Think all sign companies are the same!
You may not know it but there are many different disciplines in the sign industry. There are exterior lighted signs, vehicle wraps, ADA signs, vinyl graphics and more. Sign companies typically specialize in certain disciplines of the sign industry and few are experts in all these disciplines. This is not to say that there are not any sign companies that can do every type of signage, but a sign company will typically focus on one or a couple of disciplines in the sign industry. For instance, at Avalis we specialize in ADA signs, but we also do vinyl graphics and some interior LED lighted signs. We can also do some exterior lighted signs, but it is not really our specialty.
When you perform an internet search for a sign company the search results may be a bit overwhelming. You will see a lot of sign companies that have a lot of pictures on their website of projects they have done, and it can give you confidence in that company. What you may not know is that just because they show ADA signs on their website, it does not necessarily mean they know the ADA law or that they even manufactured the signs themselves, and this can lead to possible trouble down the line.
We were recently asked to help a hospital that was having some issues with their new sign system. This hospital had decided to upgrade their sign package and hired a designer and a sign company that would help them take their project from start to finish. The designer was tasked with creating a stylish and elegant design, but they did not know the laws around ADA signage. They came up with a good-looking design and sent it to the hospital who liked the sign and sent it to the sign company. The sign company did not specialize in ADA signs and therefore did not know ADA law either and they built the signs per the drawings they were given, and the signs were installed throughout the hospital.
The sign system had been installed in the hospital for 18 months and the hospital had received numerous complaints about the signs being difficult to read. An employee of the hospital that we had worked with before recommended they call Avalis to help them out. When we met with the hospital, they were ready to replace all the signs in the building. Not wanting them to waste money we told them to go back to the original sign company and designer and have them fix the issue. The designer pointed to the sign company and said, “they should have known ADA law” and the sign company pointed to the designer and said “we made what they designed”. At the end of the day the hospital was out the money and had to still purchase new signs.
One thing I want to stress is that it is not super easy to replace a sign system in a hospital. The old signs must be removed, which usually results in wall damage that needs to be repaired, and you can imagine how many rooms a hospital has and how time consuming and expensive that can be.
Obviously, this type of scenario may never happen to you, but it goes to show the importance of hiring a company that specializes in the discipline you need. At Avalis we have run into situations in the past where we were given designs that did not match ADA law and we always inform the customer before we even start with designs that the signs need to be changed. Now I am not trying to say that Avalis is the best sign company to work with but.....oh wait, yes I am! Just hire Avalis and we will make sure your sign system is ADA compliant.
Below is a picture of some of the signs. Look the sign over and see if you can spot the 5 ways the sign is not ADA complaint. The answers are below the pictures.
1. The background or faceplate of the sign has a gloss finish. ADA law requires the sign to be a "non-glare" finish and you can see why when you see the glare on the sign shown in the pictures above.
2. The text on the sign is upper/lower case. ADA law requires the text to be uppercase only.
3. The text on the sign is only 1/2" tall. ADA law requires the text to be a minimum of 5/8" tall unless tactile characters are seperate from visual characters then the tactile characters can be 1/2" tall.
4. The braille is grade 1 braille. ADA law requires the braille to be grade 2 braille. Grade 2 braille is a shortened version of the word whereas grade 1 is a letter for a letter.
5. The contrast between the background and the text is not sufficient which makes it more difficult to read. ADA law requires the text and background to contrast well with each other such as light colors on a dark background or dark letters on a white background.
Want to read these laws for yourself? Visit:https://www.avalisway.com/resources/ada-resources
Timm Sparks
8/6/2020