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Large-Format Print Rewards Provider with
Repeat Business
Earning repeat business is a priority for
Brenda O’Toole and her husband Don, owners of Signs PDQ,
Cleveland. Once they’ve secured an order, they try to
form a long-term relationship. “We like to be their go-to
sign partner,” Brenda O’Toole says. The couple
previously worked in sales for consumer products companies. Don
used to call on Wal-Mart at its Bentonville, Ark.,
headquarters. “Once you’ve dealt with [Wal-Mart],
you don’t have a problem walking into somebody’s
establishment and finding a solution to their problem,”
Brenda says.
Recently, ProCare Automotive Corporation, a
service chain headquartered in Cleveland, asked Signs PDQ to
design a sign promoting its Signature oil change service.
ProCare offered customers a model of a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette
when they purchased an oil change. The sign would be displayed
at each of ProCare’s 95 locations. Because the
storefronts at several locations varied in measurement, Signs
PDQ customized each sign’s size. “They wanted it to
be as large as it could on the window,” Brenda says.
The signs were digitally printed on
adhesive-backed vinyl. “The challenge of digital printing
is color-matching,” Brenda says. “ProCare has a
specific red and blue. The red and blue had to be exactly their
colors.” Signs PDQ took the PMS color numbers from
ProCare and printed samples for the company to view and
approve. Brenda explains that taking time to get the right
color on a job often boosts Signs PDQ’s opportunity for
repeat business. Clients are confident that the print providers
know what to do next time.
After the signs were printed, ProCare
relied on Signs PDQ to install them—not an easy job when
the chain has locations as far away as North Carolina.
“They wanted the print to be perfectly installed for
visibility and accuracy,” Brenda says. By partnering with
local sign companies, the O’Tooles ensured each of the
signs was installed properly.
Executives at ProCare were pleased with the
result and returned to Signs PDQ with another order. This time,
the promotional signs were designed as a contour cut. The
design was printed on a white background. The cutter scored the
design, allowing the background to be easily removed.
“You design it that way. You put it through the contour
cutter, remove the background, throw it out, remove the piece
and apply for easy application,” Brenda says.
—Andrew Brown
Tips
Large-format printing equipment sometime
requires adjustments to accurately match PMS colors. “You
can’t just put in No. 234 and have it come out. You have
to play around with it,” says Brenda O’Toole, owner
of Signs PDQ, Cleveland. She recommends providing samples for
clients to review and approve before printing the actual order.
Signs PDQ prints signs in house, but its
clients require a variety of other printed products. The
company enters strategic alliances with printers and sign
manufacturers that don’t share their capabilities as a
way to guarantee meeting all their clients’ needs.
“We never look at anybody strictly as a competitor,
because they can end up not owning the equipment that we
have,” O’Toole says.
Large-format printing is an expanding
market, with an increasing variety of options to reflect its
growth. Manufacturers and distributors gain a competitive edge
by informing their clients of those options. “There are
all kinds of substrates out there,” O’Toole says,
including a material that can be printed, then applied to
flooring.
Signs PDQ, Cleveland, provided these
large-format promotional signs for ProCare Automotive, a
service chain with 95 locations. Because the storefronts at
several locations varied in measurement, Signs PDQ customized
each sign’s size.
