New ADA Compliancy Standards Require New or Updated Signage for Public Buildings

Feb. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- In association with the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it was announced that new ADA regulations for signage will take effect March 15, 2012. A probationary period has been granted for buildings to get in line with the new regulations; however, facility owners and managers will need to begin the process of seeking compliancy soon.  

SIGNARAMA store employees throughout the U.S. are well-versed on the latest ADA rules and regulations for signage and can provide you with assistance.

Compliancy to the new regulations is important in order to better serve the public.  Fifteen million Americans are blind or visually impaired and 21% of those identified are ages 65 and older. With an aging population, this number is likely to increase. ADA signage is greatly needed in order to assist impaired persons with wayfinding and identification.

Highlights of the new ADA-compliancy regulations for signage:
• Mounting location and height – Signs must be installed on the wall adjacent to the latch side of the door or the nearest adjacent wall. Mounting heights are 60 inches above the finish floor to the centerline of the sign. Note: your signage should be mounted so that a person may approach within 3 inches of the sign without encountering protruding objects or standing within the swing of the door.

• Finish and contrast – When choosing colors and finish for your signage, go with a matte or other non-glare finish. Furthermore, signage characters must contrast with their background with a minimum contrast of 70% – either light letters on a dark background or dark letters on a light background allowing for clear visibility.

• Raised and brailed characters –New regulations require characters to be raised a minimum of 1/32 inches, upper case, sans serif or simple serif type, flush to subsurface of the sign and should be accompanied with Grade 2 Braille. Raised characters shall be at least 5/8 inches high, but no higher than 2 inches.

Information provided by: access-board.gov.

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