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What our resellers say
Links Signs and Graphics
All first class service. Enquiries are answered quickly and clearly, products always delivered on time and if there has ever been a problem, it is always resolved quickly.
Tones Media
I was impressed by the performance. Whoever designed this product is brilliant. Concerning the Canadian market, most people admired the quality of your products. Several sign shops have ordered demo units to place in their stores to show to customers.
3 Tier Print Management Ltd
That is brilliant service. Thank you so much. It's always difficult when something goes wrong but the real measure of a supplier is how they react and I can't praise you high enough. Thanks again.
Nitro Branding
I find the combination of product range, price and convenience unbeatable. Always a great service and high quality products from Signwaves, thank you.
Mirage Signs
Signwaves are a very professional company and have professional staff that sells quality products at excellent prices.
Signs Express
Swift responses, informative and detailed quotes and our Account Manager at Signwaves is very patient, with endless variations to quote for.
Discount Displays
Brilliant service, detailed information and great performance. The quality of products is superb and consistent. If there are ever any
issues, they’re dealt with quickly and professionally.
Recent News
Top 5 Advertising Sign Decision That Improve ROI
Advertising signs still influence buying behaviour because most retail purchases happen in physical environments. Retail media research citing eMarketer forecasts that 83.8% of US retail sales will still take place in physical stores, which reinforces the wider point that physical retail environments still matter. For retailers, hospitality venues, and commercial sites, advertising sign ROI usually depends on how well the display fits customer behaviour. Signs perform better when businesses choose the right format and message for the environment customers move through every day. When businesses overlook that, they often spend money on signage customers barely notice. At Signwaves, we help businesses, agencies, and trade buyers choose signage built for real commercial environments. From forecourts and retail parks to shopfronts and visitor sites, the right display setup can help businesses improve visibility where customer attention already exists. Why do some signs perform better than others? Some advertising signs perform better simply because they suit the environment around them. Customers react differently to signage depending on where they are and how quickly they move through the space. Recent out-of-home advertising research from PML Group found that 61% of respondents said OOH advertising influenced their purchase decisions. The same research reported a 65% higher notice rate for contextually relevant OOH advertising. Customers still need to understand the message quickly enough to act on it. How does viewing distance affect advertising sign performance? An advertising sign only works when customers can process the message in the time they have available. Roadside signage often needs shorter copy because drivers only have a few seconds to read it. Copy that works well on a pavement sign can quickly lose clarity once traffic speed increases or the viewing distance changes. Window displays usually work better for promotions or product messaging once customers reach the frontage and have more time to process detail. Window Mounted Displays can help businesses promote offers directly at the point customers stop to browse. A layout that works well in a pedestrian area may struggle beside faster-moving traffic. If the message is too small or too detailed for the environment, customers may ignore it altogether and the business loses visibility despite paying for the display. For roadside visibility, Forecourt Signs & Displays can help businesses promote offers in vehicle-led environments. For passing footfall closer to a shopfront, Pavement Signs & A-Boards can support messages where customers already slow down. Why do simple advertising signs usually perform better? Customers should understand the purpose of a sign within seconds. When too many messages compete for attention, the display becomes harder to process. The strongest advertising signs usually focus on one clear message. Short messages such as “Sale now on” or “Click and collect” often perform better because customers can process them quickly. Businesses often reduce sign performance by trying to include too much information in one space. Excessive wording and crowded layouts can weaken visibility because customers stop processing the message. This problem becomes harder to manage across multi-site campaigns where businesses still need the signage to feel consistent from one location to the next. When businesses need more tailored campaign display, Made-to-Order Print Products can support signage that fits the site and intended message more closely. Where should businesses place advertising signs for better visibility? Advertising signs often perform best where customers naturally slow down or make decisions. Contextual OOH advertising attracts stronger attention because the signage feels connected to the environment around it. That creates useful opportunities near entrances, collection points, queue areas, and forecourts. A customer may ignore a larger sign further away but still notice a message once they reach a queue area or entrance barrier. In busy commercial environments, those slower points in the customer journey often create the best opportunity for signage to influence action. Projecting Signs & Displays can help businesses improve side-angle visibility in pedestrian environments. Flags & Banners can support campaign visibility across wider outdoor areas where businesses need to attract attention from a distance. Which advertising sign styles work best in different environments? Different advertising sign styles suit different commercial environments. A retail park may need large outdoor signage that remains readable across vehicle routes and open space. A café or independent retailer may need pavement signage positioned close enough to passing footfall to influence walk-ins. Evening-focused businesses often rely more heavily on illuminated display after natural light levels drop. Hospitality venues, gyms, and convenience-led retail environments often depend on visibility beyond daytime trading hours. The wrong sign style can weaken readability, reduce visibility, and make the business look less organised. Large outdoor signs can still underperform when surrounding site clutter competes with the message. That can weaken customer confidence before staff interaction even begins. For illuminated display, Lightboxes & Illuminated Displays can help businesses maintain visibility in lower light environments. Printed Posters can support temporary promotions, events, and campaign updates without replacing permanent display structures. For businesses running repeat campaigns across different sites, Menu, Leaflet & Brochure Displays can also help keep printed promotional material organised and visible. When should businesses update advertising signs? Outdated advertising signs can weaken campaign performance. Customers notice when promotions or branding no longer reflect what the business currently offers. Businesses do not always need to replace the entire display structure. In many cases, updating graphics or campaign messaging is enough to keep signage relevant and avoid unnecessary replacement costs. Some businesses leave campaign graphics in place too long because replacement feels disruptive, even after they change the offer or promotion. That can weaken campaign relevance and make the site look neglected, particularly across seasonal campaigns and multi-site businesses. Wall Mounted & Suspended Poster Displays can support interchangeable campaign graphics, while Flags & Banners can help businesses update outdoor promotional messaging quickly. Which advertising sign boards give the best ROI? No single advertising sign board delivers the best ROI in every environment. Businesses usually achieve stronger results when they match the sign format to customer behaviour and site conditions. As a general guide, pavement signs support passing footfall, forecourt signs support roadside visibility, and projecting signs support side-angle visibility. Banners often support promotions, while illuminated signs can improve visibility in lower light. A business that relies on walk-ins may need a different sign setup from a business targeting roadside traffic or temporary event visitors. How Signwaves helps businesses choose the right advertising signs Choosing advertising signs involves more than selecting a product from a catalogue. Businesses also need to consider viewing distance, placement, customer movement, and consistency across the site. Signwaves supports businesses, agencies, and trade buyers through design, production, fulfilment, and logistics support. That helps businesses manage signage more consistently across one location or multiple sites without losing control of campaign presentation or print quality. Our integrated production approach helps businesses maintain colour consistency across multiple locations and campaign types. Make your advertising signs work harder for your business Signage performs best when businesses match the display to the environment and the way customers move through the site. The right sign can improve visibility and help businesses guide attention more effectively. If you need practical advice on signage for your site or campaign, Signwaves can help you choose display products built for real commercial use. FAQs about commercial signage Which signs give the best ROI? The best signs for ROI depend on the environment and customer behaviour. Pavement signs can support footfall, while forecourt signs may work better for roadside visibility. What are the best advertising sign styles for retailers? Retailers often use pavement signs, projecting signs, and window displays depending on the shop location and customer flow. Are outdoor signs still effective? Outdoor signs still support visibility in physical environments where customers walk, drive, queue, or make buying decisions. How often should businesses update signage? Businesses should review signage whenever campaigns, pricing, branding, or promotions change. What signs work best for small businesses? Small businesses often benefit from signage that supports local visibility and passing footfall, such as pavement signs, banners, or window displays. How do businesses choose the right advertising sign size? Businesses should choose sign size based on viewing distance and the amount of information customers need to process quickly.
Accelerated Weather Testing
‘Design that works, quality that lasts’, the confident endorsement made here at Signwaves about our production output, underpinned by the significant investment we make in material, process and product testing. Much of this testing is carried out in-house by our D&D (design and development) team using a range of engineering, project management and technical skills with the aid of some specialist machinery and equipment. As specialists in outdoor signage and display a key piece of in-house equipment is our Accelerated Weather Testing Chamber. Instead of waiting months or years to see how a material, decorative coating or printed substrate performs outdoors, we can use the test chamber to replicate extended outdoor exposure in a matter of days or weeks. How the chamber and testing works The test chamber subjects material samples to alternating, controlled cycles of 3 primary environmental elements at elevated temperatures: Ultraviolet (UV) Light: Special fluorescent UV lamps simulate the short-wave ultraviolet wavelengths of natural sunlight. This is the component of sunlight most responsible for physical material breakdown and colour fade. Condensation: A heating and vapour system creates 100% humidity. Hot water vapour condenses directly onto the test samples, mimicking overnight condensation. Water Spray (Rain): A cold water spray system drenches the materials. This simulates rain and induces thermal shock (sudden temperature drops) and mechanical erosion. Exposing test samples to these intensified natural degrading factors, continuously and without interruption, provides us within weeks with a very good indication of how a material, print or product will perform over the course of years during its working life outdoors. Without getting too technical it is important to mention the importance of having a correctly calibrated test chamber which compares its internal sensors against independent, certified reference standards to ensure precise control over light, temperature and moisture. Because there’s so many variable factors in the outdoor environment that we are attempting to replicate it is impossible to equate a precise number of hours in the test chamber to a number of years outdoors. There’s a big difference for example in the impact of UV exposure on a sign mounted on a south facing wall than one facing north. There’s a big difference too in the impact from rain and moisture in somewhere like the Lake District (average 2000mm a year) and Norfolk where we get no more than 700mm on average. As a rule of thumb we know from experience that 300 hours roughly equates to 1 year outdoors in the UK. But, rather than trying to find an absolute conversion time, we generally adopt a Comparative Testing method recommended by international labs and testing facilities such as that at Sheffield Hallam University. This involves running the test sample alongside a control material of known, proven outdoor performance in the UK. If the control material is known to last say for 5 years, and it fails at 2000 hours in the test chamber, we can reliably deduce that 400 hours in the chamber equates to 1 year outdoor life in the UK. Checking & Verifying Material and Print Combinations With print being a very important part of what we do at Signwaves being able to evaluate how ink and substrates perform together is critical. Accelerated weather testing helps with: Predicting ink adhesion: Testing indicates, for example, if a rigid substrate expands under heat at a different rate than the cured ink layer, potentially revealing if the print is more likely to crack, flake or peel. Exposing any impact of plasticiser migration: Testing forces chemicals in flexible vinyls, eg banner materials, to surface quickly and to check what impact if any they have on the ink bond. Measuring colour fastness: Following intense UV exposure we can use a spectrophotometer to measure colour change. Detecting physical degradation: Testing exposes whether a rigid plastic or board material will turn brittle, warp or discolour. In short, accelerated weather testing helps us ensure long-tern ink adhesion, substrate stability and colour fastness for our outdoor signage and displays. The process is crucial to help prevent expensive field failures, validating new materials and protecting both Signwaves and our customers brand reputations. Other benefits In addition, accelerated weather testing helps with speed to market and provides empirical data to back up outdoor durability guarantees. If you would like any further information about our accelerated weather testing capability, or how this could be used to help you with you resolve your outdoor signage and display decisions please do not hesitate to get in touch
How Promotional Flags Build Momentum Before a New Site Opens
A new site begins attracting attention before the doors open. Passing customers see contractors arriving, windows changing, and branding starting to appear. Without a clear message, however, that interest can turn into uncertainty rather than useful awareness. Promotional flags give opening campaigns a visible way to explain what is coming, when it opens, and why people should return. Their height and movement can help a new location stand out across retail parks, roadside sites, forecourts, and busy pedestrian areas where lower-level messages are easier to miss. At Signwaves, we supply promotional flags and flying banners for businesses, agencies, and trade buyers managing launches across one site or a wider estate. The right setup can support the campaign before opening day, strengthen visibility during launch week, and remain useful once normal trading begins. Why should an opening campaign start before the first trading day? Opening day should confirm awareness, not create it from nothing. Customers often pass a developing site several times before it opens, giving the business repeated opportunities to build recognition. If the frontage remains unclear until the final day, nearby customers may not know what is arriving or when they can visit. Promotional flags can introduce the brand while the site is still being prepared and turn routine passing traffic into early familiarity. A simple pre-opening message can explain the business or service that is arriving, confirm the opening date, support recruitment or local hiring, promote an opening-week offer, and show customers where to enter or park. The strongest messages answer one question quickly. A short headline and recognisable branding are more useful than trying to place the full launch plan on every flag. How can promotional flags support each stage of a site launch? Promotional flags can work across several stages when the campaign is planned before artwork goes into production. Before opening, flags can carry messages such as "Coming soon", an opening date, or a recruitment prompt. During launch week, the same positions can switch to "Now open", a limited-time offer, or clearer directions to the entrance. After the opening period, businesses can use replacement graphics for product campaigns, seasonal messages, or wider brand visibility. This helps the hardware continue working after the initial launch window has passed. A simple three-stage plan moves from pre-opening awareness to opening-week conversion, then into early-trading promotion. Which promotional flag shape suits a new site? The best shape depends on the site, the artwork, and the way customers approach the location. Feather Flying Banners provide a tall, familiar profile that suits brand marks, short vertical messages, and repeated placement along an approach route. Teardrop Flying Banners keep the fabric under more tension and can suit bold logos or compact launch messages that need a defined shape. Rectangle flags provide a broader, more conventional graphic area and can work well where the artwork needs a clearer block of colour or a slightly wider message. The right choice should reflect viewing distance, available space, brand layout, and how several flags will appear together. Consistency across locations is usually more valuable than mixing formats without a clear reason. Where should businesses place promotional flags around a new location? Placement should follow the route customers use to find and enter the site. Flags positioned only beside the doorway may be too late to help drivers or pedestrians identify the location from further away. Useful positions often include roadside or retail-park approach routes, car park entrances, pedestrian walkways leading towards the frontage, boundaries between neighbouring units, the final turn towards the entrance, and collection points or temporary launch areas. Promotional flags work particularly well when they create a visible sequence rather than one isolated marker. Several well-spaced flags can lead attention towards the site and make the opening feel more established. Businesses should also consider local permissions, pedestrian access, and the suitability of the base. The display should improve visibility without creating an obstruction. How should businesses choose bases for promotional flags? The flag, pole, and base need to suit the same environment. A launch team may focus on the printed fabric first, but the base determines where the display can be used and how practical it is to manage. Ground spikes can suit grass and softer ground. Weighted or water-filled bases are often more practical on hardstanding where fixing into the surface is not possible. Different sites may require different base options even when the printed promotional flags remain consistent. Before ordering, teams should check: • The ground surface at every location • Expected wind exposure • Whether displays will remain out all day • How often staff will move them • Storage space after trading • The height and number of flags required Signwaves offers a range of bases and accessories within its flying banner and flag range. Our team can also help match the setup to the intended location. How can multi-site openings keep promotional flags consistent? Franchise and multi-site launches become harder to control when every location orders campaign materials separately. Different opening dates, site layouts, and local messages can create unnecessary artwork versions and increase the risk of sending the wrong graphics. Central campaign planning should define the approved flag shape, size, base options, colours, and message hierarchy. Local information can then change within a controlled template instead of creating a completely new design for every site. Clear labelling also matters. Each launch pack should identify the destination, opening phase, and display position so local teams know which flags to install first and when graphics need to change. Signwaves' artwork support and print services can help maintain colour and layout consistency across repeat orders. For larger programmes, project management and rollout support can help coordinate multiple versions and phased deliveries. Can replacement promotional flags improve campaign value? Opening messages have a short working life, but the display hardware does not have to. Replacement flags allow businesses to refresh the message while continuing to use compatible poles and bases. Signwaves supplies replacement printed feather flags for businesses that need updated graphics without ordering a completely new kit each time. This can support seasonal promotions, recruitment activity, and product launches after the site has opened, separating the long-term hardware decision from each shorter-term graphic. Reuse works best when poles, bases, and fabric are checked and stored correctly between campaigns. What should promotional flags say during an opening campaign? Promotional flags are viewed quickly, often from a moving vehicle or by pedestrians who are already looking elsewhere. The message needs to work before the customer reaches the site. Useful opening messages usually combine a recognisable logo or brand colour with one clear status message, such as "Coming soon" or "Now open". Add a date only when it can be read easily, followed by a short offer or directional prompt where needed. Long lists of services, detailed terms, and several calls to action are better placed on closer-range signage. Flags should create recognition and guide attention. Pavement signs, window displays, or posters can provide more detail once customers reach the entrance. For more tailored brand requirements, Signwaves' customisation service can adapt standard display products with brand-specific finishes, graphics, and accessories. Build awareness before the doors open New sites have a limited opportunity to turn local curiosity into useful launch momentum. Promotional flags help businesses start that process early, identify the location clearly, and change the message as the opening campaign moves forward. The strongest setup connects the artwork, shape, base, placement, and rollout plan, giving local teams equipment that is easier to install and use correctly. Explore Signwaves' promotional flag range or contact our team about an upcoming site launch. We can help you plan a practical setup for one opening or a phased programme across several locations. Frequently asked questions about promotional flags When should promotional flags go up before a new site opens? Businesses can install pre-opening flags once the opening date and site branding are confirmed. The timing should give local customers enough opportunity to notice the message without leaving temporary artwork in place for longer than necessary. Are promotional flags suitable for retail parks and forecourts? Yes. Promotional flags can work well in open commercial environments where height helps the message remain visible. The pole, base, and placement should be selected for the surface and expected exposure. Can the printed flag be changed after opening day? Yes. Compatible replacement graphics can allow businesses to keep the poles and bases while changing from launch messaging to seasonal or product-led campaigns. How many promotional flags should a new location use? The right number depends on the approach routes and available space. A sequence of flags can guide attention more effectively than one isolated display, but every unit should have a clear role and safe position.
