Learn About Signs & Industry Terms

An adhesive is a substance used to join or bond two materials together through chemical or mechanical means. It is typically applied as a liquid or as a solid that is activated by heat or pressure. In conservation, a key desirable property of adhesives is reversibility, allowing the bond to be undone if necessary.

Various descriptive adjectives are used with the term “adhesive” to specify particular characteristics, such as:

• Physical (liquid or tape adhesives): These adhesives are applied in liquid form or as tapes. Examples include liquid glues and double-sided tapes, which rely on physical adhesion and cohesion.
• Chemical types (silicate adhesives, resin adhesives): These involve chemical reactions to form bonds. Silicate adhesives, such as sodium silicate, create bonds through chemical reactions with substrates, while resin adhesives (like epoxy or polyester resins) cure via chemical hardening processes.
• Materials bonded (paper adhesives): Specific adhesives designed to bond particular materials, such as adhesives formulated for paper, which provide suitable bonding without damaging the substrate.
• Conditions of use (hot-set adhesives): Adhesives that require heat activation to cure or set. Hot-set adhesives are applied hot and then cooled or cured, suitable for applications needing rapid bonding or specific temperature conditions.

Braille is a writing system that uses a series of raised dots read by touch, enabling people who are blind or have low vision to access printed material. It employs a set of six raised dots arranged in different patterns to represent letters, numbers, and punctuation. Users read Braille by running their fingertips over the dots, and some screen readers output content in Braille format via specialized displays.

There are different grades of Braille: Grade I provides a character-by-character translation of text, while Grade II incorporates abbreviations and contractions—similar to shorthand—to make reading more efficient. Grade II Braille is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act for certain signs and materials.

Engraving is the process of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface by cutting grooves into it. The finished piece can serve as a decorative object—such as engraved silver or gold—or as a component in printing, like an intaglio plate when copper is engraved or a relief print block when wood is engraved.

Engravers use a hardened steel tool called a burin to carve the design into the material.

HDU (High-Density Urethane) is a closed-cell urethane foam produced by pouring proprietary chemicals into a mold, where a chemical reaction causes it to foam. The foam is then cooled into sheets, typically measuring 4 feet by 8 feet, though larger panels and various thicknesses are also available. Different densities of HDU are offered for various applications, including 4, 6, 10, 15, 18, 22, and 30 pounds per cubic foot. Generally, the lower the density number, the softer the HDU.

HDU is lightweight and easy to work with using standard woodworking tools—surfaces can be carved, scraped, routed, sandblasted, or sanded. It is durable, water-resistant, rot-resistant, termite-resistant, and does not require edge lamination, making it a versatile material for signage, sculpture, and other decorative applications.

Ink is a liquid composed of various pigments and/or dyes used to color surfaces and produce images or text. While commonly associated with drawing or writing with pens or brushes, inks are most extensively used in printing applications.

Pigmented inks contain tiny solid particles that remain on the surface of paper, which is advantageous because more surface-bound ink means less ink is needed to achieve a vivid color. This results in efficient, high-quality printing with less ink consumption.

Dye-based inks, on the other hand, are dissolved in the liquid carrier and tend to produce more intense colors at lower densities. However, because dyes penetrate into the paper fibers, they can lead to increased absorption, making the ink less efficient and potentially causing bleeding or spreading at the edges, which can compromise print clarity and quality.

A well-known brand name of engravable phenolic sheet stock is Lamicoid (also spelled Lamacoid). Over time, “Lamicoid” has become a generic term used to refer to 2- or 3-ply laminated engraving materials and the associated nameplates, tags, or legend plates made from this type of stock.

SignsBC Illuminated uses a precision laser engraver to cut and engrave Lamicoid sheets, producing durable, high-quality signs and identification plates.

A laminate is a material made by bonding two or more layers of different or similar materials together. The process used to create a laminate is called lamination, which typically involves sandwiching one material between layers of plastic and sealing them with heat and/or pressure.

The materials involved can vary; for example, placing a plastic film on both sides of a sheet of glass creates a laminated glass, where the plastic acts as the laminate. Similarly, laminating paper—such as photographs—helps protect them from creasing, sun damage, wrinkles, stains, smudges, scratches, and environmental effects.

Pressure sensitive vinyl is the most widely used material in the vinyl sign industry. Once applied, pressure sensitive vinyl appears similar to a custom-painted surface but requires only a fraction of the effort. It consists of a layer of colored, opaque or translucent vinyl with a silicone-coated kraft paper backing and a transparent adhesive layer in between. The kraft paper acts as a carrier and is peeled away after application.

Available in various thicknesses—commonly 2 mil or 4 mil—with 2 mil being more popular due to ease of use and durability, vinyl options include metallic, fluorescent, matte, shiny, reflective, opaque, or translucent finishes. New formulations are continually introduced to achieve different visual effects and improve production processes.

The vinyl is cut using a computer-controlled plotter equipped with a small knife that does not penetrate the backing paper. Unwanted areas of the design are carefully weeded or lifted away, leaving behind the desired graphics. A transfer masking tape is then applied over the cut vinyl, enabling easy handling and application. The backing paper is peeled away, leaving the vinyl image adhered to the transfer tape, ready to be positioned on the target surface.

Once aligned, the transfer tape is removed, leaving the vinyl design in place. Pressure sensitive vinyl can be applied to most smooth, clean surfaces, offering a versatile option for signage and decoration. However, surfaces like rough concrete, brick, latex-painted wood, or plywood are generally unsuitable for vinyl application due to their texture and surface properties.

Calendered Intermediate Vinyl
This type of vinyl typically has a thickness of about 3 mils (thousandths of an inch), with “mil” meaning one-thousandth of an inch. The specified thickness usually refers to the film itself, excluding the adhesive layer, which can add an additional 1 to 2 mils. The manufacturing process involves combining raw materials—resins, plasticizers, stabilizers, pigments—and heating them into a “melt.” This melt is then fed through a calendering machine, which uses a series of rollers. The first set creates the basic thickness, while subsequent rollers control gloss and final dimensions.

The process is continuous: the vinyl is pulled through the rollers under stress, pressure, and heat—similar to stretching taffy—resulting in a stretched, pressed film. Because of this stretching, calendered vinyl has limited dimensional stability; it can shrink back when exposed to extreme heat or cold, causing issues like adhesive oozing, cracking, or peeling. Large-scale manufacturing is required, which limits color variety but allows for economical production—making calendered vinyl a cost-effective choice for many signage needs.

Cast High-Performance Vinyl
Made in thinner 2 mil thicknesses, cast vinyl is produced by pouring a liquid mixture onto a casting roller, then transferring it onto casting paper. Since the liquid vinyl is supported during casting, there’s minimal stress, stretching, or pressure involved, resulting in a more stable, higher-quality film. This process avoids the stretching issues of calendered vinyl, making cast vinyl more suitable for outdoor applications or environments with extreme temperatures.

Cast vinyl’s superior quality means it resists bubbling, fading, and peeling over time, especially under prolonged sun exposure, because it better withstands UV rays. Its manufacturing process produces less shrinkage, splitting, or cracking. Additionally, since cast films are produced on smaller machines, they allow for a wider variety of colors and shorter production runs, offering more customization options.

Choosing the Right Vinyl
Determine whether your signage is for indoor or outdoor use. For indoor signs, calendered vinyl is often sufficient and more economical. For outdoor or long-term applications, especially on uneven surfaces like doors or windows, high-quality 2 mil cast vinyl is preferred because it resists UV damage, fading, and peeling longer.

Cast vinyl’s better conformability and durability come from its superior raw materials and manufacturing process. Its adhesive quality typically matches the film quality—meaning premium cast vinyl adheres better and lasts longer than calendered vinyl with lower-quality adhesives. Conversely, calendered vinyl’s adhesives are more susceptible to moisture, solvents, and sunlight, which can cause signs to yellow, curl, or deteriorate over time.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a widely used plastic and one of the most valuable products in the chemical industry by revenue. More than 50% of globally produced PVC is utilized in construction, where it is favored for being inexpensive and easy to assemble. In recent years, PVC has increasingly replaced traditional building materials such as wood, concrete, and clay in many applications. However, despite its advantages as a building material, PVC poses significant environmental and human health concerns.

The recycling symbol for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), as designated by the Society of the Plastics Industry to facilitate easy identification for recycling is:

When expressing RGB values in 24 bits per pixel (bpp), they are typically represented by three integers ranging from 0 to 255, corresponding to the intensity of red, green, and blue components, respectively. Examples include:

• (0, 0, 0) — Black
• (255, 255, 255) — White
• (255, 0, 0) — Red
• (0, 255, 0) — Green
• (0, 0, 255) — Blue
• (255, 255, 0) — Yellow
• (0, 255, 255) — Cyan
• (255, 0, 255) — Magenta

SINTRA® is a closed-cell, expanded high-density polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet. It is a homogeneous material that can be easily cut without concern for grain direction. Weighing approximately half as much as solid PVC, Sintra can be stapled, nailed, riveted, glued, and thermoformed. Forming processes can be performed using standard forming equipment, and since the material is non-hydroscopic, it does not require drying before shaping.

Available in nine thicknesses ranging from 1mm to 13mm, SINTRA® is primarily offered in white, with some thicknesses also available in black and various colors. Standard sheet size is 48″ x 96″, with custom cut-to-size sheets available upon request.

SINTRA® is also fire-resistant, water-resistant, and resistant to certain chemicals. It maintains a flat surface while remaining flexible enough for precise shapes and detailed designs. It provides a non-warping mounting surface with consistent color throughout and can be easily silk-screened or painted without the need for priming.

A trademark (or “trade mark” in Commonwealth English) is typically a distinctive sign—such as a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, picture, or a combination of these—that a business uses to identify itself and its products or services. Its primary purpose is to distinguish the company’s offerings from those of competitors, serving as a recognizable indicator of the source or origin of the goods or services. As a form of intellectual property, specifically a type of industrial property, trademarks help protect brand identity.

The core function of a trademark is to “indicate source” or act as a “badge of origin,” ensuring consumers can reliably associate a product or service with a particular business. This is known as “trademark use.” Trademark owners enforce their rights by preventing unauthorized use that could lead to confusion or dilution of their brand.

While traditional trademarks include signs like words, logos, or symbols, the scope extends to non-conventional signs capable of performing the essential function. These can include three-dimensional shapes, sounds, smells, moving images (like animations), tastes, and even textures. However, the legal recognition and protection of these non-traditional trademarks vary significantly from country to country.

Trademark rights typically arise through two main avenues: actual use in the marketplace or registration with a trademark office. These rights are generally territorial, meaning they only apply within the jurisdiction where the trademark is used or registered—a concept known as “territoriality.” Nevertheless, various international treaties and systems exist to help protect trademarks across multiple countries, facilitating broader enforcement of brand rights worldwide.