Glossary

ADA signs – Signage compliant with the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA). These signs give information to the disabled to help them find their way inside a building. ADA signs are found at building exits, stairwells, elevators, and restrooms. All signs should have both tactile raised letters and Grade II braille for the blind and people with low vision. Signs must adhere to ADA guidelines for letter height, type of braille, color contrast, and mounting location.

Architectural signs – Building signage that includes lobby signs, plaques, monument signs and storefront signs.

Banners and flags – Signs made from a long strip of cloth or vinyl bearing a slogan or design and hung in a public place. They can be used to advertise celebrations, church events, graduations, holidays, schools and sporting events.

Billboards – Outdoor advertising structures found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. They feature large ads directed at passing pedestrians and drivers. They offer the greatest visibility due not only to their size, but because they allow creative customizing through extensions and embellishments.

Blade signs – A sign used to attract pedestrians or drivers who cannot see a storefront. Blade signs are usually illuminated both on the front and back with two faces. They can also be non-illuminated with a cut-out design. They are usually hung from ornate brackets.

Customized signs – Custom signs are signs the customer designs themselves. All types of business signs, banners, engraving, corporate awards, name tags, name plates and other engraved signs can be economically produced to match a customer’s exact preferences.

Digital printing - Digital printing refers to methods of printing from a digital based image directly to a variety of materials, such as paper, poster board or cloth.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_printing - cite_note-0 It usually refers to professional printing, where small run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large format and/or high volume laser or inkjet printers

Engraved plaques – Engraving is the practice of etching a design onto a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. Name plates, plaques, brass plates, photo plaques, perpetual plaques, indoor signs, and personalized gifts are all examples of items that can be engraved.

Exhibit signs – These are signs used to advertise and play up trade show exhibits. Examples of these types of displays are retractable displays, panel pop-up displays, fabric tension displays, and table top systems.

Graphics - A graphics file is a pixilated representation of an image used to convey visual information. Graphics files include photos, clip art, line art, digital art, icons, bullets, backgrounds, and image maps.

Graphics installation – The process of applying graphics to a vehicle or sign.

Illuminated signs - An illuminated sign is a sign that is electrically lighted. They serve a dual purpose: during the day, they serve as exterior building signs to identify a business using unique colors and logo. At night, they are lighted so customers can see the sign in the dark.

Large format printing – Bigger than usual fonts applied to an extra-large sign or banner.

Mall signage – Attractive signs in malls to attract customers to a store and to help them find merchandise.

Posters – A tool for advertisers, a poster is any piece of paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Posters typically include both text and graphics and are designed to be both eye-catching and informative.

Vehicle wrap - A vinyl sticker that covers the body of a vehicle to advertise a business, or to decorate a car, truck, boat or trailer without the expense of having an artist custom paint it.

Wall murals – Any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface.