Here is a typical PermaEtch™ job that saved an Electric Utility Company BIG MONEY.

They purchased 75 standard screen printed DANGER KEEP OFF and 75 WARNING KEEP OUT substation signs. These screen printed signs also last outdoors because we make them with the same permanent outdoor pigments and bake them at the same high temperatures as PermaEtch™ signs.

But they also wanted one-of-a-kind LARGE location signs made of .080" white aluminum for their 21 substations that included CUSTOM INFORMATION AS SHOWN IN THE RED CIRCLES in the photo below.

If we had to make a custom screen for each of these LARGE location signs, they would have cost almost $300 for each sign. Because we used the PermaEtch™ process for the custom areas of the 21 signs, we were able screen print the common areas of the 21 signs and then PermaEtch™ the one-of-a-kind areas, making them for less than $100 each.

This combination of screen printed sign process PLUS PermaEtch™ sign process resulted in signs that have the amazing outdoor life expectancy, BUT FOR 1/3rd THE PRICE OF SIGNS MADE ONLY WITH SCREEN PRINTED SIGN PROCESS.

A local sign shop would use digital printing with a 5 year life expectancy or vinyl graphics with a 10 years life expectancy. THIS ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY SAVED HAVING TO REPLACE THEIR SIGNS 3 TIMES TO 7 TIMES OVER THE YEARS.
If they paid a local sign shop $75 per sign for inferior signs today, they would spend $1,575 total for the 21 signs. Cheap, you say? As Benjamin Franklin said, they would be "PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH". They would have to replace them 3 times (vinyl graphics) to 7 times (digital printing) over the next 40 years, so instead of paying $1,575, they would pay $6,300 (vinyl graphics) or $12,600 (digital printing) PLUS LABOR COSTS to take down faded signs and replace with new signs.

Guidelines for Substation Signs

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) states that safety signs should be in a position to alert viewers in sufficient time to take precaution against the hazard of the electrical supply substation. Safety signs can feature three elements: a signal word, a message and a pictorial. A signal word can be "Danger," "Warning" or "Caution". The message of the safety sign indicates the danger and gives a command to the viewer. For example, the message of a safety sign can say "Hazardous Voltage Above. Keep Off". A pictorial illustrates the danger. For example, a pictorial can show a stick figure of a person contacting the hazardous voltage and falling.

Signal Word, Message and Pictorial

The signal word should contain letters that are an adequate height for viewing. The ANSI states that the minimum height of the letters of a safety sign's signal word should be the viewing distance divided by 150. For example, if the viewing distance is 75 feet, then the letter height of the signal word should be 6 inches, since 75 feet divided by 150 yields a result of 0.5 foot. The font should be legible when read at an angle in addition to being read when the viewer is in front of the safety sign. The colors of the signal word should be an extreme contrast from the color of the background of the safety sign. The word “Danger” should feature white letters on a red background. The term "High Voltage" should be in black letters on a white background. Signs on the enclosure of an electrical supply substation should be at least 14 inches long by 10 inches high with the words "Danger High Voltage Keep Out" in three horizontal lines of white letters against a background field of red and black.

Position

The NESC requires a “No Admittance” safety sign at each entrance of an electrical supply substation and at least one safety sign on each side of a substation’s enclosure. Depending on the size of the enclosure, signs that state "Danger High Voltage" should be no more than 40 feet apart. A safety sign of an electrical supply substation should have an orientation of 90 degrees to a viewer's line of sight. Adequate illumination should surround each safety sign. Signs that identify equipment within the electrical supply substation or that include operating instructions should be either on or near the equipment in a place that does not interfere with the operation of the equipment or that acts as a hazard.