Table of Contents

• Font Categories
• Best Fonts for Signs
• 11 Tips for Using Fonts
• Can You Pick What Font Works Best? 
• FAQs
  

Font Categories 

Fonts are categorized into serif, sans serif, script, cursive, text, and novelty, each serving various design needs. Here’s a quick overview of each type: 

• Serif – These fonts have “tails” or small lines at the ends of each letter. They offer a classic and traditional feel, and are often used in formal and professional texts, like in books or newspapers. 

• Sans serif – Sans serif fonts are the opposite of serif fonts. They don’t have any extra lines at the end of each character and have a clean and simple look, which makes them suitable for signs and digital content.  

• Script – Script fonts look similar to handwriting. They offer a personal and elegant touch, and are usually seen in formal designs, invitations, or logos. 

• Cursive – Cursive fonts are flowing, connected letters. They’re great for decorative projects, but they can be hard to read if used for main texts. 

• Text – Text fonts are designed to look really old-fashioned, like Gothic and medieval letters. They are usually seen in certificates and formal event invitations. 

• Novelty – Novelty fonts have a fun, playful, and creative appearance. They are a great choice for posters and branding, especially if you want to grab the attention of readers or if you’re following a specific design theme.  

Best Fonts for Signs 

What is the best font for a sign? For most large-format signs, our designers recommend using any of the following fonts: 

If the font you originally chose isn’t on our list, don’t worry — it doesn’t mean you chose wrong. Remember, these were the most common answers found in our survey.   

Side note: Our designers also revealed their bottom three fonts to use for signs, which are the following:  

• Comic Sans 

• Papyrus 

• Any script font 

Steer clear of these fonts if you want your sign to be readable. If you love design humor as much as we do, check out this SNL skit about the Papyrus font. 

Most people first encounter fonts in school using programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, leading them to believe they’re limited to default fonts like Times New Roman and Arial. In reality, there are many fonts available for download or purchase that you can use for your marketing collateral. When picking a font for your signage, consider costs as many fonts are interchangeable. Investing in a pricier font may be worthwhile for website or brand consistency, but you can also use the fonts licensed to the software you’re using. 

11 Tips and Tricks for Using Fonts 

Besides font recommendations, our designers also shared tips to help you choose the right font whenever you make a signage or any marketing print product. Keep these tips in mind when deciding on which fonts you should use to execute your design.  

1. The best fonts are the classics. The top five fonts selected by Signs.com’s design team are Helvetica, Futura, Bebas, Avenir, and Proxima Nova. Arial and Times New Roman are also great!
2. Stay away from Comic Sans, Papyrus, script, and grunge type fonts in most situations, as they convey an unprofessional appearance. 
3. Refrain from using more than three fonts on a single sign. It can be tempting to use various fonts when creating your design, but the best practice for designing is that one or two fonts are enough for a well-balanced and cohesive design. 
4. White space is your friend! Keep this in mind as you design with fonts, images, and anything else you use. There’s no need to fill every single inch of a canvas. Let there be white space or blank space to let your design breathe and keep it balanced.  
5. Readability is your priority. If you’re unsure whether your font is readable and looks good, have a friend or coworker look for a second opinion. 
6. When designing large banners, go for sans serif fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, and Bebas. These fonts are the easiest to read and are great for enhancing the impact of large-format signs like banners, decals, aluminum, and plastic signs. For the best readability, our designers recommend using big, bold text with a dark color on a light background. 
   
   A large format sign with a bold sans serif font
   
   
7. Make sure your sign is readable from different distances. A sign typically has 10 feet of viewing distance for every inch of letter height on the sign. So, if the text on your sign is four inches, that would make it readable for most people from about 40 feet away. 
8. For small format signs like stickers and door hangers, you have the flexibility to choose between serif and sans serif fonts. Our designers recommend using sans serif fonts for headings and large text, while serif fonts are suitable for smaller text and paragraphs. Formal businesses like law firms and government offices use serif fonts for their text, but others have used sans serif fonts, too. 
   
   Image of a small format postcard that correctly utilizes serif type.
   
   
9. Use colors that contrast well and are not similar in value. Stick to a black or dark grey font color on light backgrounds or a white font color on a dark background. Other color combinations may work but may end up being more difficult to read or suggest a certain mood. For example, fonts in red can work in messages like promos and sales, but they also convey a sense of urgency and emergency.
10. Use bold fonts wisely. Keep in mind you don’t need to make the whole sign bold, but you can just emphasize the most important part of the sign to enhance visibility. Bold fonts are ideal for large signs and are also suitable for short and important statements like “FOR SALE” and “Everything Must Go.” 
11. Consider the purpose of your sign. If the goal of your sign is to inform people, use clear and readable sans serif fonts. For promotional signs, choose bold, unique, and eye-catching fonts that evoke a sense of urgency or excitement. If the sign is for a formal event, pick elegant serif fonts that fit the occasion. Remember, the right font choice will help get your message across and make a lasting impression to your audience. 

Can I Pick Which Font Works Best for Me?

Let’s look at four different signs with the same exact design but with different fonts.

Image D features the best font for a banner — a sans serif bold for maximum visibility. Images A and C, which used a script font and Comic Sans respectively, look unprofessional and are hard to read. Image B, which used a serif font, looks decent but more suitable for small formats. More details on why Image D is the right font choice will be explored in this blog post.

While there are multiple fonts available, the best fonts for your signs and banners ultimately depend on your sign’s purpose. When choosing fonts, remember to focus on readability. The right font should help your sign stand out, effectively communicate your message, and leave a lasting impression on your audience. 

FAQs

What’s the difference between serif and sans serif fonts? 

The difference between serif and sans serif fonts lies in serifs, which are small tail-like lines at the characters’ ends. Times New Roman is a popular serif font while Helvetica is a sans serif that’s also known to many designers. Sans serif fonts are typically the best types to use for large signage due to their clarity, but they are also suitable for smaller formats and prints. 

What is an elegant font for signs?   

If you want your sign to have a touch of elegance, choose script fonts that resemble calligraphy, whether created with a pen, brush, or by hand. Some examples are Pacifico, Lobster, Allura, Alex Brush, and Parisienne, which work great for events, invitations, cafes, restaurants, salons, and more. While script fonts look visually appealing, remember to exercise caution when using them, as they could be difficult to read if they’re heavily used in large blocks of text. Script fonts are more suitable for short words or phrases and larger sizes. 

What font is best used for decorative signs?  

If you want to add character to your sign, decorative fonts are the perfect choice. Decorative fonts have a theme and are composed of various shapes and elements. Some examples include Cooper Black, Gilroy, and Gazpacho. Decorative fonts are often used for identifying a brand and are often seen in logos, headers, signs, merch, and more. Remember to use them sparingly in body text, as they will look cluttered and unreadable. 

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Best Fonts for Signs and Banners

We’ll work to answer that exact question in our latest series called “The Effectiveness of Signage,” where we cover the do’s and don’ts of sign advertising.

Our First Experiment

On our drives to work every morning, we see all sorts of signs. There are yard signs for political campaigns, security systems, realtors and so much more. Along the busier roads, there are signs plastered all over telephone poles and crosswalks.

Then there are the sign spinners. Those guys or girls who hold signs and dance like their life depends on it. We’ve all seen them, but does all that boogying really work?

At Signs.com, we wanted to find out. We decided to test a few signs of our own served to oncoming traffic in a Metropolitan area, with the simple invitation, “Honk if you see this sign.”

Our ultimate goal was to see whether a person being present with the sign made a real difference in completed calls to action. The results might surprise you!

Too Long, Didn’t Read

Before we dive into how we conducted our tests, here are some of the nuggets we’ve pulled out of our findings you can take advantage of right now. We’ll go over the specifics of how we arrived at these recommendations throughout the rest of the article:

• Signs get noticed despite repeated studies claiming we’re blind to ads.
• Using a person boosts engagement: if it is appropriate for your business, try having someone stand out by the sign to help attract customers—the human element will drive a greater response rate than just having a sign posted.
• Use color contrast.
• Make your message short and clear for drivers passing by to read.
• If you want to get more people to respond to your sign, make your call to action (CTA) as easy as possible (low-involvement) to eliminate barriers. (keep your message simple)
• Give oncoming drivers enough time to react to your sign.
• Location matters—make your sign as visible as possible. Place your sign in a well-trafficked area when possible.

How We Did It

A good experiment needs a sound method. We wanted to see how design, sign size and amount of text could affect the responses of drivers on their morning commutes. Take a look at each of the 11 signs below along with how we used each in the test:

For each variation, we used three different ways of presenting the sign:

1. Sign Standing Alone: just set up on the side of the road with no one near the sign
2. Sign Held: No Motion—where one of our employees held the sign, but didn’t move… at all
3. Sign Held: With Motion—where one of us played the role of the sign spinner.

For each test, we showed each sign to 100 oncoming cars, in a moderately trafficked metropolitan area, just outside of Utah’s Capitol, Salt Lake City. To make sure drivers only had enough time to read the sign while driving rather than stopped at a traffic light, we conducted the experiments a quarter mile from the oncoming stoplight and 200 ft away from the stop light behind us.

It would only take about seven minutes for each round of 100 cars to pass us. To make sure we were only counting completed calls to action from those who saw the sign, we ignored honks and waves from cars driving in the opposite direction who honked or waved without actually being able to read the signage. Keep that point handy: the people on the other side of the street offered an interesting insight!

It’s important to note that because it was an especially windy day, we could not put up the small sign by itself because it kept blowing away.

Results

And now, for the good part. We’ll look at the data in a couple of different ways and walk you through the most salient takeaways. Keep in mind that this isn’t a perfect study, but what we found does give us a glimpse of what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to small business advertising signs.  

Before we dive deeper, looking at the chart above, the “Sign Standing Alone” test received the least amount of engagement compared to either of the other two tests. Whether moving or not, having a person present with the sign increases responses by over 150%.

So if you’re wondering whether sign spinners are worth the extra money, the answer is yes! Without a doubt introducing a human element dramatically increased the response rate of the signage. We didn’t perfectly imitate sign spinners during our test—during the second round of testing we simply stood behind the signs, and for the third test, we waved the sign back and forth a little. Even still our presence with the sign made a dramatic difference in engagement. Assuming customers would act on a sign with a human element to it inside your store then we believe it is safe to say that the extra cost is worth it.

Adding motion to the sign, however, only increases responses by about 6% over no motion. So adding a sign spinner really does work! But don’t stress if your sign spinner doesn’t have great dance skills. Let’s take a look at the total responses across all tests for each sign.

Far and away our most completed actions came from waves (sign 6) compared to honks. On the other hand, responses to sign 10 was very low (95% fewer responses than the basic black text on white background). Some other things things that really stand out when looking at the results this way is that small text and small signs aren’t as effective as larger text and larger signage.

Digging Deeper

Using high contrast in text and color on your signs can boost responses by as much as 23%.

Short, concise messages are over 90% more effective at driving engagement.

Using a person in with your sign can increase engagement as much as 60%.

A few others to consider:

• Compared to its larger counterpart, the small sign received 30 fewer completions than the control. That’s a 75% decrease in response.
• By far the worst performing sign was the block text sign, which received only 2 total completions across all the tests.
• Switching to the CTA of waves instead of honks increased responses by 70% from the control.
• While adding an image to your design won’t hurt your response rate, having a complicated image proved to be too distracting. There were only 26 total responses for the complicated image compared to the 44 responses with the normal image.

So what does all of this data mean? Let’s take a look at the practical applications for small businesses and sign advertisers.

What This Means for You

One of the more obvious takeaways is that people notice signs while driving! Whether they pay attention or not relies heavily on design, copy, and size. As long as the text was legible, the design didn’t make a major difference, as long as it didn’t get too crazy (See the results for the sign with the “Complex” purple, orange and yellow design. )

Plenty of people saw our signs but for whatever reason, didn’t complete the CTAs. Maybe they were just reluctant to honk or wave; maybe they absent-mindedly read the sign. What was interesting is the place at which most drivers would complete the call to action. Let’s look at the graphic below:

About 20% of drivers would read the sign as they approached the green zone,
but wouldn’t react to the message (honk or wave) until approaching the red zone.
While in the yellow zone, it appears drivers are processing your sign’s message.

There is a clear delay in how information is processed when attention is divided. So it’s important to keep your messages short and legible. Additionally, you’ll want to place your sign spinner far enough ahead of the entrance to your business to give drivers time to connect the dots and turn into the parking lot.

And while our CTAs aren’t anything you would use in the real-world – comparing waves to honks – it seems people are more likely to react when there is less of a cost to doing so:

Waving is an easier response than honking as it is less likely to be noticed by other participants around them. So it’s important that your CTA when trying to reach drivers is low-involvement. Keep that in mind for your objectives, especially since this type of advertising is usually at the top of the sales and marketing funnel.

Final Thoughts

Another key takeaway is that people are drawn to other people. More specifically, they’re drawn to faces.  When people see someone holding a sign on the side of the road, they will see the person holding the sign, then they will read the sign. If you want to boost the visibility and the reactions for your sign, the best way to do that is have a person holding your sign. That’s all the more reason to keep your messages brief, as passerby will read the sign only after looking at the face behind it. But sign spinners do work!

One of our biggest surprises though: remember how we said we ignored the honks and waves from people coming the opposite direction of our sign? There were a lot of them. Part of this could be what’s thought to be the monkey-see-monkey-do phenomenon (apparent because some of the honking from the opposite direction was excessive). But some even stopped in the middle of the road to turn their heads to get a look a look at what they were missing.

So FOMO plays just as much a role on the road as it does online. Don’t know what FOMO means? You’re experiencing it right now: it stands for “Fear of Missing Out” and it’s a powerful insight that marketers can use to drive traffic and sales. Take advantage of it!

Conclusion

Are you interested in increasing your business traffic with signage? Signs.com has you covered! We have over 75 types of signs to choose from with free design services and quick turnaround times. Check out the selection and get your business seen with high-quality signs.

Fair Use Statement

Feel free to use this data for your own research. We encourage sharing for non-commercial purposes. If you do use our content on your own site or social channels, simply attribute us with a link back to this page.

How To Drive Engagement With Outdoor Signs

Font Size – In order to determine the letter size used for your sign you will need to get a general idea of what distance you want your sign viewed at. Generally speaking, for every 10 feet of viewing distance away from your sign, you will want to increase the letter height by 1 inch. For example, if you want the text viewed from 150 feet away, you’re going to want to have the text be at least 15 inches tall. We’ve included a chart that gives letter height and distance increments based on this rule of thumb to easily see what letter size you need for your sign.

Common Font Size Examples:

As stated, these are only recommendations / examples for common letter height for certain sign types. We recommend using the letter height chart above or the 1” to 10’ rule of thumb to determine the best sizing for your sign’s letters.

The graphics below will show typical letter height for specific types and uses of signs (not viewable distance).

Font Color – For greatest visibility of letters, use colors that contrast with the background color of your sign. We’ve included a chart below that outlines common color combinations for the best visibility. The general rule of thumb is that you should use a light colored background with a dark letter, and vice versa. A dark background with dark letters is not ideal for visibility purposes. This is especially true for storefront signage such as vinyl lettering and window decals that may be placed on tinted windows. (We go over the differences of all of our different window signage options here.)   

Font Type – Recommended letter heights and the letter height visibility chart (see above) are based off of fonts that are Serif or Sans Serif (and variations of these font types). Decorative and script fonts are harder to see when used with smaller font size. If you do include decorative and script fonts on a sign, make sure that the letter height is adjusted to increase visibility. Even with an increased size decorative fonts are simply harder to read than block fonts.

Sign Placement – Letter visibility will be affected by where you place the sign in relation to sidewalks or roadways. Take into consideration the angle of where you are placing the sign and the angle of the the viewer (whether in a car or walking on a sidewalk).

Signs placed perpendicular to the line of sight of a pedestrian or driver are easier to view than those placed parallel to a road or walkway. Nonetheless, larger font sizes will still be more visible even if placed parallel to the line of sight. Signs below or above eye level should include larger letters for increased visibility.

Lighting conditions – Signs placed in direct sunlight and well-lit rooms should be adjusted accordingly. Bright colors (yellows, oranges) and pastel colors will be harder to see when light shines directly on them. Use darker colors to increase the visibility of letters in well-lit or bright conditions. Likewise, dark lighting conditions or dark surfaces (like tinted windows) will require lighter colored lettering to improve visibility.

For Best Visibility

These principles are easy to understand and don’t require any special graphic training. When in doubt, use larger letters with fonts that are easily legible and font colors that contrast from the background color of your sign and/or application surface. Place your sign in a conspicuous location that allows for maximum visibility and make sure that direct light doesn’t affect the quality of the sign. If you have any question on sign design and letter height, we have an all-star team of designers that offer free design help as well as an award-winning customer service team that would be happy to help.

Signage 101 – Letter Height Visibility

A popular way to get inspired on a day to day basis is through wall quotes. This has become a popular trend in homes and businesses to motivate and uplift. Our vinyl lettering or wall quotes are made with a durable vinyl that is individually cut with an adhesive backing. Your wall quote will be individual letters but com pre-masked with transfer tape for an easy one-time installation of your entire quote or design. To see the ten most popular vinyl lettering wall quotes click here. If you already have a specific quote or saying in mind that is going to motivate you, the next step is easy. Start by jumping over to the wall quotes product page. Next, you can enter in your custom dimensions then click on the “Get Started” button as seen in the picture below.

In the design tool, you can upload a vector file if the design has been created outside of the website or you can create the design right there! By simply adding text and/or clipart, you can create the motivational quote you need for your wall.

You can also check out some inspirational wall quote templates by clicking on that link or on the following templates:

Here are a few examples of wall quotes in action:

Image courtesy of Pinterest

Image courtesy of Pinterest

Image courtesy of Pinterest

Another way in which to be inspired through signs, is hanging pictures of a personal goal. Maybe your goal is to eat healthier, maybe it’s to exercise more, maybe you have financial goals or maybe it’s something as simple as spending more time with the family. Any and all of these goals can be printed and displayed in your home for a little push and inspiration. With the new year upon us, many of us are going to select a new year’s resolution. We all know how difficult it can be to actually stick with that goal and see it to the end. It can be pretty easy to get started and feel motivated in the beginning; the tricky thing is following through and seeing your goal to the end. But, having a reminder of that specific goal displayed somewhere in your home can be a great way to push our minds and bodies to achieve what we desire.

The end goal could be displayed through a repositionable wall decal. These decals are an opaque vinyl material that have a low-tac adhesive on the back side. They can be installed on any smooth, clean surface. Images of our goals can be printed on these decals and can be positioned on any wall, at any time. You can even move the decal around with you and place it in different locations on different days, making that wall decal a strict reminder of what you want to accomplish.

Goals could also be displayed using a magnet for your fridge. Every time you are in the kitchen, walk past the fridge, or reach inside the fridge, your goal will be displayed as a reminder and inspiration. Your magnet can be as small as 6 inches by 6 inches. Anything from pictures to a quote can be printed on a magnet for motivation.

A couple of other effective options for inspirational signage might be a small vinyl banner or a picture printed on a poster or gorgeous metal. 

Inspiration can also be found from the people whom we love. Custom prints of our loved ones displayed in our homes can provide the inspiration needed to achieve a goal or make something happen. Seeing their faces might be just enough motivation for us to keep going. Our prints, such as our canvas prints or wooden prints, provide a perfect base for pictures of our loved ones to be displayed.

Here are some examples of canvas prints with photos for inspiration:

Image courtesy of Project Nursery

Image courtesy of Sugar Bee Crafts

Image courtesy of Green Street Blog

We also offer photo prints with three different finishes: metallic, matte and glossy. These are printed on professional grade photo paper to ensure the best quality for your family photos.

No matter what kind of inspiration you need, there is a variety of ways you can find it through signs. Finding encouragement and inspiration through signs and lettering is made easy through our online design tool. If you are having trouble designing exactly what you want, our team of professional designers can help with free design help and photo retouching. They can put together a design for you that will inspire and uplift each time you look at it. It can be tricky finding inspiration in our lives, but having a beautiful sign to look at can get us started and inspire us to achieve what we want. So go ahead and create your inspirational sign and feel a difference in your life.

Inspirational Quotes – Photo Arrangements and Wall Signs

Step 1

Go to Signs.com

Step 2

Scroll down and select what type of material to use.

Step 3

Once you have selected the material, go ahead and enter in the width and height and select Get Started!

Step 4

Select one of the following (If you are not sure click START FROM SCRATCH).

Step 5

When you click  START FROM SCRATCH it will bring you to the “Design Your Sign” page.  From here you can add text, upload images, change colors and more under “Design Tools”.

Step 6

Select Add Text and a text box will reflect on your screen saying “Add your text here…”. From the Text Options box you are able to change what text you want, the font and the size of the text box. To change the color of the text you select the color while the text box is selected.

Step 7

If you want to change the color of the background, select part of the background and then select the color you wish to change it to.

Step 8

To add more text you can select Add Text again. You can click and drag the text box to where you would like it to be. You can center text boxes, clip art or uploaded image by using the Center Vertical or Center Horizontal buttons under Design Tools.

Step 9

If you would like to upload an image, you will click on Upload Image under Design Tools. Select File, locate image you would like to upload and select open.

Step 10

Once you have everything on your design, you can now select the options.

Step 11

Once you have all of your options selected you can select View Proof which is located under your design to see it blown up. If everything looks good you can close out of the proof by selecting the x in the right corner.

Step 12

After you have viewed the proof you can click on Save and Continue. This will take you to the shopping cart.

Step 13

Once in the shopping cart, review your order and make sure everything looks correct (design, material, sizing, options, quantity). Then you will select Checkout, either on top or bottom.

Step 14

On the checkout screen you will fill out your information and billing address.

Step 15

If your billing address is different than your shipping address you can deselect Ship to my billing address and you can enter in your shipping address.

Step 16

Once you have entered in the shipping address you can select the Shipping Method, we offer UPS Ground, UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS Next Day Air Saver.

Step 17

You can now enter in your Payment Info; we accept Visa, Mastercard, AmEx and Discover. If you have a promo code you can click on Got a promo code? which is below the “leave a comment” comment box. Once you enter in your code you can press go, and your code should reflect towards the grand total of your order.

Step 18

If everything looks correct you can click on “Place Your Order”.

Step 19

At this point, your sign is in our hands. Our team will review, produce, and ship it out to you within one business day of ordering!

A Step-by-Step Guide on Orderering a Sign from Signs.com

The shape of your sign is up to you as the customer. Sign shape options include:

• Square or rectangle
• Circle or oval
• Rounded Corners
• Custom
• Custom with Border

As we focus on custom and custom with border sign shapes, you’ll learn the difference between these two options which will allow you to create a sign that works for your needs.  We’ll also highlight a unique cut, known as die cutting, which is also widely used within the printing industry.

Custom (Contour) Cut

Making a sign that is cut to a specific shape or along the exact edge of a design is achieved by using a custom cut. This cut is achieved by using a digital cutter or router, which creates a precise cut (sometimes referred to as a contour cut) along the edge of your design. Your sign will be printed before cutting to ensure that your design is cut to the exact edge of your design.

Custom cut can create virtually any shape or design, the only limitation is that any cut portion of your sign must be at least ¼” in width. If cut smaller, the integrity of the sign structure would be compromised. The custom or contour shape option is perfect for creating signs without an excess border or background. Some of our most popular signs, including aluminum, plastic signs, acrylic, and magnets can be cut to shape by selecting the custom shape option when creating your sign.

Custom With Border (Halo Cut)

Similar to the custom shape option, which cuts to the contour or exact outline your sign, the custom with border option (previously known as or sometimes referred to as halo cut)  will cut around the edges of your design. What sets this cut apart from a custom or contour cut is the border that is left around the edges of the sign. This border is ¼” – ½” in thickness, which provides a sort of ‘bubble effect’ around the outside of your sign. As you can see from the image below, the custom with border option essentially includes a border around your cut-to-shape sign.

Custom with border provides for added strength in a sign, especially those that have intricate designs that you want cut to shape. If your design has areas that are smaller than ¼” and you want to have the sign cut to shape, choosing custom with border will provide a similar cut to shape effect with necessary excess material to protect the sign from breaking. Though if you have portions of your sign that are extremely thin we’d still recommend you contact us before proceeding. We’ll be able to tell you with certainty whether your desired cut is doable and durable for the long run. If you notice in the image below, you will see the difference between a custom with border (halo cut) and custom (contour) cut sign.

We provide the custom with border shape option on a number of our signs, including brushed aluminum, foam board, and wall decals.

Die Cut

Die cutting is sometimes used synonymously with contour or custom shape cutting but, in actuality, they are two completely different cutting processes. If you’re looking for a custom cut, a die cut will not provide you with the desired results. The die cutting process can be equated to using a cookie cutter to make exact shapes in a material. Like with a cookie cutter, die cutting uses a stenciled (die) design that is made from aluminum, which is pressed on a material to punch out shapes and designs. Think of a hole puncher used to make holes in paper, only on a larger scale with limitless designs that can be punched through materials far more rigid and thicker than paper! Because the die is pressed through a material, this process only works with flat substrates such as paper, thin metal, and plastics. Die cutting is typically used on large-quantity jobs because it can cut to the same shape at high speeds and frequency. Softer materials like paper may not work as well as harder materials, as soft materials may bend or fray when the die is pressed through it.

Die cut products provide for a unique display with decorative flair. This cut provides a see-through or window effect when used. Common uses for this cutting process in the printing industry include decorative envelopes and letterhead, metal stencils, vinyl stickers, and leather products. Die cutting is a decorative technique that is best for smaller sized projects (like those mentioned above). Typically, signage for business and homeowner use is not designed with portions cut out from the center of the material. As such, we do not currently offer die cutting as an option. In some cases, industrial printers use laser cutting to achieve the same result as die cutting.

Making the Cut

Determining which type of cut is best for your sign is up to you and your design preferences. If your sign has intricate details to the design, then custom with border would be best to eliminate excess material without harming the durability of the sign. Simple designs and shapes can be cut using the custom shape option, to give you a clean, streamlined sign. To determine which cut is available for the sign material of your choosing, simply go into our design tool and look undeath the ‘Shape’ option. All available shapes and cuts will be listed. Choosing custom with border or custom shape will cost extra. Selecting the circle or oval option might also create just the right shape for your design. In addition,  we also provide a ‘rounded’ cut option on many of our signs, which cuts the corners to a rounded shape to prevent any injuries from sharp corners. If you have any questions about which cut would be best for your sign, please contact us at support@signs.com or 888-222-4929

Updated March 5, 2019

Custom (Contour and Halo) vs Die Cut—Signage 101

One available tool is the ‘Show bleed area’. You don’t have to be a graphic designer or Photoshop wizard to incorporate ‘bleed’ into your design. While bleed sounds like a gruesome way to describe a design element, we hope to clarify what the term means and how you can best use it for your signage needs.

What exactly is ‘bleed’?

Bleed is a commonly used technique in the design and printing industry. Also known as “full bleed printing”, this technique allows a design to be printed larger than the end product’s actual size to avoid any undesired white space or border around the design once it is cut. Once printed, the design is trimmed down to the desired size of the product. Bleed is useful for designs with colored backgrounds, lettering or images that reach to the edge of the sign. It helps to prevent those objects from being trimmed incorrectly and cutting out part of the original image or lettering.

Signs.com uses a ¼” (.25) inch bleed area on all sides of the sign when printing. There is no real industry standard for bleed area and bleed requested or needed can vary by printer and even material type. Having said this, our bleed will always be ¼” regardless of the material type or the size of your sign. This ¼” area is also known as “bleed allowance”, or the area in which an image is allowed to extend beyond the printed area of the design. As noted above, this standard ¼” bleed allowance helps prevent distortions due to movement during the printing process or mistakes while trimming the edges.

Looking at this design in our design tool will help to explain what bleed is. Before enabling the bleed option in advanced tools, notice how the white background ends at the border of the sign. For explanation purposes, we’ll call this the “main border”.

Once bleed is enabled there is an additional border placed around the design, allowing the image or design to extend beyond the “main border”. We’ll call this extension the “bleed area”.

Why is bleed important?

Now that you understand what we mean by “bleed” we’ll see how it’s applicable to you and your sign. Using bleed allows your design to continue past the main border of where the sign will be printed. The “bleed area” will be printed with your sign but will be considered excess material which will be trimmed off at the “main border”. By doing so, your design will cover the full area of the sign, without having an unwanted non-printed border around the edge of the sign. Bleed also ensures that the design will not be incorrectly trimmed and cut off any part of an image or lettering that is close to the edges of your sign.

If you do not include bleed in your design, there is a small chance that it will be printed incorrectly or slightly off, resulting in excess whitespace around the edge of the sign. Design elements close to the edge might also be inadvertently trimmed.

Is it necessary?

While using the bleed option is not necessary to produce a sign, it is recommended in order to ensure that your sign is printed as you designed it. If you desire your sign to be professional looking without any color variation along the border, then using bleed will give you confidence that the final product will match what you designed it to look like.

We add bleed, without any additional charge, to every design that is not uploaded with it, so do not worry if you are unsure how to add bleed.

If you already have a file with our ¼” bleed incorporated, simply select the proper dimensions you want your sign to be and upload your file. For example, if you want a 72” x 36” banner, simply upload a file with the dimensions of 72.5” x 36.5”. This allows for a .25” bleed on every edge of the sign.  If you select the “Show bleed area” advanced tool you’ll see that your bleed extends beyond the “main border”. Likewise, if you select one of our backgrounds or change the background color on our design tool it will automatically extend beyond the “main border” and provide a bleed area. When text is included in your design, we recommend that you place it 2″ away from the main border to ensure that it will not be trimmed off or drilled through when holes are included in the sign. Drilled holes will be visible in our design tool so it will be easy to see where to avoid placing text.

If you want to add bleed yourself you can use our design tool or follow the instructions provided below for the Adobe programs.

How do I use other programs to include a bleed area?

We’ve created step-by-step instructions if you’re making a design using a photo editing or design program and need to know how to add bleed to your design.

How To Add Bleed – Adobe Photoshop

Existing Document:

1. Add guides lines by going to ‘view’, then click on ‘rulers’.
2. Rulers will be placed in your document window. Click on the rulers and drag guidelines to all 4 edges of the document.
3. Once the guidelines are set, go into the ‘image tab’, then click ‘canvas size’.
4. Add .25” to both the height at width of the document. If you want a 12”x16” document to have a bleed area, then you would want to set the canvas size to 12.5”x16.5”
5. Once the canvas size has been changed, the guidelines from the original document will stay, indicating the edge of the print area and beginning of the bleed area.
6. Save as a PDF

New Document:

1. Open a new document, setting your dpi (resolution) to 300 pixel/inch.
2. When choosing the dimensions of the document add .5” to the width and height (allowing for .25” on all sides). For example, if you want a 12”x16” to have a bleed it must be set to 12.5”x16.5”
3. Once the dimensions are set, use the guide tool to set guides at .25” for the height and width to designate where the bleed area will be.
4. Design with the bleed area in mind, making sure not to put crucial text or images within the area.
5. Save your document as a PDF to be uploaded using our design tool.

How To Add Bleed – Adobe InDesign

Existing document:

1. Go to ‘file’ the click on ‘document setup’
2. Then click on ‘more options’ to view the bleed options.
3. Input .25” into the option.
4. Make sure to save your document as a PDF.

New document:

1. Open a new document, click on ‘bleed and slug’ to change bleed measurements provided by the program. We suggest using .25”, as this is the standard size for a bleed area.
2. Click ‘preview’ to see what the bleed area will look like on your document (it will be represented by a red guide).
3. Use the bleed guides while positioning your artwork or design to ensure that your design fits within the lines.
4. Save your document as an Adobe PDF (Print)

How To Add Bleed – Adobe Illustrator

Existing Document:

1. Click on ‘file’ then ‘document setup’
2. Under the bleed and view heading, fill in the desired measurement (.25”) for the bleed.
3. A red box will appear around your document, indicating where the bleed area is.
4. Make sure your images and background extends to the edge of the red line to ensure that your document prints with bleed.

New Document:

1. Open a new document.
2. When the window appears with measurements for the new document, enter .25” in the bleed column.
3. Make sure your resolution is at 300 dpi (pixels/inch).

It is worth noting that you can upload a PDF file to any of those programs to include bleed, just choose the “open with” option when opening the PDF to import it in the desired program.

Below we’ve included some of the most frequently asked questions we get about bleed on a daily basis.

Does It Matter What Type Of File I Upload To Your Design Tool To Use Bleed?

As long as you have enabled bleed in the file you plan on uploading it does not matter what type of file (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) is uploaded to the design tool. This assumes of course you are using one of the formats we accept. JPEG, PNG, and PDF’s are all acceptable file types to use in our design tool. The rest are displayed when clicking on the “Upload Image” button in the “Design Tools” section.  Make sure you save the file correctly before uploading to assure that the bleed will be used in our design tool.

Are Print And Copy Marks Directly Related To Bleed? Are These Part Of Your Design Tool?

Print marks is a general term indicating all types of marks within a file – crop marks, color bars, bleed marks, etc. None of these markings are used for our printing process and will not appear on the design tool. The only marks you may see are for drilled holes and grommets when these options are selected for certain material types. Please be aware of these when designing your sign(s).

Crop marks are fine, horizontal and vertical lines that define where the sign will be trimmed after printing. These lines are used to tell the cutting machines where the edge of the design should be and where to cut the sign. Signs.com’s streamlined production process uses special crop and trim marks that are added after your purchase. Therefore, they are not a necessary part of our design tool.

Do We Need To Include Crop or Print Marks In The Files We Upload To Your Design Tool?

No. Please do not include print or crop marks in your file you upload. Though we generally catch them if they are included, it is possible that they can be overlooked and sent through production to be printed with your design. We cannot guarantee that the marks would be removed before printing, which would cause them to appear in the final product.

Can I Use Bleed With My Desktop Printer?

Depending on the desired size of your document, bleed can be implemented with desktop printers. Printing business cards, post cards, or any other smaller document will allow you to add bleed to the document as long as the bleed is included in the size of the paper you are printing on.

It may be difficult to achieve a full bleed for larger documents that cover the entire sheet of paper. In some cases, printers have “print to the edge” or a “borderless” option to allow for a similar effect to full bleed. Using those options may cause the edge of your printed document to be faded or distorted. It’s recommended that you use a professional printing service to achieve a full bleed on larger documents.

If you’re still a little confused on how to incorporate bleed into your design, we have a staff of professional designers that would love to help clarify any questions. Feel free to give us a call at 888-222-4929 or visit our design services page. As always, our design services are free (that includes helping you add bleed to your sign). And to note one final time, we will attempt to add bleed to any file that doesn’t include bleed to ensure your signs come out just right!

Bleed Basics Signage 101

Borders can draw attention to the information that is inside. Many different kinds of borders can be added to a design. Decorative borders add style to the design, and can be added directly to the design file and uploaded to the website. Solid borders can also be added to the design file, or it can be created by following the steps below on the Signs.com design tool.

Step 1

Click on the background and change the background color to the color of border you are wanting.

Step 2

Go to the Clip Art Tool and select the square shape.

Step 3

Click on the blue lock on the Object Options box so that it turns gray and looks unlocked.

Step 4

Change the size of the square to be 1” smaller than sign you are ordering.

You can make it bigger or smaller depending on how thick you are wanting the border. Ex: If you are ordering a 24” x 18” sign, make the square 23” x 17”

Step 5

Use the Center Vertical and Center Horizontal design tools to center the square on the screen.

Step 6

Change the color of the square to be the color of background you are wanting.

Step 7

Click the Send to Back button in the design tools until you see your text show up.

Not all borders have to go to the edge of the sign. Some borders are a thin line around the whole design. The following steps are similar to those above, but you are creating one more layer so that the border doesn’t go all the way to the edge of the sign.

Thin Borders

Follow steps 2-7 above, but make the color of the square the color of border you are wanting. *If the color of the border is the same as the text, you will not be able to see your text when you click on Send Backward, but it is still important to do step 7.

Add an additional square to the design and make it a little smaller than the square added above. Two inches smaller than your actual sign will leave you with a 1 inch wide border.

Follow steps 5-7 above

Either border can be used on the sign and still create the desired outcome: drawing attention to the information inside the border. In a few, easy steps, your signs will be ready to be seen.

How to Add a Border Using Our Design Tool

Millions of Americans spend a considerable amount of time behind the wheel each year. In fact, 8.1 percent of U.S. workers who worked outside of the home had at least an hour-long commute in 2011, according to U.S. Census numbers.

Even though biking and walking are popular alternative forms of transportation for some, our vehicles are still the go-to method for getting around town. Get in, sit down, buckle in and fire up your smart phone’s navigation to figure out how to get to your office on the first day of your new job. Technology can definitely help us find our way on the road, but those green and white signs above the freeway are about as certain as death and taxes. Have you ever wondered who designed those, and why each traffic sign tends to look the same no matter where you go in the country?

Here are five things to know about our nation’s traffic signs:

1. Traffic signs are designed with safety in mind. In the early 20th century, the first mass-produced automobile made its debut in the United States. People were fascinated with the machine, and soon travelers began to set out and explore, only to end up confused and lost instead. So, a number of horseless carriage owners got together in New York City to form an automobile club, and help drivers get around by placing road signs along local highways.

In the 1920s, representatives from Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin decided to create a basis for uniform road markings and signs, and toured several states to report their findings to the Mississippi Valley Association of Highway Departments. This resulted in the first set of standards for sign shapes, many of which we still use today. In 1932, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) and the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety (NCSHS) formed the first Joint Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, in an effort to standardize the sign, shape and color of traffic signs across America. The first Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was published in 1935, and state transportation departments across the country use this manual when creating their road signs. Road surface markings, traffic signals and signs in each state must conform to these national standards, including size, colors, shapes and fonts used in the devices.

2. Traffic signs are consistent no matter where you go. Isn’t that nice to know? If you’re taking a road trip from Seattle, Washington to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, each traffic sign is going to look the same, helping you reach your destination. Highway guide signs are green with white lettering, parking signs, including signs for parking meters and permits, are white with green lettering, and warning signs are yellow with black lettering.

3. Individual states can supplement the national standard for roadway markings. While the MUTCD plays an important role in dictating standards for the design, implementation and maintenance of traffic control devices, State transportation departments can supplement these standards for their own, unique purposes. Next time you’re driving along the interstate, take a look at those electronic message boards spanning across the lanes. While many major cities tend to use them, their purposes could be vastly different. In Utah, UDOT’s Variable Message Signs (VMS) display current travel times 24 hours a day. During times of poor air quality, these VMS will instead display a message to “Travel Wise”, by encouraging drivers to limit their driving, or to use public transit. The MUTCD provides a set of guidelines for messages displayed on these electronic signs, but it’s up to the state to determine what messages are displayed for drivers.

4. Figuring out the Interstate numbering system can help you get around. I-15, I-515, I-5 – do you know these freeway designations mean? If you take some time to understand the numbering system, your next vacation might run a little more smoothly.

Here are some facts to keep in mind:

• Even-numbered, one- or two-digit Interstates are east-west routes. The numbers increase from the south to the north.
• Odd-numbered, one- or two-digit Interstates are north-south routes. The numbers increase from the West to the East.
• Three-digit Interstates always connect to other major highways. A loop or circular “beltway” will begin with an even number, and will connect to another Interstate at both ends. A “spur” route will begin with an odd number, and will only connect with an Interstate at one end.

5. Other countries use their own standards for traffic signs and signals. In 1978, the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals came into force across many locations in Europe, in an effort to standardize road markings, traffic lights and road signs. Canadian road markings and traffic signage are similar to American road signs, but may include bilingual phrases in certain jurisdictions.

I spent some time working for the Utah Department of Transportation a few years ago, and learned quite a bit about what goes in to running an efficient transportation system. What struck me the most about traffic signs is the fact that consistency plays a large part in the safety and mobility of Americans. Signs are an important component to the economy, and whether it’s the “No Parking” sign in front of your business, or the Variable Message Sign on the freeway, a simple and clear message can make a world of difference.

Andrew James is the owner and managing editor of 24 Salt Lake, a Utah news and information site based in Salt Lake City. For a look at traffic incidents across Utah, click www.24saltlake.com/traffic.

Navigating America: How Traffic Signs Help Us Find our Way

Since I began writing the blog for Signs.com a year ago, I can’t seem to get away from signage. It’s everywhere: along the freeway, on the parkstrip in front of shopping centers, even inside public restrooms. I see good signage. I see signage that is so-so. But I also see some pretty bad signage. Most of the problems that I see with truly bad signage could be easily fixed, if only the person who designed the sign knew what design mistakes to avoid.

To get some professional advice, I headed over to our design department. Not to brag, but we’ve managed to hire two of the most incredibly talented artistic minds on the planet: Creative Director, Brian Jackson and Graphic Designer, Melissa Moyle. They sat down with me to share the top 8 design mistakes they see most often.

1) Trying to do everything on one sign.

According to Brian and Melissa, the first thing to do when designing a sign is to decide what the function of that sign should be.

Brian: I don’t think that people really ask themselves what the sign is supposed to be doing for them. People try to serve more than one function per sign instead of focusing on conveying one thing really well.

Once you’ve decided what the function of the sign is, you can choose a hierarchy of design elements. For instance, if a sign’s main purpose is to alert customers of the business location, then the phone number doesn’t need to be larger than the logo.

Melissa: I agree. I think that sometimes people feel like they have to add tons of information to every sign in order to feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. They try to put too many lines of text on a sign, or they add a bunch of crazy images and colors because they think that those things will make the sign stand out, but really it’s all just detracting from what they want to tell their customers.

Here’s a great example of a sign design that’s trying to do too many things at once.

Here’s the improved version. Because it conveys the main function, the “Frozen Yogurt” text is centered, larger than the rest of the text and in a different color. Notice that the rest of the text is much smaller than in the first example. This allows for emphasis of the main function—Frozen Yogurt.

2) Forgetting Legibility.

Brian: If you’re trying to communicate something far away, you definitely don’t want to dilute your message by using an unreadable font. Fancy script and heavy gothic fonts are really hard to read, even when you have tons of time to sit and stare at them, let alone when you’re speeding past in a car.

Melissa: People also struggle to read text that’s too small. As long as you’re not trying to put too much information on one sign. you should be able to make the text large enough to be legible from a distance.

3) Using the wrong font.

Brian: You want to make sure that the font on your sign fits well with your business. Just because a font is popular doesn’t mean you should use it. Some fonts are so overused that they become cliche′. The Papyrus font really took off with health/wellness and spa businesses. It became widely associated with those industries. But now it’s everywhere: Mexican restaurants use it. Clothing stores. I even saw a sign on a cash register in a Chinese restaurant that used Papyrus. It’s confusing to customers to see a sign with a font that seems out of place.

Melissa: Comic sans is another popular font that’s used in the wrong place. Yesterday I drove past a sign that said, “Smoke Shop.” It was in comic sans balloon letters, with rainbow colors. The sign looked more appropriate for a daycare center or a business that hosts birthday parties with bouncy houses… not a business that sells cigarettes.

Here’s an example of a sign with an inappropriate font. The business is obviously not a health spa. It’s not the most horrible sign in the world, but it could be better.

This sign uses a more unique font that looks warm and inviting. It’s not the same font that everyone else is using.

4) Lacking consistency with other signage.

Brian: Consistency is important. A lot of small businesses don’t have what we would consider a brand per se, but if you’re going to be hanging several signs and you have a website and a storefront, some sort of consistency is nice. Is it possible to use the same font on each piece to tie some things together? Can you stick to the same color theme throughout?

Melissa: Sometimes it’s easy to think that every sign should be unique: this sign is red, so the next sign should be blue. This font is fun, but this font is cool too, so we’ll use one on each sign. Trying to make each sign unique makes a carnival of signage—not a cohesive brand.

5) Using color in tragic ways.

Brian: A sign’s basic function is to communicate something and the finished sign should speak to that; it should serve that function. If there’s anything happening there that detracts from that, you’ve got a less effective sign. Color is often the culprit when it comes to distraction.

Melissa: Just because you like a color combination doesn’t mean you should use it on your sign. Some colored text is really hard to read when placed on top of other certain colors. Using an entire rainbow on one sign is annoying and doesn’t usually help get your message across.

This turquoise lettering on this red background is really hard to read and it’s so bright it hurts your eyes.

This color scheme is easier on the eyes and, as a result, easier to read.

6) Ignoring proper sign installation.

Brian: I hate to drive past a business and see banners that are twisted and folded, or deflated balloons dragging on the ground. Get out there and re-stretch and tighten your sign every so often so that it looks nice. There also comes a time when you should get a new sign. Banners that are eroded and ragged look terrible.

Melissa: Remember that your sign represents your business. It’s worth it to take the time to fix sagging signs and replace old ones.

7) Having fear of white space.

Brian: Some people have what we call horror vacui. I just made that up, but it’s a very real thing— the fear of white space. Feeling like the entire sign needs to be filled in… every square inch. That’s a huge common problem. Isolation can have as much impact as scale.

Melissa: Size isn’t the only way to emphasize something. Using letters and images that are too big just crowds the sign. If you leave plenty of blank space, the letters and images are more prominent.

This sign has a lot going on. The business name takes up almost one-third of the sign.

This sign has basically the same text, but the business name is smaller, which leaves plenty of blank space around the name and actually makes it more noticeable.

8) Failing to get help from a professional.

Brian: Whether it’s us or someone local, I recommend that people use a professional graphic designer.

Melissa: We’re here for our customers. We can work with people to improve their sign designs, or can even start fresh and create a couple new design concepts. Our services are free, so don’t hesitate to call us when you need help.

The Final Word:

Brian: Your signage is all about building trust and credibility. Your sign is telling people something about your business. If the sign has bad grammar, if the colors are loud, or the design isn’t appropriate to your audience, those things reflect poorly on your business..

The bottom line is simple: Focus on the function. Make it clean. Make it legible. And if you’re struggling with design, get some help.

8 Design Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making