Signage refers to a general term for signs that guide, direct, indicate functions, index, and point directions. Depending on the habit, people often call signage by various names: advertising signage, identification signs, directional signage, guide signs, door signs, floor index signs, road signs, directional signs, illuminated signage, 3D signage, and so on. #Signage#

Signage materials and manufacturing processes are incredibly diverse. It's precisely because different materials and techniques have different names that it can be quite confusing. Today, as an editor from a signage manufacturer, I'm here to share information about signage materials and manufacturing techniques, accompanied by signage images to explain each one individually. We categorize common signage into the following 24 types:

Acrylic Signage: Acrylic carved signs; base plate available in various colors; choose the acrylic color based on the base plate color designed by the artist; the text is also a laser-cut acrylic sticker applied on the surface. The acrylic letters can be spray-painted in a matte finish for a three-dimensional effect, contrasting with the glossy base plate. Check out the effect of this acrylic carved signage.


Acrylic Engraved Signage
2. Type Signs: Acrylic silk-screened or UV signs; signs made from transparent acrylic or colored acrylic, laser-cut to shape, with silk-screened patterns or text on the front. Transparent acrylic can be UV-resistant or have printed patterns/text on the front, while other colored acrylics can only be printed on the front. The previous set of images showing transparent acrylic with UV resistance is for reference only.


Acrylic screen printing or UV signage
3. Third-Category Signs: Painted Silk Screen or UV Signs; Painted substrates can be made of metal (commonly iron, steel, aluminum), painted, or can also be acrylic plates, aluminum composite panels, PVC boards/Snowboard, etc., painted. The surface paint color can be customized, available in glossy or matte finishes. Text or patterns can be silk-screened on this, and complex designs can also be UV printed.


Baked Enamel Pad Printing or UV Logo Plates
4. Fourth category signs: Double-color board engraved signs; the base plate features single-color text on a double-color board engraving, with other colors of text or patterns applied using UV or screen printing techniques. The base plate can be shaped or square/circular.


Two-color board engraved sign
5. Fifth Category Signage: Acrylic Heat-Bent Signs; This type is quite familiar. The L-shaped scanning payment signs commonly used on desks are all made using this process, with the content printed on the back using UV printing.


Acrylic Heat-Bend Signage
6. Category 6 Signage: Metal Bending Signs; also known as luminous signs, these are shaped by machine bending, then welded, polished, and coated with acrylic, featuring LED-lit characters inside. This technique is widely used.


Metal Bending Signboard
7. Category 7 Signs: Perforated Signs; Perforated signs are not limited to metal, as they also include options like PVC foil perforated lacquer, acrylic perforation, and aluminum plastic panel perforation. These signs can be designed with illuminated or non-illuminated characters. Small perforated signs have a wide range of applications as well.


Hollowed-out signage
8. Category 8 Signage: Vacuum-formed Signs; Made of acrylic sheet vacuum-formed, supported by a metal steel structure base. Common vacuum-formed light box signage at gas stations. Check out the effect of the vacuum-formed signage.


Blow Molding Signage
9. Category 9 Signage: Corrosion Signs; Traditional corrosion signs are familiar to many, but when combined with other materials, they can create a variety of signage. However, regardless of the designer's concept, the primary manufacturing process is either carving or corrosion.


Corrosion Identification Sign
10. Category 10: 3D Letter Signs; the 3D letters can be made of metal, acrylic, or other 3D precision letters like PVC, combining small letters to form a functional sign, which we refer to as 3D letter signs. Check out the previous set of 3D letter signs to see the effect of the precision 3D letter signs.


3D Letter Signage
11.第十一类 Signage: Bulletin Board Signs. Whether it's for a company, factory, or even the elevator walls in our residential complex, we need signage for posting announcements. Any material-based signs, we refer to as bulletin board signs; typically made of acrylic, take a look at the previous photos to see how others have made them.


Bulletin Board Sign
12. Category 12: Signboards; Plaques, licenses, dealer authorization plaques, or various plaques awarded by industries, which we categorize under signboards. These are special types of signboards, with varying designs, materials, and size specifications. Below is a set of signboard photos for your reference.


Signboard plaque
13. Category 13: Nameplate Signs; Nameplates include machine nameplates, tree nameplates, etc., which are easy to understand. The key point is that machine nameplates are generally made of zinc alloy, with stainless steel and aluminum plates being the most common; while acrylic, two-color boards, and aluminum plastic boards are more prevalent. Take a look at a series of photos showcasing nameplate signs.


Nameplate Sign
14. Category 14: Parking Signage; Indicators for parking areas are required wherever there is parking, whether in malls or buildings. These P signs for parking must be present to inform drivers of the entrance and exit points. Therefore, the P signage is a standard must-have for every parking space. Let's take a look at the previous set of parking signage.


Parking Sign Board
15. Category 15: Underground Parking Entrance Signs; Typically, a nearly 6-meter-long entrance directional sign is affixed above the entrance wall when entering the underground parking garage of a building, with both reflective and non-illuminated options, primarily used for indicating the parking entrance.


Underground parking entrance sign
16. Category 16: Tag Signs; Suspended signs are commonly used in shopping malls and supermarkets, serving as area identification prompts; usually hung with two rods, available in simple and decorative styles; most supermarkets use illuminated versions. View a set of suspended sign photos.


Hanging Tag Label
17. Category 17: Side Wall Signage; Side wall-mounted signs, besides being commonly used in restrooms, are also frequently applied in various public areas. They are essential in places like administrative units, libraries, and parks, where signs need to be visible from a distance. A set of photos would better illustrate the side wall installation of signage.


Side Wall Signage
18. Category 18: Directional Signs; These signs are predominantly made of metal with powder coating, laser-cut, and sheet metal craftsmanship, featuring built-in LED illuminated signage; commonly used as advertising directional signs indoors in shopping malls or complexes.


Guidance sign
19. Category 19: Underground Parking Signage; Many high-rise buildings have interconnected underground parking garages. The sense of direction underground differs from that on the ground, so directional signs are often more abundant in underground parking areas, especially in large complexes. Underground parking directional signs are specific to the environment and are mostly illuminated due to the dim lighting underground. Illuminated signage can also serve as lighting.


Underground parking guidance sign
20. Ten Types of Signs: Hotel Signs; Hotel signs are part of a systematic design scheme; Room number signs are an integral part of each hotel's identification system.


Hotel Signage
21. Eleven types of signage: Traffic signs; Traffic signs are further divided into many types, including safety warning signs, reflective signs, informational signs, road signs, etc., which we collectively refer to as traffic signs; the road name signs commonly seen on highways or main roads can be categorized under this broad category of traffic signs. Traffic signs are mostly made of aluminum plates, which are coated with 3M reflective film; the reflective film comes in advertising and engineering grades, with different qualities having different prices.


Traffic Sign
22. Twelve Types of Signage: Painted Signs; Painted signs are closely related to vehicles, essential in parking lots, parking pillar, parking wall, and busy streets. They indicate where car owners should park, differentiate between solid and dashed lines, and demarcate areas in underground parking lots.


Painted Signage
23. Thirteen types of signs: LED electronic display signs; large LED screens are not categorized as signs, but small ones placed on desks or viewed at close range are referred to as electronic display signs. Why are they included in this category? Because as digital technology becomes more synchronized in the future, their usage will increase, as they can synchronize with mobile phone data. Therefore, they are also known as digital signs.


LED electronic sign board
24. Fourteen Types of Name Tags: Chest Name Tags; Although used less frequently, they are still in use by some, and they cannot be omitted from the statistics. Chest name tags are also known as chest cards, available in acrylic etched silk printing, aluminum alloy, and stainless steel etching. Shapes include irregular, round, square, and more.


Name Tag
Here are 24 common types of signage shared with you. If my sharing has been helpful, don't forget to follow. Look forward to the next issue, where I'll provide a detailed explanation of the signage production process.