We mostly focus on the printing aspects of sign and display graphics, but there is an essential tool for signmaking that predates inkjet printers, and printing companies that are expanding into signmaking should be aware of the capabilities these types of machines can offer your business. I’m speaking of course about CNC routers.

When most of us see or hear the word “router,” we immediately think of the electronic device that provides WiFi to our home or office. That device derives its name from the verb “route,” as it is routing a signal (in the UK, it is often pronounced “rooter”). A “router” in the signage sense derives from the verb “rout,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “to gouge out or make a furrow in (something, such as wood or metal).” As for the initials CNC, they stand for “computer numerical control”—basically, the automated operating of these machines vs. hand tooling or carving.

CNC routers are the modern equivalent of traditional woodworking.