Fascias

There are two basic types of sign fascia panel.

1.  A flat sheet of material.

2.  A flat face with returns making it a 3D 'tray'

Flat Sheet Panels

The flat sheet versions are generally quicker, easier and cheaper to produce, and ideally are mounted in a frame otherwise the fixings are through the front face.

There are several sheet materials, each of which have pluses & minuses:-

• Foam PVC is very cheap but relatively soft i.e easily marked, and the colours are not really UV stable meaning the colours will fade in time. The larger the panel, the more advisable it is to mount it in a frame as face fixing has a tendency to 'dimple or cockle the material.
• Aluminium Composite sheets are constructed from a sheet of plastic with a thin aluminium skin bonded to each side. It's available in white & black and a number of (gloss or matt) primary colours. This material is stiffer and less prone to distortion, particularly when screwed back to a flat surface.
• Acrylic (such as Perspex - trade name) was the material of choice 20 years ago due to it's wide range of colours, UV stability and high gloss finish. In those days the lettering and logos were cut from colours of acrylic and stuck to the face. Due to it's high coefficient of linier expansion, acrylic must always be mounted in a frame otherwise face fixing makes fracturing around the fixings ver likely.

3D Tray Panels

The 'Tray' fascia's are generall the more modern and 'in vogue' because they are between 25mm and 50mm thick and need no frame and show no fixings on the face.

There are two main material choices:-

• Aluminium Composite
• Solid Aluminium

As previously mentioned, Aluminium Composite is available in a small range of primary colours together with black & white, whilst the Solid Aluminium needs to be powder coated or spray painted.

The Solid Aluminium version is the stronger more durable of the two materials, but the aluminium Composite versions should be food for 8 years plus. (The governing factor is generally the quality of the colour finish.

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