Decorative fasteners or mechanical stand-offs are not new to the architectural signage industry. Environmental graphic designers and architects have integrated stand-offs into Interior signage designs to enable modular functionality for some time. According to Gyford, one the architectural signage industry’s best known decorative stand-off providers, their products include the following sustainable features:

• Manufactured from U.S. process aluminum and stainless steel.
• Aluminum solid bar contains up to 55% recycled material.
• Stainless steel bar contains over 90% recycled material.
• Aluminum and stainless steel are 100% recyclable.
• Aluminum is the only metal which can be infinitely recycled.
• Aluminum is light-weight and strong, approximately 1/3 the weight of iron, steel, copper, or brass. This makes it easier to handle, less expensive to ship, and thereby consuming less energy.
• Aluminum and 316 stainless steel are non-corrosive, do not rust, and are protected by their own naturally occurring oxide film.
• Aluminum components are sold with a clear non-toxic anodize finish. Anodizing is an environmentally safe process and meets the FDA, USDA, WEE and RoHS safety directives.

Stand-Offs are Great, But What About the Interior Signage Materials They Hold?

That’s great news about the sustainable features of the fasteners as well as the modular functionality they provide for interior signage solutions, but what about the sign panel? If architecture firms are so concerned with eco-friendly practices and designing buildings for LEED accreditation, why are so many architecture firms still specifying acrylic for interior signage programs? There are eco-friendly material solutions available on the market today for interior signage that are affordable and look fantastic in the architectural environment. Let’s look at three options that use decorative stand-offs to enable modular functionality:

InTac™ Eco — Eco-Friendly Signage Solutions Helps Achieve Green Goals

InTac™ Eco unites image and style to meet the needs of sustainable building environments. InTac™ Eco combines GREENGUARD Certified fabrication processes and materials, low VOC paint and UV digitally printed graphics to create beautiful signage solutions with little to no negative impact on the environment. All the materials used to create InTac™ Eco are recyclable and reusable and they pose no danger of pollution of air and ground water in municipal landfills.

Terra — Eco-friendly ADA-Ready™ Signage Solution using 3form

Terra, which is made from 3form’s Varia Ecoresin material, is comprised of 40% post-industrial recycled, non-off gassing material that is Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) certified for recycled content and GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified™. Many of material backers for Terra are sourced from cultures throughout the world and are fair-trade certified. Decorative accents and mechanical fasteners can be integrated into the plaque and Terra can be cut into almost any shape.

Macer Interior™ — Slim-Panel Interior Signage Solution

Macer Interior™ consists of three components: a uniquely-designed panel holder, aluminum or etronite graphic panel, and a discreet top fitting that is used for large panels or PaperFlex™ signs. Macer Interior is also available with a tempered glass panel option.