EASY Point of Sale Signs in minutes!
Years ago I was asked to make a till cover for an existing customer. They were urgent and I didn’t want to let them down because I was already half way through a large order for them. Anyway… I couldn’t get hold of one fast enough so went about making my own… as you will probably know, till covers are made from clear acrylic & come in various shapes & sizes… the small point of sale sign that I make below is based on the exact same idea.
The point of sale sign should give you food for thought on many other types of signs that can easily be made up fast, inexpensive and no need for fancy equipment…
I remember not long after I made the till cover being asked for 50 small “no smoking” signs for tables in a restaurant. As you can guess… I used some 3mm clear acrylic, 5inch x 2.5inch and folded in the middle… stuck on a “no smoking” logo on the rear of the folded Perspex and job done…. Smart little (upside down V) no smoking signs. Easy money…
Anyway… on with the demo…
Equipment:
For the folding process, all you will need is,
1 decent heat gun
2 G-Cramps/clamps
1 piece of L shaped angle
Picture 1
In picture 1, you can see I have a piece of clear acrylic approx 20”x12”
I have measured in about 5” and made some marks.
I have then taken my piece of L-shaped angle & (using my G-clamps) clamped it into position, over hanging the table as shown in the picture.
Picture 2
You are now ready to start heating!
Take your heat gun and put it on full. But! Always keep it moving left to right along were the L-shaped angle is.
There is no point heating any place else because it will give you bother at a later stage.
As I said, always keep the gun moving left to right. Never go close to the plastic!
If you go close, you will cause the surface of the plastic to bubble before the heat has penetrated all the way through. (Looks messy)
Picture 3
The idea of this is to get the plastic heated up enough to bend nice and tight.
To do this, the heat must be the same all the way through the plastic, (but just along the line were the L-shape angle is)
If you try heating it too fast, you will cause bubbles.
If you try bending it too soon… you will form a loose looking bent acrylic rather than a nice tight elbow like fold.
In picture 3 you will see I am heating from the underside…
I do this so as not to over heat one side too long…
If you are heating 3mm acrylic, the acrylic should start to bend itself pretty quickly…
On the other hand 5mm acrylic will take longer, so be patient.
Picture 4
Once you see the acrylic starting to fall/fold in on itself, gently press down on the flap to assist. If it is freely moving press further to fold into an elbow shape.
If this happens, quickly unclamp and lift it. Sit it on the table and press into the angle you prefer. Hold it in this position for a moment or two to allow cooling a little.
Once you feel it becoming ridged again, run it under a cold tap of water and it will firm up instantly.
Picture 5
Your acrylic should now look something like this.
Picture 6
I have wiped down my acrylic and I have hung the foot of the fold off the bench so as not to impede when lettering.
In this case the customer wants cream background with text on face.
Because I didn’t have any cream acrylic at the time I will flood coat in cream vinyl as shown.
Picture 7
Once covered with vinyl I trim it up as shown.
Picture 8
This picture shows the 2nd one I did also… when you do the first, have it sitting handy when you do the second. The reason for this is, you have to have the same bend… so it’s good to hold it next to the other once you bend it to make sure both lye at same angle.
Picture 9
This picture shows both signs complete.
The signs were to sit on tables at some sort of exhibition.
Simple, but effective!
Hope this demo is of some help to you…
