With the addition of our new Vision 2448 engraver / router, lead times are reduced on interior ADA sign projects. With a larger table (24" x 48"), more signs can be manufactured at one time, reducing the set up time.

The larger table allows for fabrication of much larger ADA Braille signs than our competitors. Most sign companies cannot create a sign greater than 10" x 10", whereas Erie Custom Signs can manufacture up to 24" x 48".

Also, with the router head attachment, Erie Custom Signs can create interior signage with Chemetal, HPL like Pionite and other laminate products.

Erie Custom Signs specializes in wholesale ADA Braille signage.  working with sign shops by reducing their costs for capital equipment, allows sign companies to enter and be profitable in the interior ADA signage market.

Contact Erie Custom Signs for more information or a quote.

ADA Font Requirements

From "The United States Access Board" website.......

These standards, as adopted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in September 2010, will take effect March 15, 2012 and replace DOJ’s original ADA standards.  DOJ is allowing immediate use of the 2010 standards as an alternative to the original 1991 standards.  DOJ’s standards apply to facilities covered by the ADA, including places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and state and local government facilities.  They do not apply to transportation facilities, including bus stops and rail stations, which are subject to similar standards issued by the Department of Transportation.

703.2 Raised Characters.  Raised characters shall comply with 703.2 and shall be duplicated in braille complying with 703.3.  Raised characters shall be installed in accordance with 703.4.

Advisory 703.2 Raised Characters. Signs that are designed to be read by touch should not have sharp or abrasive edges.

703.2.1 Depth.  Raised characters shall be 1/32 inch (0.8 mm) minimum above their background.

703.2.2 Case.  Characters shall be uppercase.

703.2.3 Style.  Characters shall be sans serif.  Characters shall not be italic, oblique, script, highly decorative, or of other unusual forms.

703.2.4 Character Proportions.  Characters shall be selected from fonts where the width of the uppercase letter "O" is 55 percent minimum and 110 percent maximum of the height of the uppercase letter "I".

703.2.5 Character Height.  Character height measured vertically from the baseline of the character shall be 5/8 inch (16 mm) minimum and 2 inches (51 mm) maximum based on the height of the uppercase letter "I".

EXCEPTION:  Where separate raised and visual characters with the same information are provided, raised character height shall be permitted to be 1/2 inch (13 mm) minimum.

Figure 703.2.5 Height of Raised Characters 703.2.6 Stroke Thickness.  Stroke thickness of the uppercase letter "I" shall be 15 percent maximum of the height of the character.

703.2.7 Character Spacing.  Character spacing shall be measured between the two closest points of adjacent raised characters within a message, excluding word spaces. Where characters have rectangular cross sections, spacing between individual raised characters shall be 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) minimum and 4 times the raised character stroke width maximum.  Where characters have other cross sections, spacing between individual raised characters shall be 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) minimum and 4 times the raised character stroke width maximum at the base of the cross sections, and 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) minimum and 4 times the raised character stroke width maximum at the top of the cross sections.  Characters shall be separated from raised borders and decorative elements 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) minimum.

703.2.8 Line Spacing.  Spacing between the baselines of separate lines of raised characters within a message shall be 135 percent minimum and 170 percent maximum of the raised character height.

http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/ada-standards-doj.cfm#a703

From ADA.GOV website.....

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires places of public accommodation, including hotels, motels, and other places of transient lodging, to ensure that everyone regardless of disability has an equal opportunity to enjoy their services and facilities.

Your establishment is covered by the ADA as a place of public accommodation if it is a private entity and is a place of lodging (including inns, hotels, and motels), regardless of whether it is a for-profit or non-profit establishment. The ADA does not cover owner-occupied establishments renting five or fewer rooms.

Your ADA Obligations

Places of lodging, like other places of public accommodation, must provide their services to the public in a way that gives people who are blind or who have low vision a full and equal opportunity to enjoy the services that are provided to others. You must, for instance:

• Follow accessibility standards when constructing or altering facilities;
  
  
• Remove architectural or structural communication barriers in existing facilities where it is readily achievable to do so;
  
  
• Make reasonable modifications in policies and procedures (e.g., allow person to be accompanied by service animal or guide dog, even if a hotel has a ‘no pets’ policy);
  
  
• Eliminate discriminatory eligibility criteria (e.g., allow a guest to use alternative state ID to substitute for driver’s license at check-in); and
  
  
• Provide auxiliary aids and services leading to effective communication if it is not an undue burden and does not fundamentally alter the nature of the goods or services provided (e.g., provide alternate format materials such as Braille, large print, and audio tape when guest cannot read standard print materials due to a disability).

This publication is designed to help you and your staff to understand these obligations.

The ADA gives businesses a certain degree of flexibility in meeting these obligations. If some steps are too costly or burdensome for you to undertake, you must use alternative methods that are not so costly or burdensome in order to afford people with disabilities as much access as possible to your goods and services.

To make sure your hotel and the services you offer do not discriminate against people who are blind or who have low vision, it is helpful to think about how guests use your hotel:

How do guests arrive at your hotel and what do they do once they get there?
How do guests check-in and check-out?
How do they move about your facilities?
How are the rooms set up?
What in-room guest services are provided?
What other amenities are available?

Arriving At the Hotel

Wayfinding. Staff who assist guests at the front door should offer assistance to guests who are blind or who have low vision in finding the Registration Desk or other hotel facilities.

Moving Throughout Your Facility

Signs. In newly constructed and altered facilities, signs that identify permanent rooms and spaces – including, but not necessarily limited to those identifying rest rooms, exits, or room numbers – must meet the following requirements, 28 C.F.R. pt. 36, App. A, “ADA Standards for Accessible Design,” (Standards) § 4.1.3(16)(a):\

• Raised and Braille letters or numbers (Standards § 4.30.4);
• Mounting location (§ 4.30.6);
• Color contrast (§ 4.30.5); and
• Non-glare surface (§ 4.30.5).

Signs that provide direction to, or information about, functional spaces (§ 4.1.3(16)(b)) must comply with requirements for:

• Character proportion (§ 4.30.2);
• Character height (§ 4.30.3); and
• Finish and contrast between the characters and background (§ 4.30.5).

Elevators. In newly constructed or altered facilities, elevators must comply with specific design standards regarding the following:

• Hall call button orientation, mounting location, and visual signals (§ 4.10.3);
• Hall lantern audible and visual signals, size, and mounting location (§ 4.10.4);
• Raised and Braille characters on elevator hoistway entrances (door jambs), including mounting location and size (§ 4.10.5);
• Door protective and reopening devices (§ 4.10.6);
• Door and signal timing for hall calls (§ 4.10.7);
• Door delay for car calls (§ 4.10.8);
• Illumination levels (§ 4.10.11);
• Car control size, mounting height and location, and tactile, Braille, and visual indicators (§ 4.10.12);
• Car position indicators (§ 4.10.13); and
• Emergency communications (§ 4.10.14).

Existing facilities must remove barriers to the extent that doing so is readily achievable.

 Department of Justice’s ADA Information Line

The ADA Information Line is available during weekdays to provide technical assistance on the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and other ADA provisions applying to businesses, non-profit service agencies and state and local government programs. It also provides a 24-hour automated service for ordering ADA materials. This free service provides answers to general and technical questions about ADA requirements and is a source for free ADA materials including the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. You may reach the ADA Information Line at:

800-514-0301 (voice)
800-514-0383 (TTY)

ADA information is also available on the Department’s ADA Home Page:

www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

With the addition of Rowmark's ColorHues frosted acrylic to our inventory, leadtimes are reduced on interior ADA signs. With our CO2 laser and CNC router we can create almost anything you can dream of. Let us help on your next project. www.eriecustomsigns.com