footage that’s allowed based on the frontage or the size of the ISA recommends that, in terms of brightness, digital signage not exceed 0.3 footcandles above ambient lighting conditions when measured at the recommended distance, based on the EMC size. Source: A Summary Report on EMC Brightness Levels, ISA. wall,” said Hartwig. However, the rules can change if you’re putting signage in, say, Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. “In one region of the city, you can be allowed 2,000 square feet, in another, you can have 4,000 square feet,” said Hartwig. “On Michigan Avenue, maybe 1,000 square feet.” Let There Be More Light Most sign codes derive from a pre-electronic age and evolved to control analog signs, be they printed banners, wooden or metallic signs, and even channel letters. Nothing has challenged today’s city planners more than the advent of electronic and dynamic digital signage (DDS). Sometimes the term “electronic message center (EMC)” is used to refer to certain varieties of digital signage. “The top regulatory issues regarding electronic message centers are rate of change of messages and brightness,” said Hickey. Brightness—illumination—is also an issue with some kinds of analog signage. “We have been working with lighting experts to come up with a recommended nighttime brightness level that we give out to communities,” added Hickey. “That’s working wonders helping change minds.” The ISA’s foundation, the Signage Foundation Inc., also recently worked with Texas A&M University on a study showing that EMCs are not dangerously distracting to drivers. “In my mind, those types of arguments (aesthetics and driver safety) are cover because a lot of local officials just don’t like these kinds of signs,” said Hickey. They claim that ‘We don’t want our community to look like Las Vegas.’ But obviously there’s a difference between a massive EMC on the Vegas Strip and a 24-square- foot digital sign at a convenience store.” Perhaps the biggest challenge with sign codes related to DDS and EMCs—which use LED lighting—is, ironically, when there are no codes at all—yet. “There are a lot of municipalities that had issues with LEDs, and one where they didn’t have a code and sign owners and makers started flooding the market with these LEDs,” said Hartwig. “Suddenly, the municipality says, ‘we have to stop, so no more LEDs until we figure this out.’ Then they made a code change—it took nine months—then they said you can start doing permits again.” But as we all know, technology changes. “As soon as a new type of light or a new type of sign with LED or illumination came on the market,” Hartwig continued, “they’re scratching their heads and saying, ‘do we stop permitting again, or do we let this go while we’re developing new rules?’” Who, Where, and How? We could go on and on about all the issues regarding sign codes—on-premise vs. off-premise, commercial vs. non-commercial, content, First Amendment issues, and so on—but the important questions are: who is responsible— the sign shop or the sign owner (i.e., the customer)— for making sure that a sign complies with the salient codes, and where and how does someone find out what the sign codes actually are? To answer the second question first, City Hall is an obvious first step—and maybe not even the physical City Hall. “The majority of jurisdictions have their codes online, and that’s increasing with every passing day,” said Hickey. (As an example, the City of Albany, NY, has its sign codes online.) “Otherwise you’re going to have to go to City Hall.” Keeping up with changes to sign codes can especially be a challenge. “When communities do revise their sign codes, the sign industry gets very little notice, if any at all,” said Hickey. “We ISA try to track sign code development as much as possible, but we’re often beholden to cities posting public notice. But a lot of the time, it’s literally a piece of paper on the front door of city hall.” The other question is, who should be responsible for knowing and ensuring that signage complies with the code? That depends on the attitude of the sign shop, and different shops take different approaches. Sign producers can leave it up to the customer to apply for a permit and ensure that the sign they order is up to code. Sign producers can go halfsies with the customer, leaving it up to them to get a permit but help walk them through the process if necessary. Or the sign producer can handle the entire process. Indeed, being expert in local sign codes can give one sign shop a competitive advantage over another. Hartwig’s advice for newbie sign producers starting out doing code checks is, “find out where your areas are, find out who handles those areas, reach out to them, and call them,” he said. “Find out their names, contact information, tell them what you’re doing. Get a little rapport going. Look at the township agenda if there is anything coming up in the area of signs.” This can get complicated when you are working with clients in different municipalities, but it behooves the savvy sign shop to be conversant in all the sign codes that apply. Organizations such as ISA and SGIA (and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America) do as thorough a job as they can in keeping track of changes in sign codes, and offering resources to members and others in the industry. Just as direct mail printers distinguish themselves by being experts in ever-changing, almost-as-byzantine postal regulations, so, too, do sign shops distinguish themselves by being able to handle sign code compliance. “It’s a huge value to the customer,” said Hartwig. Wide-Format MyPRINTResource.com Imaging | April 2015 45
WFIe_0415
To see the actual publication please follow the link above