Rigid Signs: PVC, Foamcore, Styrene & Clear Acrylic
Printed rigid sign panels, cut to size in Stow, Ohio. Four substrates cover most of what a rigid sign has to do: styrene where it has to flex, foamcore where it is indoors and short-term, PVC where it has to stay flat and last, and clear acrylic where it has to look like it cost something. Exterior building signage is a fifth material and has its own page.
These are quoted rather than carted, for two reasons that are worth stating plainly before anything else.
One: every rigid material arrives as a 4 x 8 ft sheet
Styrene, PVC and foamcore all come in as 48 x 96 in. sheets. Your signs are cut out of that sheet, so the quantity is set by how many of your size fit on it — not by a minimum we decided on. An 18 x 24 in. sign nests ten to a sheet. Order six and the sheet is consumed anyway, the other four are cut away as waste, and you have paid for signs you do not receive. Ten costs what six would have cost.
A size that is not on the ladder below changes the yield, sometimes by a lot, so it gets laid out on the sheet before anyone quotes a number.
Two: at sheet size, this cannot ship by parcel
A full 4 x 8 sheet, and a half sheet at 48 x 48 in., exceed what UPS and FedEx accept. Those move by freight, and freight is quoted against the destination with the job. Pieces up to 24 x 48 in. ship by parcel carrier normally. Pickup in Stow is available either way.
Neither of those facts can be worked out honestly by a shopping cart, which is why this page explains the material instead of selling it by the unit.
Which material to use
| Material | Thickness | Where it goes | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Styrene | .020, .040, .060 in. | Indoor | Curved and hanging displays, shelf and aisle signage. The thinnest and most flexible of the four; it will take a gentle curve without cracking. |
| Foamcore | 3/16 in., 1/2 in. | Indoor only | Event and presentation signage, easel boards, directional signs for a single weekend. Light and stiff, but the paper face dents and it is not a weather material. |
| PVC | 3 mm, 6 mm | Indoor, and outdoor for a season or more | Trade show exhibits, wayfinding, anything that has to stay flat and keep a clean edge. A consistent smooth surface and the most rigid of the three sheet materials. |
| Clear acrylic | 1/4 in. | Indoor | Lobby, donor and recognition signage, dimensional logos. Priced by the square foot rather than by the sheet, because it is almost always one piece rather than a run. |
If the sign is going on the outside of a building, on a post, or anywhere it has to survive several winters, none of these four is the right answer — that is aluminum composite, on the DiBond aluminum signs page.
The size ladder, and what a sheet yields
These are the sizes that nest cleanly on a 48 x 96 in. sheet. Exact yield shifts by a sign or two depending on the material and how the layout is nested, and the quote confirms it.
| Panel size | Panels per 4 x 8 sheet |
|---|---|
| 16 x 10 in. | 27 |
| 24 x 12 in. | 16 |
| 24 x 18 in. | 10 |
| 24 x 24 in. | 8 |
| 22 x 28 in. | 6 |
| 24 x 36 in. | 5 |
| 24 x 48 in. | 4 |
| 48 x 48 in. (half sheet) | 2 — ships freight |
| 48 x 96 in. (full sheet) | 1 — ships freight |
Single-sided or double-sided printing on any of them. Straight-line cuts cost less than contoured cuts; a contour cut follows the shape of your artwork rather than a rectangle, and it is routed rather than guillotined.
Styrene
Available in .020, .040 and .060 in. Flexible and light, which makes it the material for a curved face, a hanging sign or anything that has to follow a shape rather than sit flat. At .020 in. it will take a gentle curve without creasing; at .060 in. it behaves closer to a flat panel. Indoor use.
Foamcore
A lightweight white foam core with a paper laminate on both sides, in 3/16 in. and 1/2 in. Recommended for indoor use only. It is the cheapest way to put a large graphic on an easel or a wall for a day, and the honest limitation is that the paper face marks and the corners crush in transit, so it is not the material for signage that gets handled repeatedly or stored between uses.
PVC
A rigid PVC sheet with a consistent smooth surface, in 3 mm and 6 mm. The one of the three to choose when the sign has to stay flat, keep a clean machined edge, and last beyond a single event — trade show exhibits, wayfinding, interior signage that will be up for years. 6 mm is stiff enough to span without a frame at the larger sizes.
Clear acrylic
Quarter-inch clear acrylic, printed on the front or on the back of the sheet. Printing second surface — on the back — puts the glass of the acrylic in front of the ink, which is what gives a lobby sign depth rather than the flat look of a printed panel, and it protects the print from fingerprints and cleaning. Printed with white ink behind the color where the artwork needs to stay opaque against a wall.
Mounted on aluminum standoffs, which hold the panel off the wall and let it cast a shadow. Priced by the square foot against the finished size rather than by the sheet, since these are almost always one or two pieces rather than a run. Contour cutting follows the shape of a logo.
How a job runs
1. Send the size, the quantity and the artwork, or tell us what the sign has to do and where it is going and we will say which material fits.
2. We lay your size out on the sheet, confirm the yield, and quote the job with freight separated out if the size requires it.
3. You approve a layout proof by email before anything is printed or cut.
4. Printing, cutting and finishing in Stow. Straight-line or contour cut; single or double-sided.
5. Parcel, freight, or pickup. For wall-mounted and standoff-mounted work we measure and install across Northeast Ohio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can I not just buy a single sign?
You can — it is a quote rather than a checkout. The reason is the sheet: one 18 x 24 in. sign and ten of them use the same material, so a per-unit price pretending otherwise would either overcharge the person buying ten or undercharge the person buying one. Sending the size and quantity gets a real number back within one business day.
Which material should I use outdoors?
Of these four, PVC, and for a season or more rather than indefinitely. For permanent exterior signage use aluminum composite. Foamcore and styrene are indoor materials and will not survive a winter.
Can you cut a shape rather than a rectangle?
Yes. Contour cutting is routed to follow your artwork on any of these materials. It costs more than a straight-line cut and the quote states which you are getting.
Do you mount or install them?
Yes, across Northeast Ohio — wall mounting, standoff mounting and interior wayfinding. Say up front that the job needs installing and it gets measured and quoted as one job rather than two.
What is the turnaround?
It depends on the size of the run and the finishing, so the quote carries the lead time. Nothing is scheduled until a proof is approved, and that is deliberate — a reprint costs more than a day.
Can I get a sample?
Yes. If you are deciding between two materials, ask and we will get printed samples of both to you before you commit a run to one of them.
Send the size, the quantity and the artwork 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.