You don’t have to be a big shop to reap big rewards from a large format digital printer. SoCal Sign Solutions, a 3-person shop in Chino, California, is proof. The company has been in business several years, but their purchase of a 62-inch Falcon Outdoor just over a year ago has added an exciting new dimension to the services they offer.

SoCal Sign’s president, Michael Graves, has a motto: “There’s no such thing as ‘just a sign.’” According to Graves, what makes the difference between an ordinary sign and one that works hard for its owner is the quality of the graphics. For SoCal, the keys to that quality are a talented graphic artist on staff and a Mutoh printer in the shop.

“Our core business is specialty signs for commercial property managers--suite signs, directories, ADA signs,” explains Graves. These signs could be rather ordinary, but with a staff artist trained at Pasadena Art Center, SoCal Signs turns them into much more. For these and other projects, such as window signs and banners, the 62-inch Falcon Outdoor gives them a broad range of options.

“On a window sign, because the Mutoh is a solvent-based printer we can print on vinyl and use it outside,” says Graves. “And because it’s digital printing, instead of just words, we can print images on the sign and it becomes like a brochure on the window.”

Wide format is another opportunity the Falcon provides that SoCal leverages for its customers. Some of their recent banners include a 5-foot by 16-foot banner for the exterior of an assisted living facility--a sign that is large enough to be visible from the adjacent interstate--and a 4-foot by 10-foot banner with full-bleed graphics for a local restaurant.

When asked what he likes most about his Mutoh printer, Graves has a ready answer: “It’s trouble-free. We set it up, send the print, and it comes out well the first time. I want a printer I can rely on. And with the Mutoh, that’s what I got.”

You can learn more about SoCal Sign Solutions at their website, http://www.socalsignsolutions.com.