10-13-05 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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~_ ~L. -~-~~. ISSUE FORTX 2003 Variable Message Signs and Electronic Message Centers Generally speaking, all sign faces can be changed, with varying degrees of difficulty. In some cases, this requires a new coat of paint or a change of mounted letters or other graphic elements. The advent of plastic and its successors in the industry have permitted sign copy to be changed with greater ease than ever before, allowing one to simply pull the entire face out of a sign and install a new one. Outdoor advertising utilizes face changes on a regulazbasis. Even theso-calledneonsignisreally a form of copy change, as its face can be designed to appear quite differentin the daytime than at night. None of this activity has ever been particularly As businesses have focused on the need to communicate in a timely manner to their most immediate potential customers -those driving by the business at a particular moment -they have increasingly focused on ways to display a more timely, directmessage, one thaf can be changed and which says more thanjust the name of the business. Mechanical variable message signs have been around for a long time, and are a highly valuable communication tool for businesses and the community. Like all signs, they communicate directly with the people most likely to patronize the business -those passing the site in a vehicle. And because they provide for easy flexibility in communication, their messages can be timely and relevant, conveying announcements of sales or community events, or expressing opinions, words of wisdom, or humorous sayings. One historic form of changeable copy sign is the graphic display case, most commonly seen at theaters, to display a pictorial that promotes a currently showing film. Similar displays aze often used in other retail and food services businesses, sipnlina 40.pma and are an integral part of outdoor advertising programs that appear in airports and on buses and transit shelters. Recently, new changeable copy systems have been developed which enable easily changed full color graphic presentations. Some of these utilize standard graphic panels that mount on existing systems. Others take advantage of the four- color printing process on vinyl materials either backed with adhesive and temporarily mounted on a sign, or, when translucent inks and vinyl are used, sandwiched between two plastic sheets and placed in a lighted sign cabinet. Early on, theaters were the most prominent users of the form of changeable copy sign known as the marquee. These signs used (and many still do) background panels mounted on internally illuminated cabinets, with metai or plastic tracks on the sign faces to hold individual letters or panels announcing the day's movie showings. Laborers install the letters from either a ladder or a mechanicai extension arm. Other businesses soon picked up on the practice of using the mazquee sign to market products and services. This form of mechanically changeable signage has evolved into a number of different variations, including the gas station price sign, but even its most basic form it continues to be widely used because of its economy and versatility. Many businesses have relied on portable versions ofthe changeable copy sign, often mounted on trailezs or sandwich boards, and placed close to the roadway to enhance visibility. Because the early systems required physical activity to accomplish a change of copy, sign industry professionals began experimenting with mechanical, electromechanical and electrical systems that could accomplish copy changes. One of these innovative variations, which is still in use today, is a display that utilizes a series of scrolls ~ 3fl 314003, 4:45 PM ~' 8 ' V1 E"^y M ` r ~( l J