How to plan your sign for extended outdoor use.

When your sign needs to go outside for extended periods of time, it’s good to know the limitations and expectations of a printed piece when planning for outdoor use. You’ll need to consider the various effects of different weather conditions. Direct sunlight, wind, and rain can all have adverse effects on your signage. Screen printing is the perfect print process for these applications. Screen printing can be done on different substrates that will handle the rigors of outdoor use. Because of the thickness of the materials, we can print on a variety of plastics and vinyls that traditional offset lithography simply cannot touch.

Size, location, and application of the sign is key in determining the substrate. Direct sun is probably the most harmful to your outdoor sign. Sunlight can rapidly age certain stocks, causing yellowing and brittleness. The best substrate for a typical outdoor sign would be Sintra, a PVC material. It is rigid, lightweight, and comes in thicknesses from 1mm to 6mm. It does not yellow, making it the perfect material for outdoor use. Other substrates for outdoor use are rigid and pressure sensitive vinyls, which can be limited in thickness and styrene, which can be aged by the sun. Fortunately, styrene does allow for UV inhibitors to be added when it is made, thus extending its life. For larger signs and banners, reinforced vinyl is suggested. This material will hold up well to both sun and wind.

When planning an outdoor sign, another consideration when you design your art is color selection. Certain ink colors, such as reds, yellows, and fluorescents will fade faster than other colors. Avoiding these colors, or keeping their use to a minimum will also extend the life of your sign. Screen printing inks are very durable and hold these colors much longer than alternative print methods.

The use of special substrates, durable inks, and well-chosen colors make screen printing the best choice for your outdoor signage.

What are UV stabilizers and UV inhibitors?

UV inhibitors and UV stabilizers are additives used in the production of certain substrates that will extend their use in UV light. These built in stabilizers will protect your material from cracking and yellowing in outdoor conditions. Substrates such as styrene and acrylic can have stabilizers added while being manufactured that will add years to the life of the product. This material will be a special order depending on the level of UV resistance desired. UV clear coat will also extend the durability of a print, though not as long as built-in stabilizers. Your Creative Sign Inc. sales representative can elaborate more on this subject.

What is Screen Printing?

Where did the term come from?

Have you ever wondered where the term “Screen Printing” actually came from? The term originates back to the early 1900’s when printers were looking for the best material to use when making stencil. It turned out that a silk cloth that was being used for sifting flour was the ideal solution. The silk cloth was strong, thin, affordable and, at the time, readily available. The silk was stretched over a wooden frame which provided ideal support for creating a stencil in order to print. The silk was the perfect screen, and thus the term “silk screen printing” developed and soon became the industry standard name for that type of printing process.

Silk Screen Printing

Today, silk has been replaced by synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester. These materials help increase strength and reduce costs. Since silk isn’t used any longer, it’s now known as Screen Printing.

Substrate Focus – Polypropylene

Our customers are always on the lookout for new and exciting materials. We found a new one in Polypropylene.

A rigid plastic, Polypropylene comes in many colors and textures. In fact, that’s what makes it unique. There aren’t many other substrates that can match the wide selection of choices available with polypropylene. Gloss, matte, pearlescent and suede finishes, and the popular grooved finish, as well as a rainbow of colors are also available from standard classics to pastels an even metallics. Combine these with the option of translucent or opaque, and you have yourself a sharp-looking substrate.

Macro of a vinyl colorful organizing case.

Polypropylene can undergo a number of finishing processes as well, including die cutting, scoring, gluing and riveting that expand its wide range of applications. Commonly used for binders, portfolios, kits and media holders, Polypropylene is a great medium for marketing and persentation materials.

Your sales representative can show you printed samples and further describe the many uses available with this great material.

All About Hang Tags

Are you looking for a unique hang tag? Something different from the standard hang tags you’ve been using? Consider having your next hang tags screen printed! No other print process offers as wide a range of possibilities as screen printing.

Hang Tag

Let’s go over some of the benefits of screen printed hang tags …

First, the wide selection of substrates allows for hang tags that go far beyond your standard paper tag. Materials such as rigid vinyls (both clear and white), pressure sensitive materials such as vinyls and mylars (perfect for decal hang tags), card stocks (12 to 24 pt. or more) and specialty papers are a few of the wide selections available.

Our in-house finishing capabilities also offer many options for a hang tag. Die cutting is very popular – giving a unique shape for your tag. Kiss-cutting a pressure-sensitive stock will create a removable decal for a hang tag. Other options include mounting and laminating. Card stock can be mounted together to form a thick and sturdy hang tag. Laminate a pressure-sensitive material to a card stock, kiss-cut and die-cut it, punch a hole for the cord, and you have a custom-shaped, durable hang tag with a removeable decal! Just think of the many other possibilities. Top that off with great print quality, and you’re set!

We also offer a variety of cords, strings, and other attachment hardware to complete the tag.

Your Creative Sign Inc. sales representative can answer all your questions and even offer some helpful suggestions to get your next hang tag project off to a good start