Parc Dudley sign design in Scan2CAD (left) and the final result
The Signs Workshop takes your sign from an idea to a router layout and converts it into a sign you can be proud of.
“Scan2CAD is in daily use and is an essential tool in our efforts to make the very best routed signs available” – Richard Withers.
The Signs Workshop is a small rural business which is a leading UK specialist in the manufacture of quality routed, environmentally friendly wooden signs.
“I think we purchased Scan2CAD in the early 90s” said Stephen Baughn, a director of The Signs Workshop. “I seem to remember the first version we had was on floppy discs.”
The Signs Workshop was part of the Forest Enterprise when it first purchased Scan2CAD. So useful has Scan2CAD proven to be that the Signs Workshop has upgraded to every new release. Now, due to an increase in the number of drawings it receives in the increasingly popular PDF file format, the Signs Workshop has upgraded to the latest Scan2CAD v8 which offers an inexpensive but comprehensive raster, vector and hybrid PDF to CAD conversion capability. It now runs two copies of Scan2CAD Pro on a network.
Based in the forested hills at Coed y Brenin in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, UK, The Signs Workshop has years of experience in the production of a wide range of distinctive timber signs which incorporate complicated logos and colour schemes. It produces grand entrance signs for country parks, house signs, information boards, finger posts, mileposts and way markers, as well as bespoke wooden products and recreational outdoor furniture in a variety of timbers and styles. The signs are manufactured in softwood (Douglas fir) and hardwood (Oak) from sustainable resources.
The Signs Workshop is proud of its “green” credentials. It is fully accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council and achieves a carbon neutral effect by practising sustainable woodland management. Its timber-routed signs are tailor-made to suit local requirements in environmentally sensitive locations where metal or plastic may not be appropriate. It is a long-term supplier to the Forestry Commission and includes among its clients the Countryside Council, RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), local government authorities, as well as corporate and private organizations.
Richard Withers explains how Scan2CAD has assisted this company over the years. “Not long after we started producing signs we realized the need for a system for converting sketches and photographs into vector files we could work with in Licom router software. Clients would come to us with rough pictures or indistinct logos on business cards and ask ‘can you make a sign of this?’ We looked at various types of vectorization software, all costing a lot more than Scan2CAD, and were very surprised that Scan2CAD equalled or outperformed them at a fraction of the price. We’ve stuck with it ever since.
“Scan2CAD is in daily use and is an essential tool in our efforts to make the very best routed signs available” said Richard.
