The morning of the second day of the 2025 IRgA Workshop (September 18-19 in Arlington, VA) will include a presentation about the ADA signage market. This conversation will be led by Rich Gigl of National / AZON. IRgA Managing Director Ed Avis interviewed Gigl about his presentation.
Why should a reprographic shop owner care about the ADA signage market?
Primarily, ADA signage is custom signage. Sure, a general contractor can go online and buy a generic ADA restroom sign for eight or nine dollars, but most other signage – like office doors, nameplates are custom. And ADA signage is right in the core competency of IRgA members – they know the architects, they know the construction managers, they know a multitude of people who are ordering custom signage.
If a builder, architect or commercial contractor is already using a company to make ADA signage, why would they switch to a reprographics firm?
Because a local shop can do these things much faster. In the past contractors have gone with an outside vendor who might be hundreds, if not thousands of miles away. Signage needs to be completed and shipped to the jobsite where it can then be installed. And there are usually signs that need to be redone. If a builder could go with a local vendor who they trust, somebody they've been doing business with for years, they're much comfortable doing that. The architects and GCs don't like this part of their business. It's a nuisance for them. So, if they can find somebody that they can look to work with on an eye-to-eye basis, they're more compelled to do that.
How did it occur to you that the ADA signage market was suitable for reprographics firms?
We noticed that we were getting a lot of questions from reprographics firms about how to produce ADA braille on UV printers. We said to ourselves, what's going on here? So, we started investigating, and that's how we eventually found the Vision engraver, which is a raster braille mechanical device and the gold standard of producing this type of work. When I saw the Vision engraver and I saw the price, capabilities, size, and reliability of it, I thought every repro shop in the United States should have one of these devices. This is a golden opportunity for add-on revenue stream.
And how much effort does it take to learn this equipment?
Well, it does take effort to learn. It's something that people must practice on. We highly recommend that everyone takes the training and then maybe also do follow-up virtual training after that. But most repro shops already have somebody in their production department using vinyl cutters or flatbed digital cutters, so they know cutting in general, they know engraving in general. The work is software driven, so it does take some practice. There are speeds and feeds, different knives, different pressures, and different options and details for the substrates. But with all the people that we've sold these products to, after two or three weeks, they're producing valuable, high gross margin signage.
Repro shops can use this equipment for things other than ADA signage, right?
Yes, consider construction labeling. It's an enormous market. For example, certain laws have been approved that require water pipes to be identified every eight to ten feet, etc. The Vision system can engrave small, permanent plastic signs that are perfect for these kinds of applications. Other things on jobsites that need to be labeled include junction boxes, electrical panels, and safety and emergency equipment. And with these enormous datacom centers that are being built, every little component needs to be labeled, and it's all custom.
What are attendees to your presentation at the IRgA Workshop going to learn?
We're going to talk about the market itself and the opportunities within the market. We'll talk about how to produce ADA signage properly and how important it is to know the local compliance regulations. We’ll speak on the various technologies that can produce this work. You can produce signage with UV printers and several other technologies. We'll talk about the benefits of doing a combination of UV and raster braille together, which could be great.
Later we'll talk about return on investment. That’s the thing people really, really want to hear.
There will be a virtual demonstration of the equipment. We'll produce some raster braille signage with raised lettering and inserted beads and show how it's done.
I’ll have Matt Kerwin from Rowmark (a media supplier) and Ron Zydonik from Vision Systems with me. These gentlemen can answer questions about the intricate details of costing and production of signage. Matt and Ron are absolute experts in this marketplace.
Great. Anything else you’d like to add, Rich?
I just want to emphasize that there's tremendous potential out there. And what I've said repeatedly is that it's right in reprographics core competency. IRgA members have been doing business with the people who need this type of signage for years. So, it's not like going out and trying to establish a brand-new business or marketplace. It's out there. They just have to start the discussion, start getting smaller jobs and moving up from there.
Click here for registration information: 2025 IRgA Workshop.