How Long Does Signage Take? Order to Installation

If you have a lease starting, a refit booked or an opening date in the diary, the timescale matters as much as the price. Here is what to expect from a typical signage order.

Typical lead times

• Vinyl lettering and window graphics: 3 to 5 working days
• Van lettering: 3 to 5 working days, fitting in a single visit
• Van wrap: 1 to 2 weeks including design and print
• Flat panel fascia sign: 1 to 2 weeks
• Illuminated fascia or lightbox: 2 to 3 weeks
• Built up letters: 3 to 4 weeks depending on finish
• Totems and large freestanding signs: 4 to 6 weeks

The stages

Every job runs through the same steps: survey and measure, design and artwork approval, manufacture, then installation. The manufacturing time is fixed by the product. The parts that vary are how long artwork approval takes and whether the council is involved.

What causes delays

• Artwork sign off, this is the most common hold up and it is usually waiting on the customer
• Advertisement consent, allow eight weeks for a council decision when it is needed
• Listed building consent, which takes longer again
• Access, if scaffolding or a road closure is needed the install date follows the permit
• Site readiness, we cannot fit a fascia to a shopfront that is still being built
• Special finishes, brushed brass or bespoke paint colours add production time

Hitting an opening date

Work backwards from the date and give yourself a buffer. For a straightforward unlit fascia, get us surveying six weeks out. For anything illuminated or anything in a conservation area, start three months out. Approve artwork quickly, that alone often saves a week.

If you are in a hurry

There is almost always something we can do fast. Vinyl lettering, a printed banner or window graphics can go up in days and hold the fort while the permanent sign is made. Plenty of businesses open on temporary graphics and swap them later.

Tell us your date

We design, manufacture and install in house across the UK, which means we control the schedule rather than waiting on subcontractors. Give us your deadline on 0800 454 613 and we will tell you straight away whether it is achievable.