Reade Blog

Signage can be created using a wide range of materials and formats that all deliver different effects and make brands shine and messages pop out. We work with clients right from the start of each project to consult on how to bring designs to life.  Please get in touch if you have any questions or a project in mind. Here’s a little taster of the different materials and formats on offer: ACM clad – This stands for Aluminium Composite Material, but is also commonly known by the brand, Dibond. It’s made from two thin coil-coated aluminium sheets bonded to a non-aluminium core (polyethylene or foam). Printed ACM can be applied straight onto site hoarding to promote new developments, while adhering to health and safety regulations. It’s a superb material for hoarding because it flexes and is very durable, offers sound reduction and is fireproof. The overall affect is a streamlined, contemporary look and feel. Acrylic – Perspex® is a well-known brand of acrylic sheeting. It is a tough, transparent, versatile thermoplastic used in many applications, particularly in visual communications, design and architecture. Acrylic is very resistant to shock, flexing, scratching and weathering. It comes in many colours and finishes and is totally recyclable. We apply acrylic shapes to hoardings to bring them to life, as well as for use in general signs and wall installations. It can be sprayed in different colours and makes brand logos stand out. We often use it self-coloured or reverse printed acrylic for stand-up letters, CGI pictures on hoardings and building exteriors. Aluminium – A strong, light metal used widely in industry, aluminium is the most abundant metal on the planet. It’s malleable, so it’s easy to make into whatever shape we need, and it’s resistant to corrosion. We use aluminium for architectural features and walls, fingerposts, desk receptions, built-up letters and extrusions for banner frames. Correx – Also known as fluted, or corrugated, polypropylene board, Correx is an inexpensive and efficient way to produce temporary signs or displays. Tough and lightweight, it’s easily cut to shape and comes in any number of colours and thicknesses. Correx is fully recyclable and is used a lot for outdoor signs such as estate agents’ boards. Films and finishing – The effectiveness of our products is down to the materials and the finish we give them. Whether they need to weather gracefully to blend into a historic or rural environment or endure harsh conditions, the surface layer needs to do its job. The vinyl film or laminates that goes over our hoardings add to their longevity. Foamex – A versatile, lightweight PVC foam sheet, that’s durable and easy to cut and shape. Foamex also has low water absorption, making it suitable for indoor and outdoor use. It comes in a range of colours and is a popular material for signage and displays. We can print directly on to foamex and it can be sprayed in different colours. We like to apply it to hoarding to bring it to life, adding a stand-out, 3D affect. We’ve even created an entire Santa’s grotto from foamex! Glass – A hard but brittle fusion of sand, soda and lime, we’re surrounded by the many applications of glass and we use this canvas to apply graphics for signage and marketing purposes. We can create messaging on glass for marketing suites, using frosted messages, and apply crystal edge window manifestations to make subdivisions of internal spaces clearly visible. Glass signage is also good for external architectural projects and we supply optically clear vinyl for windows. Toughened, low-iron glass is extra clear, noted for its higher light transmittance and reduced green tint. This glass is used with wayfinding architectural signage where information may change. Graffiti proofing – We can apply a special anti-graffiti laminate seal to hoarding and signs to ensure they last. This is a special coating that makes it easier to clean your signage if it’s vandalised. Green walls – Also known as a living wall, this is a vertical surface partially or completely covered with living greenery, complete with a growing medium and integrated watering system for interior spaces. Green walls are great especially if your external or internal space has a green and environmental theme. Lighting – Signage can work for you 24-hours a day if it’s illuminated well. Here are some of the methods we use to spotlight your brand: Illuminated lettering and lightboxes – These are additional ways to light up a hoarding and highlight your key selling points. Internally illuminated, they’re hard to miss, especially at night, and colours look bright and crisp. Lightboxes, with opal acrylic inlays for exceptional illumination, can be single or double sided, wall mounted, projecting, hanging or free standing. We can even fit them to site hoarding, which we rout out and light up from behind. LED, ribbon or strip lighting – A flexible product, this can have self-adhesive backing for use on any surface. We use this lighting in the headers and kickers of hoarding, to accent the design and draw attention to key elements, rather than trying to light up the whole hoarding. Neon – These are luminous, gas-discharge tubes that contain inert gases, usually neon. Neon lighting can light up your logo or wayfinding signage in a bright and colourful way. Neon has a classic, retro look but we’ve also used it to add urban chic ambience to an ultra-modern setting. Powder coating – This is applying paint in dry powder form to a metal surface, using a spray gun. The powder bonds electrostatically to the surface and then it’s heat treated to produce a tough coating that looks like a traditional liquid paint finish, but it doesn’t run and it’s more environmentally friendly. Powder coating is good on wayfinding signage because it’s both protective and decorative. Printed manifestations and digital wallpaper – These are large-scale printed materials applied to walls, glass and even floors. They act like murals and can be used to add any design to your interior. Digital wallpaper – or super graphics – is artwork printed onto large areas to transform office walls, whether to

How do you clean up a tired old cabin and make it into somewhere you can sell properties to customers? That’s the challenge Reade Signs was set by a housing developer near Bristol. The objective Bitton Mill is a development of two, three and four bedroom homes by Linden Homes. For the site’s sales arena, the developers wanted to re-use a marketing suite and they wanted us to re-brand it with suitable sales signage. The challenges The problem was the cabin had been in storage for some time and was in a very poor state. There were existing graphics and a damaged fascia on the outside and that had all seen better days and its interior needed a major makeover too. On top of that, the site was also going to be a challenge, with restricted access and a very confined workspace. To get the job done, we would have to work around other trades in an area that was also the only access to the site for the large construction vehicles we regularly found queuing up through our work area. It was obvious from the start that we were going to have to be very flexible in our approach to this job if we were to achieve the desired finish on time and in a cost-effective way. Our solution Working with the client, we identified the best locations for the sales signage and decided on a complete refurbishment of the exterior, including a new fascia. We carried out a detailed survey which quickly identified that we’d need to dress the entire cabin exterior and replace the fascia while we could still gain safe access. We wanted to get the majority of the exterior signage in before the landscapers arrived, but even this plan was fraught with problems; we had to work around drainage works in front of the cabin and the delivery of a generator blocked our access to one side of the cabin for a while. Despite several other delays that were out of our control, we stripped off the old signage and fascia, measured up and designed a whole new look to the exterior, following Linden’s branding guidelines. We then decorated the interior, again in the approved Linden style and the external signage installed. One more challenge As a result of the various delays and access problems slowing us down, we faced one last problem: we had to install the external signage after the landscapers had already laid the garden, which was to be a distinctive feature for this sales area. o our team had to “tiptoe through the tulips” to ensure damaged limitation during installation. Working with the other trades on site, we made sure this was all done while sticking to our health and safety standards. Cooperation, communication and flexibility: the key to a successful delivery On projects like this it’s vital to build good working relationships, not only with the client but with other trades on site. We had to time our production and installation very carefully and stay flexible so that when the unexpected happens we were able to cope. The whole Reade team made the launch of our new development the smootest we have ever had. They reacted immediately to any technical issues on the site and always had solutions. The results are stunning and I can’t wait for the next launch! Sarah Hembrow, Marketing Manager, Linden Homes Western Reade Signs showed yet again that they are experts in this field and the results speak for themselves. If you’d like to find out how we can help you by designing and installing effective marketing signage in the most challenging conditions, then please contact us or ring 01252 336000. We’ll also be exhibiting at London Build, at Olympia on 25-26th October 2017. We’re in the Interiors Zone on stand N30 at London’s leading construction exhibition.

It always feels good to get involved in a new and positive development that could transform a town and its inhabitants, and our work at Bordon’s new skate park allowed us to do just that. We may have even played a small part to inspire a new generation of Olympic champions by helping to promote this fantastic new facility for young people, built on the site of a former Army barracks. Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company commissioned Reade Signs to design, manufacture and install 200 metres of hoarding for Prince Philip Park at Budd’s Lane, for its official opening by the Mayor, Councillor Colin Leech and Team GB Olympian, World and European BMX champion Liam Philips. The development is part of a plan to transform Whitehill and Bordon with a new town centre, leisure facilities and 2,400 sustainable homes. As is often the case, we had very little notice for the job but, as usual, we delivered on time. We were briefed to design the hoarding using specific logos, CGI’s, strap lines and pictures. We also wanted to make this hoarding really stand out and make it look a bit different from the others already in and around Bordon as part of the town’s redevelopment. This meant a real joint effort by everyone at Reade to get the job done on time: studio, project managers and even our MD got together to come up with ideas in the short timeframe we had. We decided to combine the standard ACM hoarding with 19 mm Foamex printed logos and pictures, making them all stand off and, in some cases, above the hoarding to give it the right feel. With a launch date now only 5 days away, we had many of our fitting crews on site for long hours to make sure the project was completed in time, but at the end of July, we were pleased that everything was in place and looked great for Liam’s visit, which drew hundreds of locals to the park’s opening ceremony. Reade Signs are looking forward to producing a further 200 metres of hoarding for the next stage of Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration’s development in the coming months. If you’d like to know more about how Reade Signs can help you promote an event or a new public facility then please contact us at Reade Signs or call 01252 336000.

When we write about our signage work at Reade Signs, we like to throw in an example of a challenge overcome to get the job done. But one job we’ve recently finished in Derbyshire, seemed to have one challenge piled on top of another. The fact that we’ve delivered a high quality product on time and saved a lot of money for our client says much about the dedication our teams of designers, manufacturers and installers put into every job. Our client, Audley Retirement, runs retirement villages around the UK. They called us in because they needed a fresh new look for St Elphin’s Park in Matlock. Audley had earmarked the site for an update of its hoarding and gantry graphics along with some new permanent internal and directional signage.   Challenges The first challenge we had was time; we had a very tight deadline to get the new signage in place. The timescale was made harder by our second challenge – distance. Fortunately our extensive network of approved subcontractors across the country meant getting details from the Derbyshire site to our Aldershot factory and sending large pieces of equipment back up to the Midlands was a challenge easily overcome. At the same time, Audley wanted to change the look of their signage to give their sales material a fresh new look, which kept our design team busy. And if that wasn’t enough, we wanted to use as much of the original signage infrastructure as possible to save our client money. This had been erected by another company so none of our standard signage fitted and we had to survey everything to make sure it was safe before we took on responsibility for the original structures. Solutions The first thing we had to do was carry out a survey of the existing hoarding and gantries to check their suitability for the new brand and to take stock of what useable signage remained from the previous supplier. Fortunately, we could rely on our installation team to visit the site and do a thorough survey of existing signs and new positions. They were able to send all the information and measurements back to our graphic designers at Reade HQ for assimilation into a design. As Audley was in the process of changing the look of their marketing signage, our design team came up with something fresh and new which remained consistent with the overall brand design. This detail from the survey was then art-worked to our client’s brief for them to sign off before being produced in our factory. Timing was important, so we used a specialist courier to get some large sections of signage up to Leeds and then to St Elphin’s Park for installation, so lots of coordination was required to meet the deadline. The signage was installed and updated over a couple of days, transforming an old look into a fresh, attractive and eye-catching display. A good result Our account manager for Audley, Mark Terrett was delighted with the result: “We’ve given them a really high quality, fresh look in a cost effective way and with a quick turn-around to aid their current sales drive.” Find out more about retirement home signage: At Reade Signs we don’t let problems stand in our way. If you would like to find out how we can help you communicate your project to stakeholders and to the public, then please contact us, email us at enquiry@readesigns.com or ring 01252 336000.  

Reade Signs were delighted to play a key part in marketing Barking Riverside, the largest brownfield redevelopment project in the UK, to the public. An experience suite for the community Barking Riverside is bringing more than 10,000 new homes to east London and we were set a challenge by the developers to transform four shipping containers into a temporary ‘experience suite’ – an exhibition and conference space for the public, local schools and community groups as well as stakeholders in the development. The largest 3D development model in the UK The brief specified a large video wall, seating for all ages and a private meeting room with a presentation screen. We were also asked to accommodate a vast, illuminated 3D printed model of the whole development. At 3.6 metres by 2.6 metres and with more than 1,000 model buildings, it’s the largest 3D printed development model in the country. Working in shipping containers The simple, steel-skinned shipping containers set us the problem of what to do with all the internal wiring needed for the presentation equipment and domestic services. We had to build special boxes into the floor and ceiling to hide them away, all within the requirement to fit out the suite as a professional but friendly place, using a bright colour palette set out in the development’s brand guidelines. Going the extra mile Working to a tight deadline to meet the development launch event, we fitted out the experience suite with new electrics, flooring and display areas as well as all the seating and the video wall unit. We also installed large, high-level illuminated branding signage. It’s fair to say the developers and designer were delighted with the result, and appreciated how we achieved everything within very precise specifications. “…thank you for your prompt action to make it a very successful install. I really appreciate Reade going the extra mile with last minute requests made yesterday and the day before” David Rawlins, Principal Advisor Construction Health, Safety and Environment for Barking Riverside. Reade Signs has experience creating marketing suites for developments. If you would like to find out how we can help you communicate your project to stakeholders and to the public, then please contact us, email us at enquiry@readesigns.com or ring 01252 336000.