A sales representative from MVE will help you with your orders for all ADA sign requirements. They will use the following specifications.
Characters: At least 5/8″ tall, all caps, but not more than 2″ and must be accompanied by grade 2 Braille.
Raised Characters: 1/32″ minimum thickness.
Type Style: All upper case letters with simple serifs like Times Roman and Optima, or with no serifs such as Helvetica.
Symbols: If symbols are used they must have at least a 6″ vertical field with the verbal description placed directly below the symbol in tactile and Braille characters. The symbol itself does not need to be raised.
Mounting Locations: Signs must be placed 2″ from the latch side of the door and 60″ from the center of the sign to the floor. In cases where there is no space on the latch side of the door, signs must be placed on the nearest adjacent wall.
Rooms and spaces for which the function will not change such as room numbers, rest rooms; fire exits and building entrances are considered permanent and require Braille and tactile copy to comply with ADA specifications.
Temporary or informational signs such as menus, building directories or construction signs which provide temporary information on rooms and spaces are not required to meet ADA specifications. These include personal and tenant identifications.
Braille: Grade 2 Braille must be used, also known as literary (short-hand) Braille, which consists of over 400 contractions of standard Braille.
Finish: Matte or non-glare.
Contrast: Dark characters on a light background or light characters on a dark background with at least 70% contrast.
Accessibility Identification: Exterior signs do not require Braille or tactile characters except where a rest room is directly entered from the outside, assembly and parking areas, entrances, rest rooms, public telephones, rooms and exit identification signs must meet requirements for character proportion, sign finish and contrast. They may have upper and lower case characters.
Wall mounted or overhead signs which provide direction (any sign with an arrow) or information about an area (hours of operations, etc.) do not require Braille and tactile copy, but they must meet ADA specifications, copy proportion and height; finish and contrast colors.
Characters: Letters and numbers must have a width-to-height ratio between 3:5 and 1:1 and a stroke width-to-height ratio between 1:5 and 1:10. For example: Helvetica Medium is acceptable. Helvetica Bold is not.
Use an upper case X to calculate ratios. Upper and lower case letters are permissible with simple serifs like Times Roman and Optima, or no serifs such as Helvetica Medium.
A complete line of aluminum exterior signs is also manufactured by MVE including the parking sign with the international symbol for accessibility. All reserved parking signs must be located 48″ from the bottom of the panel to the ground so they cannot be obscured by a vehicle parked in the space.
The 8″ × 8″ square laminated plastic tactile signs are available in fifteen colors (almond, black, blue, bright green, bright white, brown, burgundy, dark brown, gray, navy blue, pine green, red, sand, silver, white) with contrast letters. The signs can be easily mounted to the wall with double stick tape, screws or plastic fasteners.
To order, use your MVE catalog numbers adding the background and image colors.
MVE also manufactures other plastic laminate signage and name plates in sizes up to 12″ × 20″ for room numbers, directions, titles, restrictions, and identifications. Ask an MVE sales representative for more information.