Sign makers and printers, with gumption.
Sign shop software for jobs that never come in a standard size
Every sign is a slightly different size, on a slightly different board, for someone who needs it by Friday. We build sign makers and printers the quote builders, online ordering and job tickets that cope with all of that, plus the marketing that keeps enquiries coming in.
Sound familiar?
Every quote starts with twenty questions.
"Can you price a banner? About two metres, maybe three, with our logo." Before you can give a number you need the size, the material, the finish, eyelets or not and how many, and most enquiries arrive with none of them. So you work it out on a calculator between jobs, and the customer who wanted it yesterday asks somebody else.
Nobody's sure which proof got the yes.
The logo came in as a screenshot of a screenshot. You sent a proof, then a second one with the new phone number. The customer replied "looks great" to the first email. When the board comes off the printer with the old number on it, you're scrolling back through a long thread to work out who approved what, and who pays for the reprint.
The job board is a whiteboard.
Once a job's approved it becomes a scribble on the whiteboard and a folder of printouts. Whoever's on the printer doesn't know it needs laminating, the fitter doesn't know the fascia sits above a bay window, and the customer rings to ask when it's going up. Every answer means walking into the workshop and asking whoever's nearest.
Proof seven, approved. In writing, for once.
Sign shop software, from quote to fitting.
Every system is built around how your sign and print shop already works. Here are some of the things we'd build for sign makers and printers. Product configurators. How our bespoke systems work.
A quote builder on your website.
Customers choose the product, then the size, material, finish and quantity, whether that's correx boards, a PVC banner or cut vinyl lettering. The price works itself out from your own rules, per square metre with minimum charges and quantity breaks. Anything unusual reaches you as a quote request with the details already filled in.
Artwork upload and proofs by email.
Customers upload their artwork with the order, or ask you to design it. You attach the proof to the job and they're emailed a link where they can approve it or ask for changes. Every version is numbered and kept, and a job can't reach the printer until somebody has said yes to one.
Job tickets for the workshop.
Each approved job prints as a ticket with the size, material, finish, quantity, lamination, a thumbnail of the approved proof and the date it's due. A screen in the workshop shows today's and this week's jobs, and each one moves from print to finishing to ready with a tap.
Turnaround dates and fitting bookings.
The order form shows a ready date worked out from your turnaround rules, with a faster option if you offer one. Jobs that need fitting get an installation slot with the address, access notes and survey photos. The fitter gets a day list on their phone, and the customer gets a reminder the day before.
Trade logins for designers and agents.
Designers, print resellers and regulars such as estate agents get their own login and price list, reorder last month's boards without starting from scratch and pay on account. Their jobs join the same queue as everyone else's, and invoices go out by email once the work is collected or fitted.
Where AI helps sign makers and printers.
Most sign enquiries arrive with a logo screenshot and none of the sizes. AI can read what they sent and ask for what's missing, and your price rules still do the maths. How we use AI.
- A shopfront photo into a draft quoteCustomers send a photo of the fascia and rough measurements, and the size, material and fixings are read into a draft quote from your own rates. You check it before it's sent.
- Eyelets or a pole pocket?Questions about materials, finishes, file types and whether a banner can go outdoors get answered from your own information. Rush jobs are passed to you rather than promised.
When someone searches sign makers near me.
People look for a sign maker when something has just changed: a new shop, a new van, a fascia that has faded to pink. They search "sign makers near me", "shop signs Keighley" or "printed correx boards" and mostly tap the map or the first sensible website. We'll sort out your Google Business Profile, with the right categories, services and photos, and build a sign company website with a page for everything you make.
Plenty of searches are questions in disguise: correx or foamex or dibond, what file do you need, how long does a banner take, do you fit it too. Clear answers on your website save you typing them out one enquiry at a time. Photos of finished work sell signs better than a list of services, and we're photographers as well, so your best fascias, vans and window graphics look as sharp online as they did the day they went up.
An illustration, not a real client
Example: a two-person unit with a wide-format printer.
This shop is made up, a sketch of the sort of business we'd build for rather than a client. Picture two people in a rented workshop behind the high street, with a wide-format printer, a vinyl cutter and a van for fitting. We'd put a quote builder on the website for boards, banners and lettering, add artwork upload and proofs by email, and print job tickets for the workshop. Fitting jobs get booked into slots, and the local estate agents get trade logins.
Questions sign makers and printers ask.
How much does sign shop software cost?
We can't give you a number off a list, because a one-person vinyl business and a shop with a wide-format printer, a router and two fitters need very different things. We'll go through how enquiries, proofs and jobs move through your business now, and we'll settle on one fixed price with you before any code gets written. A sensible first step is sign quoting software on your website plus proofs by email, with job tickets and fitting added later.
Can I use it from my phone on a fitting job?
Yes. The fitter's day shows on a phone with addresses, access notes, the approved proof and photos of the wall from the survey. When the sign's up, a couple of photos and a tap mark the job as fitted, and the photos are saved against the job for the invoice and your website. Quotes and proofs can be checked from a phone too, between jobs.
Can customers approve proofs without printing anything off?
Yes. The proof lands in the customer's inbox with two buttons: approve, or ask for changes with a note. Each version is numbered and kept with the job, along with who approved it and when. Nothing reaches the job ticket until a proof has been approved, so the phone number on the board is the one they actually said yes to.
What happens when a customer uploads a blurry logo?
You choose which files you accept, such as PDF, AI, EPS or SVG, and the upload can warn when an image looks too small to print well at the size they've picked. The order still comes through, but it's flagged, and you can ask for a better file or offer to redraw it before any proof goes out. Your artwork guidance sits right beside the upload button.
Can we sell signs online if every order is a different size?
Yes, and it's the kind of online shop we build. Standard shop templates are happy with products in a few fixed sizes, like a stock no smoking sign. They get awkward when every order has its own size, material, finish and artwork. We'd build the options, your price rules and the proof step into the shop itself. If you only sell a handful of fixed items, a standard shop may be all you need.
Why not buy sign and print management software?
There's dedicated sign and print software and web to print software, such as Clarity, shopVOX and Ordant, and plenty of sign shops run happily on it. If one suits the way you work, it's a sensible choice. Something built for you makes more sense when your website, quote builder, proofs and workshop need to work as one, in the order your shop already does things.
Also with gumption.
Trades with a lot in common with sign makers and printers. Or see everyone we help.
Let's sort your sign and print shop out.
Tell us how things run now, paper, spreadsheets and all. We'll tell you honestly what we'd build for a sign maker like you, and what we wouldn't bother with.