Interested in the benefits that 3D fabricated letters can offer your shopping centre or commercial building? Signage is vital to catching attention, and informing the public about what they will find when they step through the door, but not all fabricated letters are created equal. You will discover a broad range of materials on the market, but they’re not all the same. Your choice in material will have a significant impact on the durability, visibility, maintenance costs, and even aesthetics of your outdoor signage.
Plastic
Plastic, particularly acrylic, is used for a very broad range of signage needs. However, in most cases, plastic fabricated letters are not well suited to use in exposed locations outdoors. They can be installed under overhangs and in other protected exterior areas, but they’re better suited to indoor use. However, formed plastic letters are made by a process called injection moulding, and can be used as exterior signage for your commercial building.
Metal
Metal is durable, strong, and looks wonderful. You can also choose from a number of different metals, including stainless steel, aluminium, bronze, and copper. You might also choose to go with a specific metal finish. For instance, fabricated letters made from stainless steel can be mirror polished, brushed, or feature orbital finishes. They can also be painted to match your company’s colours, or they might be titanium coated in black-smoke, copper, bronze, or gold if you prefer.
Wood
Wood has been used for business signage since time out of mind, and it still has a role to play today. However, natural wood can be quite heavy and requires significant maintenance over time. A lookalike option is to use high-density fibreboard covered in bonded polymer to give the look and feel of wood, without the drawbacks or high costs.
Metal Laminate
Want the look of metal but not the weight or the cost? Metal laminate signs use a thin layer of metal applied over an acrylic skeleton, delivering reduced weight and lower costs. However, the drawback here is that metal laminate is really only usable with indoor installations and should not be used as exterior signage.
Now that we’ve had a quick look at the materials on offer, how do you choose the one that’s right for you? The truth is that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions here. What may be right for one retail location may be very wrong for another. You need to consider other factors here, such as:
- Your brand
- Your target audience
- The products you sell
For instance, does your business cater to children and families? If so, you’ll want to go a different direction with the look and style of fabricated letters than a retailer that caters to high-powered corporate executives. A company specialising in landscaping materials would likely need very different fabricated letters than an auto repair shop for high-end import sports cars.
The secret is to find an expert designer who understands your brand, your audience, and your goals with interior and exterior signage, and who can create custom fabricated letters that achieves your goals. We invite you to get in touch with Letragrafic Signs to learn more about how we can help your business succeed.
