5 foot by 13 foot sign...substrate?

[tattoo.dan]

I have a customer who just bought a building and wants the existing sign redone. The sign is 5 foot tall by 13 foot wide and it will be digital printed. Customer wants it all in one piece...I would normally print on adhesive vinyl, laminate and mount to 4x8 allupanel then screw those sections to the sign. My question is though, since he wants it to be seamless, what material is there that size that I could apply the print to in one piece? Any ideas appreciated.

 

[AUTO-FX]

Acrylic or polycarbonate off the roll?

 

[Gino]

Composite aluminum comes 150". I know because we just got some.

 

[phototec]

Composite aluminum comes 150". I know because we just got some.

Gino ok-

From Who?

What width?

How thick?

How much?

 

[tattoo.dan]

@ auto.... that is only thing I could think of. would be nice to find something different tho. That's what I may have to do though.

 

[Mike Paul]

Polycarbonate, or a banner stretching frame.

 

[Salmoneye]

What about mounting in 2pcs then printing a 1" or 2" wide strip that you could lay over your seam. I would think that it would appear seamless from the ground, like a seam on a semi trailer wrap.

 

[Malkin]

I would consider this scenario:

Build a "tube sign". Which, for us, is essentially a frame built from 1" aluminum tubing & connectors pieces. The frame follows the perimeter of the sign and there would be a couple additional vertical pieces in the middle for added support.

The sign face would be DiBond/ePanel. There would need to be 2 pieces with a butt-fit seam. In this case try to get the seam as smooth as possible, perhaps a little sanding if needed. You could also use a single piece of polycarb, probably 3/16 to reduce wavyness. Fasten to frame with screws/rivets around the outside edge and DF banner tape or VHB on the middle tube sections.

Apply 1-piece digital print to the entire surface.

We then would attach aluminum retainer around the outside edge. This is .040 alum that has been bent by a local shop into a kindof "J" shape (with 90deg. corners).
The retainer hides the screws, and if you pre-fit it and attach on the building, it can hide your mounting hardware as well.