Outdoor advertising
Non-illuminated letters
Built-up letters without lighting — a restrained, long-lasting answer for facades that are already lit.
At a glance
- Stainless steel, PVC, acrylic
- Precision milled
- Weather resistant
- Concealed fixings
About this solution
Non-illuminated letters are the simplest form of 3D letter: a body with depth, with no LEDs, no cables and no power supply. They read through their colour and the shadow they throw on the wall, which is why they suit places where the facade is lit anyway — by streetlights, shop windows, the building's floodlights — or where the sign need not be seen at night: an office, an institution, an apartment entrance, a reception wall.
They are CNC-milled from foamed PVC, acrylic, composite aluminium or polystyrene, from a few millimetres thick to a few centimetres, in any typeface and at any size. PVC is the staple: light, stable outdoors, painted any colour. Acrylic gives a glossy edge and colour all the way through; stainless steel, polished or brushed, is the choice for a sign that has to look expensive and stay that way; polystyrene is for large, light letters, indoors or for a season. The face is painted, covered in vinyl or left in the bare material.
The difference between a good letter and a poor one is in the edge and the fixing. A cleanly milled edge with no tool marks, painted right to the end, looks like a letter; a rough one looks like a piece of plastic. The fixing must be invisible: pins on the back of the letter, set into holes drilled from a template, never screws through the face. Outdoors the letter is finished in UV-resistant lacquer, or the colour fades in the sun.
They mount on standoffs, bonded directly to the wall, or on a composite backing panel, depending on the surface: on an uneven wall the panel gives a flat base, on glass or tiles bonding is the clean option. Being light, non-illuminated letters can go where a heavier structure would not be accepted — on plasterboard, on a shopfront window, above a door. And with no electrics, installation needs nothing more than access to the wall.
Frequently asked questions
All frequently asked questionsWhich material: PVC, acrylic or stainless steel?
PVC for most cases: light, stable outdoors, painted any colour and milled cleanly. Acrylic where colour all the way through, a glossy edge or transparency is wanted. Stainless steel, polished or brushed, for signs that have to look expensive and stay that way for years: banks, hotels, office buildings. Polystyrene for large, light letters, indoors or for a short time.
Do they last outdoors?
Yes, if the material and the paint are chosen for outdoors. PVC, acrylic and stainless steel stand in rain and sun without trouble; it is the paint that ages, which is why UV-protected lacquers are used. MDF stays indoors. Polystyrene can go outside only under a hard protective coat.
How are they fixed to the wall without visible screws?
With pins bonded into the back of the letter, set into holes drilled from a full-size template, or on standoffs, which hold the letter a few centimetres off the wall and give it a shadow. On glass and smooth surfaces they are bonded directly. Nothing goes through the face of the letter.
Can they be lit later?
A non-illuminated letter does not turn into a lit one: its body is solid, with no room for LEDs and cables. What can be done is external lighting — a spotlight, or an LED strip in a profile above the sign — which lifts the letter out of the dark and keeps its shadow. If you already know the sign has to be seen at night, tell us, and we will make it lit from the start.
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