TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Month’s SBI Trivia Question Stumper:
In 2007, the amount of money spent on outdoor advertising in America increased by 7% from the previous year. What was total amount spent?
For the answer, scroll to the bottom of the newsletter.
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Industry News
[[HOT TOPIC]] ONE WEEK, TWO SHOWS!!
The last week of May (26th to 31st) could be--and should be--a busy one for the enterprising sign professional. In six short days alone, there are two conference/expos that offer a wide spectrum of topics and opportunities to sign shop owners and industry manufacturers, both for increasing profitability and educating themselves on new trends and ecological responsibility. Not far from each other geographically, these two events beg the adventurous sign pro to double-up on some Sin City slickin' and urban cowboy cavorting during a tandem tradeshow trip to Las Vegas, Nevada and Austin, Texas.
You'll start out first in Las Vegas, arriving on the 26th for the 19th annual LIGHTFAIR International (LFI) conference and expo, to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As "North America's premier annual lighting industry event for architectural and commercial lighting products and services," LFI has a proven track record of bringing top international and domestic architectural, design, engineering and lighting professionals together with exhibitors from around the world. More than 17,000 design, lighting, architectural, engineering and end-user professionals from around the world will be in attendance. And more than 550 lighting manufacturers will showcase products in over 1,500 exhibits, including ballasts, control devices, daylighting products, lampholders and switches, high-end fixtures, mounting devices, and light sources. For a full exhibitor list click here: Lightfair Exhibitor List
This year, highlights will include The Daylighting Pavilion, showcasing product-specific manufacturers; the LFI Innovation Awards honoring the industry's newest product designs; renowned industry-leading keynote and master speakers; and LFI networking events. Brand new for 2008 is the European Light + Design Pavilion, which focuses attention on the many new, cutting-edge lighting products entering the market from Europe. Located in a prime location within the exhibit hall, this pavilion is certain to be one of the most talked-about new features in Las Vegas.
LIGHTFAIR DAYLIGHTING INSTITUTE
Monday, May 26 - Tuesday, May 27, 2008
LIGHTFAIR INSTITUTE
Monday, May 26 - Tuesday, May 27, 2008
TRADE SHOW & CONFERENCE
Wednesday, May 28 - Friday, May 30, 2008
To register online as an attendee, click here: Lightfair Attendee Registration
LFI is co-owned by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). The event is co-owned, produced and managed by AMC, Inc.
After enjoying some of Sin City's viable vices, cowboy-up for a short plane ride south to the Lonestar state's capital city of Austin. Typically known for its hip indie-music scene, it's a perfect setting for a forward-thinking organization like the SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Design) to hold its annual conference, this year titled Interplay: Collaboration, Synergy, and Delight, scheduled for May 28 - 31.
First, some background: Based in Washington, D.C., SEGD is the global community of people who work at the intersection of communication design and the built environment. In pursuit of their mission, they aspire to promote public awareness of the community and its role in shaping experience; nurture demand for design excellence within the built environment; and serve as a source of education and inspiration for the community. Based on their definition, Environmental Graphic Design embraces many design disciplines including graphic, architectural, interior, landscape, and industrial design, all concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communicating identity and information, and shaping the idea of place. The Conference + Expo will not only celebrate that vibe, but also highlight the interplay of forces that inspire creativity.
Wednesday and Thursday are full of workshops, conferences, and discussions with heavy-hitters in this up-and-coming field of "green" signage. Meanwhile, the expo floor opens up all day (9 am to 6 pm) on Friday, followed on Saturday with a breakfast and several more seminars.
For a full list of expo exhibitors, click here: SEGD Exhibitors
For a full show program of each day's events, seminars, and workshops, click here: SEGD Program
And for a full list of speakers giving presentations, click here: SEGD Speakers
Both the SEGD and the Lightfair shows offer the sign professional very different, yet equally important insight into growing markets within our industry. SBI Update highly recommends attending both, and at the very least, one of these events. So saddle up!
Small Budget Pricing Can Still Mean Big Budget Signage Campaigns
Recently, Signs By Tomorrow helped show how the advancement of technology has made high-impact digital signage affordable for small businesses
In an age where strong marketing campaigns that include e-blasts, direct mail, and pricey search engine marketing initiatives often take precedent over advertising, the power of signs for a small business is often overlooked.
"The Signage Sourcebook," a compilation of sign industry research from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Signage Foundation for Communication Excellence, Inc., found that for the small, independent merchant signs are the most effective form of advertising.
In recognition of National Small Business Month this May, Joe McGuinness, president of Signs By Tomorrow, is educating small businesses in the local community on how they can embark on digital printing, the technology that prints full-color graphics and signage.
"A sign with optimum visibility and readability becomes one of the most important ingredients of an advertising campaign," McGuinness said, describing how the evolution of digital technology has enabled small businesses with limited budgets to have the same signage packages as large businesses with large budgets.
According to McGuinness, full color, attention-grabbing digital signage helps small businesses stand out from competitors. Digital graphics create customer retention and deliver more impact, while also creating a sense of sophistication. With the recent progression of technology, wide format printers and its saturation in the market allows sign companies, like Signs By Tomorrow, to print high resolution graphics at a significantly lower price than five years ago. There are various ways businesses can incorporate this type of digital signage in their marketing efforts: window and vehicle graphics; banners; and point of purchase displays; as well as full color wall murals and graphics and site signs/architectural renderings, McGuinness said.
Lighting Science Group Acquires Lighting Partner BV
Lighting Science Group Corporation LSG, a developer and integrator of intelligent and energy-efficient LED lighting solutions, announced it has completed the acquisition of Lighting Partner BV (LPBV), an innovative manufacturer providing a broad range of LED and High-intensity Discharge (HID) lighting solutions for residential, commercial, and retail applications based in The Netherlands.
LSG has acquired 100 percent of the outstanding common stock of LPBV. As consideration for acquiring the outstanding common stock of LPBV, LSG paid the former shareholders of LPBV $5 million and issued a total of 4.632 million shares of LSG common stock (representing approximately 16% and 13% of the actual and fully diluted shares of LSG common stock outstanding respectively). LSG also granted the former shareholders of LPBV certain piggyback registration rights and assumed expenses of approximately $1.2 Million incurred due to change of control of LPBV. LPBV had revenues of $23 million with positive cash flow in 2007 and is expected to have positive cash flow on a standalone basis, before synergies, in 2008. Approximately 70% of LPBV's business is LED based and this is a rapidly growing part of the business in line with the overall trend in the global lighting market. The company has also launched an innovative LED lighting system, Eyeleds, designed for indoor and outdoor applications globally. Eyeleds are currently distributed in over 35 countries and are used in the commercial and residential market.
In conjunction with the acquisition of LPBV, the Company also announced that it has sold 2,083,333 shares of common stock to LED Holdings, LLC for proceeds of $10,000,000. The shares were priced at a discount of 5% from the average closing price of the LSG common stock (as reported on the OTC Bulletin Board for the thirty consecutive trading days immediately prior to the sale, which is a decrease from the 15% discount set forth in LED Holdings' follow-on investment option it acquired through LSG's acquisition of LED Holdings' business and net assets in October 2007.
"Today's acquisition creates a significant and immediate global presence for both companies and provides the foundation for us to become a leading player within the highgrowth LED lighting market," said Govi Rao, chairman and chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group. "We look forward to combining our complementary strengths and regional market positions to create a foundation for robust future growth opportunities. We continue to drive innovations that benefit our partners, consumers as well as the environment. The combination of our capabilities further enhances our ability to support our OEM partners with agility, reliability and scale."
"The lighting industry is currently going through significant disruption and this partnership underscores our combined vision and commitment to shape the emerging digital lighting space," said Richard van de Vrie, managing director of Lighting Partner BV. "Combining our companies expands the breadth and depth of our respective portfolios and will help us deepen our customer relationships and drive increased sales to other targeted markets, globally. We foresee attractive opportunities for growth and believe that the combined company will be able to provide stronger enhanced products and services for our customers worldwide."
Cyberlux Wins $2.2 Million Contract From U.S. Air Force
Cyberlux, a developer of LED lighting products, has landed $2.2 million in additional business from the U.S. Air Force for its portable illumination systems known as BrightEye.
In all, the Air Force is ordering some $8 million in hardware, spares and maintenance supplies from Cyberlux for two different types of systems. The systems are designed for deployment in the field and can operate in both night vision and conventional light modes.
Samsung Begins Mass Producing a New 46" Digital Signage Panel
Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing a 46-inch "high bright" digital signage panel--claiming it as the brightest LCD panel in the world. Samsung says that its new 1500-nit LCD panel is now available for use in digital signs for transit centers, bus shelters, museums, shopping malls and for use at point of sale in retail outlets, to replace outdated poster advertisings. The panel is designed to optimally accommodate the tremendous range of lighting conditions affecting displays.
The Samsung "high bright" DID panel is about three times the brightness of a typical LCD TV today. It also features a contrast ratio of 3000:1. Samsung's high-bright DID LCD panel produces a high definition image with 16.7 million colors and a screen resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. It also provides the widest viewing angle available today: 178 degrees. The panel was designed so that it can be tiled together to create spectacular outdoor and indoor "video wall" effects.
Samsung achieved the extreme brightness level of its high-bright DID by making use of high-performance, cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) that operate on a very high current, and use an extremely thin color filter. Samsung will begin volume shipping its high-bright DID display later this month.
New Appointments
Daktronics Inc.,
of Brookings, South Dakota, announced Jim Vasgaard's appointment to a leadership position in the Commercial Business Unit at headquarters. The appointment reflects Daktronics' belief in the tremendous growth opportunities that exist in the marketplace as commercial retailers replace traditional manually-changeable letter boards with digital displays to advertise their businesses. In his new role, Vasgaard will manage sales and marketing efforts for Daktronics' sign company business.
W.A.C. Lighting
announced the appointment of Matthew Wakeham to Marketing Director. In his new position, Wakeham will manage the marketing department, which includes several graphic designers. His primary focus will be on spearheading the firm's market research efforts to help launch products that fill market needs and build the firm's customer base. He will also help oversee the firm's advertising and public relations programs, direct mail, and internet marketing efforts.
Meetings and Events
MAY
May 28 - 30: LIGHTFAIR 19th Annual Tradeshow & Conference, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit www.lightfair.com/lightfair/V40 for more information.
May 28 - 31: 2008 SEGD Conference & Expo, Austin, Texas. Visit www.segd.org for more information.
JUNE
June 12-13: SGIA Vehicle Wrap Workshop, SGIA Headquarters, Fairfax, Virginia. For details, log on to www.sgia.org.
June 16: Midwest Sign and Screen Fourth Annual Bill Anderson Charity Classic, Southview Country Club, St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, call 800/328-6592 or visit events.midwestsign.com.
Sponsored Links
DPSBanners.com --
DPSBanners.com offers large format digital printing on vinyl banners, mesh banners, magnetic car sign and flatbed printing on foam board, Gator Board, Coroplast and more! Wholesale to the trade, best prices! Order Online! 1-888-790-2665. www.dpsbanners.com
This Month's Trivia Answer:
In 2007, advertisers spent $7.3 billion (up 7% from 2006) on outdoor advertising.*
*According to statistics from the OAAA (Outdoor Advertising Association of America)
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For in-depth coverage of these topics and other
sign industry topics, check out
www.signshop.com
ATTENTION ADVERTISERS and SUBSCRIBERS:
Coming up in the June issue of
Sign Builder Illustrated,
feature articles on:
Architectural Plastics Fabrication
Awning Fabrication
Dimensional Sandblasting
LED Message Centers
Estimating Software
Vinyl Lamination
ATTENTION ADVERTISERS and SUBSCRIBERS:
Coming up in the July 2008 Readership Survey issue of
Sign Builder Illustrated,
feature articles on:
Digital Printing Media
Dimensional CNC Routing
Gold Leaf Applications
LED Channel Letters and Sign Cabinets
HDU Sign Banks
Vehicle Graphic Vinyl
Contact your ad sales representative to reserve your space today.
As the premier e-newsletter for the sign industry, SBI Update encourages readers to send feedback on what you like, what you'd like to see, and any other comments you might have. To do so, send an e-mail to Managing Editor Chris Ytuarte at cytuarte@sbpub.com.
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© 2008 Simmons-Boardman Publishing
345 Hudson St., 12th Floor • New York, NY 10014
212-620-7200
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Steel Art Company
"Exclusively to the Sign Trade"
Letters and Logos Waterjet cut or Channel Style. All metals. Standard and Custom Finishing. LEDs, Raster Braille in Metal, Etching.
Most solid cut ship in 8 - 10 days.
....at the start..consider the finish...STEEL ART COMPANY
www.steelartco.com
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Tetra MAX
LED Lighting System GE Lumination introduces the new Tetra MAX LED System for channel letters. Working closely with sign OEMs and installers, we've simplified the design and installation of the standard LED system. One, low-voltage power supply operates any color LED to deliver up to 81% energy savings over neon and 52% energy savings over other LED systems. For more information, click on: GE Lumination
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ViewStation Array
Your Digital Signage
Hardware Solution ViewStation Array features a full protection enclosure, thermal management, and post-mounted billboard-sized display. Each ViewStation Array comes complete with six LCD displays, providing options for message diversity in high-traffic applications. With ViewStation Array all you have to do is add your content and go!
ITSenclosures
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Ultraflex Eco-Friendly Options Ultraflex Systems, Inc., shows innovative spirit and environmental responsibility with BIOflex biodegradable PVC front-lit sign media, BIOmesh biodegradable mesh, and PolyeLite recyclable lightweight (4.5oz) durable polyethylene (UV printing) for billboard/banner applications. These eco-friendly products are amongst over 30 offerings including Frontlit, Backlit, Blockout, Mesh, Wallscapes, Carpet and Rigid medias. For more information, call 973/627-8608 or click:
www.ultrafleXX.com
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SloanLED V Series SloanLED introduces its V Series LED lighting system, the most versatile LED solution for channel letters and cans. V Series incorporates a lower-profile module with brighter LEDs and wider viewing angles. Letters as shallow as 2.25" will benefit as this is a great answer to lower-profile applications, available in 6 colors. For more info, click on:
SloanLED
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Mimaki's JV33 is the perfect wide-format solvent inkjet printer for those who want to stretch their budget without cutting performance. The JV33 has taken the best of the JV3 and made it better with 54" and 64" models for all types of applications. It's fast, it's solid and it's loaded with features. For information, click here: Mimaki USA
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If your customer is angry, it's a bad sign. You need MAK. Wind, hail, storms, blowing debris and vandals are just a few of the reasons why your customers demand nothing less than the superior strength of MAKROLON SL Polycarbonate Sheet. Your signs will last longer and look better. Sheffield Plastics, Inc., A Bayer MaterialScience Company. www.sheffieldplastics.com
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In an effort to help our clients stay one step ahead, EconoChannel now offers Econo Rapid Service to meet the on-demand needs of our industry. Next Day Shipping for all stock inventory, 5 Day and 10 Day Guaranteed Shipping for non-stock products. To receive a free catalog, call 800/991-2669. For more information, click on: www.econochannel.com
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Outsourcing to Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow can allow your company to expand product mix without the expense of additional machinery. We offer GRAND FORMAT roll-to-roll printing up to 16' wide and FLATBED printing up to 6.5' x 10.5' at WHOLESALE PRICES. To visit our Website, click on: www.bloomingdalesigns.com
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Sign Builder Illustrated:
The How-To Book Vol. 1 Learn secrets to fabricating neon, illuminating with LED, sandblasting signs, applying paints, cutting and printing vinyl, and more in this 288-page, full-color reprinting of Sign Builder Illustrated's trademark How-To articles. To visit the How-to Book Web site, click on: SBI How-To Book
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Sign Builder Illustrated
Buyer's Guide 2007
Published twice per year in March and September, the Buyer's Guide lists manufacturers, distributors, and sign companies that comprise the industry in the U.S. and Canada. SBI Buyer's Guide
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Sign Builder Illustrated presents:
Vehicle Graphics 101 Check out this special SBI supplement for all the information you need to get started, get good, and get profitable in the world of vehicle graphics. From wrap schools and required tools, to marketing your skills and paying the bills, this How-to supplement has it all. Check out the digital version here:
Vehicle Graphics 101
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Sign Builder Illustrated
Goes Digital With live hyperlinks to video clips, advertiser information, and other features, SBI Digital offers the newest online technology with the familiar layout of a hardcopy issue. To view an example, click on:
SBI Digital Magazine
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Small Budget Pricing, Big Budget Signage
