Gas stations require many different types of signs including gas price signs, advertisements at the pumps, window signs, and interior signs if there is a store attached to the gas station. In the past year we have made custom full window graphics for two Chevrons in the greater Los Angeles area, one in North Hollywood and another in Culver City. Many signs are made for the purpose of advertising, and these window graphics were made for the purpose of advertising for the car wash. Another thing that gas stations offer is food. We are all familiar with the clear display next to the counter with hotdogs, taquitos, and other food items rotating on the rollers. Since there are so many different types of to-go food that Chevron offers, they needed something to indicate the different types of Ball Park and Tornado brand food they offer.
The sent over an old sign they had to use as a reference for size, thickness, and design. We made a total of 500 inserts of 10 different designs for the 10 different products. The most important thing for these signs was that they would be heat resistant. The roller displays in gas stations need to be heated to keep the food warm, and each sign needed to be next to the different products so they are also under direct heat. The signs are made from aluminum that was thin enough to fit into the existing inserts, and we direct printed the graphics onto the aluminum to ensure durability. Direct printing is more resistant compared to printing graphics onto something like vinyl first, and then adhering the vinyl onto a substrate like aluminum. We use direct printing for many signs, especially for outdoor signs that need to withstand the heat. There are, however, size limitations ruled by the size of the printer so if the sign is going to be very large, we may need to use vinyl instead. These signs were only 2″ x 3″ each so fortunately, we did not have to worry about the size limitation.