There are a number of reasons why a sign maker would want to offer dimensional signage: The freedom to provide more custom designs, the ability to work with a wide range of substrates, and the opportunity to increase profit margins.
And to these, veteran sign maker George Zienowicz adds, “When I’m fabricating a dimensional sign, it feels great—like I’m a twelve-year-old kid again, putting together a model kit.”
George owns Zienowicz Sign Co., a full-service, three-person shop of “independent thinkers” and “problem solvers” in Chambersburg, New Jersey.
He has been in the sign industry for more than thirty years now, and his shop handles all sorts of signage projects for small and large clients (including mom-&-pops, real estate offices, restaurants, and even the governor’s residence and New Jersey State House).
Among these projects are illuminated signs and vinyl. But it’s the custom dimensional types that really pique George’s creative energies. One look at his history helps explain why.
George started his career hanging out in sign shops designing and hand-lettering real estate signs. But after growing up enjoying woodworking and carpentry, he would eventually combine these skills with graphic arts (using lettering quills, jigsaws, and cans of paint) to become a full-fledged sign maker.
For George, dimensional signs just “look classier” than a flat sign. “Not only do they look more detailed, but they also show off that the sign maker has put a little more time and effort to the customer’s project,” he says.
George also finds that a plain, flat sign with vinyl letters can prove “boring” to the sign maker (and customer) if repeated frequently over time. “I always strive to increase the ‘cool’ factor of a sign,” he says, “and dimensional allows me to do this.”
One piece of equipment that has really aided George’s shop is a four-by-eight-foot ShopBot CNC router that they’ve been using for ten years now. “The router has revolutionized the way signs are fabricated in my shop—as they have at other shops probably,” he says. “A V-carved sign might take two days to carve using chisels; the CNC router can do it in one hour.”
George has also added many modifications to his ShopBot, like a vacuum hold down, two-stage dust collection, proximity switches for zeroing, and separate dedicated circuits for the router head, control box, and computer.
When it comes to materials his shop cuts on the ShopBot, George recognizes that every job has different needs. “For example, HDU is a nice material to work with and cuts easy. But you wouldn’t want to use it for a sign that’s going to be located low to the ground where it could easily get damaged by landscapers or road debris,” he says.
George stresses longevity and how long the client wants the dimensional sign to last as important factors when choosing a substrate and finish. “You have to consider where it’s being installed and the amount of UV exposure it will get,” he says. “Signs take a constant, brutal assault from the sun. So will it be in the shade? And if not, which direction does it face— east to west or north to south?”
Pic Pocket is an image-appropriate MDF sign that’s been shape-routed on the CNC, painted with bulletin enamel, and lettered with vinyl.
Although George likes carving PVC, aluminum composite, and aluminum (probably the toughest material to cut on a router), he really loves urethane foam (citing Sign•Foam 4, in particular). “It’s lightweight and not difficult to paint,” he says. “It has a nice, smooth finish. You can carve nice, crisp details, and there’s very little grit-type dust associated with it.”
Preventative maintenance of his CNC router is important to George too.
He stresses to keep the CNC tabletop clean. “You want the blank to sit flat on the table,” says George. “If you’ve got leftover shards on it, this could lift the piece up, say, 1/8-inch higher on one end or lower it 1/8-inch on the other.
“And this could cause problems.”
George uses the vacuum system hooked up to the router head to remove 90 percent of any debris from a piece, while he brushes off the rest.
When it comes to CNC router operation, George finds that creating the vector files for cutting is where the real work is done. (Note: Zienowicz Sign uses Aspire software to create these files.) “You have to tell it what size bit you’re using,” he says, “and then move on to how many passes you want it to make and how fast you want the router head to go and so on.
“Since we’re fabricators, we also design within our capabilities.”
Speaking of sign designs, one type George likes accomplishing on his ShopBot are V-carved signs (carving the letters into the sign blank using a V-shaped bit, resulting in a raised surface and other raised elements).
But he finds that combining different elements on a dimensional sign always generates interest, as well.
Take adding gold leaf to V-carved signs. “We coat the boards, put a mask on top of it, route through the mask, apply the gold leafing, and finally pull the mask off,” he explains. “And different burnishing techniques [like engine turning] always adds a little spice.”
For a recent sign featuring V-carved lettering, gold leaf, and a rose made from foam for the York Street Bed and Breakfast, he first cut the shape on his ShopBot CNC. He then applied a sandblasted stencil of the lettering and blasted it.
He attached the hand-sculpted, hand-painted rose to the piece and finished the lettering with gold leaf.
George warns newbies that it’s important to understand gold leafing techniques before attempting to apply gold leaf to a sign. “There’s a lot you can mess up if you don’t know what you’re doing,” he says.
Then there are the extras one can offer for a client’s dimensional sign.
George designed the whole Black Dog Media sign from scratch using Artisan software. He carved it with the ShopBot but also custom-made the bracket for it out of aluminum using MIG welders in his metal shop.
The shop epoxied I-hooks into the sign and attached S-hooks and chain link to give it some swing.
“We drilled holes into the building and put the bracket up first with screws,” explains George. “We then attached the sign to this bracket.”
If a hanging sign of this type is really big in size with a lot of wind load on it, George will usually bolt it through the building. “But on something smaller like the nice, strong brick façade hosting the Black Dog Media sign, you can get a good bite using screws,” he states.
Dimensional signs are not just about the ease and convenience of a CNC router. Zienowicz Sign also uses jigsaws, band saws, die-grinders, rasps, and chisels when the need arises. “Even with the computers and technologies available at our disposal, sometimes it’s just easier to do it by hand,” says George. “Besides it feels good to get dusty every now and again.”
Take the V-carved gold leaf panel signs for Iglesia Asamblea De Cristo, a project George dubs “interesting.”
While the main sign is V-carved with gold leaf lettering, there are doves featured at both ends of the sign, and the client’s design had these birds pointing toward the center. “We had to mirror the two doves,” says George. “And with all the curves and accents on them, it would’ve taken too much time to model the doves out on the router.”
So he drew the silhouette of the birds onto a paper pattern and perforated it. He then took this pounce pattern and rubbed it onto the board. George next cut it out on a band saw and finished it with die grinders, rasps, sandpaper, and chisels.
“To do the mirrored bird, we took the same pattern but just flipped it over,” he explains.
As you’ve learned, George is well versed in the tools of yesteryear and today and employs them to complete his custom dimensional signs. He intends to keep using these equipment and accessories to continue producing dimensional signage for his clients well into tomorrow.
By Jeff Wooten
All photos: Zienowicz Sign Company
