Monday, October 26, 2026
Make It or Send It Out?
Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine: For many sign and graphics shop owners, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes with producing a job entirely in-house. From the initial design to the final installation, having control over every step of the process can make it easier to maintain quality, meet deadlines and keep customers happy. However, just because your shop has the equipment and expertise to complete a project doesn’t necessarily mean producing it yourself is always the smartest business decision.
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2 comments:
When it comes to choosing whether to make something or sending it out the way businesses do. I think that experience is really similar to the tug of war struggle designers face. So many designers have a vision for how a show is supposed to look and more often than not designers are very protective of those artistic visions and feel a maternal ownership to them. As a designer in high school I designed and built my sets, it feels weird to me to design something and then let it go. There is this subconscious lack of trust when it comes to anyone handling my artistic vision that is not me. But in a larger theatre world you do not get to hold on to design every minute of the day, you have to let it go to the shops and fellow designers. Having trust in people we do not know very well to build or create the things we design can be a very difficult process.
This is a very insightful article beyond just the sign making industry, and can honestly be applied to a huge number of things, from high school robotics to many branches of industrial manufacturing, to, of course, theater, which encompasses many of those sectors. I think this most applies to theater scene shops, and particularly automation, advanced rigging, and pyrotechnics, to name a few. Looking at scene shops, particularly small ones, maybe tied to an individual community theater, it almost certainly makes sense to contract out or bring in experts and companies for more advanced equipment, such as stage automation and people flying, because at least for places where employees are paid by the hour, because between equipment and increased labor, it will probably cost more. However, theater does have some somewhat unique restrictions. For one thing, many community theaters are very cost conscious, so they may end up doing it an alternate way (safely or less safely) instead of the professional way; additionally, in more complex union houses, union regulations may dictate who must do what, no matter the practical costs and realities. Also, depending on what you are outsourcing, some companies may not have an understanding of the urgency of theater (Kevin's story about molding). Overall, it is definitely advantageous to always keep outsourcing a mental option when planning.
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