If
you have a computerized engraving system, you have the equipment. If you
know how to use your system, for example, to engrave plastic signs, you
have the basic knowledge and skills. If you have any free time in your
work day and/or if you feel that your business would benefit by adding
a new, highly profitable product line, you should have the interest to
learn more about the exciting and highly lucrative business of producing
and selling A.D.A. signage.
Whats that? a few newcomers
to the industry are probably asking right about now. ADA is an acronym
which stands for Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1990
federal law which provides equal access to people with disabilities of
all types. In the case of ADA signage, the ADA mandates that all signs
which identify permanent rooms and spaces contain a variety
of special features, such as raised letters and Braille so the signs can
be read tactually (by feel) by blind people, in addition to
being read visually by sighted persons.
Not only are tactile, ADA compliant signs required
by law in all kinds of public places, they are extremely profitable to
produce. Just imagine itthe law covers all places where goods and
services are available to the public such as: schools, hospitals, office
buildings, hotels, shopping centers. Doing the signage for one large facility
can net the sign maker sums of $10,000 to $50,000 or more! Whats
more, tactile signage isnt just a U.S. issue any more. An increasingly
long list of countries of the world are now requiring or soon will be
requiring tactile signagethe same type as is mandated by the ADA.
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Figure 1:
Text must have sufficient contrast. Use either light characters
against a dark background or dark characters against light backgrounds.
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Figure 2:
The ADA requires tactile text to be raised a minimum of 1/32"
from the sign surface.
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To
tap the ADA sign market, youll need to begin with these two simple
rules: 1) Understand the ADA signage requirements, and 2) Use tried and
true production methods.
Your
current equipment can probably produce all different types of ADA signs,
from basic one-piece signs to elaborately designed and framed signs. Most
of the ADA materials and supplies can be purchased from your current suppliers.
For
some, ADA Guidelines are still a daunting mystery. In this article, well
demystify the ADA Guidelines and enable you to overcome this barrier to
ADA sign success. In 2004 the ADA Guidelines for signs changed. The revised
2004 ADA Guidelines correspond to the latest revision of ANSI standards,
making both the ANSI standard and all codes and laws that we derived from
them consistent. Hopefully this will make it easier on all of us. Most state
laws also conform, but a few exceed or expand on the federal regulations,
so be sure to consult your state code.
The Purpose of ADA Signage Guidelines
The
ADA law and its predecessors have strived to make building access and navigation
information accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. Signage regulations
have been influenced most by considering peoples differences in visual
ability and mobility. Signs must be easy to find, easy to see and easy to
touch.
ADA
signs must provide essentially the same information they do for a sighted
person except for company names and logos, building directories and occupant
names. Specifically, the ADA Guideline language states that signs
which designate permanent rooms and spaces are subject to the ADA
law. It goes on to say that the law also applies where goods and services
are made available to the public, giving examples such as restrooms
and any other measures necessary to provide access to the goods, services
facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public
accommodation.
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Figure 3:
Tactile text must be upper case. Text must have a character width
(based on the upper-case letter "O") falling between 55%
and 110% of the character height (based on the upper-case letter
"I"). For visual/tactile text, letters must be from 5/8"
to 2" high.
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Making Signs Easy to See
To
address the needs of visually impaired people, signs must be in a predictable
location and have easily readable text. For people who rely on Braille,
the Braille location and readability is important. For partially sighted
people, the requirement, easy to read, leads to specific text
formatting, spacing and color requirements. Lets review these requirements
and note the recent changes.
Finish & Contrast
Interior
signs must have a non-glare finish to minimize reflections that could make
the sign difficult to read. In addition, text must have sufficient contrasteither
light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background (Fig.
1).
Raised Text
Touching
the letters on a sign allows a sight-impaired person to read
the text message using their fingertips. The ADA requires tactile text to
be raised a minimum of 1/32" from the sign surface. For raised text
signs, material 1/32" thick (Fig. 2) is applied to the signs
surface. Another popular technique is to use 1/16" material to provide
the raised text, and then inlay it into a cut-out cavity in a 1/32"
substrate. Having the inset portion recessed below the sign surface provides
greater durability of the applied lettering while achieving the 1/32"
raised requirement above the sign surface.
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Figure 4:
The border dimension of a pictogram shall be 6" minimum in
height.
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Figure 5:
Braille dots must be domed or rounded, not flat-topped, and reach
a height of between .025" and .037" above the surface
of the sign.
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Figure
6: Spacing requirements assure that the reader can feel when one cell
stops and the next cell begins. The spacing between dots must fall
between .090" and .100". |
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Character Forms
The
ADA dictates that visual/tactile text must be upper case. Text that is visual
only, e.g. overhead directories, can use any combination of upper and lower
case characters. Text on all signs must be in a sans serif type
face (text without decorative lines at the end of characters) and have a
character width (based on the upper-case letter O) falling between
55% and 110% of the character height (based on the upper-case letter I).
For visual/tactile text, letters must be from 5/8" to 2" high
(Fig. 3).
To
assure the readability of signage text through either vision and/or touch,
the regulations also specify the stroke thickness of characters. For visual/tactile
text, the stroke thickness depends on the cross-section shape of the character.
Text with a rectangular cross-section can be from 10% to 15% of character
height, while text with a different cross-section can be from 10% to 30%
of the character height. The 10% to 30% standard also applies to visual-only
text.
The
cross-section (shape) of the raised text also affects the letter spacing.
A rectangular cross section refers to raised letters where the
sidewalls of the characters rise perpendicular to the sign background. A
beveled text cross-section refers to raised letters which are
narrower at the top of the letter and taper into a thicker form at the base
where they meet the sign background.
Text
with a rectangular cross-section requires a space from 1/8" to 3/8"
between the letters. Beveled text can be spaced from 1/16" to 3/8".
The spacing requirements of these regulations assure that the reader can
feel when one letter stops and the next letter begins.
When
specifying a font for an ADA sign, choose a sans serif font that meets the
requirements just detailed while also considering the sign-making method.
For signs where the raised text is applied to the substrate, a medium to
bold font weight works best because the applied letters are beveled by cutting
material away. For etched signs, a regular or medium weight font works best
because etched signs often add material to the letter width.
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Figure
7: Braille dots must be at least 3/8" from raised borders or
any other raised decorative elements and a minimum of 1/4" from
the raised text. |
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Figure
8: Braille on the sign must be placed between 40" and 60"
from the floor and mounted on the wall adjacent to the latch side
of the door with the center of the sign at least nine inches from
the door. |
Line Spacing
For
all types of ADA signs, the space between the baselines of text must be
from 135% to 170% of the character height. Tactile characters must be spaced
at least 3/8" from any other raised decorative elements on the sign.
Pictograms
When
using pictograms (standardized graphic images) the border dimension of the
pictogram shall be a 6" minimum in height (Fig. 4). Although pictograms
arent required to be raised, they must have sufficient contrast with
the background of the sign and have a non-glare surface. Text descriptors
that go with the pictogram must be placed directly below the pictogram and
must conform to the guidelines for tactile letters.
Braille
When
adding Braille to ADA signs you must use Grade II Braille, a form of Braille
that contains contractions of individual letters that form words. The Braille
dots must be domed or rounded, not flat-topped, and reach a height of between
.025" and .037" above the surface of the sign (Fig. 5). The reason
for these spacing requirements is to assure that the reader can feel when
one cell stops and the next cell begins. The spacing between dots must fall
between .090" and .100" (Fig. 6). The base diameter of the dots
must fall between .059" and .063". The Braille dots must be at
least 3/8" from raised borders or any other raised decorative elements
on the sign to assure those elements dont interfere with the reading
of the Braille text (Fig. 7).
The
new guidelines also specify that Braille words must be lower case unless
the word is the first word of a sentence, a proper noun or name, an individual
letter of the alphabet, an initial or an acronym.
Signs with Visual Characters Only
When
you have directional signs and signs mounted perpendicular to the wall or
hanging from the ceiling your text is considered visual text and can use
both upper and lower case letters. Permissible text size is determined by
the distance at which the sign will be read and its height above the floor.
Signs mounted perpendicular to the wall (protruding signs) must be at least
80" off the floor. The ADA regulations contain a table describing these
specifications.
Sign InstallationMaking Signs Easy to Touch
Improperly
installed signs are often cited as the most frequent violation of the signage
accessibility code. Because visually impaired people often need to physically
touch a room sign, for example, the space in front of the sign, at least
18" by 18", must be free of any obstacles.
ADA
signs must be placed in a consistent location so they are easy to find.
Federal regulations prescribe that signs be placed so that tactile characters
are between 48" and 60" off the floor. Braille on the sign must
be placed between 40" and 60" from the floor. To be compliant,
ADA signs must be mounted on the wall adjacent to the latch side of the
door with the center of the sign at least nine inches from the door (Fig.
8). If the room has double doors, the sign must be mounted to the right
and out of the door swing space and at the same heights as just described.
If one of the doors is stationary, the sign can be mounted on the stationary
door with the same specifications as if it were wall space.
An Opportunity for Engravers
The
new ADA Guidelines are favorable for rotary engraved ADA signs. The beveled
profile of ADA text allows closer character placement than other methods
and less restrictive height-to-width ratios. Although there are several
different ways to achieve Braille, the Raster Method of Braille creates
the most readable, round Braille form available for tactile signs.
The
ADA has now been around for more than a dozen years but it continues to
unlock new profit opportunities. This is particularly true for engraving
professionals who have both the equipment and the know-how to produce great
looking ADA signs. As I said in the beginning all you need to do to tap
this lucrative market is to understand the ADA signage requirements and
to use tried and true production methods. Hopefully this article will help
you on both counts.
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