Cheap Tee Signs

[Gblambert]

I'm doing pretty much the same thing, using plexi glass etc, but I had no idea you could use Excel. Please elaborate a little more if you don't mind - I think your sign looks awesome. Where do you start with Excel? I had tried the same thing using publisher and was not happy with the results at all.

Depending on which version of Excel you're using, the drawing objects can be found in different places. Older versions have a drawing toolbar while newer versions, like the Excel in Office 2007 that I use, are found in the "Insert" tab or ribbon. So for me, I just selected the Insert tab on the main menu and then the "Shapes" option on the ribbon. From there you'll see a hundred or so predefined shapes. Everything on my map is done with a few of these shapes.

For example, the line shape is used for the white tee flight path. The trees are made with the cloud shape using the gradient fill and drop shadow options. Make one, then all the others are just rotated or resized copies. The cactus are made with ovals and lines grouped into one object and then copied. The creek bed uses the freeform shape which is filled with an Excel Pre-defined texture. The squares are text boxes with a big outline. Other than fonts, I think that's about it. After you get the hang of one shape it's easy cause they all work about the same. The nice thing is that the graphics are easy to change later because everything is an object which can be moved, copied, changed, etc easily. If you get started and have questions I'll be happy to help.

 

[Gblambert]

Nice looking sign. Your plan (ie: print yourself, laminate and plexi) is pretty much exactly what we did. Works well, but I'll echo another comment and say go ahead and print two now. They will fade and they will get damaged. But the $2-$3 it cost you is easier to swallow than what a professional sign would cost.

Also- I love round tees. Concrete? Size?

The tee pads on the par 2 course will be 6' in diameter and those on the regular course will be 8'. All tees pads will be concrete and will have a 3' to 4' ring of crushed and compacted granite around them. And of course glow stones willbe imbedded in the concrete for night rounds.

 

[DiscgolfStu]

Depending on which version of Excel you're using, the drawing objects can be found in different places. Older versions have a drawing toolbar while newer versions, like the Excel in Office 2007 that I use, are found in the "Insert" tab or ribbon. So for me, I just selected the Insert tab on the main menu and then the "Shapes" option on the ribbon. From there you'll see a hundred or so predefined shapes. Everything on my map is done with a few of these shapes.

For example, the line shape is used for the white tee flight path. The trees are made with the cloud shape using the gradient fill and drop shadow options. Make one, then all the others are just rotated or resized copies. The cactus are made with ovals and lines grouped into one object and then copied. The creek bed uses the freeform shape which is filled with an Excel Pre-defined texture. The squares are text boxes with a big outline. Other than fonts, I think that's about it. After you get the hang of one shape it's easy cause they all work about the same. The nice thing is that the graphics are easy to change later because everything is an object which can be moved, copied, changed, etc easily. If you get started and have questions I'll be happy to help.

Awesome, thanks man! I was close, but not quite there. This helps a ton. Cheers.

 

[Gblambert]

I used Sketchbook for the graphics, and am having them printed on corrugated plastic sign material.

Nice sign. Any idea how much it costs to have one printed on corrugated plastic? I would guess these would be more durable than laminated paper.

 

[sidewinder22]

Nice sign. Any idea how much it costs to have one printed on corrugated plastic? I would guess these would be more durable than laminated paper.

I will find out by next week on the cost. We have used the corrugated plastic signs for basket numbers and other things before and they do last much longer than laminate paper which was our first attempt for the tee signs.

 

[Stardoggy]

I dig the idea of using Excel to create these. I wonder if I could use screen captures from Google Earth and add the course stuff in after that...having photo quality hole layouts would be killer, and I could do most of the costly stuff at work.

 

[Gblambert]

I dig the idea of using Excel to create these. I wonder if I could use screen captures from Google Earth and add the course stuff in after that...having photo quality hole layouts would be killer, and I could do most of the costly stuff at work.

Yep, you could insert your GE screen shot into Excel and then overlay graphic objects on top of it. Or you could use the screen shot for reference points, create a new map by adding objects, then delete the screenshot when done.

 

[Royal Hill]

I print a lot of color. Or rather... I have a lot of color printed.

But I don't print anything color at home. Print to Order is fantastic, and virtually unbeatable these days.

Maybe something like Costco photo, or an equivalent print to order service, or a personal relationship with a local printhouse.

If its someplace with online submission like a Costco photocenter - use a matte or lustre finish selection (not glossy) and the prints will be on a photoquality paper, done with photo grade inks. They last well, don't wrinkle up like many papers, and they are easy easy to order up. Costco photo for example is almost a loss leader for the store, so it is very value priced for the product. Learn how to fit multiple images on a given print sheet size to maximize effeciency.

The other route is in getting to know a local printshop. Not a fast signs, signtown, signsNow! kind of place, but a friendly printhouse that runs materials for local magazines, small businesses. Not a chain, a family run quality shop. They will have "off the chart" options for the small order submitter if you are nice and get to know them. They will be a great resource time and time again.

When I walk in to my local shop, they recognize me, stop what they are doing and greet me and I let them know what I have on the CD file. Sometimes they print them while I wait, sometimes they do a drop off service to my workplace. I'm sure I'm not a big account for them, but I can tell that they don't mind working on my small stuff while the big orders are churning along in the back.

 

[Puckstopper]

Fantastic signs. Very detailed without being overly busy. I'll concur with using the laser printer on waterproof paper, as those will probably be the most durable signs you can make. But do put them under plexiglass. I know it yellows and looks bad after a while, but don't assume that everyone will appreciate your hard work. The more difficult you make if for some chucker to damage your signs the less likely they'll be to do so.

The other route is in getting to know a local printshop. Not a fast signs, signtown, signsNow! kind of place, but a friendly printhouse that runs materials for local magazines, small businesses. Not a chain, a family run quality shop. They will have "off the chart" options for the small order submitter if you are nice and get to know them. They will be a great resource time and time again.

This seems like a really good idea too. Maybe you can work out a sponsorship deal.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

FYI

Just printed a full page black and white laser copy of your sign.. it looks great even with low settings and in greyscale on a 8x11 plain paper.

 

[ZAMson]

Graphics look great! Absolutely on par with the premium sign companies.

When you pay a tee sign company, they're getting a cut and paying a designer. Then you're paying to print and ship metal around. It gets pricey. The frames can be an excellent purchase; but the graphics/printing can be in-house, as OP has done. And these are some of the nicest in-house I've seen.

Since tee signs are a primary means of marketing/demystifying DG to the public, I think it's important that courses have nice inviting signs.

Gimme some time, but this is the plan: put out some free templates using popular pro and free software. Then clubs and cities and course owners can handle their own local printing, for huge savings in the short and long term. I'd like to showcase 3rd party signs and templates too.

I still do like one sign gig a year w/Yeti, but I don't have time to make it an income priority, so I'd like to just make it a gift to the sport I do wanna make clear that I appreciate businesses who provide a turnkey solution; they've got costs to cover and nobody's in DG to get rich. HouckDesign has put together some great welded frames that are worth a look even if you design/print locally. (not even on commission for that plug!)

Local printing, resource-heavy local design... that's one ticket to upgrading our image in the parks. Great work, OP!

 

[Gblambert]

Graphics look great! Absolutely on par with the premium sign companies.

When you pay a tee sign company, they're getting a cut and paying a designer. Then you're paying to print and ship metal around. It gets pricey. The frames can be an excellent purchase; but the graphics/printing can be in-house, as OP has done. And these are some of the nicest in-house I've seen.

Since tee signs are a primary means of marketing/demystifying DG to the public, I think it's important that courses have nice inviting signs.

Gimme some time, but this is the plan: put out some free templates using popular pro and free software. Then clubs and cities and course owners can handle their own local printing, for huge savings in the short and long term. I'd like to showcase 3rd party signs and templates too.

I still do like one sign gig a year w/Yeti, but I don't have time to make it an income priority, so I'd like to just make it a gift to the sport I do wanna make clear that I appreciate businesses who provide a turnkey solution; they've got costs to cover and nobody's in DG to get rich. HouckDesign has put together some great welded frames that are worth a look even if you design/print locally. (not even on commission for that plug!)

Local printing, resource-heavy local design... that's one ticket to upgrading our image in the parks. Great work, OP!

Great idea about developing some templates and making them available gratis to the DG community. I can't even tell you how much time I've spent looking for a way to create my own graphics. I would have loved to have had a template available that I could have picked up and used without a big learning curve. My hat's off to you for providing the time needed to put these together. I'll be happy to help with an Excel version if you decide to include one in your template collection. Btw, my course is in San Marcos, so I think we're just down the road from each other.

 

[sidewinder22]

I think the corrugated plastic sign is going to cost about $100. They are all getting printed on one big sheet and we are going to have cut the individual tee signs out.

 

[AdamE]

I went with the laminated paper tee signs at my course and did the art myself since I'm a graphic artist. This has worked out very well at my course. Vandalism isn't an issue so I don't even cover it with plexiglass.

They look good, are super cheap and easy to replace. If the sign gets direct sun it will need to be replaced after about 4-5 years due to the sun fading it.

 

[Gblambert]

I think the corrugated plastic sign is going to cost about $100. They are all getting printed on one big sheet and we are going to have cut the individual tee signs out.

How many signs do you get out of a sheet and what's the cost per sign?

 

[Gblambert]

I went with the laminated paper tee signs at my course and did the art myself since I'm a graphic artist. This has worked out very well at my course. Vandalism isn't an issue so I don't even cover it with plexiglass.

They look good, are super cheap and easy to replace. If the sign gets direct sun it will need to be replaced after about 4-5 years due to the sun fading it.

I like your tee sign. It's nice to know that the laminated paper signs last for years, even without plexiglass. Did you just staple your tee signs to a board or do you have some other way to mount them?

 

[sidewinder22]

How many signs do you get out of a sheet and what's the cost per sign?

At least 19 tee signs, so about $5 per tee sign. I should have them saturday!

 

[AdamE]

I like your tee sign. It's nice to know that the laminated paper signs last for years, even without plexiglass. Did you just staple your tee signs to a board or do you have some other way to mount them?

I've used outdoor, industrial strength doubles sided tape. That stuff is really hard core. I used double sided carpet tape in a pinch once that held up well also.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Very nice work! Excel really is an amazing tool...

Professionally made signs are nice, but I favor these homemade signs for a number of reasons:
1) Easily replaceable for any of a number of reasons, most notably vandalism and course/hole updates. Can even be updated later if someone decides to survey the course for net elevation change.

2) Cost efficient - enhances feasibility of installing a new course and/or allows you to put more money into other aspects of the course, like round tee pads, or upgrading baskets to bright powdercoat or flags to enhance visibility on wooded courses.

3) Attractive - these look nice and enhance the couse.

As for Next Tee signs, I like color coded wooden arrows with the next hole # stenciled on in a contrasting color nailed to a tree not too far from baskets. Again, simple, cost efficient, self-explanatory, effective.

 

[jrawk]

We did the designs in house. For 36 signs 8"x14", It cost us $900 to get our designs professionaly printed on vinal and applied to thick aluminim panels. That's $25 per sign. Not very expensive at all.

The secrect to the low cost is not using the "standard" sign sizes that the shops order pre-cut. Tell them you want a smaller size and ask if it'd be cheaper for them to cut the panels themselves from large sheets. Hopefully you'll get the same response we got and it cut our quote in half.