Trevor Smith
Owner & operator of The SIGNSMITH Ltd.

I started in the Sign Industry in late 1987 in Calgary. I worked in a one-man shop hand painting signs. As a “Sign Writer” most signs were hand-painted back then. I continued to learn the trade for the next couple of years.

In 1989 I took a 4-month course in professional sign painting at BCIT in Burnaby, BC where I expanded my knowledge and work skills of the trade and art of Professional Sign Painting. I started to work on my own as a Sign Painter doing small to big jobs for the next few years until 1995 when I started my company Amazing Signs & Designs Ltd. The technology was changing in the industry and vinyl cutters became the new way to make signs. It involved having a plotter that cut out vinyl letters and then applying them to vehicles, substrates, windows and anything else that you could apply the vinyl to, a much easier and more productive way to make signs. This process of making signs took over a big part of the old hand-painted method that was used for years.

I have always kept up with new technology to better myself and my understanding of the sign industry. Around 2002 a new method started to take over in the industry that involved full-color printing using large inkjet printers, so the sky was the limit. You could print photos, full-color logos, or anything using the computer.

My first inkjet printer was a 30″ wide Roland. In the late 2000s, I went through 3 different printers until finally getting a 64″ wide Roland printer which is still the main printer in my shop today. I have always been a one-on-one person with my customers assisting them with their needs. I work with my customers from designing to completing the job until they are fully satisfied.