Signage
Shop and business signage across Northern Ireland
We design, manufacture and fit business signage from our own workshop in Mallusk, and we install it ourselves across the whole of Northern Ireland. Nothing is subcontracted out, so the person who quotes the job is accountable for how it looks on the wall.
Signage
Most of what we make is shop front signage: fascias, projecting signs, illuminated letters and window graphics for retailers, bars, restaurants, clinics, solicitors and estate agents. We also handle the unglamorous parts, the site survey, the fixings, the electrics and the making good afterwards.
Start a projectWhat we do
Shop front signs and fascias
Tray signs, flat panel fascias, projecting signs and hanging signs, in aluminium, acrylic or composite. Surveyed on site, made in Mallusk, fitted by our own crews.
Illuminated signs
Built-up letters, halo-lit letters, LED-illuminated trays and light boxes. All low-energy LED, wired and tested before it leaves the workshop.
Window and door graphics
Cut vinyl, printed graphics, frosted and privacy films, opening hours and door manifestation. Applied on site with no bubbles and no lifting edges.
Interior and wayfinding signage
Reception signs, door plates, directional signage and safety notices, matched to the same brand and materials as the exterior.
Site and hoarding boards
Construction hoardings, site boards and development signage, in Correx, Foamex or aluminium composite, printed and installed.
Shop front signs and business signage
Shop front signs are the bulk of what leaves the workshop: flat panel and built-up fascias, projecting signs, hanging signs and window graphics. Business signage inside the building matters as much, and reception walls, wayfinding and door plates are made to the same specification so the whole premises reads as one.
Shop fitters in Belfast and across the province
Because we also work as shop fitters in Belfast, a sign and the unit behind it can be handled together. That matters most on a refit, where the fascia usually cannot go up until the shop front has been made good, and two suppliers means two waits.
How the job runs
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Step 1
Survey
We come and measure, photograph and check the substrate. We look at what the fascia is actually fixed to, where the power is, and whether the wall will take the weight. This is also where we tell you if advertisement consent is likely to be needed, because finding that out after a sign is made is the most expensive mistake in signage.
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Step 2
Design and visual
You get a scaled visual of the sign on a photograph of your own building, not a generic mock-up. That matters because a fascia that looks right on a drawing can be badly out of proportion on a real shop front with a stallriser and a recessed door.
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Step 3
Consent, where it applies
If the site needs advertisement consent we prepare the elevations and details for the application. Conservation areas, listed buildings and anything illuminated are the usual triggers.
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Step 4
Manufacture
Made in Mallusk. Trays are fabricated and powder coated, letters are routed and built up, LED is wired and burned in before it leaves the bench.
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Step 5
Installation
Our own crews, our own access equipment. City centre work is usually early morning with a permit. We make good behind us, and we take the old sign away.
What drives the price
A flat non-illuminated fascia on an accessible shop front is the cheapest thing we make. Built-up illuminated letters on a three storey building with restricted access is the most expensive. Most of the difference is not the sign, it is the access, the electrics and the consent.
The three things that move a signage quote most: whether it is illuminated, whether we need a platform or a scaffold to fit it, and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. We will tell you which of those apply at survey rather than in a revised quote later.
Common questions
- Do you cover the whole of Northern Ireland?
- Yes. We run twelve liveried vans out of Mallusk and install across Belfast, Lisburn, Newtownards, Bangor, Ballymena, Coleraine, Newry, Derry and everywhere between. We also work across Ireland and into the UK for existing customers.
- Do I need planning permission for a shop sign?
- Often yes, particularly for illuminated signs, projecting signs and anything in a conservation area or on a listed building. We will tell you honestly at survey stage whether you need consent, and we can prepare the drawings for the application.
- How long does a shop front sign take?
- A straightforward fascia is usually two to three weeks from artwork approval. Built-up illuminated letters take longer, generally four to six weeks, because the letters are fabricated to order.
We cover all of Northern Ireland
Twelve vans out of Mallusk, from Belfast to Derry. Tell us what you need and we will come and look at it.