Yard Signs

Coroplast signs on a wire stake

Yard signs are printed on coroplast — a lightweight corrugated plastic board that does not soften in rain or go soggy the way card does — and pushed into the ground on a wire H-stake. Full colour, one side or two, any quantity from a handful to a campaign. They are the cheapest way to put a message in front of traffic, and the reason every real estate agent, contractor and election candidate uses them.

What people order them for

Real estate listings and open house signs, contractor and trade site signs, election and campaign signage, garage and estate sales, event and festival wayfinding, directional arrows, parking and site safety notices, sports and school fundraisers, graduation and birthday lawn greetings, and seasonal promotions outside a business.

Sizes and sides

The standard is 18 × 24 inches, which is what fits a normal H-stake and what people picture when they say yard sign. 12 × 18 suits directional arrows and smaller notices, and 24 × 36 is for anything that has to be read from a road rather than a sidewalk. Printing both sides costs more but doubles the traffic that sees it — worth it on a corner lot or a two-way street, unnecessary against a wall.

Designing one that actually reads

A yard sign gets about two seconds from a passing car. That means one message, very large type, and strong contrast — dark on light or light on dark, never mid-tone on mid-tone. The sign-trade rule of one inch of letter height per ten feet of viewing distance says a sign read from thirty feet needs three-inch letters, which does not leave room for a paragraph. Put the single most important thing largest, a phone number second, and leave the rest off. Our size guide has the working numbers.

Grain, wind and stakes

Coroplast has flutes running through it, and the stake has to go into the flutes — so the board direction is set when we print. Tell us whether the sign is portrait or landscape and we will run the flutes the right way; a landscape sign printed on portrait board cannot be staked properly. In exposed spots, two stakes beat one, and 24 × 36 boards in an open field want stakes at both edges.

How long they last outside

Coroplast and UV inks handle a season outdoors comfortably and usually a good deal longer; the usual limit is physical — mowers, wind, snowploughs and being moved repeatedly — rather than fading. For anything meant to stay put for years, a rigid panel sign is the better material. For anything going on a wall or a fence rather than in the ground, say so and we will supply it without stakes and with the right fixing holes.

Getting a quote

Email info@signs613.com with the size, the quantity, whether you want one side or two, and your artwork or wording, or use the request form. Quantity moves the price per sign a long way, so tell us the number you are actually considering.