Hi Mary, 

Polymetal is just a substrate. It is a pretty durable one but part of your 
sign's longevity will be determined by the surface treatment. 

There are pros and cons to this type of signage. Let's start at the 
beginning. 

Outdoor signs are subject to more stresses than indoor signs (obviously), 
among them are 1) weather and 2) easier access for vandals both the 
deliberate and casual kind. Casual vandals are the ones who idly pick at 
your sign while they're reading it. Or in my case, the deer who rubbed 
their antler velvet off on the sign edges. 

You have several choices for sign materials. Among them are 1) text and 
graphics applied to the surface and 2) graphics imbedded in a durable 
plastic material. 

Let's start with #2. Here you have a few options. Graphics can be printed 
and imbedded in fiberglas (i.e. Pannier) or imbedded in phenolic resin, 
the generic name for Formica (tm). These are the signs made by IZone, 
Folia, and Fossil. These signs are often used outdoors as they are quite 
durable, achieve a high resolution, and can be made fade resistant. Some 
people don't like the fiber lines in fiberglas but the material is a good 
choice for durability, especially as it should be framed so the edges are 
protected. Phenolic resin can be self supporting (thick with just a post 
in the back) or thin and framed. The big problems are color matching and 
production time. 

As for #1. Here you have a lot of choices--substrate (plastics, metals, 
sandwich boards, etc.) and surface treatments. BTW, your aluminum sign 
material is like that used for highway signs. One can apply vinyl letters 
or print graphics as essentially big vinyl stickers and apply them to the 
substrate. Vinyl letter can be picked off so evaluate where the sign is 
going and who will use it. Substrates can be screen printed or direct 
printed using other print processes. They are long lived as long as the 
surface isn't touched. There's the rub. They scratch unless overlaminated, 
vinyl edges can be peeled, and you have to be careful about fading. Some 
direct to substrate prints are only suitable for about 6 months. I find 
the aluminum substrate expensive. A third applied-to-substrate sign is 
enamaled steel. These are beautiful, durable unless chipped, get good 
resolution for photographs and pretty pricey. 

A final option are "metalphoto" signs. These are produced through a 
photographic process. Cons: only in one color usually black and white or 
brown and white. Pros: good resolution, durable, reproduce line art very 
well, available in a number of sizes. 

What you choose should be driven by the type of interpretation you plan to 
present. Straight text? Text and line art? Four color photographs? Highly 
accessible site with staff, remote site checked on only occasionally? 
Shady? Sunny? Etc.

Hope this helps. 

Diane Gutenkauf
[log in to unmask]
Chief Business Developer, Museum Division
Exhibit Works Inc
734-367-8243
www.exhibitworks.com



On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 09:01:10 -0400, Mary Ames Sheret 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Has anyone used a product called "poly-metal" manufactured by Nudo for 
>outdoor signs? Here's the website information: 
>http://www.nudo.com/nudosign/Polymetal/polymetal.htm
>This is the product a local sign company is recommending for outdoor 
>interpretive signs. Thanks.
>Mary Ames Sheret, Battleship NORTH CAROLINA
>

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