Signs & Large Format Print
Timeline: from the fit-out to the first month
The opening is the only moment when the whole neighbourhood is curious about what is going on behind the covered glass. It would be a shame to waste it. This is how we plan it with clients opening a shop, café, salon or clinic:
- 6 weeks before – decisions and design. Set the opening date, the launch offer and the budget. Commission the design of the materials – one visual for every medium. Order the sign or light box, because with installation it takes up to approx. 14 days, and sometimes the building owner's or local authority's consent is also needed.
- 4–5 weeks before – announcement. Cover the window with vinyl saying 'Opening soon', with the logo and date. Set up a Google Business Profile and an event page on social media. If the premises are on a busy street, hang a banner with the date on the fence or facade.
- 2–3 weeks before – printing. Flyers with the opening offer, vouchers, loyalty cards, an A-board, a roller banner, feather flags. Printing normally takes approx. 3 working days, but do not leave it to the last minute – if the design changes, you have time for corrections.
- A week before – distribution. Flyers through letterboxes and to neighbouring businesses, posters at local venues, invitations for neighbours and local business owners. Install the sign and remove the announcement vinyl if the premises are ready.
- Opening day – visibility. Feather flags and an A-board by the entrance, a roller banner inside, vouchers to hand out, someone inviting people in.
- A month after – consolidation. Ask for Google reviews, hand out loyalty cards, a follow-up flyer with an offer for those who have already visited. Check which discount codes came back.
A covered shop window is the cheapest billboard
A fit-out takes several weeks, and in that time hundreds of people a day pass the premises. Instead of newspaper taped over the glass, it is worth applying a graphic announcing the opening. It is one of the best-spent small sums in the whole campaign.
For the fit-out period we often use grey-adhesive blockout vinyl, which hides the interior completely – just remember it also darkens the room, so we apply it when you want full privacy (if work goes on in daylight, frosted film can be better). It costs approx. €8–14 net per m² printed. A 6 m² window is approx. 6 × €11 = approx. €66 net. If you want the fitters to have daylight, One Way Vision film is the better choice: from outside you see the graphic, from inside you see the street.
What to put on the announcement? Name and logo, what the premises will be (in one word: 'café', 'hairdresser', 'pharmacy'), the opening date or 'opening in March', and your social media address or a QR code. After the opening we remove the vinyl and apply the permanent window graphics.
Materials budget for the opening
| Material | Option | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Announcement vinyl for the window | grey-adhesive vinyl, 6 m² × approx. €11 | approx. €66 |
| Banner with the opening date | 510 g coated banner, 4 × 1 m (4 m² × €13) | approx. €52 |
| Flyers with the opening offer | A5 leaflet, 4 pages, 1000 pcs | approx. €90 |
| Discount vouchers | 55 × 170 mm pads with perforation, 1000 pcs | approx. €75 |
| Loyalty cards | business card size, 4/4, 350 g, 500 pcs | approx. €15 |
| A-board by the entrance | double-sided A1, snap frame with poster | from approx. €90 |
| Feather flags | 2 × Winder Midi 70 × 340 cm | from approx. €150 |
| Total | approx. €540 |
Design comes on top – a simple design for one item is approx. €43 net, and adapting it to further formats approx. €13 net per format. Feather flags, the A-board and the roller banner are not one-offs: after the opening they stay with you for future promotions, and in the A-board you only change the poster. Permanent premises signage (sign, light box, plaques) is covered in signage and print for a new business.
- 01Brief
Description, sizes, site photos and deadline — a few sentences are enough.
- 02Design and quote
Our designers prepare artwork or a visualisation and you get a price.
- 03Approval
You approve the design; for brand colours we provide a proof.
- 04Production
35+ machines in our own plant in Poland: 3.2 m UV print, CNC, laser, 3D, sewing.
- 05Installation or delivery
Own crews and vehicles across Europe, partner network, couriers worldwide.
The opening offer – give people a reason to come
The most attractive materials will not work if they do not say why it is worth coming now. A few proven ideas:
- A discount for the first week – with a code or voucher that lets you count how many people came from the flyer.
- Something free on the first visit – a coffee, a sample, a free consultation, the first stamp on the loyalty card given at the opening.
- An event – a tasting, a demonstration, an hour with an expert, activities for children. People come for the event and stay as customers.
- An invitation for the neighbours – a separate, personal invitation for businesses on the same street and nearby homes. They are future customers and your best recommenders.
One simple offer works better than five different promotions at once. On the flyer and the A-board it should be legible from a few metres away.
The most common opening mistakes
- A sign ordered a week before opening. A light box or 3D letters with installation take up to approx. 14 days, and longer if consent is needed. Premises that open without signage lose their most important days.
- An opening date that keeps slipping. Fit-outs run late. On the banner and window vinyl it is better to write 'opening in March' than a specific day if you are not sure – add the date on the flyers.
- Flyers with no offer and no date. 'Welcome to our new premises' does not say why to come now.
- Everything stops on opening day. The second and third weeks matter just as much – that is when people who heard about the opening from friends actually come.
- No Google Maps profile. Someone sees the banner, checks on their phone, and finds nothing.
If the deadline is tight, tell us the date in your enquiry straight away. 24-hour express printing is possible (approx. 40% of the print value), but with the date given early it can usually be met without it.