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Sign Materials

There too many materials that signs could be made from to list them all. Below, are the most commonly used materials with information about them to help you make a choice for your next sign. Talk to us and we can determine from our experience the right materials for your project.

Acrylic | Aluminium | Coreflute | Dibond | Foamex | Polycarbonate | Signwhite Steel | Weathertex™ | Vinyl

Acrylic

Sometimes called Perspex, which is a brand name for one form of acrylic sheeting.
Acrylic is a thermoplastic manufactured as cell cast sheet, continuous cast and extruded sheet. Acrylic is one of the most scratch resistant of the thermoplastics. Available in Clear, White, Black, Translucent Opal (for illuminated signs) and a limited range of colours, acrylic sheeting is available in several thicknesses ranging from 1mm to 20mm plus thicker by special order. There is also a green edge clear acrylic that looks very much like glass.

Physical Attributes:
Excellent optical clarity
Ten times the impact resistance of glass
Good weather-ability
Can be cut and shaped by router or laser
Super gloss finish
Can be painted
Lends itself to many interesting lighting effects
Can be moulded to shape
Can be glued and welded

Available Sheet sizes:
Standard sheet: 2440mmx1200mm
Standard oversize sheet: 2490x1830mm and 3050mmx2030mm (up to 6mm)
Continuous Cast available on special order up to 2540mm (8 ft) wide on rolls 180m (600 ft) long,
max 4.5mm thick.

Sign uses:
Acrylic is perfectly suited for signs and letters, display shelves and cases, plus many other applications as a glass substitute.

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Aluminium

Available in sheet form and many extrusions from simple angle to complex lightbox extrusion.

For signmaking the alloy normally used is 5005 or 5251, a general purpose alloy 5005, is stronger than pure Aluminium and easy to weld. Alloy 5251 is a medium strength alloy with reasonable ductility although it work hardens very quickly. Alloy 5251 has a high corrosion resistance for this reason it is often referred to as marine grade. Along the coast aluminium is our first choice for sign frames and lightboxes.

Physical Attributes:
Available 1.2mm, 2mm, 3mm 4mm, and 6mm thickness
Lightweight, yet rigid
Versatile
Can be routed or laser-cut
Can be rolled and shaped
Available in a limited range of anodized colours
Long outdoor life

Available Sheet Sizes:
1200x2400mm, 1200x3000mm, 1200x3600mm (most thicknesses)

Sign uses:
Up-market modern signs, long lasting signs. When ever corrosion is likely to be an issue.

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Coreflute

Extruded from polypropylene, this is the ubiquitous ribbed Real Estate sign seen outside many Australian homes. At Signs of Style we generally don’t recommend the 3mm thickness as it tends to be a little too flimsy for external use.

Physical Attributes:
Available 3mm, 5mm and 10mm thick
Lightweight
Economical, ideal for temporary signs
Can be printed
Available in white only, plus 3mm is available in a limited range of colours
Limited outdoor life

Available Sheet Sizes:
1220x2440mm

Sign uses:
Temporary signs such as Real Estate, Exhibition or internal use.

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Dibond

A composite sheet of polyethylene sandwiched between 0.3mm Aluminium sheets. Used in building construction as an exterior cladding for its surface finish, insulating properties Both faces can be signwritten

Physical Attributes:
Available 2mm, 3mm 4mm, and 6mm thickness
Lightweight, yet rigid
Versatile
Can be printed, routed or laser-cut
Can be bent and shaped
Available in a limited range of colours
Long outdoor life

Available Sheet sizes:
2mm, 3mm and 4mm
1250x 2500mm, 1250x3000mm, 1250x4050mm
1500x3050mm, 1500x4050mm, 1500x5050mm, 1500x6250mm
6mm only available in 1500x3050mm and 1500x4050mm

Sign uses:
Up-market modern signs, long lasting signs, or for applications where the appearance of a substantial sign is required, but weight is an issue.

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Foamex

Sometimes referred to as Celluka board, Foamex is a rigid foam PVC board, with smooth faces on both sides and is available in thicknesses ranging from 3mm to 30mm. Foamex is a lightweight material that is easily cut to size or shape. It is a great substitute for weathertex, steel or MDF.

Physical Attributes:
Available 3mm, 5, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24, and 30mm thickness
Lightweight, yet fairly rigid
Versatile
Can be painted, routed or laser-cut
Can be bent and shaped
Available in white only

Available Sheet sizes:
Standard sheet: 2440x1200mm
Standard oversize sheet: 3050x2030mm

Sign uses:
Low cost lightweight signs, great for exhibitions and interior signs. Point of sale displays, signage backboards and cut out letters and logos.

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Polycarbonate

Sometimes called Lexan, which is a brand name for one form of polycarbonate sheeting. Primarily chosen for its strength, over other plastics and widely used in safety applications such as train windows, safety visors and bank teller windows. Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic manufactured as continuous cast and extruded sheet. Polycarbonate is one of the most scratch resistant of the thermoplastics. Available in Clear, translucent Opal (for illuminated signs) and a limited range of colours, Polycarbonate sheeting is available in several thicknesses ranging from 2mm to 10mm plus thicker by special order.

Physical Attributes:
Excellent optical clarity
250 times the impact resistance of glass
Good weather-ability 10 years plus
Can be cut and shaped by router or laser
Super gloss finish
Can be painted
Lends itself to many interesting lighting effects
Can be moulded to shape
Can be bonded

Available Sheet sizes:
Standard sheet: 2440mmx1200mm
Standard oversize sheet: 2490mmx1830mm
Continuous Cast available on special order up to 2540mm (8 ft) wide on rolls 180m (600 ft) long,
max 4.5mm thick.

Sign uses:
Anywhere where vandalism is likely to occur, Polycarbonate is the choice over acrylic. Frequently used in illuminated signs, especially large pylon signs also used for moulded panels on ATM’s and vending machines.

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Signwhite Steel

Signwhite is part of the Colorbond ® range of prepainted steel products from BlueScope Steel. Made from Zincalume ® steel to ensure outstanding anti-corrosion performance coated with a conversion layer to enhance coating adhesion, followed by a baked-on epoxy primer and finished with a durable baked-on exterior grade top-coat.

Physical Attributes:
0.55 mm thick
All the strength and flexibility of steel
Good weather-ability 10 years plus
Can be cut and shaped by router or laser
Gloss finish
Can be painted
Cheapest of sign substrates

Available sizes are:
1220x2440mm sheets or 1220mm wide rolls of several tonnes (very long signwhite sheets are often not practical to handle, and jointing becomes inevitable).

Sign uses:
Signs fixed directly to buildings or as a face over other sign structures. Panels on utility vehicle tray sides.

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Weathertex™

Well known in the building industry as a house cladding material available in many patterned finishes, Weathertex ™ is also available in a smooth finish for the sign industry. Made from high density wood, Weathertex ™ signboard is easily cut and shaped and is ready primed on one side for painting. The signboard comes in sheets 3660mm (12ft) by 1220mm (4ft) and is 9.5mm thick.

Physical Attributes:
Weather proof
Long life (approx. 15 years)
Good dimensional stability
Dense, tough, resists impact
Can be painted both sides after re-priming but only signwritten on one face
Ridged and therefore needs minimal frame support

Sign uses:
Anywhere where flat signs are called for, most suited to painted free-standing signs, but takes digital prints well. Weathertex ™ is easy to cut shapes out of, but not readily adaptable to 3D work. Weathertex ™ signboard is heavy, so whilst it needs little frame support it needs to be anchored securely to a strong structure.

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Vinyl

There is huge range of self-adhesive vinyls available for signmaking.

The main two categories of vinyls are calendared and cast.
Cast generally has an outdoor life of 7 years and is recommended for vehicles, boats and where complex curves are to be adhered to, such as wheel flares on cars. Calendared vinyl is cheaper and normally lasts five years outdoors. Because the calendaring process induces a longitudinal stress in the vinyl it does not conform to curves well, tending to shrink back over time.

Made expressly for vehicle digital wrap signage is conformable vinyl with controltac adhesive this vinyl is made to go around complex contours encountered on vehicles. Another common type of signwriting vinyl is Translucent for lightbox illuminated signs. Reflective vinyls come in four grades promotional, engineering, honeycomb and diamond as you move up the scale the life and reflective ability increases with diamond the best . Reflective vinyl only works when viewed within 5 degrees of the light source. There are printed vinyls (wood grain etc) metallic vinyls these are mylar laminates and have a relatively short outdoor life. There is also Holographic vinyl, frosted glass vinyl and Blackboard vinyl (works much better than paint) there's even a 24 carat Gold vinyl, need we tell you it's expensive.

Available sizes vary according to the type of vinyl but the standard width is 600mm with most available in 1200mm wide and digital media available in widths up to 5m. Most rolls are 50 metre some digital media is available in 100m rolls.

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Signs of Style
4 Kayleigh Drive, Maroochydore,
Sunshine Coast
Queensland 4558 Australia
P: 61 7 5443 2287   F: 61 7 5443 5804