before they even step foot into it. Mobile signs you can set up on the sidewalk and in the parking lot along with bright flags and banners that announce your presence will catch their eye and draw them towards the front door. That’s where free-standing retractable banners or easily collapsible hopup displays can be an excellent solution to all your outdoor signage needs. Of course, be mindful of any local regulations that prohibit advertising in these areas.

Streamline and Reorganize
Have you noticed that certain areas of your store get a lot of traffic, while others just seem to gather dust? Are certain products flying off the shelves while the items right next to them just sit there? Going into the new year is a perfect time to question your existing layout and try something new. Open up your space to seem brighter and more inviting. Move your most desirable, fast moving products to the back of your shop – but still within eye line – to give customers the opportunity to pass some of your other offerings. Or, if you find that a certain product simply isn’t appealing to your clientele, consider not offering it in the new year and simply devoting additional space to the top sellers.

Make Your Window the Star of the Show
Your retail window is a little preview of the best and most inviting products you have to offer, so it pays to be conscientious about how it is set up. Too many products shoved into a window haphazardly may project a certain chaos that can be unappealing. The best window displays set a scene, creating a small narrative while still featuring the products in the pleasing way.

Create Engaging Promotions
When trying to attract new customers, think beyond your traditional sales and promotions. Try something unexpected and participatory, like having a sign advertising a prize if a customer can solve a puzzle or brainteaser. Alternatively, adorn your shop with inspiring slogans and snappy sayings to give it character.

Tap Into the Five Senses
Not every key to your store’s success is visual. Keep in mind that everyone has five senses – and you want to try and appeal to as many of them at a time as possible. While your customers won’t be tasting your products – unless you sell food – be mindful of what your shop feels, smells and sounds like in addition to simply how it looks