Local radio stations have been among the shop’s highest profile clients for vehicle wraps.
Synergistic production
With his fleet of wide-format printers, as mentioned, Parnell can double or even triple his output when needed to meet a very tight deadline. The depth of his shop’s production capabilities also allows him to create and support new, nuanced designs for his clients’ graphics.
The benchtop UV-LED flatbed printers, for example, can add texture to graphics that have already been printed and cut on the other presses. In addition to cyan, magenta, yellow and key/black (CMYK) and white inks, these printers’ clear UV-curable inks can be layered to create such textures and patterns in both matte and gloss finishes. Using files from an electronic ‘texture library,’ Parnell has added such further dimensions as foam on a beer graphic, raised sparkling highlights on window graphics and texture on a brick-wall wrap.
“Options like shine and texture give our company an edge when competing for work,” he explains. “The effects can be subtle or more pronounced, but either way, the viewer notices a difference.”
The shop’s diverse portfolio of printers also enables Parnell to go beyond signage and create custom promotional products.
“Our VersaUV flatbeds can print logos directly on travel mugs, pens, hockey pucks and golf balls,” he explains, “while our wide-format printers can produce and contour-cut graphics that are then heat-pressed onto garments to create customized apparel. Our range of production equipment means we can use the most appropriate and cost-effective technology for each job.”
The benchtop flatbeds also serve to expand 1 Hour Signs’ range of specialty substrates for signage applications. They can print directly onto wood, for example, to produce camp signs or customized picture frames with vectorized samples of clients’ handwriting.
“We love the creative opportunities that are made possible by our UV flatbeds,” says Parnell. “We can customize and personalize almost anything that fits on these printers.”
Showing off with the showroom
Sudbury’s 1 Hour Signs is located on Lasalle Boulevard, the city’s main drag, in a 100-year-old building that was originally a farmhouse.
“It certainly isn’t the average sign shop,” Parnell laughs. “We’ve really gone out of our way to make it look phenomenal.”
This approach has involved showing what the shop can do, by highlighting and playing off of the building’s stonework, fireplaces and natural features with large-format printed graphics and wallpaper.
“I’m not afraid to lay vinyl on anything,” says Parnell.
He has also brought in new natural elements, such as a T-shirt display made from the trunk of a tree. Old windows are reused as picture frames. Sample signs are created from recycled boards.
All of these unique features help keep clients—both new and old—in the shop longer and showcase the wide range of applications Parnell can provide. Most of his customers are locals who have either heard about or happened to see the shop.
“Every week, I get new people who just drop by,” he says. “I want to make sure they leave as clients.”
The showroom also displays the same graphics side-by-side to demonstrate 1 Hour Signs’ print quality versus that of its competitors.
“I want people to understand what they are paying for when they choose us,” says Parnell.
