Owning your own business can be challenging, rewarding, and exhausting. We all need help when it comes to organizing our daily lives. As a business owner, there’s not much of a difference. In fact, you’re probably dealing with even more. Balancing work and life is hard enough, so how can things be simpler?
Graphic Design Software
If you’re creating your signs, you’re going to need something to do this with. Even if you’re not making them from your idea, you’ll need a way to get ideas into something tangible. There is software available that is specific for sign-making. However, if you’re just starting, you may want to start with Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator. Purchasing a computer or laptop specifically for graphic design may include this software for free.
If you’re not purchasing a computer specifically, you should check out the specs on your current computer. Purchasing something a bit more specific for your sign business may require that your hardware is up to snuff. You’ll need a CPU with at least 6 cores and at least 16 GB of RAM. This is going to set you up perfectly for additional personal finance software advancements.
If you are looking to seriously invest in some fantastic software, we have some recommendations. CoralDraw Graphics Suite and Affinity Designer are some of the top design software on the market. These are pretty compatible with any additional software you may incorporate as well.
Workflow Automation Software
There’s more to sign-making than just design. If you’re servicing customers, you need to be able to organize your customer base, your orders, your materials, and your repairs. Some shop owners may still be using spreadsheets to organize much of this. It’s 2022 and there are more optimizing ways of keeping track of your needs.
To begin, something like Monday.com or Slack will help you with project management. This is internal software to keep your team and yourself on track to fulfill goals. Next, you should look into specifically curated sign software. If you’re printing on large format printers, which you most likely are, then you’ll need to run specific software to help your machinery communicate properly.
Onyx Graphics and Asanti by AGFA are both great places to start. These will help you with an array of tasks that pertain to large format printing. AGFA even works with healthcare industries for radiology and medical imaging. It shows that they are competent in their field but it may mean spending more.
Any Other Incorporated Software
Ultimately, the best software out there is one that incorporates all aspects of your sign printing business. From first contact to delivery – that’s the software you need. But does it exist yet? Well, not entirely. However, you can get software that comes close to simplifying all matters of your business.
SignLab from CADlink is a great tool to use when you have multiple formats you’re working with. It helps to output to printers, cutters, and hybrid devices. EasySIGN is another company that helps integrate cut and print routing and manage production lines. But for something that does it all from start to finish, we haven’t gotten that far yet with sign-making software.
Ultimately, you’ll need a combination of software to help your workflow from start to finish. But it’s not far-fetched to think there will be software like this available in the near future. Every day they are advancing in advertising and marketing. Industries are becoming more innovative and it’s the most beneficial for business owners like yourself.