Signs of the Times - January 2018 - 34

INDUSTRY TRENDS
The International Sign Association

JANUARY 2018 EDITION

ISA, Industry Keep Ahead of Changing Times
A Message from the ISA Chairman
My experience in the sign industry dates to
when I was just a young lad, when I would
go to the sign supply warehouse with my
dad. Those are fond memories of running
around looking at all the products I knew
nothing about, but were way cool for a five
or six-year-old boy.
One thing that is constant with the sign,
graphics and visual communications industry,
as with most industries, is change. As the
market changed and screen printing became
a bigger part of the signage industry, my
dad's company changed with the times. He
and his partner set up a new company, which
my dad ran, to sell screenprinting supplies
to that industry. Although there were two
separate companies, they operated in close
proximity. During the summers I worked at
both companies where I learned about the
sign and screenprinting markets. In 2000, I
acquired the companies and merged them
into one company called Graphic Solutions
Group, which has since become GSG.

As the industry continues to evolve, ISA has led
the way in helping educate company owners
about new technologies and the opportunities
these changes create. As the various visual
communication industries continue to evolve,
ISA has been-and will be-there to continue
to give companies the resources they need
to respond to these changes.
The ISA International Sign Expo is the best
trade show to see the opportunities available
to sign companies in action! Walking the
trade show floor and visiting with the vendors
showing their products, is the best way for
sign company owners, salespeople, shop

personnel, etc., to see what is new. Additionally,
the education sessions have continued to
get better every year and ISA Sign Expo
2018, in March, will have even more specific, targeted information for attendees.
I always get a lot out of walking the show floor
and seeing the new technology on display,
but the chance to meet folks involved in the
same industry as myself is invaluable. There
has not been an ISA Expo where I did not
learn something new from meeting a business
acquaintance, or listening to an educational
session which sparked an idea I could take
back to my office with me. The highlight of

As the industry continues to evolve, ISA has led the way in
helping educate company owners about new technologies
and the opportunities these changes create.

Over the last 20 years, many changes have
affected the signage industry. The Gerber
Signmaker 3 was the beginning of the digital
revolution in both the sign and screenprinting
markets. Since then, wide-format digital
printing has made an even more dramatic
impact in producing signs. Most sign companies today print many of the signs on a
wide-format printer, a flatbed printer, or have
them printed by a wholesale printing company.
Although digital printing has certainly had
an impact on the industry, there have been
other changes as well. LEDs have impacted
how signs are made and continue to be utilized more and more. Not many shops still
produce neon signs, or have a neon plant in
their facility. And fluorescent lamps have
long been the way to illuminate a sign, but
like neon, are being used less due to LEDs.

STATS * FACTS
Business fixed investment posted two straight solid quarters of growth in 2017, after five quarters with no growth, according to the ISA Sign Industry
* * * ISA REPORT / January 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - January 2018