We made custom ADA signs for one of Jaz Entertainment’s clients, XRM Media. These are room identification signs that are code compliant. The base of the sign is 1/2″ thick non-glare clear acrylic. ADA signs use non-glare material to make sure that the signs are as legible as possible. Another requirement is that the copy contrasts with the background. In this case, the backer panel is clear so the copy just needs to contrast with the wall behind the sign. Since the walls were white, we didn’t run into any issues with this requirement.
Each sign has a logo which we reverse-printed onto clear vinyl so we could apply it on the back of the sign rather than the front. In order to make sure that the colors were vivid, we backed the clear printed vinyl with white vinyl. Applying the vinyl to the back of the sign is called second surface application. Second surface application assures that nothing rubs up against the vinyl to make it peel, such as someone touching the sign to read the tactile copy and Braille. The room numbers are tactile and we have Braille on each room sign, per code. The Braille is clear because it does not necessarily need to be seen, you just need to be able to feel it.
For installation, two holes were drilled onto either end of the sign and we mounted them to the wall using satin finish silver standoffs. To install, we simply screw the base of the standoffs into the wall based on where the holes are on the sign, make sure the sign is aligned, and screw the caps on. This makes it easy to replace the sign if needed. If the signs were adhered directly to the wall, the entire thing would need to be pulled off if we needed to update information or replace the sign, which could cause some of the paint on the wall to come off. Another thing to consider is that if we used adhesive to mount a clear sign, you would be able to see the adhesive through the sign.
