When starting a business, any entrepreneur faces a lot of problems. One of these problems is the lack of funds at the initial stage. Suppose you decide to open your own business selling flowers or organize, for example, a workshop for making duplicate keys. You need to find funds to rent or buy a room. Next, you need to make repairs and equip the room. And you still have to have funds to purchase goods or necessary materials. In addition, you will have to acquire an advertising sign, which should attract the attention of passers-by. At this stage, I propose to save money and make such a sign on your own, especially since it is not at all difficult. In the future, when you recoup all your investments in yours and stand firmly on your feet, you can order a new sign from professionals.
And so, in order to make a sign with your own hands we will need:
Materials:
- galvanized steel, sheet 2000 * 1000 mm (enough minimum thickness, 0.6 mm);
- self-adhesive film of your chosen colors (glossy, opaque, strong adhesion);
- double-sided tape or glue;
- rag.
Tools:
- guillotine for cutting metal or scissors for metal;
- roulette;
- pencil;
- ruler;
- scissors;
- plastic card (any: discount or bank);
- computer with printer.
1. Any durable and smooth material is suitable for making a sign: galvanization, fiberboard, plastic, plexiglass, etc. In our example, we will make a galvanized sign. Mark the sheet of galvanized steel according to the chosen size of the future sign. The size of a standard galvanized sheet is 2000*1000 mm. In our example, we will make two advertising signs with the dimensions of both 2000*450 mm. Cut the sheet along the marked lines. You can cut the sheet yourself with metal scissors or using a guillotine, but it is better to ask to cut it in the store when buying. If necessary, file the edges with a file or sandpaper after cutting to remove burrs.
2. Now you need to make stencils, according to which we will later cut out the letters for the sign. For these purposes, any graphic editor is suitable. Use the editor with which you are most familiar - you can make a sign in Photoshop or, as in our example, in Word. I'll show you how Word can prepare letters in two different ways.
Method 1: Start Word and select WordArt from the Insert menu. Choose the font you like and type in the text you want, such as "FLOWERS" or "KEY MAKING". Use this method if you want to achieve unusual writing of the text.
The first method is not quite suitable for our example, because The font is quite complex. But it can come in handy if you decide to make an advertising sign by painting with paint through a stencil. For our case, we will use the method from example 2.
Example2. Type the text and set the required font and style for it. It is better to choose a bolder font, so the letters of the sign will be more noticeable.
Remember the name of the font and its other parameters. Create another document and place the first letter in it, set it to the desired size and color if desired (optional) and print the document. Do the same for the next letter. Continue until you have printed all the required letters. To save toner, it is better to make the letters not colored, but light gray, or check the box "outline only".
3. Cut out the letters, grease them with glue on the front side or stick double-sided tape on the letters. Lay the roll of self-adhesive film face down. Glue the letters right side to the paper base of the self-adhesive film.
4. Cut out the letters from the self-adhesive film along the contour of the paper templates pasted on the film.
As a result, when you place the cut out letters face up, they will not be upside down, but normal.
5. Wipe the galvanized surface with a damp cloth and let it dry. Roll out a roll of self-adhesive film of the desired color on the surface of a galvanized sheet. If the width of the film does not match the width of the sign, then simply cut off the excess (although you can leave it, and then wrap it up and stick it on the back of the sheet).
6. Lift the film over the galvanized sheet and peel off the backing paper a little. Attach the adhesive part to the galvanized sheet and start smoothing the film with a plastic card, making movements from the middle to the edges. Gradually tear off the backing from the film and smooth until you reach the edge. The basis for the sign is ready.
7. Lay out the prepared letters on the base. Achieve the correct location of the text of the future sign, trying to ensure that the words are located in the center of the sign and the distance between the letters is the same.
8. Glue the letters. To do this, lift the letter, slightly peel off the paper backing from the base and press the adhesive part against the galvanization. Gradually separate the base, remembering to smooth the film with a plastic card. Try to glue the letters neatly. If you make a mistake, it will not be easy to tear off the already pasted film.
9. Your sign is almost ready. It remains only to stick on the sides of the piping. Choose the width of the stripes arbitrarily. Position the edging tape so that only half of it is glued to the front surface of our sign, and wrap the other half back and glue it to the back of the sign.
When preparing the article, photos and descriptions of Alexander Chervonyuk were used.
Recently, more and more people are thinking about organizing their own business. Some aim high and are ready to invest a lot at the start, but most try not to take risks and try to get by with minimal investment at the initial stage. Yes, and a large scope is not always needed. Suppose you decide to organize a small shop for repairing shoes, watches or making duplicate keys. Success will require skillful hands of a master and a sign that will notify people about what you are doing. It should not be too expensive, stylish and technological. In this article we will talk about making signs with your own hands.
Materials and tools for making signs
materials
- Galvanized steel sheet 1000 * 2000 mm (can be of minimum thickness, 0.6 mm)
- Self-adhesive film in several colors (opaque, glossy, strong adhesion)
- rags
- Hard glue or double sided tape
Tools
- Scissors
- Metal shears or guillotine
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Roulette
- chopping
- Computer with printer
- Plastic card (bank or discount)
How to make a sign
Decide on the dimensions and mark the sheet of galvanized steel. The dimensions of a standard galvanized sheet are 1000*2000 mm. In our case, we need to make two signboards measuring 2000 by 450 or 500 mm. To make a sign 2000*500, the sheet of metal would have to be cut lengthwise into two parts, but then you need to glue the base of the self-adhesive film from several segments, because the standard width of such a film is 450 mm. Taking this into account, we decided that it was easier to make two cuts of galvanizing than to be afraid later that water would flow into the seam between the strips of the film, and it would begin to peel off. You can mark the galvanized sheet with a beating, or you can attach a rule and draw a line with scissors or a nail.
Cut the sheet according to the markup. You can cut the sheet yourself with metal shears or a guillotine, or you can order cutting at the store where you buy it (although not everyone wants to do this). If desired, after cutting, you can process the edges with sandpaper or a file to remove burrs.
Make templates for cutting out the cutout letters. The easiest way to do this is with a computer and a printer. Use a graphic editor (for example, Adobe Photoshop), specify the size of the sign as the field size (in our case, it is 2000 * 450 mm). Choose the font you like and type in the text you want, such as "PRODUCTS" or "KEY MAKING". It is better to choose a bold font, so the letters of the sign will be more visible. Remember the name of the font and its size. Create a new document with a margin that matches the size of an A4 sheet. Place one letter in this field and print the document. Repeat this operation until you have all the letters you want. To save toner, you can change the letters to light gray instead of black, or check the Outline Only box.
Cut out all the letters, treat their front part with glue or stick double-sided tape on it. Roll out a roll of self-adhesive film of the color that the letters of the sign should turn out to be. When choosing colors, do not try to make the sign too bright. Red and white, blue and white or yellow go well together. The easiest way to choose colors is to use a special design table of their compatibility. Glue the letters right side to the paper base of the self-adhesive film.
Cut out the letters from the self-adhesive film along the contour of the pasted paper templates.
As a result, when you lay out the letters of the sign face up, they will not be upside down, but normal.
Wipe the surface of the metal sheet with a damp cloth. You may experience an unpleasant odor, which is a consequence of the reaction of the sheet coating with water. Don't worry about it. Let the metal dry and roll out a roll of self-adhesive film of the desired color on its surface. Since the width of the film is the same as the width of the sign, there is no need to adjust anything. Just cut off the excess length (you can even leave a small allowance that will wrap up and stick to the back of the sheet).
At this stage, you will need an assistant. If you start gluing the base from the edge of the sheet, then the film will definitely shift somewhere relative to the edges of the metal sheet. Therefore, you need to glue the film from the middle. Separate it from the base approximately in the middle of the strip and cut the backing paper. With an assistant, roll out the strip on a sheet of metal and align with the edges.
The assistant should securely hold his edge of the self-adhesive strip, and you lift the film over the sheet to the cut, slightly separate the paper backing and, stretching the film, attach the adhesive part to the metal.
Using a plastic card, start smoothing the film from the middle to the edges. Gradually tear off the backing in small pieces and smooth until you reach the edge. Repeat the same operations on the other side. The basis for the sign is ready.
Lay out the prepared letters on the base. Look at what height their base should be, and put a mark. Remove the letters and with the help of a padding, draw a line along which you will align the bases of the letters. Instead of a beating, you can use a strip cut from the same film as the letters.
Lay out the letters along the marking line, trying to ensure that the word is centered on the sign and the distances between the letters are the same.
Glue the letters. To do this, lift the first letter, peel off the lower part of the base and, aligning it along the line, press the adhesive part. Smooth the film with a plastic card, gradually removing the base. Try to glue the letters neatly. If something goes wrong, then tearing off the glued film will not be so easy. In addition, when tearing off the film stretches and re-sticking can cause problems. This is especially true for letters with a closed outline, such as "O" or "U".
The sign is almost ready. It remains to glue the edging. As a piping, we will use the strips of self-adhesive film left after cutting out the letters. The width of the strips should be about 2 cm. We glue the edges, unlike the base, not from the middle, but from the edge. It is necessary to position the tape so that only half of it is glued to the outer surface of the sign, then the second half must be wrapped back and glued to the back surface of the sheet.
If you are a beginner entrepreneur and are very limited in funds, and, for example, you need to light up your small shop, stall or trade tent, we are ready to offer you some tips on how to make a budget sign from LEDs.
So here is our step by step guide:
Stock up on the following materials: PVC plastic (at least 3-5 mm thick), Oracal film of the appropriate color, 5 mm LEDs (if you want your sign to stand out from afar, then choose a glow angle of 60 degrees, if you want your sign to was “lit” to the maximum, then the glow angle should be at least 90, ideally 120), connecting wires, hot melt adhesive, and other tools ...
So let's start with the letters. Using a regular clerical knife, we cut out letters from plastic, mark the places where we will have LEDs - the distance from the edge should be at least 10 mm, and the step of the LEDs should be at least 15 mm, but not more than 30 - the ideal option is 20 mm. Then we drill holes with a diameter of 5 mm.
The next step is to roll up the finished letters with a film.
After this procedure, you need to cut the film on the existing holes with a cross. Preferably neat, within the hole. You can, of course, first roll up the letter, and then drill holes. We do not do this because the film tends to “dry out” over time, and we have a chance to get a white border around the drilled hole. In addition, the film is not so well drilled, rags are obtained that have to be torn off by hand.
It is convenient to perform the following operation with one of the LEDs, holding it by the leads. Carefully “pierce” all the holes from the seaming side so that the petals of the cut film stick to the walls of the hole. Thanks to this procedure, the LEDs will hold tighter in the hole and the film will not creep away over time.
The next step is to install the LEDs. They just stick in all the way.
Since the supply voltage of 12 V was chosen, the LEDs are combined into groups of 6 in series. (Voltage drop across the red LEDs is about 2 V). The placement step of 20-25 mm was not chosen in vain. This made it possible to dispense with the conclusions of the LEDs as connecting wires. The leads are unbent parallel to the surface and soldered together. With some skill, this is a short process.
I recommend orienting the LEDs with the anode or cathode in a certain direction so that there is no confusion. As a result, we get several chains of LEDs connected in series. The last chain is unlikely to come out of 6 pieces, so we place the missing LEDs inside the letters. We connect all groups in parallel and get two conclusions - plus and minus. For greater reliability, we install a 0.5 W 10-30 Ohm resistor in the gap of the positive wire. You can have one for the whole letter, you can for each chain - as you like. You can also install a diode to protect against polarity reversal during installation. Everyone has different means of protection 🙂 We count the number of chains - let's say there are 7 of them. The nominal current of 5 mm LEDs is best set at 15 mA, which means our letter will have the following parameters: 12 V, 105 mA. , that is, it will consume about 1 watt.
Then we connect the letter to the power supply.
These are several photos of the finished object at different shutter speeds. The frame is quite strongly curved, such was the idea - so that it could be clearly seen from different angles. As long as the sign is on in test mode and the current of each LED does not exceed 5 mA.
And the last step is mounting the finished letters on your tent.
Of course, LED letters need to be securely attached to some kind of metal base, so we recommend that you first make a metal frame from aluminum profiles, which are sold in any hardware store.
Here's what happened in the end.
It is easy to see that the letter "L" glows a little brighter than the rest. This is because the last chain in it contains only one LED. It was a pity to throw away five additional LEDs to provide the desired parameters, so a resistor was used. In the future, you can install a controller for dynamic lighting effects or install RGB LEDs initially. The total consumption of the sign in test mode is about 5 watts. It took about 600 LEDs to make the sign.
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A person who was able to organize a business can also think about making advertising with his own hands. Such a decision is especially relevant for those entrepreneurs who have just started organizing their own business and cannot afford expensive advertising. However, in a highly competitive environment, informing the buyer about their services and products using various advertising tools is the norm that allows them to survive in tough market conditions.
An advertising sign is one of the most effective ways to attract the attention of a potential buyer and briefly provide him with all the necessary information about a product or service. Everyone can make it with their own hands if they read the tips below.
Any man will not interfere with high-quality tools in the house. In the article “Choosing a drill: universality or specialization? » learn about the nuances of one of them.
To create an advertising masterpiece on your own, it is not enough to stock up on enthusiasm, you need to have some materials and tools at hand. Moreover, many tools do not even have to be specially bought, because they belong to the standard stationery that each company purchases: scissors, a ruler and a pencil. In addition, you should have a tape measure, discount or bank card (any, as long as it is plastic) and scissors that allow you to cut metal. It will also not do without technology, because a computer and a printer allow you to design an advertisement and print it.
- thin sheet of steel (preferably galvanized). The minimum sheet thickness must be at least 0.6 mm, the optimal format is 1000x2000 mm;
- self-adhesive film. It should be of several colors (any that you like best). It is better to choose an opaque and glossy film with strong adhesion;
- auxiliary materials include rags, double-sided tape and glue (hard).
After everything is ready, you can begin to implement the plan.
Signboards make it much easier to find any organization or enterprise. There are several types of such structures that can be manufactured using the most modern technologies.
Today, many organizations are engaged in the manufacture of signs to order. You can choose the best option for certain conditions, including a backlit sign, on a specialized website.
Preparatory stage
The production process of signs involves the use of not only bright phrases, but also a beautiful font that will catch the eye. Before starting the manufacture of this design, you must perform a few simple operations:
- First of all, you should decide on the size and design of the sign. The simplest option is to make the base from a metal sheet on which the phrase is applied.
- Then you need to prepare letter layouts. You can choose the font in different text editors (Microsoft Word), and then print them separately on the printer.
The design of the sign can be combined in different ways, which allows you to create a unique individual creation.
The manufacturing process of this design can be divided into several simple steps:
- First, cut out the base for the sign. To do this, you can use a sheet of galvanized sheet, from which to form a plate of the required size. If you want to give the frame a unique background, you can paste over it with a special film.
- Then we make letters according to a previously made template. An adhesive film can be used as the base material, which should be shaped for each element and cut out individually.
- The fastening of the letters is done by gluing. To get a beautiful and even inscription, you must first draw the base with a pencil, indicating the location of each element. Then the letter is carefully glued onto the surface and the sign is attached to the right place.
A more complex option is backlit products, which can be made from special plastic transparent plates. Lighting can also be arranged in various ways.
One of the simplest is to make a sign according to the previously considered template, and then fasten lighting bulbs or LEDs along the contour of each letter.
The best option is to purchase a custom-made sign, which will significantly speed up the process of its manufacture and the quality itself.
Do-it-yourself 3D signboard for a penny in the video: