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[[File:Board x2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Hitchhicking sign made with 2 whiteboards for children.]]
[[Myoto]] has an [http://www.myoto.be/tool/index.html online tool to make a printable sign].
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=== What to write ===
* Think well about what place or text to put on it: use well known places, and sometimes also road names can be used or more humorous phrases (''"I don't stink", "On va pas loin"'').* Use the same font as the route directions- (A sign saying:'ANYWHERE!' might get people laughing but that doesn't mean getting picked up)
* Use contrasting colors: black on brown cardboard is not very good readable for passing drivers, black on white is far more readable
* Use the same font as the route directions for clarity. Orderly signs suggest orderly people - but epic rides won't depend on that! * Write only the initial letters letter in capitalscapital. The human brain detects a word not only by combining a few letters, but also by recognizing the different ascenders and descenders (the heights of the different words). When writing only in capital letters you lose this advantage. That's why street signs respect the upper and lower case.* In general, signs are useful when going out of a city, from which many roads start or if, for example, you have a junction 15 km ahead and you do not want to walk, thus writing ''to the junction''.* Often a big sign just saying ''please'' works wonders. People fall for the politeness if you can't get them to stop with a destination sign.* Know your car number-plates, and you can get away with just writing a few letters - like HRO for Rostock, Germany. (see: Shortcuts)* If you're bad in handwriting (like [[User:EliasExplores|EliasExplores]]), ask people if they can write signs for you. Workers at petrol stations are often surprisingly good artists.
==== Shortcuts ====
Often, you might use shortcuts because they need way less space on your sign. The sense of this depends on what kinds of shortcuts you use. If you just shorten a long name to a shorter, but still logically understandable one (like "Amsterdam" to "A'dam", for example), this is certainly a good idea. In some countries, you could also use the license plate shortcuts to put on a sign, e.g. Germany or Switzerland. This can also be a disadvantage, though, because - sometimes only regional+local people will know them, especially if they don't really seem to make sense on the first look (like "HH" for [[Hamburg]])
==== Use your nationality on a sign ====
If you're hitching in a foreign country, it might be a good thing to express your nationality on your sign. Drivers will think you're more interesting, or will feel sorry that someone who lives that far off has to stand by the road in his country. Also, compatriots will be more likely to pick you up.
For example, [[User:Nathan|Nathan]] and [[User:Rocky|Bob]], who hitched through France had great help writing '2 belges' on their sign. [[User:Guaka|guaka]] was successful with a sign "from Holland" in both [[New Zealand]] and in several parts of the [[United States of America|United States]], once by a Dutch girl living in [[Santa Cruz]], most people were happy to pick him up just because they thought Holland was cool (oh and one guy was smoking weed in the car).
=== How to fabricate your sign ===
Make a sign of a large sheet of brightly colored paper glued to a sheet of cardboard. Cover this with self adhesive transparent book wrap. Now you have a re-usable sign which you can use with a whiteboard marker and clean again with a small towel.
[[File:Img_l_1306483.jpg|thumb|180px|right|[[User:MayaCova|MayaCova]] using was using a white board with considerable success.]]
If you have a chance to plan a long hitchhiking trip in advance, some find using an erasable white board as a sign to be very useful for making big, clear and reusable signs. This sign can be used a lot of times without being cleaned with alcohol, and is resistant to wind and water.
Another possibility is to make a sign out of two small white boards that children use at school. Just join them with enough string so that you can fold those boards like you would close a book. The benefits compared to a single white board are that this sign takes a smaller place when folded (so it fits better in your bag), and that you can write your destination in advance without it rubs out in your bag.
====Reusable sign combined with map====
If you're hitch-hiking long routes (ex. Europe), you can make a reusable sign on bad side (white) of the map. Cover the map with self adhesive tape, and you will have: a waterproof map and reusable sign. For easier cleaning use whiteboard markers.
==== Waterproof, dust-proof document bags ====
==== Print your sign ====
If you have access to a computer with a printer, you can make a quality hitch sign easily then. Since most languages read horizontally, set the page orientation to be landscape but with a size twice long as a normal A4 sheet. For a place name no longer than 9 letters, you can set the font size from 200 to 500 points to fully utilise the page size in one line; longer place names can be wrapped into two lines. Using a tiled printing software, you can print the long page to two sheets. Cut off the short tiling margin of one sheet and glue two sheets together, find a cardboard of same size and use four paper clips to pin the paper onto it, a lightweight wind-resistant hitch sign is ready to use. You don't need a waterproof sign, if you don't hitch in the rain or underwater. The plastic bag idea in previous tips will reduce contrast and introduce reflectivity. In case of that it rains, just wrap your hitch sign with the cling film from kitchen and it will work fine.
[[File:HitchSignPrintHitchhikingSignIrun.JPGpng|thumb|200px|A worked reusable hitch sign print clipped on a cardboard support, with a [[User:EliasExplores|EliasExplores]] proudly showing his sign print roll and a cling filmto get to Irun.]]
[[File:Smileycardboard.jpg|thumb|200px|Even this can work great]]
[[File:Signs.JPG|thumb|200px|Some more examples]]
If you already have a lot of baggage you probably don't want to carry around another square meter of waterproofed cardboard in your backpack. Use what you find and what you can put in the next garbage can!
==== Don't leave your sign lying around ====
Some people argue that leaving your sign lying around on the street gives hitchhiking a bad impression. Make sure to take your sign with you and only dispose it in a garbage can (ideally one for paper and cardboard).<br>On the other hand side, some hitchhikers make sure to leave their signs behind for following hitchhikers to use or at least to see that they're not alone in the world...
== When not to use signs ==
If your destination is really far away, writing it discourages drivers to take you nearer. E.g., if you are in Perpinyà, and you write Valencia in your map, it is unlikely that drivers heading Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Castelló... will stop, leaving you hundreds of miles nearer to your destination. Some hitchhikers think it could be better not to use signs at big crowded petrol stations where it's up to you to ask people, like in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Germany]] on motorway [[petrol stationhitchhiking|petrol stations]]s (and speaking fluent English/German). It's not very likely that holding a sign will help if you can already clearly state where you want to go (and even show it on a map) and that you are hitchhiking.
Others always have a sign. To show it to people while their still in the car and then ask them when they pass by to pay for their petrol. If they don't understand what's written on it they also ask. And I already have it with me when getting out of a car, so people sometimes ask me right away if they can take me... So it's definitely good to have it. It doesn't have any negative effects so why not use it?
For more cities and districts check [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland the list at Wikipedia].
== Examples for Ireland ==
'''Signs for hitchhiking through Ireland:'''
Flying signs for Irish placenames (appears alongside their English placenames on road signs) may net you some success, though this may lead to drivers expecting you to converse in Irish.
If hitchhiking into Derry/Londonderry, stick with your thumbs. The Derry/Londonderry naming dispute may lead to some tension among you and drivers if you write what they view to be the wrong one.
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