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Cima Network and Custom Finishers produce Regal signage.
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By Bill Lockett
Bill Lockett is president of Cima Network (Ft. Washington, PA), a sign-design and project-management firm.
Regal Cinemas (Knoxville, TN) and its architect, Rodney Sartain Architects (Birmingham, AL), sought to make a splash at their new theatre at the Ithaca Mall in upstate New York. Their goal was to amplify the Regal with 3-D signage and lighting indicative of an entertainment-themed establishment.
The theatre’s exterior features a 30-ft.-tall, single-face blade sign; a 14-ft.-tall, crown logo; and 200 lineal ft. of LED border tubing that outlines of the Regal’s crown quadrants. The interior features a radius marquee and an architectural swoop, perpendicular to the radius, which reads “Tickets.”
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Hatching the idea
Regal’s Kate Kornhaus and Kelly Arnold, the company’s director and assistant director of signage, respectively, selected Cima Network Inc. to manage the project. We started with a preliminary meeting to review the architect’s intent, customer expectations, and the local code and landlord requirements. Cima’s core competencies entail design and project management. We worked directly for Regal on this nine-week project.
A successful project requires a cohesive plan and the right team. We work with numerous qualified vendors. To reduce our clients’ freight costs, we seek local or regional vendors with suitable experience, equipment and operating capacity for our needs. For this job, we hired Custom Finishers Inc. (CF), Levittown, PA, a turnkey shop that fabricates signage, lighting and architectural metal. I worked for CF for three years, where I served as business-development VP, so I’m very familiar with their ability to handle projects of this magnitude.
We brainstormed the best materials to accomplish the task. To illuminate the crown, we used 3M’s Panaflex™ flexible-face material with internal, fluorescent lighting. For energy-efficient, background lighting, we implemented Tivoli LLC’s Tivoflex LED system. To make the channel letters pop, we used EGL 15mm, exposed neon. Keith Denny, Cima Network’s VP, generated renderings for the client to get an accurate perspective of the envisioned final design. He created the renderings using CorelDRAW 10.
Simultaneously, we engaged in dialog with the authority having jurisdiction, the City of Ithaca, and landlord, the Pyramid Mall Group, to prepare for the project approval. After having reviewed the sizes of the signs and customers’ expectations, we chose the materials for the project, and CF generated shop drawings. Once the plan was in place, and the drawings were complete, CF was ready to begin its manufacturing process.
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