Quality interior signage tells customers exactly who they’re dealing with. Imagine walking into a business for the first time. As a new customer, you look for cues about the kind of space you are in and the quality of work that is to be provided.
Then, you see high-quality signage mounted on the wall next to the front desk — it has a cool logo and the name of the firm. Instantly, your skepticism drops a notch or two. The sign instantly conveys a sense of professionalism.
Professional interior signage instills confidence among customers and reassures them of a business’s credibility, and laminate signage is the perfect place to start. For signage shops, it’s a must to offer — both in terms of your ability to better serve your customers and to generate additional revenue.
Laminate signage
“Laminate signage is an excellent bridge for customers such as law firms, who desire a high-quality look while accommodating a specific budget,” says Sarah Sachs, associate product manager at Gemini, a manufacturer of interior laminate signage. “Some customers want a metal look but turn to laminate because they can still achieve a clean, sharp look, without the weight or expense of metal materials.”
The wide range of options that laminate signage offers is a huge plus, but it can feel overwhelming for some sign shops. To get you going on the right path, here are five essential tips for signage shops to better serve their customers with interior laminate signage.
1. Environment matters
Signs are built to make a statement, not blend into the background. When determining the logistics of a new sign, consider where the sign will hang. The wall’s color, texture, material, size, and lighting all factor into how your mounted laminate sign will appear. (More on how to safely install your sign, here.)
“The last thing you want to do is sell a concept to a client and then realize there’s no way that it can be mounted on the desired surface,” says Kerri Eady, general manager and director of sales at Gemini Canada. “It is important to have those conversations with the end user early in the process.”
Pro Tip: Offer free physical samples to customers so they can see firsthand how a surface’s color and texture, in combination with lighting, will look when mounted.
2. Consider workspace applications
As more workplaces transition back to in-person, many HR professionals and office managers will take one step back into their time capsule-like workplaces, which haven’t been touched in two years, experience a moment of horror, and immediately sense that some TLC will be necessary for employees to make the commute to the office.
“Employees don’t want to enter a dreary office and wonder, ‘Why am I leaving my nice home office that I’ve made this comfortable space, just to come into a cookie-cutter corporate world?’ They want their workspaces to be welcoming,” says Sachs. “There is so much opportunity for signage shops to build a customer base in this space, considering all of the design opportunities to make a business seem fresh, new, more exciting, and more modern.”
3. Consider a 10-30% laminate signage ratio
So how does laminate signage fit into your overall sales? Eady and Sachs recommend between 10-15% of a smaller signage shop’s dimensional, unlit product sales should be laminate signage. However, the experts also note that customers who do a lot of wayfinding and reception work have the potential to reach 30%.
4. Embrace thinking outside the box
Laminate signage is versatile by nature, so don’t be afraid to let your creativity flow and push the envelope with your design.
“Never underestimate the opportunity for that ‘wow factor’ available with laminate,” says Eady. “One of our customers required a series of wayfinding signs for a hotel complex, and they needed a unique wood finish. Because of the volumes, they were able to digitally produce the wood finish that they wanted. We then produced the finish in sheet form, which allowed us to laminate it to the surface of acrylics and create all the custom work that they wanted to do.”
5. Look to the future
Laminate signage is evolving with new colors, textures, and applications. Eady and Sachs think two main trends will drive the future of laminates:
- Customers are embracing environmental sustainability and want to do business with suppliers that share their values.
- Laminate signage is expanding for a multitude of other uses.
Keep an eye on these trends as they progress, so you can stay ahead of the game.
Not sure where to start?
“Many signage shops want to offer laminate signage but have no idea the extent of what is possible to do with that medium,” says Eady.
Whether you’re well-versed in the land of laminate signage, or you’re as green as they come, Gemini can get you where you want to go. Explore laminate signage offerings and connect with experts here.
Pro Tip: Check out Gemini’s online essentials guide for technical resources including specifications, product drawings, mounting and installation instructions, and more.
