What is the difference between first-surface and second-surface printing on acrylic?

First-surface printing puts the ink on the front of the sheet, where it is exposed and can scratch. Second-surface printing puts the image in reverse on the back of a clear sheet so it is viewed through the acrylic, giving the depth and gloss people expect from acrylic and permanently protecting the ink. Second-surface work needs a white ink layer behind the colour, otherwise the graphic is translucent.

What is Sintra and where should it be used?

Sintra is a brand of expanded PVC sheet: rigid, lightweight, easy to contour cut and dimensionally stable indoors. It is the standard choice for interior rigid signage, directories, exhibit panels and point-of-purchase displays. It softens and can warp in sustained direct sunlight, so permanent exterior signage should use Dibond aluminium composite instead.

Can you print directly onto acrylic sheet?

Yes. Flatbed UV printing applies ink directly to the acrylic sheet, including a white ink layer where one is required. No vinyl is applied to the surface, so there are no edges that can lift.

How large can a single acrylic or Sintra panel be?

Standard sheet sizes run up to 4 by 8 feet. Larger pieces are produced in sections with a planned seam, or fabricated onto a frame.

Why order rigid signage locally rather than shipping it in?

Rigid substrates travel badly. Acrylic chips at the corners and scratches through packaging, large Dibond panels bow and dent, and Sintra takes an impression from anything pressed against it in transit. A damaged large panel is a schedule problem rather than just a reprint, because the replacement has to be made and shipped again. Producing within driving distance of the installation removes that risk.

Do you work from an agency or designer's files?

Yes. Supplied artwork is checked for anything that will not fabricate — contour paths, bleed, white ink layers, mounting hole positions — and flagged before it goes to print rather than after.

Printed Acrylic & Sintra Signage | Cleveland & Akron, Ohio

Direct-to-substrate printing on acrylic, Sintra, Dibond and foam board — produced in Stow, Ohio, and delivered or installed across Northeast Ohio without putting a sheet of acrylic on a freight truck.

If you are looking for this, you probably already know what you need. So here is what actually matters, and what we need from you to price it.

The substrates, and what each one is for

Material	Thickness	What it is for
Clear acrylic	1/8" – 1/2"	Premium interior signage, donor and recognition walls, office lobby lettering, awards, standoff-mounted panels. Prints second-surface for a glass-like finish.
White / coloured acrylic	1/8" – 1/2"	Dimensional letters, panels with no visible substrate, retail and trade show fixtures.
Sintra (expanded PVC)	3mm – 13mm	Interior signage, POP displays, directories, exhibit panels, anything that has to be rigid, light and cut to shape. The workhorse.
Dibond (aluminium composite)	3mm – 6mm	Exterior signage, building and monument signs, anything that has to stay flat outdoors for years. Will not warp the way PVC does in sun.
Foam board / Gatorboard	3/16" – 1/2"	Short-term interior use — event signage, presentation boards, mounted posters. Cheap, light, not durable.
Coroplast	4mm – 10mm	Yard signs, temporary site and directional signage, anything disposable in volume.

Second-surface printing, and why acrylic quotes differ

This is the single detail that most often explains why two acrylic quotes are not comparable.

First-surface means printed on the front. Simple, cheap, and the ink is exposed — it scratches, and it can be cleaned off.

Second-surface means printed on the back of the clear sheet, in reverse, so you view the image through the acrylic. The glass gets the depth and gloss that people are actually paying for when they ask for acrylic, and the ink is permanently protected by the thickness of the panel. It also requires a white ink layer behind the colour, otherwise the graphic is translucent and whatever is behind the panel shows through.

A quote without white ink behind a second-surface print is a quote for a different product. If you are comparing prices, ask which one you are getting.

Cutting, edges and mounting

Edge finish on acrylic is a real cost line and a real quality difference. A saw-cut edge is matte and shows tool marks. A flame-polished or diamond-polished edge is clear and is what makes a panel look finished rather than fabricated. On a donor wall or a lobby sign, polish it. On something screwed to a wall behind a fixture, do not pay for it.

Contour cutting — cutting the panel to the shape of the artwork rather than to a rectangle — is routine on Sintra and Dibond and more involved on thick acrylic. Send us the shape early; it changes the material yield.

Mounting decides more of the final look than the print does. Standoffs (the polished barrels that hold a panel off the wall) read as premium and are the default for acrylic. Cleat systems are invisible and right for large flat panels. VHB tape is fast but permanent and substrate-dependent. Drilled holes are cheapest and look it. Tell us the wall construction — drywall, block, glass, existing millwork — because that decides what is even possible.

Why local matters on this specific product

Most printed products ship fine. Rigid substrate does not.

Acrylic chips at the corners and scratches through packaging. Large Dibond panels bow and dent. Sintra takes an impression from anything pressed against it in transit. The larger the panel, the worse the odds — and a cracked 4×8 acrylic panel is not a reprint problem, it is a schedule problem, because the replacement has to be made and shipped again.

Agencies and designers outside the region find us for exactly this reason: the work gets made an hour from where it is going and arrives on a van, not a pallet. If you are in Michigan, Pennsylvania or Indiana with a job landing in Northeast Ohio, that is a normal arrangement here, not an exception.

What we need to quote it

Material and thickness, or a description of what it is for and we will specify it
Finished size and quantity — and whether the shape is rectangular or contour cut
Indoor or outdoor, which rules materials in and out immediately
First-surface or second-surface if it is clear acrylic
Edge finish — saw cut, polished, or does not matter
How it mounts, and what the wall is made of
Whether we are installing or shipping
Artwork, as vector or high-resolution, or a rough of what it needs to be

If you only know half of those, send the half you know. The three that change the number most are size, quantity and material.

What it costs

Rigid substrate is priced per square foot, and the material is a large share of it — half-inch acrylic and 3mm Sintra are not in the same universe. Four things move the number: material and thickness, total square footage, whether cuts are rectangular or contoured, and finishing (polished edges, white ink, standoffs, laminate).

Quantity matters more here than on roll goods, because the setup and the sheet yield dominate small runs. One 24×36 Sintra panel and twenty of them are not twenty times apart.

Common questions

What is Sintra, exactly?
A brand of expanded PVC sheet — rigid, lightweight, easy to cut to shape and dimensionally stable indoors. It is the default for interior rigid signage. It softens and can warp in sustained direct sun, which is why exterior work goes on Dibond instead.

Can you print directly onto acrylic, or is it a vinyl applied to it?
Directly. Flatbed UV printing puts the ink on the sheet itself, including a white ink layer where one is needed. No vinyl, no edges to lift.

Can Sintra go outside?
For a season, yes. For years, no — use Dibond. If someone quotes you Sintra for a permanent exterior sign, ask them how long it will stay flat.

What is the largest panel you can make?
Standard sheet sizes run to 4×8 feet. Larger pieces are made in sections with a planned seam, or fabricated onto a frame.

Do you install, or just supply?
Either. Across Northeast Ohio we install, which for standoff-mounted panels and donor walls is worth it — layout and level on a multi-panel wall is most of the job.

Can you work from a designer's or agency's files?
Yes, and a lot of our rigid work arrives that way. Send the file and the specification; we will flag anything that will not fabricate before it goes to print rather than after.

Acrylic and rigid signage across Northeast Ohio

We print, cut, finish and install acrylic, Sintra, Dibond, foam board and coroplast signage for offices, healthcare, schools, retail, manufacturers, agencies and designers in Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Stow, Hudson and across the region. On-site measurement is free.

Request a quote or call 330.968.0678.