BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES / BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE ISA-UK 63 Issue 248 - August / September 2023 email: news@signlink.co.uk Last year, the ISA-UK sponsored the newly-created Printed Signage Award at the UK Graphic Awards, organised by the same team as the Sign Awards. Other ISA-UK Council Directors include Gary Bagstaff of Print Sauce; Jeff Bufton of Signs Express; David Derbyshire of Industry Expert; Linda Edwards of Vehicle Wrapping; Shaun Holdom of Fujifilm; and Robert Lambie of uksignboards.com. The full council meets four times a year and the Association’s activities are organised by committees. Each committee is chaired by a member of the council and includes ISA-UK members and advisors who draw on their own specific knowledge. The Association is also overseen by chief executive officer, Craig Brown. Guidance and Best Practice Over the past few months, the ISA-UK has been making industry headlines as it has been working hard behind the scenes in a voluntary capacity. These council members are made up of industry members from all pockets of signage and graphics. At Sign & Digital UK in April, the presidency of the ISA-UK was handed from Sam Armstrong, owner and founder of signage consultancy Make It Happen, to David Allen, managing director of Allen Signs. Armstrong took on the role of president two years ago with the aim of making the association represent standards, education, and support within the signage industry. When Armstrong took on the role, many big changes were made including restructuring membership fees to make it more affordable and to encourage companies of all types and sizes to become members. Allen who is currently the managing director of Allen Signs, has a wealth of experience in signage thanks to his familyrun business being founded by his parents back in 1965. Allen Signs is a multi-service business that produces an array of signage applications and itself has a long history with ISA-UK stretching back to the early 1970s. Allen says: “My father always believed membership of a recognised trade body was vital to show to customers that he was serious about his business and the service he delivered. “Nearly 50 years later, to take over the presidency of that same association is something I’m very proud to do. To be following in the footsteps of some of the best-known names in our trade is humbling. Like those that have gone before me, I hope I can continue to add value to the association.” Both Allen and Armstrong were recognised at the 2023 Sign Awards in Birmingham in April with Armstrong winning the award for Industry Champion, and Allen taking home the Highly Commended award. on a number of initiatives and events. In February, the Association launched its Best Practice Guides designed to support the sign and graphics industry. Described as a key document for companies working in the sign and graphics sector, the Best Practice Guides are made up of the ISA-UK Best Practice Guide and the ISA-UK Best Practice Guide – Inspection & Maintenance. Both guides are said to reflect the ISA-UK’s commitment to developing and promoting clear and implementable best practice and guidance. Users can access either the full guide for best practice or just the specialist publication for those working within the inspection and maintenance area of the industry. The price for the guides is either £25 for ISA-UK members or £50 for non-members. Craig Brown, chief executive officer of ISA-UK, says: “Best practices are important to ensure work is done correctly. They are simply the best way to do things and are found to be the most sensible way to proceed to help you avoid falling foul of regulations and legislation.” “With regards to the Inspection & Maintenance version, for a variety of reasons, maintenance is one of those topics that is often overlooked or not addressed with potential clients at the time of quote or purchase of signage. “Without trying to state the obvious, external signs in particular are subject and susceptible to the seasonal changes, which put the materials used and the structures they are mounted onto through various states of stress.” With this in mind, Brown explains that as a minimum, regular inspections should be recommended to the client, especially after extreme weather. “This isn’t always the easiest subject to broach with clients, so in an effort to address the issue the ISA-UK has put together the ISA-UK Best Practice Guide Inspection and Maintenance, hopefully to help give some pointers,” Brown adds. Partnerships & Collaborations This summer, the ISA-UK also announced a new Commercial Partner in ArtSystems with the company announcing a series of events to support and promote the Association. Nottingham-based specialist systems distributor, ArtSystems will offer information and education days to ISA-UK members including practical help on movthe ISA-UK was founded as the Master Sign Makers Association 1930 ▲ David Allen, managing director of Allen Signs is the current President of the ISA-UK ◄ The ISA-UK sponsored the newly-created Printed Signage category for the UK Graphic Awards 2022
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