Wednesday, 04 Mar 2015 13:07 GMT

Sign-making Through the Ages

With the landmark exhibition Sign and Digital UK just around the corner, Harriet Gordon takes a trip back in time to document the history of the now vibrant sign industry

Secure foundations

We live in turbulent economic times. With the recent global recession still fresh in everybody’s minds, the growing unrest in Europe is bound to be making many business owners twitchy. Greece has elected a socialist government, Germany is demanding its debt is repaid, and there are a growing number of voices pressuring UK leaders to leave the EU. Whatever the right course of action, these contrasting and impassioned opinions make the next couple of years very difficult to predict.

When you live in times of such unpredictability, you need confidence in the longevity of your trade. Markets that spring up in height of a boom economy are inevitably going to be vulnerable when currencies begin to crash. If there is any way to feel secure in this volatile era, it is to place your faith in an industry that has stood the test of time, in a market that supports many others, and in a trade that has been practised for thousands of years.

And ticking all these boxes is the sign industry. Whilst it has not been plain sailing for many businesses during the recession, and some may have gone under along the way, the industry has emerged after the storm as strong as ever, secure on its extensive historical foundations.

The dawn of time

Signs have existed in one form or another for ever since humans began marking materials. Even before any written language was developed, paintings on caves walls were used to signify good hunting grounds, warn of bad omens, and to tell stories. As civilisations began to develop, so did their signage; the ancient Egyptians painted and engraved hieroglyphics on to the walls of sacred temples and burial places, depicting the lives, battles and triumphs of the dead, who would invariably come from the ruling class. As the ancient Greek and Roman empires began to flourish, signage developed into the form we recognise today: advertising a place of business or a trade. Signs were widespread in early Rome, either painted or carved in stone, or designed in terracotta, and examples have been preserved and recovered from the ruins of the city of Pompeii.  One of the most widely used signs in Rome was a bush of ivy and vine leaves, associated with Bacchus the God of Wine, and attached to a pole to identify a tavern.

O Factoid: There are records of advertising executed in stone and on bricks as early as 3000 B.C. O


Indeed, in Britain, one of the most iconic signs from our history it that of a traditional tavern. Signs were used extensively in medieval Britain, but in 1389, King Richard II made it the law for pub landlords to erect signs outside their premises. The legislation stated: “Whosoever shall brew ale in the town with intention of selling it must hang out a sign, otherwise he shall forfeit his ale.” Whilst possibly tiresome for the landlord, this ruling was good news for sign-writers and painters. Indeed, the craft involved more painting than writing, as the widespread illiteracy required the pub’s name to be depicted in images, with the words often occupying a much smaller space. These remain popular to this day; all you need do it visit any village or town across Britain to see an example of a traditional pub sign. 


Arguably one of the first forms of signage, the ancient Egyptians painted and engraved hieroglyphics on to the walls of sacred temples and burial places



Industrial awakenings

Despite its ancient history, it was not until the nineteenth century that the sign industry came into its own. Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press had helped dramatically raise the literacy levels of Britain, while the industrial revolution spurred a burst of commerce and trade that remains unparalleled in our history. New shops sprung up like wildfire along the high streets of the growing cities and towns, and a now literate public needed to know where they could purchase the newly available goods.

Sign-writers were suddenly very much in demand and hand-painted signs were everywhere. While most were simple and functional, some of the sign-writing of the Victorian era was overtly decorative and ornamental, boasting outlines, inlines, shading, curlicues, and effects. The remnants of this golden-age of sign-writing are still partly visible today, with the ‘ghost signs’ of large advertisements hand-painted straight onto buildings giving us a taste of the past.

And while, with the coming of the twentieth century, increased mechanisation and new materials and techniques slowly eroded the dominance of painted lettering, sign-writers were still very much in demand.

Indeed, it was only in the 1980s, with the development of the first automated vinyl cutter that the modern industry as we now know it began to emerge. Renowned technology journalist and sign industry veteran Mark Godden not only remembers this major innovation that shook up the industry, but was involved in its development. He explains: “The first practical and popular computerised sign-making systems were manufactured in the early 1980s by Gerber Scientific Products and introduced into Europe by Spandex. I was closely involved with this hardware.


A Roman street sign. Signs were widespread in early Rome, either painted or carved in stone, or designed in terracotta



“The very first systems had only eight fonts, nine if you include in the count the Helvetica Medium that came as standard in the system’s firmware. Forget all about monitors or any such display, the machine’s only readout to the user was via a four character display that scrolled any words entered longer than that. Text entry was one line at a time, there was no kerning, and spacing was shocking. Despite these limitations, the Graphix 3, as it was known, defined a new epoch in sign-making.”

Indeed, at this point, painted letters finally lost their dominance and sign-makers began to work with what for many was a new medium—self adhesive vinyl. Letter shapes were cut and then transferred, pre-spaced to the substrate; the same process is still used today. As Godden states, this basic formula was an instant success and it paved the way for every cutting system that followed. Modern industry heavy-weights such as Grafityp, Mimaki, and Roland DG all added fuel to the fire in the industrious 80s, releasing their own versions of vinyl cutters.

Rob Goleniowski, sales support manager at Roland DG, explains how the firm’s roots stretch right back to the early 1980s, when it started manufacturing XY pen plotters. He contnues: “The sign industry started taking a real interest in this technology when we replaced the pen with the blade, and Roland’s first vinyl cutter—the PNC-1000—was launched. This solution offered traditional sign-writers a complementary solution to their existing skill set, enabling them to create accurately sized and positioned letters and logos, leaving the sign-writer free to concentrate on the more creative side of the business.”

License to print money

Yet now that technological development had been started, there was no stopping it, and it was not long before one of the first practical imaging systems was to appear, again a product form Gerber in the USA.

Mark Godden explains: “It was, by today’s standards, a narrow printer, and owed nothing to today’s inkjets; it was a thermal transfer device. Using coloured foils, the printer transferred detail direct to uncoated vinyl so removing one of the fundamental limitations of cut materials. Process coloured ribbons supported the creation of continuous tone pictures and, small though it may have been, it gave the industry one of its very earliest tastes of durable coloured imaging.

Inkjet printers eventually got the technical obstacles flattened and among the very earliest practical and mass-produced digital printers capable of printing direct to vinyl arrived in the shape of Raster Graphics’ Arizona”


“Inkjet printers eventually got the technical obstacles flattened and among the very earliest practical and mass-produced digital printers capable of printing direct to vinyl arrived in the shape of Raster Graphics’ Arizona. This printer used solvent-based inks and produced what at the time were regarded as stunning full colour images. It was fast, simple to use, reliable, and it sold strongly.”

The launch of the VersaCAMM was a genuine game changer for the industry, making integrated print and cut technology truly accessible to the mainstream signage and printing sectors”


Roland’s Goleniowski argues the next real step for the industry was the launch of the VersaCAMM SP-300 integrated print and cut wide-format printer in 2003. He continues: “The launch of the VersaCAMM was a genuine game changer for the industry, making integrated print and cut technology truly accessible to the mainstream signage and printing sec-tors, and demonstrating again, 20 years on from the launch of the PNC-1000, that Roland DG maintained its position at the forefront of innovation.”


Pub signs were made compulsory in 1389 and now represent some of Britain’s most iconic traditional signage



Once established, the appetite for durable print was only ever going to increase from its small beginnings. Godden explains how, displacing established cutting technologies and opening new applications possibilities, the new systems were immediately disruptive.

He continues: “Work that would have been, for example, the exclusive province of a screen printer, was now within the means of anyone with a suitable inkjet printer and the whole supply chain was rattling. Inkjet printers have emerged to the point where they now dominate. Thermal transfer is for most sign and display applications forgotten; cut and applied graphics, however, refuse to die, and the medium is still popular. Inkjets though, have a career path to the future and, unless digital signs replace printed ones on a wholesale basis, are unlikely to be bettered.”


 


Goleniowski agrees, adding: “With the proliferation of digital marketing channels over recent years, many have signalled the beginning of the end for print. However, print is proving a far more resilient format than many gave it credit for. It has diversified, become increasingly creative in its approach to innovation and has, we believe, secured its future as a core component of the modern marketing mix. An eco-solvent print and cut machine is still arguably the most versatile and profitable solution on the market and as such Roland remains committed to this technology.”

He concludes: “There will always be a need for high-quality, creative, durable print created by skilled, passionate professionals. At Roland DG we will always look to explore and invest in new technologies and these will continue to be backed by a rich mix of training and support services such as the Roland DG Academy and Creative Centre, to ensure sign-makers and printers can deliver the best product time after time.”

Traditional trends

Yet whilst inkjet is undoubtedly dominating the signage market and leading the way in future developments, the old methods have not been completely lost to history. Here at SignLink we have documented many companies and individuals that are keeping traditional sign-writing alive, something that would not be possible without a healthy demand for the craft. Bristol-based Dapper Signs, for example, exclusively uses hands, brushes, and paint to produce custom-made, bespoke signs, and reports demand increasing year-on-year.

Similarly sustaining a successful business using traditional is techniques is Michelle Henry, founder and director of HNS Signs. Learning the craft from those who remember the golden-age of sign-writing, the skills and its traditions are very much in her blood. She says that traditional sign-writing is getting more popular, partly because it is becoming fashionable to have hand-painted signage.

And whilst this love of all things vintage is certainly creating a demand for these firms, traditional sign-writing will still remain an undeniably niche sector of the market. As Godden asserts, printed elements now feature in most sign-making applications and the hardware is capable of addressing practically every sign and display application that exists. Indeed, the technology is becoming so advanced that sign companies are able to compete with the style normally reserved for hand-crafted products.


(Above and below) Remnants of the golden-age of sign-writing are still partly visible today, with the ‘ghost signs’ of the large advertisements that were hand-painted straight onto buildings



Godden continues: “A sign company without an inkjet printer is a comparative rarity, and those so equipped define the age in which we operate. This state-of-the-art technology gives users choices defined largely by ink species. UV-cured, solvent-based and latex printers compete for the same sale, and output is converging toward the point where improvement is academic. The higher the quality, the more subtle its applications.



 


“Sign-makers today can consider markets including fine art and photography as being within reach and many now question whether ‘sign-maker’ is a fitting descriptor to operate behind.”

Competitive advantage can be pressed in many ways, but no tool is more versatile in today’s sign-making armoury than the digital printer”


Concluding his narrative journey from the birth of the modern sign industry to the present day, Godden believes the future will see the emphasis remain on inkjets. He continues: “Faster, sharper, smarter and greener are all hanging in the mid-distance as development goals. The market for new systems simply waits for them to arrive.
“Competitive advantage can be pressed in many ways, but no tool is more versatile in today’s sign-making armoury than the digital printer.”


(Above and below) These traditional signs were the method of choice for advertising until the digital print boom of the 90s 








The advice from the expert is unequivocal. Yet however you plan to weather the next few years of unpredictability in Europe, you can take comfort from the indisputable historical credentials of the sign industry. The technology may develop and the market may shift, but with thousands of years backing it up, signage is not going anywhere anytime soon. 




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