Trade Partner: Lance Hill – Asheboro, NC

When he wanted to clean up the “mess” at the Zoo’s ticket entrances – a visitor’s first impression of the park - Lance Hill turned to Slatz.

Here’s why:

The “mess” at this beautiful North Carolina Zoological Park had to do with the hodgepodge of paper notices on all the ticket booth windows: park rules, credit card info, emergency regulations, hours, etc.

LH: All this stuff pasted to the windows looked bad. We decided that since everybody had to pass by the columns on the approach to the Africa and North America exhibits that we would put the info there to make it more accessible and clean up the booths.

While the square columns were easy to work with, he needed to fashion an aluminum framework that clamped onto the round columns to support the signs.

LH: Once the frame was set, we mounted Slatz Sidetrack on either edge to frame-out the sign face – a custom panel. We extended the front and back faces about 3/4" on each side so they overlapped the left and right sides. We then used quarter round to finish off the edges for a full frame look.

The pole signs coordinate with the new installation Lance designed for over the ticket booths. He used a combination of Slatz extrusions and custom panels to deliver ticket and hours information.

LH: The old signs had vinyl prices and time listings. Any time we needed a change, we had to peal off the old and that left ghosting issues and old adhesive. It was generally a pain and looked bad. We wanted something we could change easily without these problems. I have used Slatz for many years so I knew it would work here.

Lance opted to use Slatz engravers for the hours and pricing so that he could change them out easily as park activities required. He simply lifts the Slatz off the end cap and slides out the insert. The extrusion holds engraved material as well as flexible graphics which can be lifted out with a suction cup.

LH: We also had a need for signage that would let visitors know which animals would be out on a given day. For that we used the engraver insert signs in a directory format mounted on a backer that we placed in a large planter.

The same approach he took is available in the new Slatz CAPTURE system of paper and engraved insert extrusions. It allows sign makers to provide complete flexibility for message changes and graphic inserts as seen in the planter photo.

Why did Lance choose Slatz?

LH: I have been in the sign business for nearly 25 years. I have used Slatz for many, many applications here and in previous places where I have worked, -- for directories and donor panels and many other applications. They are just wonderful.

What do we at Clarke Systems like about what Lance did with Slatz?

Lance showed how a basic system of aluminum extrusions and plastic clips, mixed with creativity and imagination, can yield colorful and exciting signs with a customized look to meet almost every need. The signs are fun yet functional and complement the already appealing environment of the Zoo.

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS
Let us know what you’ve been doing with Slatz, Info Panel or our other products. Send your photos and background info to news@clarkesystems.com.