The International Sign & Printmakers Guild, a member-led organization of over 2,000 sign and print businesses, announces the launch SIGN.COM and WebStores in North America to help strengthen local sign and print businesses. These new Guild benefits are in partnership with its corporate sponsors, Arlon Graphics, LLC, Mutoh America, Inc. and SA International (SAi).
Free WebStores
SIGN.COM WebStores give sign and print providers a low-cost E-Commerce site with web-to-print capabilities. Businesses can easily brand a web storefront with their own logos and set their own prices. Development and monthly hosting costs are paid for by Guild sponsor Mutoh America.
“For many small sign and print businesses, developing and maintaining their own e-commerce Web site is cost-prohibitive,” says Mark Stevens, executive director of the International Sign & Print Guild. “Thanks to the generous support of Mutoh America, Inc., the Guild is now able to provide our members with their own WebStore for a small fee when they collect payment.”
SIGN.COM E-Commerce
SIGN.COM is a new Web site where the sign buying public can easily design and order custom signs and banners. Unlike other Internet sites that produce banners at a centralized facility, all SIGN.COM orders are sent to local sign shops in the Guild network. Guild members receive orders directly into their SAi Flexi Cloud window.
“Internet demand for custom signs and banners is growing but local sign and print businesses have been losing out to large Internet-based companies,” explains Mark Stevens. “As the Guild for sign and printmakers, we wanted to reverse that trend and SA International offered us a great solution.”
Utilizing its knowledge of e-commerce and cloud computing technology, SA International— the maker of Flexi, the leading software for signmaking— developed the SIGN.COM storefront and routing system for the Guild.
“SIGN.COM adds a unique value to our SAi Flexi 11 with Cloud software,” says Dean Derhak, SAi Product director. “Only SAi software includes the ability to directly deliver new customers and new business to sign and print providers.”
As a Platinum Guild sponsor, SA International plans to spend $1 million over the next year in promotion and online advertising to introduce SIGN.COM to the sign-buying public.
“The Guild is proud to offer these two new benefits to our members that will bring them new customers and reduce their costs. That’s what the Guild is all about,” says Stevens.
Sign and Print businesses are already benefiting from receiving new customers. Chuck Atkinson, owner of Advanced Graphics in Winchester, Virginia, says, “SIGN.com opens up additional customers for my business and the WebStore is very simple to use.”
Sign and print businesses can join the Guild and in North America participate in SIGN.COM for free compliments of Guild sponsor, Arlon Graphics. A small fee is only deducted when orders are received through SIGN.COM.
For more information on SIGN.COM or how to become a member and enroll in these two benefits, visit www.SignPrintGuild.org.
