Signage Quality – How Can You Tell If It Will Last?

Signage is a must have for any business, but one of the biggest challenges for any business owner is “Am I getting value for money”?

For the majority of signwriters, they’re professional in their field and should be trusted to provide a product that will suit your requirements, but when customers insist on meeting a price point or budget, this can sometimes put the squeeze on quality.

Better quality materials will always cost more, and for good reason. There’s 3 main classes of self adhesive vinyls industry providers can choose from.

• Monomeric – Short term vinyl ideal for promotional use. Average 1 – 2 years.
• Polymeric – Average 3 – 5 years life span. Ideal for most outdoor applications.
• Supercast – Average 5 to 9 years life span. Ideal for vehicle wraps.

What most people don’t realise is, the thinner the vinyl sticker, the better the quality. Thin vinyls have better conformability when used on curved edges. When you run your hand over them, they feel edgeless and this prevents the vinyl from lifting or getting caught on sponges when being washed.

Polymeric and Supercast vinyls last longer in our harsh Australian environment. We suffer some of the harshest UV conditions in the world and our climate differs greatly to the countries the materials were created and tested in. They also offer colour fastness in a broader range of PMS shades.

Applying vinyl stickers to new surfaces also increases the life of your signage. Signwriting over an existing sign will often result in poor longevity. It’s often cheaper to provide a new backing board than it is to clean up the old one.

On the subject of longevity , it is imperative to over laminate digital prints for colour fastness and scratch resistance. I would sooner not win a job than let a customer accept a sign without either clear over laminate or liquid laminate. I don’t want customers coming back to me in 6 months saying their signs fading. The only time it’s ok not to have a laminate is when it’s for short term, promotional use.

Armed with the facts, I’d encourage you to ask the right questions of your signwriter and understand what you’re really getting.