Trump Airport Rebrand Brings Signage Printing Windfall to Print Shop
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When John D.L. Johnson first caught wind that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis planned to rename Palm Beach International Airport after President Trump, he realized that a whole lot of new work was headed his in-plant’s way. The Palm Beach County Graphics Division has, after all, been printing signage, forms, stickers and more for the airport for years, and enjoys a great relationship with its marketing department.
Assistant Manager Carlos Duenas works on one of the airport signs.
So, it was only natural that the airport turned to his in-plant to print the scores of new signs it will need for this major rebranding project. One of them has appeared in news reports around the world.
“When this whole project came up, we had said to them, ‘we're here, we're ready, we can help you with pretty much just about anything [you] need,” says Johnson, manager of the 11-employee Greenacres, Florida, shop.
That has turned out to be a lot.
Johnson realized the scope of the work after walking through the airport on his way home from the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association 2026 conference with Assistant Manager Carlos Duenas.
Nathan Smith laminates a sign.
“We counted dozens of signs just walking from our gate to baggage claim,” he says. “So, there will be hundreds of signs to replace both inside and outside.”
The airport has ordered around 200 signs so far, he says. Duenas and operators Nathan Smith and Roberto Miranda have been hard at work printing them out on the in-plant’s 65” Roland TrueVIS VG-640 printer/cutter and applying UV lamination with a 65” GBC Spire III laminator. The vinyl adhesive material is then mounted to coroplast, foamcore, and aluminum, before being turned over to airport staff for installation.
Roberto Miranda laminates one of the panels for the airport highway sign.
The Palm Beach County Department of Airports estimates it will cost $5.5 million to make the name change, with $2.75 million of that coming from the state budget. Some of that money will go to the in-plant to produce a variety of signs: wall and window graphics, A-frames, traffic signs, and more.
The completed sign perches above the road leading to the airport.
The largest and most visible sign the in-plant has printed so far was the overhead highway sign welcoming people to the airport. It comprised seven 4-ft.-wide panels, each 12 ft. high with a total width of 28 ft.
The airport maintenance crew removed the seven panels from the existing overhead sign structure, flipped each panel over, and cleaned the bare-aluminum side. The new graphics were applied there. The in-plant will continue to repurpose the old signage like this to save money.
Panels laid out in the airport maintenance area.
The new background was produced on 3M reflective material that had been flood-printed dark blue. The white lettering was cut separately from vinyl on the Roland cutter and then applied across the assembled panels. Wherever the lettering crossed a seam, the vinyl was carefully trimmed so the panels could be separated for installation. Once the graphics were complete, the maintenance crew riveted them onto the overhead sign structure.
Crews prepare to install one of the panels of the highway sign.
This sign has appeared in multiple national news reports, something that makes Johnson very proud of his team.
“That was pretty exciting,” he says. “It was on the local news, it was on the national news. It's even on the front page of the Palm Beach Post newspaper. And social media is blowing up with that.”
Johnson views this signage project as part of the in-plant’s contribution to the Palm Beach community, similar to other projects the in-plant has had a hand in, such as mailing face masks during COVID and printing medical labels for the fire department.
Other airport signage printed by the in-plant.
“This is why I come to work every day, because I know what I'm doing is contributing to our community,” he says.
The high visibility this airport project is bringing to the Graphics Division’s work is also increasing the in-plant’s credibility, Johnson maintains.
“The more involved you are with the ongoing activities of your departments that you're supporting, the stronger your bond is with the organization,” he says.
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Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited 200 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
