Welcome & Entrance Signs

Design

While Shelley can work from your own electronic artwork you can also take advantage of our talented graphic design team to create attract a striking entrance sign design.

Materials

We work in a variety of materials for school entrance signs with the decision usually determined by a mixture of budget, desired appearance and how much of a concern vandalism is. While many companies work with self adhesive vinyl letters, applied to the sign material, Shelley recommend digital printing – this produces a more robust finish as letters cannot be peeled off but importantly provides far greater design flexibility.

Common materials include:

• Glass Reinforced Plastic. Shelley specialise in the production of GRP signs which are used widely in parks, nature reserves and public open spaces. We believe that this material offers a great solution for educational establishments and schools as it offers excellent impact resistance, great colour fastness with a 10 year warranty against fading and a surface from which graffiti can be repeatedly cleaned. Shelley Signs consider this the flag ship product for school entrance signs.
• High Impact Acrylic or Polycarbonate. These 2 materials are similar and tend to be used interchangeably. Both offer good impact resistance and glossy finish with the printed images on the back. The main drawback is that the back can be prone to vandalism and if graffiti has to be cleaned from the surface it can tend to go cloudy.
• Dibond. This aluminium composite material is widely used for school entrance signs. It prints well and is ideal for use when vandalism is not a concern. Dibond can be fairly easy to scratch and does not clean up particularly well if they attacked with spray paint.
• PVC and Foamex based materials. While these are sometimes used for entrance signs for schools and colleges we do not consider them to be suitably robust although are often ideal for internal signs.

Fixings

How and to what school entrance signs are to be fixed is an important consideration. Common fixings can range from wall fixed, fittings to metal railings or post mounted, usually onto steel posts but oak or pressure treated softwood can also be used. Sometimes signs can be fitted to existing posts which can be a useful cost saving. Depending on budget there are a number of different styles available including flat, 4mm thick signs, signs mounted in aluminium or timber frames and a frameless Return Edge, Reinforced Back sign structure which provides a robust and solid sign structure.

Sizes

The most common sizes for school signs tend to be A1 (841 x 594mm), A0 (1189 x 841mm) or 4’ x 3’ (1220 x 915mm) or 6’ x 2’ (1830 x 610mm). However, these are not standard sizes and we can produce school signs at whatever size is appropriate for the location and environment. Signs can also be shaped on any of the sides to produce interesting profiles – there is no need for any sign just to be rectangular.

Installing

Shelley can offer a full install service if required or can deliver to site for your own staff or contractors to install.