Signs & Large Format Print
What to sign in an office: a checklist
Before we talk about materials, it is worth listing what needs signing at all. When an office moves or opens, we go through this list with the client:
- building entrance: company sign or plaque, opening hours, unit number;
- reception: logo on the wall (flat acrylic or built-up);
- doors: signs with room number, department name, names;
- meeting rooms: room name, sometimes an "engaged / free" sign;
- directional signs: in corridors and by lifts when the office spans several floors;
- glazing: manifestation bands on glass doors and walls, frosted film where privacy is needed;
- service rooms: WC, kitchen, server room, storeroom;
- health and safety and evacuation signs: separate standards apply here, usually ready-made signs agreed with a safety specialist.
Listing this at the start lets you design one consistent line instead of buying signs one at a time over the next two years.
Acrylic, Dibond, PVC or film: a comparison
| Material | Price | Look | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear 3 mm acrylic (reverse-printed, white underprint) | approx. €43–60/m² | glass effect, depth, gloss | office doors, reception, law firms |
| Dibond 3 mm | approx. €35–55/m² | matt, metallic, solid | corridors, directional signs, entrance boards |
| Foam PVC 3 mm | approx. €21–33/m² | flat, light | service rooms, temporary signage |
| Frosted film, printed or cut | approx. €12–21/m² | sandblasted glass effect | glass doors and walls, logo on glass |
| Clear film with print | approx. €7–14/m² | print "on the glass" | opening hours, information on entrance doors |
The most popular office set is acrylic on office doors, Dibond in corridors and frosted film on glazing. We print it all from one design, so brand colours come out the same on every material.
What it costs: an example for an office with 20 rooms
Take a typical office: 20 doors, a 30 × 10 cm sign on each. One sign is 0.03 m², 0.6 m² in total.
- 3 mm acrylic: 0.6 m² × approx. €60 = approx. €36 net.
- Mounting tape: approx. 0.5 lm of tape per sign × 20 × approx. €1.85 = approx. €19 net.
- Total approx. €55 net for 20 signs ready to stick on.
The version with two stainless steel stand-offs per sign looks more prestigious but costs more: 40 stand-offs × approx. €2.35 = approx. €94 net instead of tape. We recommend stand-offs for reception and management offices, tape for the other doors.
If you do not have a design, our studio will prepare one: work on signage is charged at approx. €35 net per hour, and a simple set of door signs usually takes little time. For larger buildings, e.g. several floors with directional signs, we start with a site survey (from approx. €85 net, refunded with the production order); see the wayfinding systems page.
How to design door signs that do not date
An office changes: people come and go, departments move. A few tips from practice:
- Separate what is permanent from what changes. Room number and department name: permanent. Names: changeable. Names are better on a separate, smaller strip, or in a version with a paper insert between two layers of acrylic.
- Keep to one template. The same height, the same typeface, the same logo position. We save the template, so reprinting one sign a year later looks identical.
- Mount at a constant height, usually about 140–160 cm from the floor, on the handle side or on the wall next to the door.
- Mind the contrast: grey type on a silver background is elegant only in a visual.
- Do not overdo the text. A door sign is not a business card: number, name, perhaps one or two personal names.
Evacuation and fire safety signs have their own requirements and standards: compliant ready-made signs are usually used, and their placement is decided by a health and safety or fire safety specialist.
- 24 hexpress printing (UV inks need no drying)
- approx. 3 daysstandard lead time
- up to 14 dayslarge and custom projects with installation
Plus courier delivery. Tell us your date — we plan production around it.
Glazing: bands, logos and privacy
In offices with a lot of glass, marking the glazing also matters for safety. A band of film at eye level stops people walking into glass doors, and frosted film in meeting rooms gives privacy without losing light. We also cut logos, room names and patterns from film: cutting letters and shapes is approx. €1.40 net per linear metre of cut line.
More about frosted film in frosted window film for offices. Ready solutions for practices, law firms and accountancy offices are on the office and hotel signage page and in the section for accountants and law firms.