Vince Francis
Forum Replies Created
-
At great cost to us,we have decided to close for the next 3 weeks. It’s not like we are being handed a gun and asked to risk our lives to save others. Financially we are going to take a hit, but if it helps saves lives, I am more than prepared to do what I can
-
I have used Thomas Higgins several times now. Recently one through court. They are very good at what they do, once they get judgement, they send in bailiffs. I literally had to click a couple of buttons each time. They charge for their letter before action, but get very good results from that generally.
-
That is truly shocking. I have seen many a bad colour scheme in my life, but this wins hands down! Who really thought hmmmm now this is a good idea??
-
We love leds in Leeds stock many different kinds of cabochon and golf ball leds
-
Thank you both
-
Hi Mark, these letters are generally very bright, I would suggest that you buy a dimmer for these just in case. If its quite a dark place they could hurt the eyes after a while. Also, make sure you use a good glass tape & prep the area well before bonding. There are very good tapes that can do this, I suggest talking to a tape specialist. I use Austen Tapes for mine 01892 832141
-
Also, are the letters very big (or small), there are few options you can use to hold them onto a mirror
-
Hi Mark, are the letters sprayed a finish?
-
I get loads of emails, some look like they are from legit companies, often saying there is an invoice that’s not been paid, yet I have never dealt with them….I just add them to junk
-
According to Companies House they are a dormant company
They have racked up: 14 unsatisfied CCJ(s) at a cost of £43,390 according to the system I use
The Sole Director has another company: reg no:11547360 ONEFINEPLAY LTD set up 1st Sept 2018
-
David…. a brexit mitigation plan for a customer! Wow that’s a new one….do they even exist?
-
Phil, I would want to know how that works, as many of my Clients have all these procedures in place, but when they buy from me, I don’t have all these in place either. I do however manufacture to the spec handed to me & we don’t change anything. I understand why they would want this for construction….not really on signs, unless someone has more of an idea why it is needed
-
There is no doubt that were it not for robust quality systems management NASA would never have put men on the moon.
How many failures did NASA have tho? Also some very costly mistakes 😉
-
We use Thomas Higgins for people like this. A letter before action is £3 plus vat. Every time that I have been forced to use their services, we soon hear from the Client. Late payers & non payers are what causes most companies to fold, I don’t want to be one of those
-
We used Edenbridge, they often never delivered next day when they should have either. At times It can get costly when you are in desperate need of sheets, then they appear a day later. I have learnt in this game, sometimes it not about cost, but service.
-
Which depot do you use for Blackburns?
-
I was under the impression that official purchase orders and invoices are to show the correct trading style of the company. When I recieve orders from new companies, I always ask them their correct trading style straight away. It also helps me check them out before I do any work. Always know who you are dealing with as there are many crooks out there ready to rip you off if you are not careful
-
Not sure how the nails will work, or how they will last over time. We use a special glue that bonds letter faces to returns, super glue & almost every other type of glue won’t work over time, but it all has to be prepped correctly. We also have rebate our acrylic, trying to bond 2 flat surfaces won’t be easy
-
I have had 2 calls now trying to offer me domain names, apparently from my provider….which it wasn’t! They are trying anything to get a sale
-
The Sign Group in Leeds have a range already pre-built, you can see the on their We Love LEDs website
-
Personally I think Stafford touting for business should also be banned.
I didn’t think anyone was allowed to tout for business on here. I don’t. I will offer advice to people as & when they need it though
-
What is interesting is that they have not submitted any accounts for 2 years, in fact they have never submitted anything! He also has a company called ONEFINEPLAY LTD, and again, no accounts have been filed. This is a much newer company. Clearly they are up to something & how they have got away with it for so long is shocking. Hope no one on here has been caught by them
-
I know they have recently changed their name to STACKD MEDIA LIMITED, so can only guess they may have gone….until they re-open under another name
-
I used Smart Signs many years ago on a job, never ever again! I paid up front & when we collected it was not finished, poor job & poor follow up. As for not having an address, I believe all UK companies have to have a contact address on their website. As this lot are shady as, it does not surprise me. What does surprise me is that they are still in business!
Seems the directors have set up another company called Sidsigns limited, can only presume why they would do that.
As for all Trade companies are the same, I agree with Andy, anyone in manufacturing can & will make mistakes, its the nature of the business. If Rolls Royce, who are market leaders, can make jet engines that fail, that will mean anyone can. Its how you deal with the mistakes. We are not all the same, like Andy, we have spent many years in the game & do our best to make sure the Client gets what he wants. You will be in good hands with Andy for future work, you won’t get the same level of service as SG Manufacturing, I would never put them in the same sentence any other time than now.
Please, anyone who feels that Trade don’t offer service, you are not dealing with the right Company to begin with
Rant over
-
I had a quick look this morning, I make the MACKNADE approx. 6440mm long x 800mm wide, the spacing between the windows I make approx. 2215mm, when I scaled the width by the height it comes out approx. 6000mm
Hope that helps
-
With a ruler measure the length of the building. Then divide the length that you have by what the ruler says in mm. That will give you your scale for the rest of the calculations. Then with the ruler measure the length of say the larger sign and times it by the number you got in your scale. You can then do the same for the height and the other letters. Whilst it may not be scientific, I have used it for years and never been too far out. If that doesn’t make sense just ask. I doubt you will get that to match anyhow without the original cut file who ever may have made it in the first place.
-
Hi Martin, you may find that many will not tell you how these are manufactured as many have put a lot of R&D into them. I know that they use 30mm acrylic, they router out the back & fit LEDs into them. Depending if they are internal or external you would need to make them waterproof. You would need to have some kind of router/pacer to be able to do these. I know a few companies in the UK who make them, The Sign Group in Leeds offer a full trade service on these, but that does not mean they will be really cheap as I know a fair bit of man hours go into these to make them work & 30mm acrylic is not cheap. They are nothing like making them from neon. Hope that helps in some way
-
The Sign Group in Leeds offer a good trade service
-
Hi David
They are indeed the same, there are 3 or 4 companies under the PFI Group name. I deal with them all the time
-
Hi Hugh
Email sales@greensigns.co.uk, Allison there deals with the road signs for PFI, they sell to everyone
-
A1 Designs in Wallington offer a trade neon service, I have used them quite a few times & the product is really good, never had an issue
-
I had tbem on the phone yesterday. I asked why they were calling me as I am i listed with TPS, they said they were allowed to! I
-
I know one of my clients use a clear coated cable for wiring letters to glass. Whilst it may not be ideal, it may help to hide the cable. If you have enough room inside the letters, loop to the next letter hiding the connectors inside
-
The sign group in Leeds sell a range at certain sizes just like those
https://www.weloveleds.co.uk/collection … proj-signs
-
Hi Peter
Did you pay by PayPal through eBay? You can claim back through them if you did.
-
Try The Sign Group in Leeds. They supply a while range of things to the trade. I have used their light sheet on a job and was very good as was the price
-
I have a similar problem when I am printing long layout drawings.
I scale all my artwork in Signlab, print on a HP plotter through AI CS6.
The issue I have is if I am fixing a tray panel say 5000mm long, the overall print is 50-100mm less. Whilst it’s not the biggest issue, it’s annoying.
Any idea why this is doing this? Back in the day when my Signlab 5 printed direct, I never had this problem
-
I buy all mine from FK Moore in Ramsgate. I have never found anyone to beat their prices
-
I come across resellers quite often. There are a few companies who advertise that they manufacture signs in house, but they don’t, all they do is buy & sell. Like its been said, that’s all well & good & good luck to them if they can make that work, but what happens when there is a problem? Who sorts the problem out? I know that if anything ever was to go wrong with something we have manufactured, I can react very quickly to get it resolved, but when you rely on others, that’s when it gets messy.
-
Speak to Russell at Chemsure. We use several of his products and they are really good. He will advise you for the best product
-
Go for matt, gloss shows up everything if the LEDs are pointed to the panel, if the inside of the letters are sprayed white and you point the LEDs into the letter, then spotting is not an issue. Hope that helps
-
I have had this happen recently. I had a phone call from my client asking if I had given anyone permission to use a picture of a job I posted on LinkedIn (obviously his job). I explained that I had never heard of them, nor would I ever allow that anyway. Seems they were posting online that it was their work. Due to the nature of what we do, I have to be careful what I post, but does go to show you don’t know who is looking at online content
-
We use brasso on our letters. The only way you can get brass not to tarnish would be to lacquer it using clear gloss
-
Or The Sign Group in Leeds, they do a great service
-
Personally, if it’s 5000mm x 1750mm I would use aluminium. As you would need 2 sheets to manufacture it, it would need a suitable joining strip to keep the panels straight. Also with ali you have the added strength of folded returns. I would also use 3mm ali, you can use 2mm, it’s just what I would recommend
-
In my experience a company like Trade Letters will not cut letters smaller than 50mm and the narrowest stroke width of 5mm
Really? Why is that?
-
Hi Steve, I was referring to the post above yours. Thankfully I don’t have the headache of fixing 🙂
-
I would personally be careful about slightly bending the studs on stainless letters, it’s best to put the studs in as straight as possible as you don’t want the fixings to be under tension. Bend them too far and there is a good chance the fixings couldl fail at some point. I have lost count the number of repair jobs over the years I have done through fixings failing
-
A1 Designs in Wallington make mine, they are very good
-
KBS Signs in Exeter are selling one. Not sure of the bed size but it’s in full working order
-
Thank you everyone for your responses, I now have a few ideas of what to look at
-
Interesting, whats the largest letter you can make?
-
From what I understand, it will run into the millions! Only my personal point of view, but was it done for a reason, no one knows who Sandfield are, yet everyone knew who Hawes were. Wonder if its to do with the fact that the new owner of Sign 2000 is the same person who had Hawes? My guess is that they don’t want it linked when you do a credit search
-
I wonder why they changed the name to zzzz sandfield Ltd only this month?
-
This is the first year that we managed to finish early. I had to slow it down deliberately as we have just moved to a new larger unit. We managed to get it all done today, it only took 2 days so our holiday starts now. It’s also nice to have work to come back to.
-
Its sad to see any company who have been around as long as they have go. I feel sorry for the staff
-
Thanks Rob 🙂
-
I agree with Kevin, before lasers, CNC machines etc all work was hand cut. With my letter makers the skill is not the forming of the returns, but the fact that they can hand cut accurately with using an upright bandsaw or even jigsaw. We have produced jobs where the Client has no idea they had been hand cut, but that’s what I pay for, craftsman. I then don’t have to rely on waiting for the lasers to cut something if needed in a rush.
-
Thank you 🙂
-
Thanks for the recommendation James.
Simplex are a good company who will do a good job also
-
David has the best idea. We would screw the angles into the back of the tray, then pop rivet flats between them, that gives an exact spacing when you take the rails back out
-
So true…..unfortunately far too many won’t realise if they are getting a good job or not. Until they actually do
-
I have had this sent to me from quite a few Clients now. I have been told that Mr Driver will also be taken on very soon, as a consultant. Not quite sure of the role of Haylee, was she not a Director before? Was she not able to make these changes before?
-
Rob
I agree that they have won awards, to be fair we have won awards indirectly through my clients, and we have made some seriously good jobs. I am not just saying that as we made them. As a trade client we don’t always get the credit we deserve. My issue is with trade companies competing with their clients. I have heard of one company being taken off Signs Express supplier lists for this very reason. How can anyone in say a Signs Express franchise compete with a supplier they go to…..they can’t, which means they loose out. I guess it’s also about trust. I have emails sent to me that has my clients client information on it. To me, that only ever stays between me and that client. Apart from that, it gives people like me a bad name when I have spent years building up a close relationship with my clients. I would never cross the line. I have been offered the chance, but it would never happen.
-
Trade signs were incorporated in 23 Nov 2011, so not quite sure how that is 20 years.
I echo what Andy has already mentioned. As a trade supplier myself I would never dream of crossing over to take potential work away from my clients. I believe that if you are trade….you are trade only! As for appearing at a retail show, then trade is not what they are.
Interesting to see their website up & running already with the new name, yet have linked the Trade Signs name.
-
Hi Robert
I know you can get some free ones, although I am not sure how accurate they will be. The one that was mentioned you have to pay for, which personally I wouldn’t pay myself.
I just want a programme that can do my work for me :bangshead:
-
I done something similar the other day. First real hot day of the year & I decide to wear shorts…..but did not notice someone had left a stainless sheet hanging out a rack, so I walked into it. At first I thought I had scrapped the back of my leg. 1.5" gash & several stitches later as it was so deep.
-
Seems very expensive unless you buy a lot of LEDs. Most LED suppliers will now supply you a drawing if you ask for a price, although I would order a few more than they say as to lay them exact to their drawings is not always easy
-
They look like plastic locators to me. I refuse to use anything other than soldered locators for this very reason. All my flat cuts we use 2mm stainless. Anything glued just does not have the strength required. 4 fixings should be ok, provided they are secure
-
Why not glue a couple of snap fix locators on the back
-
I wish! I seem to have more trees here than in the Amazon! So if you ever wondered what happened to the Amazon I have it!
-
Argoneon in Kent is who I use, they really know their stuff
-
You could send it to Anthony@thesigngroup.co.uk if Graeme is not there
-
These look like Perspex built ups, and that is not my strong point, email Graeme at the sign group just say Vince from 3D put you on, they make really good Perspex letters, I have used them on a project before. They are also LED suppliers so can advise you on the best ones to use. They are really helpful & know their products. If they were stainless sprayed halo only, then the strokes are fine & would illuminate ok.
-
Anyone should be able to quote for you if you send a PDF or an AI file. Write down as much info as possible, ie if the letters are face or halo, what finish you are looking for ie are they satin, polished or sprayed.
-
I have 2 phone lines, unlimited calls, no cost to divert calls to my mobile & fibre optic broadband, £60 per month from Talk Talk & have never had an issue with them
-
If you think that’s bad, try this.
We made a couple of huge directional signs for a Client, I wont mention who even tho I refuse to ever work with them again, they were satin st/st panels 1.2mm thick, we needed almost a whole 3000 x 1500 sheet for the face & 1 for the back. They were connected to sizable satin tubes @ 3000mm long. They asked for a couple of cross beams only at the bottom of each leg only. I questioned that they need a full cage for these to be fitted to as they were stupidly heavy. Instead they got a fitting company to dig down in the mud & try to cement them in place! As we all know, concrete takes time to set, a very long time to cure. They didn’t understand why the signs almost collapsed. They were found the next morning with the face panel almost on the floor. Each sheet weighs approx 45kgs! At least you have cages & a concrete base which is better than that. So glad we don’t install
-
Good luck Steve, 41 years is quite some time in the same industry. Enjoy your lay in
-
They look soldered to me, it is possible to remove them if that’s the case, you just run a hot soldering iron over them. Fitting with no nails is not something I can say will or wont work, doubt it will be easy tho….put plenty on
-
The letters should have had flush bridges at the back so you can fit some really strong VHB tape, having them sat down like this causes problems. Are you not able to ask the manufacturer of the letters to sit the bridges flush?
-
Thanks for all the input, I shall get my accounts lady to look at those options, seems she has been given wrong info regarding the costs.
Thank you all once again
-
Some really nice work there, I agree at times simple is best. I do like the chicken 🙂
-
I would be interested in having a supplier stand if you hold this event again
-
Hi Dan
In the past I have used NFU, we had a major flood after a major downpour, water flowing like a waterfall through the 3 phase box & mains cupboard, loads of hand tools ruined. They paid out in no time. They were very good to be fair. Well worth getting them to give you a quote, I found them very reasonable in cost aslo.
-
I used to do 12hrs a day & sat mornings, plus quoting at home. I since realised there is more to life than just work, so I do 8-5 & no weekend work, but do if I really have to get something out. I also limit the amount of overtime my guys work as too much can be counter productive but expensive. I now have a life, after all…..its only a sign. Apart from that, im getting too old for long days 🙂
-
There is no real term for them, although some call them Circus letters, or fairground style letters. It seems to be the fad at the moment. Mention those names to a supplier, they should understand what you mean.
-
Try First Class Signs & Engraving in Liverpool 0151 290 2330
-
If they are built correctly, they should last outside no problems. If you want them like above, just remember to mention that you want Cabochon bulbs
-
Try the Sign Group in Leeds, they make very good built up Perspex letters
-
The Sign Group in Leeds make an alternative, very good, very bright, best of all…..good prices
-
That’s real skill…..good work 🙂
-
I wouldn’t trust an email that had no contact details or a link to a website….unless I knew them. What does the email address say? Right click on the contact name, does that give any more info like company name? It should show a company name, mine shows 3d-signs.co.uk, if its just a generic email address I would avoid it myself as there are too many scams going on
-
Robert
When you say cheap, several of the McDonalds in our area are flat panels with vinyls, yet they have an image already. They replaced full face lit letters for these. Looks cheap & nasty….a bit like their product. We made large letters for a well known fitness centre, they said that they had covered all the cost of the signage before they opened through new memberships, that’s after the signs had gone up. A good sign can make all the difference. No surprise that many major retailers pay a lot of money for signage.
-
They seem to the ‘thing’ at the moment. We are seeing more & more of these lately. I think they look great, some people refer to them as Circus letters. Here is one we finished, partly using them
Attachments:
-
James, to be fair I use this all the time & never noticed a line. Maybe its how the set up is on the laser
-
Ryan
Are they plastic or brass locators?
-
Get them laser cut, comes polished and saves you the problem 😉
-
Do you mean the 2 part brass locators? If so, FK Moore in Ramsgate supply them
-
Ouch, what a shame, they looked really good as well
Vinny