Specify Novacryl® in 5 Easy Steps

Braille room signs have been a necessary component in all public facilities for over 20 years now. While designs and material trends have changed over that period of time, one thing hasn't - the use and diversity of photopolymer to create Braille and tactile signs.

The Novacryl® product line has evolved and now incorporates a variety of industry leading base substrates which enhance the design capabilities of ADA signs. While the product line has expanded, the vandal resistant integral nature of photopolymer Braille and tactile has remained consistent.

Learn how to specify Novacryl® and ensure the industries leading ADA signage material is used in your next project.

Click Here to lean more about specifying Novacryl®.

Novacryl LP Case Study

ASI, CT is a Novacryl Preferred Fabricator and recently redesigned a hospital lobby at  Lawrence + Memorial in Connecticut. The project incorporated Novacryl LP photopolymer to enhance the interiors design. Below is a description of the project provide by Sara Myers at ASI, CT.

Lawrence + Memorial, located in New London, CT, is a not-for-profit, general, acute care, private hospital that has been serving this region since 1912. They are licensed for 280 beds and provide patient care to medical, surgical, pediatric, rehab, psychiatric and obstetrical patients.

They are expanding in their community/region and last year completed a lobby renovation project that included new wayfinding and room ID signage in the main hospital lobby.  They had toured several other local medical facilities and knew that they wanted a more comfortable, inviting feel to the space for patients, visitors, and staff entering the facility.  The committee working on signage included staff from marketing/branding, patient experience, and facilities.

They asked ASI to offer ideas based on the materials and colors they chose.  We came up with a design that was based on using a wood laminate product that could be incorporated into ADA-compliant tactile room signs as well as serve as base panels for the directory and directional signs.  Our goal was to keep the signage simple and effective, and complementary to the new lobby interior design.

We continue to work with L+M on variations of these signs for other hospital areas and satellite facilities, all using some form of Nova product for tactile signs.

Sign Up for FREE and Enter To Win!

Have you registered for the ISA International Sign Expo 2013 yet? The tradeshow will be held on April 4-6, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

Register using the link below to be entered in a drawing for a $250.00 Visa Gift Card. The drawing will be held on Saturday April, 6 during the Expo. If you are not on the show floor Saturday don't worry as the gift card will be mailed to you. The offer is only valid for those who register using Nova's link or exhibitor code 30349.

Click her to Register Now

Order 3form Sheets Today

Our Novacryl ECR Series of photopolymer incorporates 3form ecoresin as the base substrate. Over the years we've built an extensive inventory of ECR sheets and raw 3form panels. All the sheets are cut to 19"x24" and are available to purchase with or without photopolymer.

We recently created a page that lists all our 3-Form Stock Sheets that do not have a photopolymer layer and can be used for any purpose - samples, back plates, accent elements etc. The list will get updated on a monthly basis and the quantities are subject to change based on availability.

Please contact us with question and inquiries after you view our current 3form inventory.

LEED® Gold Case Study

Inpro Corporation recently completed a sign project for a Fairfield Inn and Suites in Baltimore, Maryland. The hotel achieved LEED® Gold Certification making it the only hotel in Baltimore with this status. Novacryl® Photopolymer was chosen for the Braille signs because of the recycled content among the other advantage posed by using Novacryl®.

This Case Study was published in CRM Magazine. To subscribe www.inprocorp.com/CRM

An Eco-friendly Fairfield Inn

The Fairfield Inn and Suites, located on the site of the former Baltimore Brewing Company near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, is the first of its kind.

From the heat-island reducing roof, to the courtyard lawn made from old tires, to the staff uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles, the Fairfield Inn in downtown Baltimore is green … really green. And when certification is complete, it hopes to be Baltimore’s only LEED® Gold hotel.

InPro photopolymer signage helped make this Fairfield Inn green.

“We began the design discussion around a plan to simply build a ‘green’ hotel,” said General Manager Patrick Leary. “But when we weighed the benefit of going for a LEED certification, we decided to go for the Gold.” Certification of the Fairfield by the U.S. Green Building Council should be complete in January 2010.

The Fairfield Inn and Suites is located in the urban core of Baltimore, Maryland. City leaders are focused on revitalizing its neighborhood commercial corridors. The hotel is on President Street on the western edge of the Jonestown neighborhood, bordering dense multi-family residential neighborhoods to the north and east, and the central business district and the Inner Harbor to the west.

The development of this hotel contributes to achievement of the December 2003, Baltimore Inner Harbor Master Plan by Cooper, Robertson & Partners to, “Ensure existing and future development contributes to a dynamic, economically sustainable mixed-use district which contributes to the larger civic realm.”

History
The Fairfield Inn and Suites is located on the Baltimore Heritage Walk, a 3.2 mile (5 kilometer) walking trail through four centuries of American history. Jonestown (now the neighborhood) was established in 1732 and has been a mix of religious, industrial and residential buildings since it was laid out as twenty lots on ten acres on the east side of President Street (originally the Jones Falls).

InPro photopolymer signage helped make this Fairfield Inn green.

In 1787, Thomas Peters built a brewery on a portion of this site, the earliest and largest industry in Jonestown. After construction, he took on Edward Johnson as a business partner. Mr. Johnson later became sole owner of the Brewery and Mayor of Baltimore. In 1814, Mary Pickersgill made the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key’s famous poem that later became our national anthem. The Flag House and Star Spangled Banner Museum, adjacent to the hotel, was Ms. Pickersgill’s home and place of business.

More recently, the site was the home of the Baltimore Brewing Company, famous in Baltimore for brewing DeGroen’s beer. Its grain silo and one of its brewing tanks were salvaged and, together, are being used to collect and store rainwater draining from the roof for landscape irrigation. A focal point of Brewer’s Park, a massive steel arbor was salvaged and has been reconstructed and re-installed in the hotel’s main entrance courtyard.

Sewn into the fabric of the city
The form of the Fairfield building recognizes the traditional scale and massing of the Jonestown neighborhood while also addressing the larger commercial scale of President Street. The hotel comprises the majority of the city block. A single-story ‘building’ forms the southeast edge of the courtyard: connecting the two guestroom wings; opening the courtyard to the sunlight and giving the guestrooms longer views. The green roof of this ‘building’ works with the courtyard and the entry court to manage the site’s storm water. This hotel has 154 guest rooms distributed throughout the complex.

Setting an Example
A moderately-priced “green” franchise hotel can play a pivotal role in educating the many who build, operate and visit. The hotel’s ownership and staff are striving to make this hotel a model of sustainable development and operations. The hotel showcases and explains the environmentally conscious features incorporated into its design and construction during the general manager’s daily tours and in its interaction with every guest.

The breakfast area is lit by solar tracking skylights and looks out onto the courtyard, turf is made of recycled tires and the plants are watered from the re-purposed grain silo/beer brewing tank standing in the courtyard. Guests use greenware biodegradable cups in their rooms, beverage koozies made from recycled material in the Tavern and have opportunities to recycle throughout the hotel. Behind the scenes, employees clean and maintain the building according to their “Green Housekeeping” protocol.

Even the interior signage offers a lower environmental impact. The Fairfield used InPro Corporations’s line of PETG photopolymer signs throughout the facility. InPro’s photopolymer signs use a simple water wash during manufacturing, which eliminates pollution.
Summit Associates, the owner, is working to make this hotel a recognized leader providing a wonderful hospitality experience and a real learning experience focused on sustainable living and development.

A Collection of Signs

As signs become more integrated in the design of a facility, designers and fabricators are continually looking for new and innovative ways to make ADA Braille signs. NovAcryl Photopolymer offers a diverse range of products that can really enhance the design of a facility while ultimately serving the signs purpose of accessible compliance.

We've put together a fun video showing some of the work done by various fabricators and designers . If you have a project you'd like to share please let us know at info@novapolymers.com.

What This Means To You

Congress recently passed the Bill to extend Section 179 and the Depreciation Bonus retroactive as of January 1, 2012 through the end of 2013. This is great news for small business owners and encourages the purchase of equipment and software.

Section 179

This tax deduction allows the client to deduct the purchase price of new or used equipment and software in the year it was purchased and installed as opposed to depreciating the equipment over the life of the asset.  Though as of January 1, 2012 this tax incentive was reduced from $500,0000 to $139,000 and was to be reduced again as of 1/1/13 to only $25,000, Congress has retroactively extended the $500,000 expensing limit from 1/1/12 through 12/31/13.   There are certain limitations that apply including a $2,000,000 cap on total equipment purchased.  Additionally Section 179 may not exceed the taxable income for the year which it is taken.  This means that you are able to write off more of the new equipment you purchased and installed in 2012.

Depreciation Bonus

The first year depreciation bonus (aka “ Depreciation Bonus”) is for NEW equipment only.  After deducting Section 179 for NEW equipment purchased, you would then be able to deduct an additional 50% of the remaining balance for new equipment purchased and installed in 2012.   This benefit was to expire on 1/1/13, however Congress has elected to extend the 50% Depreciation Bonus through 2013.

This is big news for you if you were not able to take delivery of new equipment in 2012 and capture the tax incentives.  Fortunately you will have another year to take advantage of these perks. The tax incentives allow you to write off most if not all of the equipment cost this year which will help you realize a faster return-on-investment and help afford the additional equipment needed to continue growing your business.

Example I:

Cost of Equipment:  $425,000

Tax Deductions for 2013 (Providing it is installed by 12/31/13 and you have not purchased over $2MM in equipment in 2012 or 2013 and has this much in Pre-Tax profits)
Section 179 allows the 1st $500,000 to be deducted:   $425,000…..100% of the equipment cost.

If you are paying taxes at a rate of 39%, that would be a tax savings of $165,750.00.

Example II:

Cost of a Total Equipment Line:  $1,000,000

Tax Deductions for 2013 (Providing it is installed by 12/31/13 and you have this much in Pre-Tax profits)
Section 179 allows the 1st $500,000 to be deducted:  $500,000

Depreciation Bonus:  $250,000

Total Amount that can be Depreciation:  $750,000

If you pay taxes at a rate of 39%, that would be a tax savings of $292,500.

iPad Mini Winner

During the USSC Sign World Show this past December in Atlantic City, NJ, we gave away an iPad Mini as part of a promotional contest. We would like to congratulate Bruce Preston from American Signgraphics, AR on being the winner.

Bruce and his wife Linda run a full service sign shop in Bethel Heights, AR.

Material Supply and Support

In today's economy, partnerships matter if you want to stay in business. Stability in your supply chain along with product and technical support when you need it most are the 2 things that must be expected from a partner.

The sign industry is unique in a sense because we provide products to our clients in commercial building, construction and beyond. Our products are often necessary components for things like building occupancy or a store opening or providing the ability for people to navigate through a facility.

Almost every project is a rush and budgets are always tight. These factors mean that as a sign fabricator, you must rely on your partners for support when things go wrong and more importantly, to provide you with product without fail.

At Nova, we have 4 distribution locations in the US alone and our manufacturing facility is located in Bryan, OH. As a partner of ours, you have complete access to our technical team any time. You also have the ability to talk directly to our engineers when trouble shooting a machine problem along with the confidence of knowing that you can always get a part when needed because support and materials  are a phone call away.

The ability to manufacture our NovAcryl Photopomyer and processing equipment in-house is only the first of the benefits we provide to our partners. The second and equally important benefit we provide our partners with is education.

We believe that education is one of the keys to any successful venture. We are an AIA Continuing Education Provider and have developed many different resources over the years to help educate, train and support the sign industry and the architectural design community on not only our products, but on ADA codes, green building and all the other areas that relate to our business.

Educational Resources

• Video Library - we have produced videos for everything from product training to equipment set up
• Continuing Education - as an AIA/CES provider, we offer courses to the A&D community and our clients
• White Papers - we developed a series of Accessibility White Papers to help clarify the accessibility codes relating to signage
• Webinars - we deliver many webinar presentations throughout the years that focus on ADA codes, green building and more

As we  get into the swing of things here in 2013, take the time to evaluate your partners and make sure you're getting from them what you need to grow your business.

Please CONTACT US for more information on our NovAcryl Photopolymer products or any of our educational programs.

NovAcryl and Matthew Paint Video Now Available

In early October we went to a Matthews Paint training facility in California to shoot a training video that will walk you through the entire possess of painting NovAcryl photopolymer. While the video focuses on painting NovAcryl, the set up, spraying and cleaning techniques will be useful regardless of what material you're painting.

Learn how to clean substrates before painting, how to mix Matthews Paint properly, how to spray including the proper spray gun settings, how a wet film gauge works and how to clean a gun after painting.

Contact us for a FREE wet film gauge or to learn more about NovAcryl photopolymer.