How to Choose a Sign Company on Long Island: 8 Questions to Ask

Your sign is the one piece of marketing that works every hour of every day, and it will probably hang on your building for ten years or more. Choosing who builds it matters. When you search for a sign company near you on Long Island you will find printers, brokers who send the work out, and shops that design, build and install everything themselves. These eight questions help you tell them apart before you sign anything.

Key Takeaways

• Ask where the sign is actually built and who installs it. Every hand-off adds cost, delay and risk.
• Ask who handles the permit. Many Long Island villages and towns require one, and rules vary a lot.
• Ask for local work you can go and see, not only photos.
• Make sure the company services what it builds, and repairs signs it did not build.

1. Do you build the sign in your own shop?

Some companies only sell and design, then send the fabrication to someone else. That is not always bad, but it means less control over quality and schedule. A shop that fabricates in-house can fix problems on the spot and match parts years later.

2. Who installs it?

Installation is where many projects go wrong: electrical connections, wall anchoring, working at height over a sidewalk. Ask whether the company uses its own crews and its own bucket or crane trucks, and whether it carries liability and workers' compensation insurance.

3. Who pulls the permit?

Most villages and towns in Nassau and Suffolk, and the five boroughs, require a permit for exterior signs, and some need design review, landlord approval or a licensed electrician. A good sign company prepares the drawings and handles the application. Our sign permit guide explains the basics.

4. Can I see work near me?

Photos are easy to borrow. Ask for addresses of signs the company built in your area and go look at them at night. Check that every letter is lit evenly and that the edges and seams are clean.

5. What lighting and materials do you recommend, and why?

A good answer depends on your building, your hours and your budget: front-lit or halo-lit channel letters, a cabinet sign, a blade sign or an awning with lettering. Be careful with anyone who recommends the same thing for every storefront. Our guide to choosing a storefront sign walks through the options.

6. Will you service it later?

LEDs and power supplies eventually need service, faces fade, storms happen. Ask whether the company services its own signs and signs built by others, and how quickly it can send a crew.

7. How long has the company been in business?

A sign should outlast the warranty. A company with a long track record and a permanent shop is more likely to be there when you need a repair or a new face years from now.

8. Can we talk in my language?

Long Island and New York City are full of business owners who prefer to discuss a project in Spanish or Portuguese. Clear communication avoids mistakes in names, colors and measurements.

About us

Mineola Signs & Awnings has built signs and awnings on Long Island since 1924. We design, fabricate in our own shop at 255 Mineola Blvd, install with our own crews and trucks, handle the permit and service what we build. We speak English, Spanish and Portuguese, and we serve Long Island, the five boroughs, Westchester and nearby New Jersey and Connecticut. See our services and recent work.

Request a free estimate; a photo of your storefront and the address are enough to start.