Anne Hitch in encouraging women into franchising awards

We were really pleased to hear that Anne Hitch, franchisee for Signs Express (Peterborough) has been shortlisted for franchisee of the year in the Women in Franchising awards!

View the finalists

Anne has taken her business to new heights and we are keeping our fingers crossed on 29th March when the winners will be announced.

7 nominations for Sign UK Awards!

We were delighted to hear that we have 7 nominations in the forthcoming Sign & Digital UK Awards!

Signs Express (Gateshead) and Signs Express (Falkirk) are finalists in the Sign Business of the Year category, which follows their success in the British Franchise Association franchisee of the year awards in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

Signs Express (Manchester) picked up two nominations for best individual sign and best multiple sign project in the 10+ employee category.

Signs Express (Leeds) also picked up two nominations for best individual sign and best multiple sign project in the 1-9 employee category.

Signs Express (Peterborough) were named as finalists in the best vehicle wrap category for their striking design for Top Hex - a theatre and arts company.

http://www.signsexpress.co.uk/news/27-02-2012/219/seven-nominations-in-sign-uk-awards/

The award winners will be announced on 28th March - keep your fingers crossed for us!

Signs Express explores the ‘green’ route with the HP L25500

Signs Express (Birmingham SW) has recently invested in a HP L25500 Latex printer and Easymount Laminator and these latest additions are feeling right at home in their brand new purpose-built print and design studio; a fantastic new addition to the Bromsgrove signage centre.

This award winning wide format printer uses environmentally friendly solvent free durable Latex inks helping Signs Express to meet their local councils ISO requirements. The printer is supported by the new Easymount Laminator, covering prints with a protective layer providing a 5 year outdoor durability guarantee. Printing materials used on this new machine are wide ranging with an improved print technology specifically for vehicle wrapping applications.

“Being a low energy use machine the L25500 offers strong green credentials and it allows us to be at the forefront of digital technology,” said Joe Smith, Managing Director at Signs Express (Birmingham SW). “We are delighted with the results from the new HP Latex and it has been extremely beneficial from an operational point of view, principally as there is no need to ventilate the printer meaning positioning of it in our new design and print studio was therefore far less problematic than other machinery and creates a much nicer environment for our staff to work in without the solvent smells.”

Apart from the environmental benefits inherent in the printer’s capabilities, Signs Express (Birmingham SW) has been quick to appreciate the huge savings in production time that are possible with the L25500. Joe Smith added: “There is now no need for out-gassing of the printed materials before lamination and this is particularly helpful when production schedules are full or we have a rush job needing completion. Work can now be undertaken more quickly and easily with this printer.” Joe and his team are able to plan a higher work load and so have a faster client reaction time putting them ahead of their nearest competitors.

Signs Express will really be putting the new printer through it paces, using it to print on a diverse range of materials including; vinyl, poster paper, canvas, wall paper, one-way vision film and banners.

The production centre based on Saxon Business Park, Bromsgrove provides a complete design, manufacture and installation service for all types of signage, anything from interior and exterior signs to vehicle graphics, banners, window graphics and exhibition display systems.

BBQ for Franchisees kick-starts Convention weekend

To begin this years convention we held a fabulous BBQ for all attending franchisees at Sprowston Manor Hotel, Norwich.

The Friday evening BBQ gave all weary travellers a chance to unwind and catch up with their fellow Signs Express business owners.

As well as wonderful food the evening featured a Pimms reception and live music from local singer Bill Downs. With his boy-band good looks he was a hit!

With fun on the agenda, a photobooth was hired for the evening complete with fancy dress outfits and silly hats for all to enjoy.

A perfect start to what was a great convention weekend!

On the ball Signs Express!

Organisers of the Norwich City Football Club celebratory parade tasked Signs Express (Norwich) with providing the street banners for the occasion. Over 150 banners were printed and installed along the procession route and around City Hall in preparation for the televised trophy presentation on the balcony along with speeches from manager Paul Lambert and members of the NCFC board, including Delia Smith.

Sponsored by Aviva, the parade was arranged to celebrate the teams promotion back into the Premier League after a very successful season.
Touring the city in an open top bus the players were greeted by over 40,000 cheering fans as they were driven through the streets of Norwich.

Never one to miss a party, the Signs Express van can be seen joining in the fun of the procession!

On the Ale in Norwich

Organisors of Norwich’s first City of Ale festival have revealed Signs Express (Norwich) as one their official sponsors.

Running from May 26th until June 5th, the festival is new for 2011 and plans to be a city-wide celebration of real ales, local pubs and breweries to be held annually. “This is an unprecedented collaboration between pubs and breweries to promote the region’s wonderful range of ales and free- trade outlets” comments Dawn Leader, Co-Chair of the festival.

The team at Signs Express will ensure the festival is prominent across the city, providing all of the interior and exterior banners, stickers for bottles and gift boxes, vinyl applied to an inflatable 6ft pint of ale and even large format graphics for a vintage double-decker red bus – used for a photoshoot with the local press.

Working closely with Dawn Leeder and Co-Chair Phil Cutter, Norwich centre manager Ben Chambers is delighted to be invovled with the event “as a Norwich based company ourselves we recognise the vibrancy of the city and we are always keen to be involved in all local events and festivals. Norwich is a wonderful modern, friendly city and is home to an enormous array of events all held against the spectaular historical backdrop of the cities famous streets. Signs Express was started in Norwich over 20 years ago and now a national company, we are proud to call the city home.

The festival will be launched by Good Beer Guide editor Roger Protz at St Gregory’s Church, St Gregory’s Alley, off Pottergate, Norwich on May 26th.



For more information please call 01603 762680 or visit our new website www.signsexpress.co.uk/norwich
For more information about the City of Ale festival please visit www.cityofale.org.uk
The City of Ale festival is also sponsored by The Click Design Consultants and What Online.

New website launched!

Providing customers with comprehensive information about the company and its products, the revamped site is designed to be as fresh and current as the technology and services Signs Express offers. A clean modern look and more information for customers than ever offered in the past enables users to view the different products and gain access to product categories, franchise territory availability and technical information. The site also provides an enhanced extranet and new bespoke e-shot marketing facility for franchisees and staff.

Commenting on the new website, Rebecca Dack, Marketing Manager at Signs Express says that "the development of the website was a natural progression to support our customers and further raise our profile within the markets we operate. It also shows much larger images, and an easy to find branch locator so local customers can see work directly from the production centre in their area.”

The site is a sign of progression for the company, providing a more streamlined experience for its clients. The launch of the new site is in response to this increased demand, designed to support the growth of the technology and the company.

Operating since 1989, Signs Express has developed into the largest sign company in the UK and Ireland with over 75 franchised production centres. They provide a complete design, manufacture and fitting service for all forms of signage including interior and exterior signs, vehicle graphics, banners, window graphics and exhibition display products.