Steve Clarkson
10-14-2012, 12:40 PM
I was approached by a guy that does snowplowing and he is looking for a way to put his business name on the stakes that he puts on driveways........my warm weather friends probably have no idea what I am referring to!
Currently, he uses unfinished wooden stakes (probably 1.5" x 1.5") but there are the thin round metal ones available too.
The stakes need to handle extreme weather (-20 degrees F) and abuse (they are generally pounded into the ground with a sledge hammer, so the tops are often damaged). It would be nice if his logo could be glow in the dark or reflective and it would also be nice to have his name on all four sides.
I Googled "snow plow stakes" and couldn't find anyone that makes branded ones.
Since they are wood, I could engrave them individally (he needs hundreds) but it would be expensive and time consuming.
I was also thinking that I could cut a wooden stake into 6" sections and engrave those sections and he could attach the block to the tops of the other stakes. But again, engraved wood is not reflective.
The most reasonable cost might be to make a stencil that he could spray paint with reflective paint.
I could use Rowmark (let's say red/white) that is 6" x 1.5" that he could attach to each side with screws. Then when a stake breaks he can remove it and attach it to another stake. I also thought about two pieces of Rowmark glued back to back with a "tube in the middle so that a bolt or really large nail could slide through......the bolt/nail could be hammered into the top of the stake and then the Rowmark piece could freely rotate......if you can picture that.
I thought about having them screen printed, but unfinished wood doesn't screen print well, does it?
Would a vinyl "wrap" work? Does vinyl stick to unfinished wood?
If we can come up with a cost effective way to get a company name/logo on snow plow stakes, it's a huge market.
Any and all ideas are welcome!
Currently, he uses unfinished wooden stakes (probably 1.5" x 1.5") but there are the thin round metal ones available too.
The stakes need to handle extreme weather (-20 degrees F) and abuse (they are generally pounded into the ground with a sledge hammer, so the tops are often damaged). It would be nice if his logo could be glow in the dark or reflective and it would also be nice to have his name on all four sides.
I Googled "snow plow stakes" and couldn't find anyone that makes branded ones.
Since they are wood, I could engrave them individally (he needs hundreds) but it would be expensive and time consuming.
I was also thinking that I could cut a wooden stake into 6" sections and engrave those sections and he could attach the block to the tops of the other stakes. But again, engraved wood is not reflective.
The most reasonable cost might be to make a stencil that he could spray paint with reflective paint.
I could use Rowmark (let's say red/white) that is 6" x 1.5" that he could attach to each side with screws. Then when a stake breaks he can remove it and attach it to another stake. I also thought about two pieces of Rowmark glued back to back with a "tube in the middle so that a bolt or really large nail could slide through......the bolt/nail could be hammered into the top of the stake and then the Rowmark piece could freely rotate......if you can picture that.
I thought about having them screen printed, but unfinished wood doesn't screen print well, does it?
Would a vinyl "wrap" work? Does vinyl stick to unfinished wood?
If we can come up with a cost effective way to get a company name/logo on snow plow stakes, it's a huge market.
Any and all ideas are welcome!