If you choose to go on to create a "hard copy" professional sign, please be aware of these pitfalls.

1. A permanent sign will cost money, and cannot be changed afterwards. Therefore, you should choose this option only if you are completely sure the translation(s) are sufficient, correct, and appropriate.

2. A sign manufacturer, no matter how professional, will usually not offer an editing or proofreading service. Very often, a mistake in signage comes not from the translation but from misreading or miscopying the translation in the printing process. This is also true if anyone else, even a secretary, is involved in preparing an in-house sign.

Figure. Example of signage errors at printing stage

Now that a suitable translation has been made for your sign, it is time to create the actual sign. Preferably, a temporary sign should be made first, so that it can be "piloted" on the job, before you spend hard-earned money to ask a company to turn your sign into an immutable physical reality.

There are many way to make temporary signs.

1) Use word to arrange a sign with borders, word art, enlarged fonts, etc. Here are some examples.

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2) Use an online sign-making website to generate your sign. Two such sites are:

① makesign.com

These have the advantage that you can order professional versions of the signs later when you are ready to commit yourself to the sign. These companies are ready to help and will ship to Japan.

① makesign.com