Cost of Signage

[SouthernVelvetCafe]

I'm working on estimating the start-up costs for a cafe and I'm running into a few little problems.
What I'd like to know today is if anyone can give me a price range that custom signage usually costs.
I'll need one for above the store in the shopping center and for their large sign. I'd guess I'd need one about 2'x6', stand alone letters would be my preference, maybe with my logo too. My name (Southern Velvet Cafe) is 18 letters long, if that matters.
I would like it to light up, and be a non-standard font so it will stand out more.
Does anyone know what I can expect to pay for a job like this? I realize it can vary regionally, so I'm in north Florida if anyone has specific experience.
I would contact sign makers directly, but as I'm still around a year out from opening the business, I feel it's too soon to contact professionals.
Any help or advice you can give would be appreciated!

[Harold Mansfield]

I would contact sign makers directly, but as I'm still around a year out from opening the business, I feel it's too soon to contact professionals.


You can contact anyone you want to get quotes and estimates. Merely asking questions is not a commitment to do business with them. Besides, you cannot do this in a vacuum. If you are going to get anything close to accuracy about anything you need to start speaking with actual people. There are a lot of variables from lighting to materials and you need to start hearing what they are so that you can make good decisions and not get hit with a bunch of surprises.

[Fulcrum]

I'd ball park $100/hour plus cost of materials and consumables. That's what I would want to take on something like this.

[MyITGuy]

As Harold mentioned, it doesn't hurt to contact the companies now to get a ballpark quote...especially considering the materials can have a huge impact on pricing.

I believe I paid around $2K for my "My IT Guy" logo to be created which was about 2' high x 6' in length and was nothing fancy (I.E. No lighting or etc).

Something to keep in mind though is that your landlord can/will likely dictate what size/colors/type and approval of signage you can put up...so you may want to reach out to them beforehand to see what their requirements are.

[RichterDigital]

I'm working on estimating the start-up costs for a cafe and I'm running into a few little problems.
What I'd like to know today is if anyone can give me a price range that custom signage usually costs.
I'll need one for above the store in the shopping center and for their large sign. I'd guess I'd need one about 2'x6', stand alone letters would be my preference, maybe with my logo too. My name (Southern Velvet Cafe) is 18 letters long, if that matters.
I would like it to light up, and be a non-standard font so it will stand out more.
Does anyone know what I can expect to pay for a job like this? I realize it can vary regionally, so I'm in north Florida if anyone has specific experience.
I would contact sign makers directly, but as I'm still around a year out from opening the business, I feel it's too soon to contact professionals.
Any help or advice you can give would be appreciated!

Depending on your branding, it may be better to focus on lighting something. You can have wood, steel, or even treated fiberglass cut to for relatively cheap (under $500. Focusing on quality back, or front lighting can create a quality looking sign, without having to pay for expensive signage.

[0maha]

I feel it's too soon to contact professionals.

My advice is to call a few local sign companies and get their input. Be honest that you are just in the planning phase. If someone puts you off because of that, well, you learned who to not do business with when the time comes.

Any business that sells to startups (and certainly that includes the sign people) deals with this all the time. If they are any good, they will welcome the opportunity to build a relationship with you. We do this all the time (we sell custom three ring binders). We get calls every day from people who are just starting out. We are happy to help them. We have lots of nice clients today that started out five years ago as a new business placing a small order.

Good luck with your new venture!