The Sun Never Sets for Busy Sign Shop

When opening your own sign shop, starting out small is sensible. Growing? That’s harder. But what’s the difference between a shop that grows and one that stays small? According to Adam Sokoloff, founder of Sunrise Signs, Custom Wraps & Graphics in West Deptford, New Jersey, the answer is, “Hard work and excellent equipment.”

Since Sokoloff founded Sunrise in 2007 with business partner Elspeth Misiaszek, they have expanded their company from three employees to a staff of seven. Their shop is parot of the SignWorld network, a national organization with more than 240 independently owned sign companies.

SignWorld recommends Roland DG digital printer/cutters, and Sunrise chose the Roland DG VersaCAMM VP-540 54” digital printer/cutter as its production platform. “The VersaCAMM is so easy to use, and it’s an incredibly versatile machine,” said Sokoloff. “The fact that we can run so many different types of media – from vehicle wrap media to banners to window perf – as well as contour cut our jobs, makes it a great machine to have in our shop.”

An all-around sign shop, Sunrise Signs focuses on large format graphics and design, creating banners, ADA and directional signage and wall wraps, as well as trade show and corporate event signage. They have also done work for local stores to install window graphics, and created outdoor signage for commercial real estate firms advertising upcoming developments and rentals.

“We are a 100% custom shop, and we are building our client base,” said Sokoloff. “The VersaCAMM provides us with the high quality output we need to keep growing our business.”

Sunrise has developed a specialization in vehicle graphics, handling fleet and commercial work for clients ranging from Metro PCS to smaller local establishments such as gourmet pizza shop Peace of Pizza. They also do personal vehicle wrap work, including designing creative graphics for a client who has his car wrapped in a new Halloween costume each year. “That’s quite a project for our designers!” said Sokoloff. “The Roland DG has been a workhorse. We’re able to knock out the vehicle wraps on time because the graphics come out perfectly.”

Sunrise relies on Roland DG’s VersaWorks RIP software to output its designs because of its user-friendly interface and professional results. “VersaWorks makes it easy to nest jobs, and anytime you can organize your work to save on ink and material, that’s a win-win situation,” said Sokoloff. Sunrise also uses Roland DG’s ECO-SOL MAX inks to guarantee quality output. “Really I’m just amazed at this system. We get accurate color matching and can customize the profiles available for different materials,” said Sokoloff.

To ensure the best possible customer service, Sunrise follows a step-by-step collaborative process. They first arrange a meeting with the client to determine which large format solutions are most appropriate for their clients’ needs. “We’re very consultative here,” said Misiaszek. “We don’t know what you need before you walk in the door.” At the meeting, they ask the client a series of questions, including where and how the products will be used, the brand image they are trying to create, and what kind of customers they are trying to attract.

Sokoloff and Misiaszek then assign a designer to work with the client to create several concepts. The concepts are reviewed and revised until the client is satisfied. The last step is the production and installation of the graphics. “With the VersaCAMM, we can handle the vast majority of our production work in house,” said Sokoloff. “It’s a huge advantage in terms of our costs that, in turn, affects the price we are able to offer our clients.”

Sunrise advertises its business through wall murals and shop vehicle wraps as well as by maintaining a Web presence, but it also attracts a good portion of its clients the old fashioned way, through “a lot of handshaking,” said Misiaszek. “We work hard to meet people who may need our services.”

Sunrise has branched out into special event signage, and recently completed an especially rewarding project for the nonprofit children’s organization Robin’s Nest Inc. The group’s gala event was sold out, leaving no floor space for standing signage displays or easels. Sunrise created posters to temporarily adhere to the walls and the large cement columns in the room. They also created signs to hang above the fireplace and a storyboard for the wall above the bar as well as decorative window graphics on static cling film. “Longtime supporters and board members said they had never seen the room so well advertised and signed, yet so warm and compelling,” said Misiaszek. “We received many compliments on the quality of the graphics that evening.”

“We are a 100% custom shop, and we are building our client base,” said Sokoloff. “The VersaCAMM provides us with the high quality output we need to keep growing our business.”