May 29

How to Promote School and Workplace Safety during COVID-19

By Education, Floor Graphics, Hospitality, Retail, Signs, Sneezeguards No Comments

The best way to ensure that staff, customers, visitors, and students follow COVID-safe hygiene and social distancing practices at your location is to keep safety at the top of everyone’s minds.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that American businesses and schools:

Post signs in highly visible locations that promote everyday protective measures and describe how to stop the spread of germs (such as by properly washing hands and properly wearing a cloth face covering)
Install physical barriers, such as sneeze guards and partitions, particularly in areas where it is difficult for individuals to remain at least 6 feet apart (e.g., reception desks)
Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signs on walls, to ensure that staff, customers, and children remain at least 6 feet apart in lines and at other times (e.g. guides for creating “one way routes” in hallways)

Because NGS is committed to your safety, we’ve created a new line of social distancing and safety signs, sneeze guards, floor tapes, and decals to help your school or business get back on track safely and quickly.

Introducing Safe at Work and Safe at School Packages from NGS

There’s an easy way for you to stay Safe at Work and Safe at School: rely on turnkey graphics packages and premium sneeze guards from NGS!

Graphics Packages

The Safe at Work and Safe at School packages include turnkey social distancing and safety graphics, which help to educate your staff and customers, students and visitors – and remind them of current health and hygiene practices at all times.

Like you, our goal at NGS to get your location reopened safely and quickly. To speed your reopening, NGS offers a range of tailored base packages you can choose from, including:

School safety educational series – with CDC-approved posters!
Business office / kiosk / customer-facing area safety
Back of house or F&B staff-only area safety
Elevator safety – with swab instructions!
Drive through, takeout, and pickup safety
Cafeteria or quick service restaurant (QSR) safety
Bathroom hygiene and safety – with step-by-step handwashing instructions!
Front entrance safety and notifications
Retail safety
Commercial building safety
Gas station safety
Safety walk graphics
Vehicle graphics – with removable, reflective social distancing graphics!

Most packages include social distancing instructions, hygiene reminders, off-limit area notifications, and clear instructions and signage that help students, parents, customers, contractors, employees, and visitors feel confident, safe, and secure at your location.

Safe at Work and Safe at School graphics packages from NGS range from single $5 a-la-carte graphics to packages ranging from $22-$150 and include:

Wall, glass, and countertop stick-on decals that don’t damage surfaces and can be removed easily
Durable floor decals and tapes that withstand scuffing from thousands of footsteps and help prevent slips and falls
Curated “best practice” sizes and shapes with clean and easy-to-understand messaging
Fast shipping and turnaround

Volume pricing is available on all graphics packages, and you are welcome to mix and match your safety and social distancing graphics with optional package add-ons that help you fit the needs of your unique space exactly. TIPS members receive an additional 10% off graphics and Sneeze Guard products.

View your graphics options

Sneeze Guards

Enhance classroom and workplace health and safety with Essential or Premium Sneeze Guards at your school or organization. These attractive transparent physical barriers are made of crystal-clear and durable acrylic or polycarbonate and block the transmission of airborne pathogens, including contagious COVID droplets, flu viruses, and the common cold.

Sneeze Guards are essential to safety in area where social distancing is difficult, such as:

Densely packed workspaces
Call centers
Conference rooms
Cash registers
Shared tables
Classrooms

Why Choose NGS Premium Sneeze Guards?

Great question. At NGS, protecting people is our mission – and we understand that long-lasting, permanent safety solutions must also reflect your business’s high quality standards.

To be honest, there are a lot of ugly, hard-to-use, painfully temporary sneeze guards out there. You’ve seen them, and you probably don’t like them much. Sure, they get the job done when it comes to safety… but their stark, utilitarian setup is a brutal reminder of the pandemic.

NGS Premium Sneeze Guards are designed with your student and staff comfort in mind. NGS Sneeze Guards are unobtrusive, elegant, and attractive – and easy to install with the highest stability of any sneeze guard because they’re mechanically fastened to your walls or top surfaces of your tables or counters. (We offer removable ones too!)

NGS Sneeze Guards are the finest, longest-lasting sneeze guards available, with the smallest possible footprint, and they come in multiple models, such as:

Full frame for walls or flat horizontal surfaces
Wall mount for vertical surfaces on counters, desks, and tables
Transaction pass-thru window design to fit paperwork, payments, or merchandise
Stand-alone for classroom desk setups

Frames on most Sneeze Guards are made of heavy-grade anodized aluminum, available in dark bronze or silver, and their modern, slimline design makes them the perfect solution when you need year-round protection that doesn’t get in the way.

View your sneeze guard options

Interested in a setup that wasn’t in the brochure? We’ll be delighted to help you design your custom configuration that meets your precise needs. Sneeze Guards are priced at $28 – $102 each and TIPS members receive an additional 10% off Sneeze Guards. Due to potential shipping delays, sneeze guards may require a 1-4 week turnaround.

Trust NGS, the Experts in Safety

At this point, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Health and safety experts predict at least another year of required COVID-safe practices – perhaps many more months or years.

But you can’t wait that long.

At your school or workplace, the time to start promoting healthy habits, including hygienic and social distancing procedures, is right now.

For more than a decade, NGS has focused on protecting schools and businesses with security glass and window film, balancing the needs of your operations, your staff, your visitors, and your students to help you maintain smart, effective, secure solutions that promote wellbeing and safety at all times and in all areas of your building. Protecting people is our mission.

The turnkey Safe at Work and Safe at School packages from NGS deliver convenient, cost-effective safety solutions that help you reopen the right way – with the proven quality and durability you can trust to help maintain health at your school or business for as long as it takes.

Be Safe. Stay Healthy. Shop our Safe at Work and School Graphics, Sneeze Guards, and Packages on our online site today!

Shop Now

Feb 10

Love0

Clean open-concept lobby with geometric vinyl wrapped wall and with blue and grey chairs and white table featured in bottom right corner

Lobby Design and Redesign on a Budget

By Architect or Engineer, Architectural Film, Commercial Property Owner, Customers, Decorative Film and Branding Graphics, Floor Graphics, Installation Services & Programs, Retail, Wall Wraps and Graphics No Comments

“Never judge a book by its cover.” It’s a common saying, one you’ve probably heard your whole life. It’s good advice, but it doesn’t change the fact that first impressions do matter, especially when it comes to your business. Your lobby is the first physical touchpoint your customers have with your building beyond its exterior, and lobby design matters. It’s the place where they make their first impression. As a business owner, you know how much that first impression matters.

If your lobby is feeling a little dated and you’re considering an expensive remodel that will take valuable time away from your business, there are other options available to you that can make your lobby feel brand-new and nail that all-too-important first impression without completely remodeling. Wraps and window films can refresh and transform the appearance of your lobby and can be applied to walls, floors, ceilings, your receptionist’s desk, casework, doors, windows, and more.

The Bottom Line: Architectural Wraps Save Time and Money

If you’re thinking about undergoing a full or partial lobby remodel, chances are your business’s main welcome area will be overrun by demolition, construction, and installation crews for days, weeks, or months depending on the scope of the project. Often, this is completely unnecessary and far more expensive than simply refreshing your lobby by updating its aesthetics with window film, wall graphics, and surface graphics. Spruce up the surfaces in your lobby with textures, patterns, and creative designs to create an engaging, modern space where customers feel welcome, for a fraction of the price of a full remodel. You don’t need to spend a fortune to create a “wow” factor.

Our service teams are minimally intrusive, and take far less time than a full remodel. Keep your business functional while our expert service crews apply wraps and films to transform your space. We will even come in during closed hours – depending on the project size, we can completely transform your lobby overnight!

Better for the Environment
Architectural wraps like 3M DI-NOC and Belbien are eco-friendly. Refreshing your lobby with architectural wraps uses far fewer materials than tearing your lobby apart, throwing away the old materials, and replacing them. Plus, the next time you need a refresh, it’s as easy as putting on a new wrap!

Wraps and Films Improve Lifespan As Well As Appearance
Not only are wall wraps an affordable way to refresh your lobby’s appearance and give it some character, they also protect your existing surfaces from further damage and normal wear and tear.

Use Architectural Film to Add Color or Texture to Make Your Lobby Stand Out
Architectural films and wraps allow you almost unlimited options to customize your lobby’s interior. Metal, stone, and wood textures are only a small selection of our offerings and are nearly indiscernible from the real thing. Floor graphics, wall graphics, and even ceiling graphics can help you create an engaging space that will wow customers as soon as they walk in the door. Plus, these graphics can help with wayfinding if your office, hospital, or hotel could use a bit of directions.

Window Film and Window Wraps: Small Changes that Make a Big Impact

Window and film decals don’t need to be full, opaque or tinted window dressings. Sometimes, less is more. Window film allows you to add logos, patterns, or other designs to the glass surfaces in your building. For the more adventurous decorators, or those who need to make glass-walled spaces more private, smart films are available that can turn from transparent to opaque with the flip of a switch, creating a more dynamic space and eliminating the need for blinds or shades.

Contact NGS to discover all the options available to help you refresh your lobby without breaking the bank.

Aug 08

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Student in a classroom learning about school safety

School Safety Window Film Comparison

By Decorative Film and Branding Graphics, Education, Floor Graphics, Safety & Security Films, Window Film No Comments

You’re in charge of school safety and security for your district, which is a heavy responsibility. Ensuring the safety of students, staff, and school visitors from all manner of dangers requires you to think a few steps ahead of potential threats, every day.

You know how important active security measures are (that’s why you run safety drills and why each classroom has a laminated booklet that outlines lockdown and shelter-in-place procedures), but you may not know how effective passive security measures can be.

The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission’s report states that schools should “Design windows, framing and anchoring systems to be shatter-resistant, burglar resistant, and forced entry resistant,” and states that “Resistance for glazing may be built into the window or applied with a film,” so let’s talk about security film, as well as other passive security tactics you can use to keep your district safe.

Shatter-Resistant Security Film

Shatter-resistant security film is one of your best defenses against everything from natural disasters to bomb blasts to intruders. Some of the leading brand names for this type of film include 3M Ultra and TRI-SHIELD.

Check out the active shooter simulation/ demo video conducted with Houston ISD PD & NGS, using with 3M Ultra & TRI-SHIELD!

3M shatter-resistant film and TRI-SHIELD deliver tear-resistant technology with up to 42 micro-layers of protection and frame anchoring systems that:

Prevent glass shatter and flying glass shards or spall, post-impact
Strengthen glass to resist breakage when hit with a weapon
Maintain glass structure, even after eventual breakage, requiring intruders to break all the glass before gaining entry
Buy time. Slow down or potentially prevent entry during an active shooter or forced entry event

It’s important to note that shatter-resistant film is not shatterproof. There is no such thing as shatterproof security window film. Instead, many schools use extremely strong, breach resistant Riot Glass which relies on an attractively invisible rail mounting solution for virtually shatterproof polycarbonate windows.

Privacy Window Film

Decorative privacy window film and one way privacy window film create safe zones that block a potential shooter’s view into classrooms and other indoor areas – without blocking natural daylighting.

Innovative film solutions such as 3M Fasara and 3M Mirror Film support student, staff, and visitor safety because they:

Obscure the view into classrooms, activity areas, and administrative zones
Maintain a modern, welcoming façade with solid security
Prevent successful sniper attacks by blocking exterior views

For privacy on demand, today’s school safety supervisors are increasingly choosing smart film, which transforms glass from clear to opaque with the tap of a button.

Wayfinding Graphics

In an emergency, your #1 task is to get students, staff, and visitors to safety. Wayfinding floor graphics and wayfinding signage graphics can help direct everyone to safe zones protected by shatter-resistant film and privacy window film.

Wayfinding graphics are especially useful in district administrative or activity buildings because these areas host guests who are unfamiliar with these buildings’ security drill procedures.

Leading wayfinding products such as 3M Envision and 3M Controltac help ensure safety because they:

Can be placed anywhere – walls, windows, glass, or floors
Adhere to outside surfaces, such as playground equipment, blacktops, and sidewalks
Provide clear safety directions that help to maintain order in chaotic situations

To enhance security, a graphic installation expert can apply durable overlaminates that make your graphics anti-skid, as well as reflective in low light situations.

Get the Right Window Films for School Safety

Modern security film solutions for schools are effective, affordable, durable, and come with a fast installation process. In addition, many security window films can be combined with energy-efficient film solutions that deliver cost-saving benefits.

Not sure which films you should choose to secure your district’s schools, activity buildings, and administrative complexes? Get more information on how you can build your school safety plan checklist with NGS, the nationwide film installation experts.

Nov 07

Love1

5 Ways Floor Graphics Can Help Your Business

By Floor Graphics No Comments

When it comes to signage and graphics, some companies haven’t yet realized how to take full advantage of all their options.

Many successful companies have already discovered the benefits of commercial graphics for their business. All these companies have different needs and therefore use their commercial graphics in different ways, mostly limited by their window and wall space. However, these organizations are still missing out on one of the most used and overlooked places on their property – the floor.

That’s right, the ground that everyone walks on (and also inspects carefully to ensure a clear path ahead) can be used as the answer to many of your messaging and advertising needs.

What fits perfectly on your floors? Floor graphics.

What Can Floor Graphics Do for You?

Regardless of your industry or field, every business investment comes down to one thing: What can it do for you?

Well, quite a lot, actually.

Much like other signage options, the benefits are really only limited by your company’s unique needs. What works for one company and solves multiple issues might be completely useless for another simply because it doesn’t apply.

However, there are always certain things that all businesses are in need of.

Here are 5 ways that floor graphics can help your business:

Attention

Competing for the public’s attention isn’t as straightforward and easy as it used to be. With all the ways that people’s attention has been divided, successful businesses need to be creative in their approach. Floor decals are a great way to draw attention to and move foot traffic toward a new product or sale event.

Directions

Every workplace has areas where floor graphics would be useful for directional purposes. It may be an area that you need to signal as high traffic, or it may be that you want to set up convenient directions to move your customers through your building. Using floor decals can help daily operations run more smoothly.

Organization

Space is always in demand. How could things be different if you had more room to work with? One of the major benefits of floor decals is that they fit practically anywhere, and they don’t waste your valuable floor space like standing signs, posters, or displays do.

Low Cost

Price is always an issue when it comes to a business transaction. You want to make sure you’re always getting a good ROI. With minimal upfront investment and lasting durability, floor graphics work out to be an easy, low-cost signage and marketing solution because they’re highly effective and meet a wide range of needs.

Safety

Every workplace on the planet should strive for a safer work environment. The good thing is, most of them do. However, most of them don’t realize how much eye-catching floor decals could help their unique situations. Sending warnings, sectioning off areas, or keeping traffic areas clear are only a few of the safety applications of floor graphics in the modern workplace.

NGS’s innovative use and application of commercial graphics has been recognized by successful business leaders across the country as an effective and efficient way to accomplish a number of business objectives. How floor decals can help your business depends on the exact needs of your unique company.

If you’re ready to explore the possible new uses of your floor space, NGS has got you covered.

Find out more about all the ways that floor graphics can help your business when you contact the professionals at NGS.

Floor Graphics