ADA signs are required to make buildings accessible to people with visual disabilities. It’s important to remember that that this includes more than just blind people. Approximately 2.5 million Americans are legally blind (this is defined by visual acuity less than 20/200). There are also millions more who suffer from limited vision caused by glaucoma or macular degeneration. Besides Braille and tactile lettering, these signs provide bold, high contrast identification of rooms. The intent of the law is to make sure people with disabilities have access to buildings by providing signs with high contrast, tactile letters and Braille for optimal readability. Visit www.ADA.gov for more information.

The Department of Justice amended the American with Disabilities Act on September 15, 2010. The revisions clarify and refine issues that have arisen since its implementation over twenty years ago. These changes are referred to as the “2010 Standards”. Effective March 15, 2012, the 2010 Standard will be enforced for new construction and alterations. Please note, formal compliance is administered at the state and local levels, therefore, revisions may have already been adopted. Some states and municipalities are permitted to adopt accessibility codes even more stringent than the 2010 Standards with the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Yes, there are very few exemptions to the ADA regulation. You must also consider ANSI guidelines and any other building or fire/life safety codes in your area. The regulatory nature of signage can be confusing due to ongoing changes and differences in interpretation and enforcement between regulatory bodies.

No, there are a number of signs that are not required to be ADA compliant. Building addresses, directories, parking signs and temporary signs don't need to be ADA compliant. Temporary signs are designated as those which are in use for 7 days or less.

All permanent rooms and spaces are required to have an ADA compliant sign providing identification. Life safety signs identifying doors at exit passage ways, discharge, and stairwells are required to be ADA compliant and include raised characters and Braille copy. Overhead, flag-mounted, and wall-mounted signs that direct or identify need to follow ADA guidelines but do not require tactile copy.

No, only signage relating to permanent room identification is required to have raised lettering and Braille. This excludes directories, directionals and general informational signage such as; No Smoking, Hours of Operation, etc. Secondary information on regulated room sign such as names and titles is not required to have raised text and Braille. Learn more at www.ADA.gov

The Department of Justice has the ultimate responsibility for enforcing ADA regulations. In practice, though, the actual enforcement is handled by local code inspectors. Citations from the Department of Justice can go as high as $50,000 for the first offense- although this is rare.

Rooms that are not likely to change function (like a restroom, kitchen, elevators, etc) should be identified by name. Other rooms that may change function can be identified by a numbers or letters. A common solution for rooms like these is to identify the room number on the sign and use a changeable paper insert to identify the room function. Our window signs serve this purpose.

You are not required to make any changes if your signs comply with the previous standard (1991). However, if you alter your facilities you will be required to update to the most current standard. In many cases, signs won't need to be changed.

Yes. If altering existing signage (i.e. ordering new sign or replacement parts), new regulations are required to remain ADA compliant.

You are required to have a tactile sign next to each door inside a stairwell. These signs should identify the floor level, stair level and exit level. Some local fire codes have size requirements for these signs. You should check with your local authorities before ordering.

Grade II Braille is a shorthand Braille and it is required by the ADA. Our Braille dots are rounded, not flat.

The short answer is as much as you want. Just remember that when it comes to signs, less is more. Also, there are some regulations related to font size. Here is a quote from the actual ADA regulations “Letters and numerals shall be raised 1/32 in, upper case, sans serif or simple serif type and shall be accompanied with Grade 2 Braille. Raised characters shall be at least 5/8 in (16 mm) high, but no higher than 2 in (50 mm). Pictograms shall be accompanied by the equivalent verbal description placed directly below the pictogram. The border dimension of the pictogram shall be 6 in (152 mm) minimum in height.” If you have any questions, just contact us and we’ll make sure your signs look great and comply with all regulations.

Although signs can be installed at varying heights, we suggest mounting your signs 54" from the floor to the center of your sign on the latch side of the door.

There are some complex rules about installing ADA, to learn more please visit www.ADA.gov for more information.

Typically our quote turnaround time is 24 hours.

We offer 2 business day production time on orders of 8 signs or less, using standard in-stock materials.

We have no order minimums or hidden fees!

On most orders we have a flat shipping charge of $9.95.

Our pricing is dynamic. As more signs are ordered, a greater volume discount is automatically applied to all signs. Multi-location corporate clients are welcome to contact us to discuss additional discount eligibility.

We strive to make every Schwaab order impeccable, but if we made an error and your sign is not quite right, we'll provide a remake within 30 days of purchase.

Absolutely. Our goal is to make high quality, fully compliant signs that look great and represent your business well. Contact us and we’ll make sure your logo, corporate colors or graphics are incorporated to your signs.

Of course! We can produce signage in custom shapes and colors. Please contact us to discuss your custom project and we'll be happy to help.

Please email your signage artwork files to signs@schwaab.com

When submitting your signage artwork we request that you follow these guidelines:

• • Vector artwork is required for your design (including logos, clipart, or anything non-photographic) as they will retain optimum quality.
  • Acceptable file formats for vector artwork: AI, EPS, PDF
  • Outline any text to ensure that there are no font issues.
  • Embed any linked imagery.
  • Have desired colors clearly indicated.

If you are unable to provide a workable file, we can create vector artwork for a nominal fee.

Production ready artwork should follow these guidelines.

• • All artwork should be provided at full scale.
  • Acceptable file formats for vector artwork: AI, EPS, PDF
  • Convert all text to outlines to ensure that there are no font conflicts. Any art text changes will require the original font files to be provided.
  • Remove any additional strokes, measurements or lines that interfere with the sign layout.
  • Group all signs by sign type, not by floor.
  • Have desired colors clearly indicated.

Please feel free to send the consolidated specs for your project in addition to the production files.

We can absolutely incorporate digitally printed patterns and images onto your interior signage! Virtually any image can be printed directly to a substrate for a visually stunning and long lasting sign that is both ADA compliant and beautiful. We recommend that you keep these guidelines in mind when submitting your files.

• Photographic files must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) and be at least 25% of the desired final print size to reproduce clearly.
• Please be sure to embed any linked imagery into your file before submitting.