By Maura Keller
The adage, “from small beginnings come great things,” is the perfect way to describe J Signs and Graphics in Aberdeen, North Carolina.
Twenty-one years ago, after already having worked within the signage industry for a number of years, company Founder and Owner Jeremy White decided to set out and make his proverbial mark on the signage industry—albeit in a simple and humble way.
What began out of White’s bedroom eventually moved to a 1,000-square-foot storefront and then to a 4,500-square-foot space. Today J Signs and Graphics has expanded into a 6,000-square-foot facility (which includes 3,000 square feet of workspace with cut tables, open offices, and a showroom area) providing signage solutions to clients both large and small.
In the back of the facility, the company boasts 3,000 square feet of garage space with a 12-foot garage door. This particular space, which measures about eighty feet deep, allows White and his team to pull almost anything into it (including trucks and other large vehicles).
“When I first began [J Signs and Graphics], full-color outdoor printers didn’t exist, so I started out with a twenty-four-inch vinyl plotter,” says White. “Mostly what I did was die-cut single-color window lettering and vehicle magnets.” (Note: One of White’s first jobs was a 20-by-30-foot billboard that involved having to cut twenty-four-inch rows at a time.)
Fast forward to today and you’ll find that J Signs and Graphics utilizes the latest technologies, which has allowed the team to hone its skills and expand its offerings to encompass all aspects of signage—from banners and billboards to cabinet signs and channel letters to road signs, PVC signs, sandblasted signs, routed signs, site signs, vehicle wraps, vinyl signs, and everything in between.
Looking at Wrap Projects
J Signs and Graphics specializes in vehicle wraps of all kinds.
With their ability to garner between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions every day, White says it’s no wonder vehicle wraps are among the most effective and frequently used marketing mediums by businesses and organizations across the United States today.
As such, they’ve worked with a variety of clients from household names like Zaxby’s®, Carolina Air, Legacy Home Construction, and Moore Appliance Service, to individuals looking to give their personal vehicle a more individualized look.
J Signs and Graphics has found success performing full-color change-outs of personal vehicles. One notable project in this area, according to White, was the recent vinyl color change-out for a performance model S Tesla. “It was originally black, but the vehicle now boasts 3M’s 2080 Satin Flip Ghost Pearl SP280,” he says.
And while vehicle wraps in general are relatively cost-efficient, White recognizes that some businesses or organizations may not want or may not be able to afford a full-body wrap.
Rather than scrapping the idea completely, J Signs and Graphics offers partial vehicle wraps, allowing those businesses and organizations to get the same impressions and influence among their audiences, with less physical coverage. Naturally, since partial wraps cover less square footage than full body wraps, they also come at a lower cost.
“Catered specifically toward those looking to obtain the benefits of full graphic wraps with a slightly lower price tag, partial vehicle wraps offer the perfect solution and are flexible, cost effective, and durable,” says White.
And their wraps extend beyond just vehicles. According to White, one of his favorite products to wrap is a digital kiosk. One of his major customers is a kiosk manufacturer whose clients include many big box retailers.
“We’re supplied with Drawing Interchange Format (DXF) files the manufacturer uses to cut their metal parts, so it is very appealing to see a graphic match their parts flawlessly every time,” he says.
Designs for Better Wraps
So what advice does White have on making designs on vehicle graphics and digital kiosks truly stand out?
As he explains, vibrancy depends on the type of printer being used.
White worked with Southeast Sign Supply to select his first printer—a Roland DG VersaCAMM 54-inch printer/cutter. “That turned out to be a great recommendation because, in addition to high-quality output, the integrated print/cut made my workflow simpler,” says White.
For his next printer, he stayed with Roland DG, purchasing a 54-inch TrueVIS VG-540 printer/cutter. And when the time came to get a newer machine, White went back to Roland DG for its next-generation TrueVIS printer/cutter, the VG2-540.
“We run Roland’s TR2 inks in both our VGs, which helps with color matching and consistency,” says White. “Our previous printers would print more vibrantly [when we saved] EPS files in RGB color mode; however, now that we’re using Roland’s TR2 inks, vibrant colors are effortless. Working in Photoshop® filters allows us to save files in ‘brighter than life’ colors.”
In addition to Roland’s TR2 inks, White prides himself on the state-of-the-art equipment that he’s integrated throughout his shop. These include three Roland VersaCAMM eco-solvent printers, a UV flatbed printer, a four-by-eight-foot CNC router, channel letter benders, hydraulics breaks, and all the fabricating tools the team needs to design, manufacture, and complete their customers’ various signage needs.
And although White requests a three-day lead time from his customers, J Signs and Graphics’ largest client produces graphics for digital kiosks and usually need their jobs done in one day.
The graphics produced typically are applied to three or four sides of each kiosk. Multiply that by the number of kiosks they are working on that day, and White and his team find themselves printing, laminating and contour cutting 500 to 600 graphics per job.
More Than Just Vinyl
As mentioned earlier, it would be a mistake to assume that J Signs and Graphics is strictly a vinyl-only shop.
“We produce a lot more than graphics and vehicle wraps,” confirms White. “We also manufacture channel letters and digital LED signs in-house.”
Modular in nature, each LED sign produced by J Signs and Graphics is primarily made up of 25-by-50-inch sealed LED panels. The modular design enables customers to specify the exact size that best meets their unique needs without sacrificing appearance or functionality.
“In addition to their design and sizing, our LED signs offer flexibility from an installation and location perspective,” says White. “With our engineered design, each edgeless module is capable of stacking either horizontally or vertically with no seam reveal.
“The module is able to run independently or in combination with an unlimited quantity of modules.”
Owning Up to One’s Success
To manage this level of workload, J Signs and Graphics uses ShopVOX for their customer relationship management and job management.
“I’m very pleased with how well it keeps up with managing each job. Since we’ve switched to ShopVOX, our output has increased dramatically,” says White.
J Signs and Graphics is a prime example of how owning a sign and graphic company means every day is different.
“I’ve always enjoyed challenges, especially when it was something that seemed impossible to reach,” says White. “For example, when learning how to program the video cards with each LED pixel, it was very frustrating; but at the same time, after perfecting each step, it [ended up being] the most rewarding feeling.
“Four years of research, trial and error—we finally have an amazing product at a fraction of the cost. That cost savings is passed on to our customer, which allows us to sell more displays throughout the year.”
