The process
Heat, pressure, one face.
Compression molding thermoforms acrylic into a sign. The raised tactile characters and the domed hemispherical Grade 2 braille are formed in that face. They are not applied, rastered, or laminated.
What happens at the press
- 01
A mold carries the copy
The mold holds the reverse of the tactile characters and the braille cell. What will stand proud on the sign is a cavity in the tool.
- 02
Acrylic is heated
A sheet of acrylic is brought to forming temperature. It is still one sheet. Nothing has been laminated to it.
- 03
Pressure forms the face
Pressure drives the sheet into the mold. The raised letters and the domed braille dots become the sheet. They are not a second part bonded on afterward.
- 04
It cools as one piece
The face leaves the press as a homogeneous acrylic sign. The text and the braille are the material.
- 05
Then it is finished, or not
Paint, print, solid color, solid surface, embed, photoluminescent, or a frame insert. Or it ships as an unfinished blank so the sign shop does the finish and keeps that margin.
Temperatures, pressures, and cycle times are shop settings. They are not published here.
Formed to the 2010 ADA Standards
Room and space signs that need tactile characters follow the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, including Sections 216 and 703. The molded face is made to those tactile and braille rules. This is the federal standard, not a third-party certification. Thermoformed Signs does not publish a certification number on this site.
| Provision | What the standard requires |
|---|---|
| 703.2.1 Depth | Raised characters at least 1/32 inch (0.8 mm) above the background. |
| 703.2.2 Case | Uppercase. |
| 703.2.3 Style | Sans serif. Not italic, oblique, script, or highly decorative. |
| 703.2.5 Height | 5/8 inch minimum to 2 inches maximum, based on the uppercase I. A separate raised character may be 1/2 inch minimum when visual characters are separate. |
| 703.2.6 Stroke | Stroke of the uppercase I no more than 15 percent of the character height. |
| 703.3 Braille | Contracted Grade 2. Dots are domed or rounded and sized to Table 703.3.1. |
| 703.3.2 Position | Braille sits below the corresponding text, at least 3/8 inch from other tactile characters and from raised borders. |
| 703.5.1 Contrast | Non-glare finish. Light characters on a dark field, or dark characters on a light field. |
Braille dot diameter, spacing, and height are the ranges in Table 703.3.1: dot base diameter 0.059 to 0.063 inch, dot height 0.025 to 0.037 inch, and the cell spacings in that table. Mounting height and latch-side location (703.4) are installation rules. The sign company on the job places the sign. The manufacturer forms the face.
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (opens in a new tab)
Interior and exterior, with nothing to delaminate
Throw one in a pool, come back a month later, and the worst that will happen is a wet sign. The acrylic face is interior and exterior rated. Photopolymer can delaminate. Appliqué letters can peel. Raster beads can pop out. Those are different constructions. This one is a single piece.
Photoluminescent faces are the exception to treat carefully: that finish is typically specified for interior stairwells and exit paths. Confirm the rating for that finish when you quote. See finishes.
Have a sign schedule?
Tell us the project, the finish, and when you need the signs. A person at Thermoformed Signs will follow up by email.