Custom Brushed Aluminum Signs

Brushed aluminum is a trademarked brand of aluminum composite material. Unlike the standard aluminum, brushed aluminum signage comprises two sheets of aluminum, reinforced plastic core, or PVC with a layer of polyethylene sandwiched in between that makes it extremely durable. The front, back, and solid polyethylene core of brushed aluminum have been sealed with an adhesive, creating a tight, long-lasting bond. Read more about What you need to know about Dibond signs.

Standard aluminum used for brushed aluminum signs is ACM (aluminum composite material); Dibond is a trademarked brand of aluminum composite material manufactured by 3A Composites and is considered "branded." In contrast, ACM would be regarded as "generic." Foamcoreprint.com only uses genuine Dibond to manufacture brushed aluminum signs.

Yes, brushed aluminum is highly durable and has the most extended lifespan of any brushed metal signst in the printing industry. Dibond's Lifespan stretches anywhere from 5-10 years, depending on upkeep, servicing, and most importantly, the sign's environment. Brushed aluminum though is easy to scratch, that's why it is mostly used indoors, where it serves for many years with proper care. However, apart from this fact, brushed aluminum is equally durable as standard aluminum panel sheet.

No, aluminum sign will not rust. Aluminum sign is made from waterproof and weatherproof composite sign materials and will not rust. As such, aluminum sign is most durable, even in moist conditions.

Easy! Make your brushed aluminum signs with us! Add your aluminum sign to the cart in the size you need, check out, and upload your PDF. It's that simple! Visit https://www.foamcoreprint.com/brushed-aluminum-signs and make custom brushed aluminum signs today!

Yes, you can print double-sided on the aluminum sign just like with regular aluminum signs. Ordering double-sided custom brushed aluminum sign is straightforward; select our "Print on Back" option when adding the aluminum sign to the cart. After you have completed check out, the site will direct you to upload your art file, where you can upload as many unique front and back files as you like.

The start price of metal sign cost with full-color direct print costs $45.22 per sqft and can be as low as $21.25 a sqft.

Metal Sign Cost

Units	Size	Cost Per Unit	Sqft Discount	Subtotal Total
1	12x12"	$45.22		$45.22
100	12x12"	$44.26	-$95.88	$4,426.10
500	12x12"	$40.43	-$2,397.00	$20,213.00
1250	12x12"	$33.23	-$14,981.25	$41,543.75
2500	12x12"	$21.25	-$59,925.00	$53,125.00

A laminated aluminum sign is the process of printing on 3m adhesive back vinyl film and then mounted to the aluminum sheets after the graphic is mounted to the standard aluminum an additional protective film to protect against weather elements. 

A brushed metal print is another term for a fine art metal print or even brushed aluminum signs. Simply put, a brushed metal print is a sign constructed from aluminum or sometimes or metal alloy.

Easy! We print your desgins in full color will be printed directly onto the surface of Brushed aluminum at 1000 dpi. In the printing industry, using flatbed UV digital printers is referred to as "Direct to Substrate Printing."

Yes, Dibond is considered a metal sign and is excellent for businesses. Brushed metal signs for businesses are made from Dibond because of its rugged and weather resistance properties. Dibond is fade-resistant, weather-resistant, and incredibly durable and can be used on both exterior and interior signage. Expect 5-10 years out of your brushed metal signs. An aluminum sign constitutes an effective tool for any enterprise to communicate its vision and represent its identity. 

At this time, the brushed aluminum thickness option is 1/8" or .125" thick. Custom brushed aluminum signs are not available in any other thickness options.

ACM is an abbreviation for Aluminum Composite Material; ACM (also known as Dibond) comprises two thin sheets of aluminum sandwiched and a solid, dense polyethylene core.

Dibond is a trademarked brand of ACM comprised of two thin sheets of aluminum sandwiched together with a solid polyethylene core manufactured by 3A Composites.

The physical weight of .125" Dibond is 0.78125 lbs per ft.². The formula for weight calculation on your specif dimension product can be figured by multiplying your length x width divided by 144 = Your Physical Weight.

Yes, brushed aluminum signs is water, rust and weather proof. An aluminum sign is light, resist extreme weather with ease, and still retain their initial quality and vibrancy. This effect gives brushed aluminum extra appeal. 

​A print option is a critical finishing option when purchasing a brushed aluminum sign that will determine the final look of your sign. Most substrates are white, to begin with, making them a perfect canvas for direct print. Textured materials like brushed aluminum tend to allow the board's texture to show through the ink. A spot white lay of ink is required to "block out" the textured surface behind the color ink layer. Without a white layer of supporting ink, the final appearance of the sign would allow the brushed aluminum texture to show through the color in your design.

Spot White Print Option

"Spot white" is a printing term that refers to the white ink layer printed in select areas in the file where there are defined CMYK colors. This means the graphic artist controls what remains to hold the brushed metal textured finish by leaving those areas transparent on the print-ready file.

Yes, drilled holes should go all the way through the board. The drilled holes are designed with screws and bolts to secure the brushed aluminum sign safely to a pole or wall.

Drilled holes are .25" and placed .75" on center from each corner the option is selected. Immediately after your purchase, you will upload your graphics and see a visual representation of the holes in the online proofing stage.

Yes, you can. While brushed aluminum material is fairly easy to drill through with the proper home drill and metal bits It is not recommended.

A standoff looks like a complicated version of a screw, and it is. It’s a separator that’s threaded. They come in different lengths to raise one material over another. They consist of a wall screw, barrel, and cap, usually made of aluminum.

Standoff holes are .41" and placed .75" on center from each corner the option is selected. Immediately after your purchase, you will upload your graphics and see a visual representation of the standoff holes in the online proofing stage.

Rounded corners refer to the finish of the physical board itself. The edges will have a nice straight cut finish without rounded corners, where round allows smooth rounded corners. The measurements refer to the corners' severity or degrees (radial bend). Rounded corner sizes from less to more dramatic corners;

• 1/4"
• 3/8"
• 1/2" standard
• 3/4"
• 1"

A Cut option is not required; it is a unique finishing option for shapes other than squares or rectangles. Here is a list of Cut options styles;

1. Circle-Cut (perfect circles) We prefer you submit full-scale square designs with your colors flooded edge to edge; you will see the final circle layout in the proofing process.
2. Oval-Cut (perfect ovals) same as the circle above; we prefer you submit full-scale rectangle designs with your colors flooded edge to edge.
3. Halo-Cut (you are in control of the path the CNC machine takes, unique custom outside shape) 
4. Special-Cut (custom shape, inside and outside cuts are okay) Both Special & Halo Cuts require additional art set up; check out How to Set Up-Cut Files.

Brushed aluminum Dibond is only available in matte finish. In comparison, standard Dibond is only available in a gloss finish, while the inks will remain to appear matte. We do not have an option for a UV gloss finish on brushed aluminum signs at this time.

Everything Foam Core Print offers is manufactured to spec or "custom to order," meaning the clients selects the exact finish size down to 100th of an inch. We can manufacture as small as 4x4" and as large on one sheet at 46x94".

Standard turn around for brushed aluminum signs is 3 business days and is based on the approval of the art file for the order, not the time of purchase. We do offer next day turnaround as well as same day production. The cut off time for production to begin is 10am PST for "standard" 3 day turnaround, 8am for next day & same day production. The website is fully automated and will generate pricing when you add items to cart so the best way to get pricing is to add all items to your cart and "proceed to checkout" to update your zip code for shipping & turnaround options for grand total pricing.

You will need to place the order and fully complete the transaction. Once the order has been placed, you will be directed to the Upload Artwork page. From there, you will be able to upload your brushed aluminum signs artwork and view the pre-proof. 

In proofing, you can scale, stretch, and adjust the file to fit if any scaling is needed. If your brushed aluminum sign looks great, go ahead and send your artwork to print, and production will begin. You can remove and upload as many times as you like; production will not start until you approve the proofs.

File types accepted for your custom signs: Photoshop (PSD, TIFF, EPS, PDF, JPEG, PNG, SVG) Illustrator (AI, PDF, with all fonts outlined) Any other graphic program capable of creating a PDF, TIFF, EPS, JPEG, PNG, SVG file. Our preferred file format is a Print-ready Vector PDF set up in CMYK with bleed.

Great question! We now offer a FREE ONLINE DESIGN TOOL its very easy to use and it will allow you to upload brushed aluminum signs designs and create vector files that print flawlessly. As an additional option we do have an in house graphics team that can help create the design of your custom signs, start a chat or email info@foamcoreprint.com the details of your requests to schedule a phone call to go over pricing and the final details for your brushed aluminum sign creation.

Great question! Please DO NOT send your brushed aluminum signs art files to print if you have any questions about your online proofs. Please contact us via live chat, email at info@foamcoreprint.com, or call 855-465-7744 before sending files to print. There is a 10 min window approved proofs can be removed and taken out of the production line; clients can remove approved art files within the 10 min window from the user dashboard in the order history tab.

There is a 10 min window after proofs are approved where they can be removed and taken out of the production line; clients can remove any approved brushed aluminum signs art files within the 10 minutes of approval of that specific art file. 

1. Sign in to your account
2. User Dashboard 
3. Order History  
4. Locate the Order# in question.
5. Click "See All Jobs / Details"
6. Under the Actions section, if the "Replace Artwork" is RED, you are inside the 10-minute window and CAN remove the file by selecting the button.
7. If the "Replace Artwork" button is "Grayed Out," it is past the time of removal, and production has begun.