At Custom Signs, we’ve spent the past 70 years creating customized products that bring your vision to life. As we celebrate this exciting milestone, we’re reflecting on how we’ve played a role in evolving the world of customization.

Our rich history, strong connections, advanced machinery, unwavering commitment to quality, and efficient shipping set us apart from the competition, making us a leader in the industry.

History

Custom Signs, originally founded as Holmes Stamp & Sign, was first started by Owen Holmes in 1954, right out of his garage in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Holmes had a passion for connecting with his community and wanted to give people an easy way to express themselves through personalized products. In the early days, customized products relied on manual processes, and Mr. Holmes' dedication to quality and personalization laid a strong foundation for the company.

As the business grew, we continuously discovered ways to improve and innovate. In 2009, Bryan Croft took over as CEO, bringing a fresh vision and strategic direction to Custom Signs. Recognizing the potential of the internet, Bryan moved the business online, making it easier for customers nationwide to access our personalized signs. This shift not only expanded our reach but also streamlined our operations and enhanced customer experience.

Machinery

Before modern technology, the production of custom signs relied on manual carving or chemical etching. While effective, these traditional processes were time-consuming and less precise. Manual carving demanded immense skill and patience, often resulting in variations in quality and consistency. Chemical etching involved the use of hazardous substances that posed significant risks to the health and safety of workers. 

The introduction of laser engraving machines revolutionized custom signs production. Unlike older methods, laser engraving allows for intricate designs to be replicated with exceptional accuracy. The speed of laser technology enables rapid production, reducing turnaround times and increasing efficiency. This advancement has not only streamlined manufacturing but also elevated the safety and standard of custom production.

Raising the Bar for Quality

With all of our products made here in the USA, we ensure that only the highest quality products leave our facilities. We have set the standard for what high-quality customized products should look like. Each unique sign undergoes thorough quality check processes:

ADA Signs:

• Tactile lettering is precisely engraved and checked for accuracy.
• Tactile lettering appliqué is carefully applied with uniform depth and clarity.
• Braille dots are correctly embedded into pre-carved holes and scanned for readability.
• Color contrast and consistency is verified to meet ADA standards.
• The sign is reviewed one final time to ensure proper font, spacing, and layout

Brass Signs:

• A diamond-tip rotary tool is used for engraving to achieve clean, sharp lines and intricate details.
• Colored brass signs are sublimated to produce high-resolution and vibrant designs.
• Engraved black text is oxidized with a special solution for durability and enhanced visibility.
• Signs are thoroughly cleaned and can be coated with a UV spray for added protection.

Plastic Signs:

• Laser engraved using advanced Trotec lasers to achieve accurate and detailed designs.
• Colored plastic signs are UV-printed to produce bright colors that wont fade over time.
• Signs are meticulously cleaned to ensure a pristine finish.

Aluminum Signs:

• Made from rust-proof, heavy-duty aluminum for longevity.
• A high-quality vinyl overlay with the design is applied for enhanced graphics and increased durability.
• Optional UV lamination is available for outdoor use to enhance durability.

Nationwide Shipping

While we take pride in our Jacksonville, Florida roots, we wanted people nationwide to have the opportunity to shop our personalized products. To make this possible, we made the shift to our online stores and began shipping to all 50 states. 

From the very beginning, we committed to shipping within two business days, ensuring our delivery driver dispatched orders promptly. Today, with the help of modern technology and our experienced team, we continue to uphold our tradition of super-fast shipping across the country, providing the same reliable and speedy service our customers have come to expect.

Looking Ahead

While we celebrate 70 years of innovation and excellence, we are excited about the future.  We’re aiming for another 7 decades of not only increased connections with our customers and fantastic products, but opening more paths of opportunity and security for our team members. At the time of writing we have had 700 employees come and go since 2012, and have several second generation employees on our staff.

Custom Signs is nothing without the people that keep it running and through continued focus on customer service, innovation, and creating great products.

With our CEO Bryan at the helm, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of customization, continually enhancing our processes, and expanding our reach. We are grateful to our loyal customers for their trust and support, and we look forward to many more years of helping people express themselves through our high-quality personalized products. Thank you for being part of our journey.

Summer may be officially over but that doesn’t mean we have to say goodbye to all the nice summer fruits! For hundreds of years, people have been perfecting the art of making jam, jelly and preserves out of their favorite fruits and saving them for a special treat on a rainy day.

Back in the day, before supermarkets and even basic refrigeration took hold of the world, canning was a way of life for many families. In order to make sure they would have enough to eat during the frigid winter months of the year, families would store as much food as they could gather that wouldn’t go bad. Special foods like fruits, were canned into jars through a special process and kept in storage until needed.

But as is the case with most foods that require a recipe, not all canning methods and fruit preserves were created equally. Some recipes were better than others and as a result preserving a jar of peaches all of a sudden became a fantastic gift idea and even a delicacy (anyone remember the “sploosh” from Louis Sachar's Holes?).

Over the past couple years and thanks to sites like Pinterest, it's safe to say that canning has become popular again. Maybe not for survival this time but for convenience, new business startups, and gift ideas galore! From pie fillings, to cookie and cocoa recipes, there’s no shortage of ideas!

It’s no surprise that in today’s economy people are looking to save money anywhere they can even during the holidays. For years we’ve all been hearing how a handmade gift means more than anything bought in the store, and it turns out it’s not always wrong. Standout family recipes for cookies, cocoa and more can now be put in mason jars, wrapped with a bow and called done. But baked good and drink mixes aren’t the only things you can put in mason jars! Homemade bath salts, sugar scrubs, lotions, and even candles are a great way to utilize inexpensive mason jars during the holidays!

In preparation for the end of summer and beginning of the gift giving season, we’ve made it a point to design some super cute stickers for mason jar lids. Can and preserve your fruits with these adorable vinyl stickers that are sold individually or on a sheet. These stickers will help you keep your pantry organized as well as your holiday shopping list. Keep track of who you’ve made jars for by using our stickers as gift labels!

If you’re looking to preserve your summer fruits this year and clear out jars that may be way past their expiration date, it would help if you jars had been marked when they were originally packaged. Our new Mason Jar Lid Vinyl Stickers have a special pre-designated spot for just this reason!

Made here in our own USA factories, we produce and ship our orders as quickly as we possibly can. Each and every order that comes through our doors receives free two day shipping! Get your new stickers today!

Our American version of football has been around for hundreds of years with its origins lying in the school yards of Europe. After a series of changes and gaining immense popularity in the 19th century both in colleges as well as in the backyards of neighbors, the game eventually turned into the multi-billion dollar industry that we know it is today.

So every year around September when the air begins to develop that faint chill signaling the arrival of fall, the grade schools, colleges, and NFL fans all start to get ready for the season’s kickoff. House parties, tail gating, and barbecues are just a few of the festivities that take place. We here at Custom Signs are lucky enough to live in Jacksonville where we get to play host to our very own NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars.

So how do you plan on supporting your favorite team this year and in the years to come? Of course you’ll buy tickets to games, or maybe even season passes so you can go to the games year round, but what else can you do? You've got the tickets and the jerseys; why not really show your support and devotion to your team with a custom banner?

And what about your kids team this year? Do you have a sneaking suspicion that you may be raising the next Tom Brady or Ray Lewis? That’s a big deal! Make sure they're prepared! Giving confidence and boosting self esteem where we can is extremely important while kids are still in grade school. So whether or not your child is the next big thing in the sports world, it never hurts to encourage those dreams and aspirations any way you can, and what better way to do that than with a great big banner supporting them?

Great for when you go to games with a group, you’ll undoubtedly look better than all the other fans and families with their handmade poster board signs. And what usually happens to those signs when Mother Nature takes a turn for the worst and rain pours down on the field? Those handmade cardboard and paper signs will be absolutely destroyed. But not our trusted custom vinyl banners!

Made here in our factories, our machinery and equipment guarantees top results every time. We supply banners for all sorts of businesses, as well as events and we see no reason why not football games. Send us your artwork design or text and we'll be sure to get it to you in time for this years kickoff to another great season.

Whether you're a die hard NFL fan, forever loyal and faithful to your college team, or just have kids in need of support and encouragement a custom made banner will make everyone a winner!

The old saying goes that the best experience is someone else's experiences. With that in mind, if you're considering having your own Bring Your Dog To Work Day, we've got a couple pointers! So, how did Custom Signs pull it off? Check out these 3 top tips from those who made it a success.

1. Installing a Beware Of Dog Sign

What many people probably don’t know is that we actually have a physical location with a complete showroom of products for customers to browse. A number of which often choose to come in and pick up their orders in person. So in to keep things as safe as possible, we decided to install our very own Beware of Dog sign right on our front door just to give our customers a friendly heads up. A Beware of Dog sign is great for warning people not only about the presence of a dog, but also as a reminder to respect the territory of the animal. And while yes, our dogs are domesticated, like wild animals they won't hesitate to react in the event that they feel threatened.

Here at Custom Signs, we've got an array of dog sign designs for you to choose from. From simple designs to more effective and ferocious designs, we're sure you'll find just the thing you need.

2. Important Employee Information

When giving our employees the option to bring their dog to work, obviously we had to set up a few rules just to ensure that everyone and their dog stayed as safe as possible. So what did we come up with?

- All dogs must be fixed.

- All dogs must be up to date on all of their shots.

- If you can’t control your dog, don’t bring it.

We love animals as much as the next company, but no one wants to see a terrier peeing on a laser engraver that costs way more than a year supply of dog food - especially our boss. And with all the other dogs around, we need our employees to be able to handle their own dog should some of our furry companions decide not to get along with each other.

3. Clean Up Work Spaces

We know we said it before but we cannot stress this point enough. Working in a custom sign manufacturing facility there are all sorts of pieces and parts of all sizes that are essential to what we do but that may be seen as edible to a dog. An emergency trip to the vet is the last thing anyone wants on a busy afternoon!

We can't tell you how excited we were to get to play host to all of our dogs! We hope that when you plan your own Bring Your Dog To Work Day you keep these few tips and tricks in mind!

This past week at CustomSigns.com it was our privilege and honor to help out the Cummer Museum & Gardens with some snazzy new signage for their premises.

The Cummer Museum in sunny Jacksonville Florida is even more unique than the standard cut-and dry museum. It plays host to both a permanent collection as well as ones that travel around to different museums or belongs to other collections whether the collections are personal or public and also possesses a beautifully well taken care of garden consisting of live oak trees, rare plants, antique ornaments surrounding its premises and even relaxing fountains. The garden itself is over 100 years old is constantly being tended and taken care of.

Our engraved signs are perfect for museum purposes. If you've ever been to a museum, you know just how many various forms of art reside within those walls- not to mention the countless sculptures both inside as well as outside.

But ultimately, with all the unique paintings, sculptures, and plants, engraved signs take the guess work out of trying to figure out just what exactly they all are and why they’re so unique or great.

Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder and let’s face it, paintings and sculptures can sometimes makes us go cross-eyed. Not all museums can afford to keep multiple tour guides employed to personally introduce you to every artistic artifact, who created it, in what year, during which movement, what it was made with, or why it deserves to be in a museum to begin with. This is where the monumental importance of signs comes into play.

With custom engraved signs such as these, all of this information can be quickly communicated with visitors in a way that doesn't disrupt their own individual experiences. Here at CustomSigns.com we work hard to make sure that the design and ultimate creation of these signs is as quick and painless a process as necessary. We also aim to ship every order we receive within one business day of receiving it- that way you can get on with enjoying the benefits of your custom sign without having to wait two weeks or more for it to come in the mail!