What would you do?

[barrowj]

Kinda thought that was the case but until I typed it in Word and increased the font size to 72 it was had to spot to the untrained eye. Thanks for pointing it out Dave, much appreciated.

[joe]

Joe,

It's a fair question and deserves a little explanation.
Sign artists, cutting vinyl, are home free from placing letters backwards and upside down but when cutting letters from panel material extra care that needs to be taken.
Below, I've set a few letters which can be placed incorrectly. Lettering artists know the down stroke is always wider. That's because the brush always spreads when going south and narrows during the up-stroke. Letters which can be a little more tricky are those like the H & S. Some letter styles have the crossbar on the H a little higher or lower. I'm sure there are lots of other examples not listed.

It was painful, for me, to see the Catholic School sign with the N upside down. If this was any other kind of business it wouldn't be as embarrassing. Schools shouldn't have letters backwards or upside down. Just my opinion.

[cowboy1296]

oohhhhh I am not a sign guy at all and do basic stuff. But start from scratch and work your usual magic on them. If they are lawyers they can afford you but then you could always trade out if you need any legal work done.

[joe]

Cowboy,

Trade-outs are a topic all their own. I've tried it a few times and not against it but found it best to trade for a physical object. Well there again I traded for some dental work. That worked out fine. Probably should post a query about good and bad barter experiences.

The kind of businesses I enjoy making signs for are Lawyers, Dentists, Churches, Farms and Ranches, and government offices. I've failed miserably with churches. But still they have such a classic background and look that it causes me to keep trying. Most of the time they want free art to show their council. They've gotta have something to get the approval. Once they have that, someone has a brother, cousin, or friend with a router that can do the work for less. The shortest way around the problem is to show them photo's of work done and give them a cost up front.

[MogulTx]

I imagine those lawyers looked at your site and figured that you would steer them to a more expensive, new sign. I imagine they were pre-selling you on a lowered expectation so that you would be sure to give them a good proposal at a good price- believing they were a budget conscious customer. And they WILL be... but probably not nearly as budget conscious as they have led you to believe. I think I would use Dave Bleeth' s example and a number of sign examples that you surely have in your files.... and give them the Low to High sample and rough price and ask them what they think will actually serve them for the next 15-20 years or so.... I would point out that you will be certain to not place their "S" upside down, so that the error does not reflect badly on THEIR skill and intellect- and that they will be glad for the investment that they make when they see what it does to better represent their business interests....

[joe]

Good advice. What would you do about the Catholic School sign? That's going to be expensive.

[BrandanS]

Time to get home and channel hop between the Heat game and the Derby.

Go Raptors

[waynelocke]

The original question reminds me of a cabinetmaker friend of mine a number of years ago. After submitting a bid for some bookcases to a lawyer he could immediately tell that he was not going to get the job. When the lawyer asked why they were so expensive my friend replied, " I'm very good and if I wanted a lawyer I would expect to pay Racehorse Haynes much more than I would pay you." Maybe not the best strategy but I think that he carried it to his grave as a proud moment.