PRODUCT LINE DESCRIPTIONS
If you have just entered our website and you want an overview of our company and all our products, please start with our Home page (blue tab upper left). This page introduces our various products and provides a general overview of their characteristics and our ordering process.We offer various Product types which are roughly organized by sign type, material, and design features. This section provides an overview of the various signs & plaques within each Product Line and their approximate prices. Thousands of examples of sign designs are given in the Product Galleries, listed by application in the blue navigation bar in the lower left margin. Click on the underlined Product Line titles below to go to that Product gallery page. Examples of these various products are also distributed throughout the Application photo gallery pages.You can also download our Summary Catalog , order form and price list by clicking on this link. It may take a minute or so to download. This Summary Catalog covers Product Lines 1, 2 and 3 only. .(You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to read the PDF files. If you do not already have it, you can get it free by downloading it from the site Adobe Reader 8 Download). Please call us at 951-698-8484 or EMAIL us at info@ArtSignWorks.com for more information.
Prices. Our wood and hdu signs and plaques cost from 50% to 80% that of similar signs from most other companies.Our signs are primarily priced on per square foot basis (there are other factors as well, such as one vs two-sided, materials and design complexity). Wholesale prices are about 15% to 20% less than retail prices (reseller permit required). Our smaller carved signs and plaques cost from $100 to $300, including custom hand-painted carved art and text. Sign size, type of sign construction, and prices are described on the Retail Prices and Design Features page.
Sign and Plaque Product Line Descriptions
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These are our most popular signs; inexpensive, simple, attractive, eye-catching, long-lasting with low maintenance. We offer a wide variety of sign shapes, sizes, font styles, and art icons for our completely custom three-dimension 2.5D flat relief (i.e., multi-level relief, but each level is flat rather than curved as 3D is) HDU signs and plaques. These signs are weather and moisture resistant, and will outlast a wood sign by a factor of two or three in years, requiring very little maintenance. We will perform multi-level sandblasting for the same price as single-level. Letters and art can be raised and/or engraved, with backgrounds smooth, sandstone texture, or simulated wood grain. We may also use our CNC router for some features of the sign.They can have rounded edges, multiple borders, one or more art pieces , and multiple lines of text in the font styles of your choice, at the same low price. The price depends primarily on sign size , and is proportional to area (max width x max length). this, a 2 ft x 2 ft sign (area = 4 ft2) costs 4 times as much as a 1 ft x 1 ft sign (area-1 ft2). Double side signs cost 50% more than single-sided signs.These carved High-Density-Urethane (HDU) are typically 1.5 inches to 2 inches thick.After carving the sign, the HDU is sprayed with a fiber-glass type epoxy resin coat to provide additional toughness and strength. After two coats of colors are applied, the entire sign or plaque is sprayed with a UV and graffiti-resistant clear-coat.
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These signs and plaques have premium 3D bas-relief sculptured carved art and sometimes beveled or V-cut text , in contrast to regular sandblasted HDU signs which have 2.5D art and text (flat but usually raised above the background or engraved into the background, sometimes referred to as flat relief). Our premium signs and plaques are suitable for residences, estates, businesses, and organizations where an dramatic and detailed sign will will attract attention while giving the impression of quality and elegance. The artwork is more elaborate and may depict a scene rather than a single object. The artwork will be first be CNC routed to give a bas-relief sculptured look, and for some signs, specific areas will be sandblasted. It may then be hand-carved (for some signs), hand-sanded, and hand-painted with artist brushes using oil enamels. We can also apply 24 K gold, aluminum or copper leaf to gild letters, borders or art., or we can antique some or all of the sign or plaque. We can also make V-cut or prismatic engraved letters or beveled or rounded raised letters. Text can be outlined and multiple borders added, which can be 3 D ( e.g., flourishes or rope pattern). We can work from a computer file, a photo, a sketch you supply, or we can create a new design for you. Also included in this category are cut-out letters of art appliques (usually made from HDU) mounted on a HDU substrate. These type of signs can range from the fairly simple to complex and elaborate.
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Art Sign Works makes beautiful classical and rustic 2.5D and 3D carved, engraved, or routed wooden signs. Most of our wood signs are made from California Redwood or Western Red Cedar, but we also use hardwoods such as Oak, American Cherry, Teak, and genuine Mahogany signs. We offer the same shapes, sizes and artwork choices as for High Density Urethane (HDU) signs. Many people prefer the natural beauty of stained and varnished wood instead of the enameled paint finish of HDU, even though more maintenance is required for outdoor wood signs than HDU signs and their longevity is not as long in an outdoor environment. We recommend our wood signs only if you want a natural or rustic finish. If you want an all-painted sign, we recommend HDU instead. Of course, we can paint our wood signs as well as finish them naturally. We use only the finest grades of clear all-heart vertical-grain kiln dried wood for our wood signs which we get from a specialty lumber supplier or direct from a mill in Idaho (for Cedar).. This top grade of wood has very few knots or defects. We also use reclaimed 100 yr old barnwood when an antique or aged look is called for.
Wood signs can be simple sandblasted or routed signs, or can be elaborate 3D carved signs (like Product Line 2, except made from wood instead of HDU). They can look very rustic or can be made of fine woods (e.g., mahogany or cherry) and finished like expensive furniture. We can make elaborate 3D carvings as appliques or carved into the wood substrate, with stains and laquer coats showing the natural beauty of the wood.
We also make many "hybrid" wood / HDU signs, with carved and painted 3D HDU mounted as an applique on a natural wood signboard. We also make aluminum, iron or wood sign holders, stands and frames for these signs.
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In this Product Line we offer unique and exquisite hand-crafted custom wrought iron sign scroll brackets, hangers, posts and sign stands which interface with signs and plaques in our other Product Lines, for no-hassle sign installations. These can be custom-fitted to each of the sign shapes and sizes we offer, if you order the scroll bracket, post or stand at the same time as you do the sign. We offer a wide selection of top-quality standard wrought iron and aluminum hardware plus many custom wrought iron products we make in-house. These fixtures enable you to install your sign with minimum effort. All holes, chain lengths, etc. are already place correctly and adjusted to fit your sign's size, shape, and thickness. All of these products that are designed for outdoor use are either black powder coated or galvanized in a zinc bath, coated with a special corrosive-protection primer, and then painted with two coats of Rustoleum metal enamels in your choice of six colors(in-house products). All of these wrought iron products may be ordered with or without a sign. For more design choice details, please see our Sign Photo Gallery 4 .
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We design, build and install custom large redwood, cedar, douglas fir, aluminum, HDU and MDO signs on a custom basis . We have a complete integrated in-house capability for computer graphics design, vinyl mask and stencil cutting, sandblasting precision sawing, power sanding, CNC routing, hand-carving and hand-sanding, gold leaf gilding, and airbrush and detailed artist brush painting. We specialize in dimensional signs of several types, with a variety of advanced design features such as HDU and PVC cutout letters and art appliques, sandblasted or routed incised (i.e., engraved ) letters and art, sandblasted backgrounds with and without grain patterns, bas-relief multi-layer sandblasted/hand-carved/or CNC routed and hand-painted Carved Art and high-relief HDU sculpture appliques which are hand-carved and hand-sanded. We paint our signs with the finest enamel paints (1-SHOT) or Sherwin-williams acrylic, ,or stains and varnishes (wood only).We can also gild applique or incised letters or art with 24 K gold, copper , bronze or aluminum leaf. We can either provide the sign for you to install on your own support structure, or we can build the sign support structure and install the sign (in the Southern California area only).We design and built support structures from concrete, marble, steel/aluminum, wood (redwood & fir), HDU, and both genuine and faux stone & brick facing. and also tile facing. We design and glaze our own bisque tile.There are discounts for large numbers of signs or very large signs; wholesale prices are 10% to 15% less.
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We sell three types of monument or entrance signs, which are large, freestanding roadside or entrance signs mounted near the ground. These are as follows:
(A) Post & Panel.These signs are supported by wood or wrought iron (steel posts), sometimes with lateral botton or back beams. Posts typically vary from 4 inches in width (4 x 4's) to as much as 12 inches in width.The sign itself (the panel) is usually 2.5D or 3D sandblasted or carved HDU or wood, described in Product Line 5. Less expensive ones have 2D aluminum, MDO or PVC-foam signs mounted on them. Wrought iron supports can have scrolls on them.
(B) Masonry Monument Signs. These usually have masonry bases, often with side pillars, which can be made with a poured concrete/rebar, concrete block or brick core (sometimes large ones have a hollow wood frame core) mounted on a concrete slab or footer foundation, and faced with one of the following: molded concrete, real stone, brick, stucco, marble, ceramic tile, wood, HDU, or a bronze plaque. For residential communities, these signs may be connected to a wall with a similar design.These often have separate large stand-off letters and logos made of metal (aluminum, bronze, iron, or gold-plate), plastic, HDU, or wood. However, we can also mount HDU and wood signs on these bases;
(C). EPS Foam Monuments. These have the same appearance as solid concrete monument signs ((B) above) but are less expensive and are much faster and easier to install. A variety of exterior surfaces is available, including faux stone, brick, stucco and marble. They have a hard protective coating over an EPS foam interior and are rugged and durable, alod will last for decades. Like (B), they can have a variety of sign faces, including sandblasted or carved HDU, wood, or ceramic tile, and can also have stand-off letters installed on the sign face. The integrated assembly is ready for simple installation (only takes 2 or 3 hours) by the buyer or a handyman contractor; however, we can install these signs at locations in the Southern California area. -
Product Line 7 - Metal and Metal-Coated Plaques and SignsWe make both metal (wrought iron and aluminum) and metal-coated signs and plaques of various types (bronze, brass, copper, steel, iron, silver-nickel, aluminum, gold, silver) which cover a substrate manufactured from high-density-urethane (HDU), wood, plastic, or metal.
Our bronze and brass metal-coated plaques are most popular, and are alternatives to fully painted or stained wood plaques and signs. These wall plaques can have either raised and sculptured 3D carved bas-relief art (similar to Product Line 2) , beveled or V-cut engraved text , or 2.5D raised art and text, sometimes called flat relief (similar to Product Line 1) . All plaques and signs have a hard epoxy resin coating applied to the surface to provide a high degree of ruggedness and protection against damage, and to extend lifetime.These metal-coated signs and plaques, particularly the bronze and brass plaques, are suitable for both outside and inside use for memorials,dedications, monuments, government and public buildings, museums,historical buildings, informational displays, and great seals or logos on the walls of government buildings . Smaller versions are suitable for walls in lobbies, offices, conference rooms, and podiums.These metal-coated plaques are roughly 1/4 top 1/5 the cost of cast bronze or brass plaques, look very similar, and last 30 years or more. They cannot be walked on, however. Also included in this category are metal-coated cut-out letters of art appliques (usually made from HDU) mounted on a HDU substrate
We also make gold-, silver-, and copper- leaf gilded plaques and signs, and cut-out and/or sand-blasted solid wrought iron and aluminum signs .Solid aluminum and wrought iron cut-out plaques are generally least expensive, lower than Product LIne 1; metal-coated plaques have prices about 50% higher than Product Line 2, and gold-leaf and silver-leafed plaques are the most expensive.
Selecting Your Sign's Design and the Order Process. We can work with your verbal description, photo, sketch, or computer file of your design, or we can create a design for you. We accept a number of vector file formats, or we can also work with a raster file. We will work collaboratively with you in the design phase, to develop a PROOF of your design for your review and approval, which typically takes 1 to 5 days (it depend on how quickly you respond to changes and approvals).. We will provide quotes and a firm schedule at no cost to you at the same time we provide you the preliminary design PROOF. we may request $30 to prepare a new proof, but this will be a credit to the price of the sign, should you order it). Typical time after your PROOF approval and down payment is received until sign completion is 2-3 weeks for small signs and 3-4 weeks for large complex signs. Shipping will take an additional 2 to 5 days. If we design and build the sign support and install the sign (Southern California only) add another week. We request a deposit (50% of sign value) AFTER you approve the PROOF, at the time you place your order and we begin production, with the remainder due the day the sign has been shipped and/or installed. However, for established customers or government customers, we may requesting the final payment until you recieve the signs. or shortly thereafter.
We recommend you first visit the Product Galleries. , or for more detail, you can download our Summary Catalog , order form and price list by clicking on this link. . If you see a given type of sign or plaque you like, you may email us with your requirements, OR call us at (951)698-8484 or (760)723-6161 (fastest response), OR fax us at 915-698-9088, OR go to the Request an Estimate page, fill out the short form referencing the sign's ID number (e.g., M2315) and modifications you want made, and send it to us.You will be sent a quote and preliminary sign design within a couple days at no cost or obligation. You may also send us an image of a design that you have, or refer to a design in the Product Galleries(specify the ID number please) ; in these situations there is no design fee . After you approve the design, you can place the order with a credit card and we will begin production on the sign.You will receive the sign 3 to 4 weeks after an order is placed.
