Sign Face turns black

We see this all the time. It is normally on the south or east facing signs and it takes 3-4 years. The vinyl turns black or fades to white. Digital prints with no laminate turn to fade to white, laminated digital printed last a lot longer, but tend to turn black. It has to do with UV inhibitors, UV protection. Exactly what turns black? Some say it is the adhesive others say it is the pigments in the ink that turns black.

Along with the color change come shrinkage. There are 2 types of vinyl, Calendared and Cast. Calendared is rolled out between two tight rollers and shrinks back into its smaller size over time – it shrinks. Cast is a surrey and backs into a sheet (or roll), while dimensionally more stable, both have a live. That life really depends on the sun and the temperature cycles. Inside, out of the sun – vinyl lasts for years, In direct sun all day for years, 3-4 years.

Materials

While nothing lasts forever, different material choices can help. There are “guarantees” at a couple of different levels, normally a 2–3-year level and a 5–7-year level. The longer guarantee is all about the quality of the vinyl. Also, up to this point we are talking about digital prints (solvent and Latex ink), there is also a different type of vinyl – “cut vinyl”, it has color all the way through and is not printable. It comes in translucent and “opaque. Light goes through the translucent, but not the opaque.

Here we have a service issue – the prints turned black, we took the faces down and used cut vinyl. It is black but cut in the desired shape. It is good for about 6-7 years or more. The next level up is more expensive – We could have painted it. Paint is nearly always more durable than any vinyl. Have a sign where you need a longer life? We can help 760-730-5118

Developer & Designer

I, Frank Murch was born in Honolulu. Dad was an Army Captain. After his separation he drove my 2-year-old self and Mom to Colorado. After starting Kindergarten and terrorizing my parents, brother and sister for 20 years, I graduated both Kindergarten and the University of Colorado. I worked at Coors Porcelain for a time and then a series of high-tech companies in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Tokyo. Along the way I gathered letters to drag behind my name MSEng, MBA. 30 years later I started Signs for San Diego. Signs for San Diego is a manufacturing company. Much more about building signs than other Sign Companies; it comes from my background. Technical Capability is a focus. We are a wholesale source for the industry. We want to make the best sign possible. It is in my DNA. Applying 30 years of manufacturing experience and 10 years of entrepreneurial experience make us the best sign company around. I also am of the HP management culture, Inclusion, respect and treating people as adults makes Signs for San Diego a happy place to work. We are looking for customers that match our culture, happy, better quality, and better than what is generally available

See Full Bio