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Across The Pond We Go – Who would of thought that eh?

By 22nd May 2018fresh news

Tap room signage for craft ale brewer. The chnageable letters in US retro style being placed into letter channels

A little over three years ago we set up readerboards.co.uk, inspired in part by the magnificently vibrant American style changeable letter systems of the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

A readerboard was a visually attractive and colourful letter and track system used to promote theatre shows, and then later adopted by cinemas, drive thru’s, diners, burger joints and off course motels and hotels all across the 52 states of American.

Every sign was individual, expressing the national mood in the states after WW2 of optimism, industry and capitalism. Lights were later added along with back lit boards which has now become the very lasting image of theatre lands in US cities, lighting up the urban night skies.

So when we received a project enquiry from America, we were slightly surprised to say the very least. We know supply in the UK is limited, but hadn’t realised we also had a market over the pond.

Who are Claim 52?

Claim 52 is an American community-scale brewery serving the town of Eugene Oregon, since 2012.  The name reflects the deep roots in the community as well as their humble beginnings as a company.  Claim 52 refers to the donation land claim settled by pioneer William Luckey in what is now part of South Eugene and where the first beer recipes were developed.

While the micro brewery has grown a bit over the years, their mission remains the same:  to bring incredibly flavorful and approachable beers fresh from tank to tap.

With his pioneering spirit and unwavering attention to quality, head brewer, Bryce Fischer achieves a unique take on traditional beer styles like German Kolsch, IPAs, Northwest red ale, as well as a rotation of seasonal varieties.  No matter the style, they look to bring out the shining characteristics of the hops and yeast selected for each batch so every Claim 52 brew is remarkably tasty.

Tap Room Craft Beer Menu Board

An illuminated backboard with sliding US style cinema sign letters being placed into letter tracksA new taproom was being finished off where drinkers could sample the vast array of locally brewed ales, offering the ultimate experience from ‘cask to glass’.

To showcase their portfolio of craft ales, they needed a system that could accommodate regular updates and changes, with beers and ales coming on and selling out fast, often on a daily basis. To reflect the ambience of the new tap room, it was decided that chalk board just wouldn’t cut it. Their image was of a gently lit bar with the central focal point being an impressive illuminated retro style menu board in the style of an american cinema sign from the 1950s to reflect the heritage that Claim 52 can boast. This was hoped to literally light up the bar.

Readerboards

After many a search without luck in America, Claim 52 turned their attention outside of America, and after a brief conversation with others in the Craft Ale market, Bryce and his team found us.

Head Brewer setting up tap room cask ale menu baord with retro style changeable lettersAs with all project work we embark on, electronic proofing of the craft ale menu board were produced in various sizes, using the actual beer descriptions that needed to be conveyed in the tap room. Once everyone was satisfied with the layouts, we arrived at LPm 33 as the letter size.

As actual descriptions were available we could also arrive at the amount of letter packs they would most probably need so as not to run out of sliding plastic tiles.

We calculated from these proofs how many letter channels were needed, their exact length and off course how much tracking, taking into consideration this was to be in kit form and easily assembled with minimal fuss. Finally, readerboards produced dollar signs especially for this commission and whilst at it euro symbols as well. The final order also contained red letters.

Ordering Process

Since the beginning of 2018, readerboards has been available on the evolving e commerce platform supported by paypal and a systems partner, Webinterpret, collectively known as glopal. This enables users on the readerboards website to not only visit the store from overseas in their language, but buy in their own local currency as well. In this case it was US dollars. The shipment when received at a national depot in UK is managed exclusively by paypal there after.