DiBond Aluminum Composite Signs | Exterior & Post-and-Panel

Printed aluminum composite signage for the outside of a building, for a post in the ground, and for anywhere a sign has to look the same in its fifth winter as it did on the day it went up. Designed, printed, cut and installed from Stow, Ohio, across Northeast Ohio and shipped nationwide.

What DiBond actually is

A high-density polyethylene core bonded between two aluminum surface sheets. The aluminum gives the face a flat, rigid, paint-grade surface that will not rust; the plastic core keeps the weight down and stops the panel bowing or oil-canning the way a single sheet of thin aluminum does. It is the standard substrate for exterior building signage for that reason, and it is why a DiBond panel still reads flat from across a parking lot when a cheaper sign has started to wave.

Available in 3 mm and 6 mm. 3 mm is the common thickness for building signs, real estate and development boards, and interior architectural panels. 6 mm is the heavier gauge, for larger panels and post-and-panel installations where the sign has to stay flat across a wide span without a frame behind it.

What it is used for

• Exterior building and storefront signage — wall-mounted panels, fascia signs, entrance identification.
• Post-and-panel signage — development, subdivision and jobsite entrance signs, printed double-sided so the panel reads from both directions of travel.
• Real estate and commercial listing boards — the panels that have to survive a year on a post in an Ohio field.
• Architectural and wayfinding panels — interior and exterior, including contour-cut shapes.
• Municipal and institutional signage — park, facility and campus identification.

Printing, cutting and finishing

Single-sided or double-sided UV printing. Single-sided for anything mounted flat to a wall. Double-sided for post-and-panel, hanging and projecting signs, where both faces are seen.

Straight-line or contour cutting. Rectangular panels are cut square. Anything else is CNC routed to follow the artwork, so a logo or a shaped panel comes out as the shape rather than as a rectangle with the shape printed on it.

Mounting holes, standoffs and cleats. Tell us how the panel is going up and the holes, standoffs or mounting hardware are worked out at proof stage rather than drilled on a ladder.

Why this is quoted rather than carted

Two reasons, and they are the same two that apply to every rigid material.

The sheet. Aluminum composite arrives as a 4 x 8 ft sheet, 48 x 96 in. Your panels are cut out of it, so the quantity and the price follow from how your size nests on the sheet rather than from a per-unit figure. A size nobody has cut before gets laid out first and quoted second.

The freight. A full sheet cannot ship by parcel — UPS and FedEx will not take it, and a 4 x 8 aluminum panel is not something to discover that about at checkout. Sheet-size and oversized panels move by freight, quoted against the destination. Smaller cut panels ship parcel. Local delivery and pickup in Stow are available either way.

We put it up as well as print it

This is the part that separates an exterior sign from a box arriving on a pallet. Anyone can print a panel. The work is the wall it goes on — whether the block is too rough for standard anchors, whether the fascia will take the weight, how far off the wall the panel has to sit, what happens where it meets a downspout, and whether the posts need to be set in concrete.

We measure on site, fabricate to those measurements, and install across Northeast Ohio: Stow, Akron, Cleveland, Macedonia, North Royalton, Copley, Shaker Heights, Beachwood and the surrounding communities. For post-and-panel work that includes setting the posts. Say at the quote stage that the job needs installing and it is measured, produced and installed as one job with one point of contact, rather than a panel you then have to find a contractor for.

Panels ship nationwide for customers who have their own installer.

How a job runs

1. Tell us what the sign says, where it is going, and how big you think it needs to be. If it is in Northeast Ohio we will come and measure rather than ask you to.
2. We confirm thickness, size, single or double-sided, cut type and mounting method, and quote the job with freight or installation shown separately.
3. You approve a layout proof by email. Sizes, mounting positions and hole locations are confirmed on the proof.
4. Printing, routing and finishing in Stow.
5. Installation, freight or pickup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a DiBond sign last outdoors?
Years rather than seasons. The aluminum face does not rust and the composite will not bow; the limit on an exterior sign is normally the UV life of the print and the laminate over it, not the substrate. It outlasts coroplast, foamcore and PVC outdoors by a wide margin, which is why it costs more.

3 mm or 6 mm?
3 mm for most wall-mounted signs and real estate boards. 6 mm when the panel is large, unframed, or going on posts where it has to stay flat across a span. If you are not sure, tell us the finished size and how it is mounted and we will say which one the job needs.

Can you route it to the shape of our logo?
Yes. Contour cutting is standard. Send vector artwork if you have it; if you do not, we can redraw a logo to cut from.

Can you do double-sided for a post sign?
Yes, and for a post-and-panel sign you almost always should. A single-sided panel is blank to half the traffic.

Do you set the posts?
Yes, on installed jobs in Northeast Ohio. Post setting, footings and panel mounting are part of the install quote.

Can I get one panel rather than a run?
Yes. Most exterior sign jobs are one or two panels. The quote reflects the sheet the panel is cut from, which is why it is a quote rather than a unit price.

Do you ship outside Ohio?
Yes. Panels ship nationwide by parcel or freight depending on size. Installation is Northeast Ohio.

Related

Rigid signs in PVC, foamcore, styrene and clear acrylic — the indoor and short-term materials.
Yard signs and campaign signs — coroplast with steel stakes, by the set.
Graphics installation and project management — how installed work is measured, scheduled and managed.

Send the sign copy, the location and a rough size to sales@dgcreativ.com, call 330.968.0678, or use the Request a Quote form. We come back within one business day with real numbers.