In that constant search to find new avenues of business, many sign shops may have considered the specialized world of ADA-regulated building signage for blind and the visually impaired. After all, with every private and public building requiring Braille-engraved signage – and thus the potential for recurring jobs as buildings are updated and expanded, or company logos and even personnel change – it might seem like an ideal avenue for a properly equipped and enterprising sign professional.

Fair warning, however: Federal, state and local regulations stemming from the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act mean that rules for Braille-engraved materials, design and installation are considerably denser and more detailed than your standard banner, P.O.P. or other cabinet sign project.

It’s a complex subject, with ever-changing requirements, but experts suggest it can be a profitable enterprise if you can master the niche. And, most importantly, if you successfully negotiate the real costs of outsourcing production and componentry of specialized braille signage versus purchasing your own equipment to make new signs – especially as a newcomer to the business.

The biggest recommendation for first-timers? Do your homework, and talk with some suppliers, experts and even other sign companies who’ve done work in the ADA/Braille world, says Emily Cordes, fabrication and product manager for Ohio’s Rowmark, which manufactures plastics for compliant signage.

“Whether it’s attending a trade show or attending a seminar, taking the time to educate yourself on local laws, regulations and technology is invaluable,” she says. “Sign shops are in a great position to offer ADA-compliant signage because they have the necessary equipment and materials as well as the customer base to which these products are marketed.”

Cordes encourages would-be ADA/Braille signmakers to dig around on the web for both official government resources (we’ve attached some at the end of this story) as well as industry websites and information on technology showcases – all good references to help you gauge the complexity associated with the ADA/Braille business. Customers, she suggests, are plentiful, including many of the same folks you already serve for other signage needs.

 “That same loyal customer who has been purchasing corporate awards or informational signs more than likely has a public building where ADA-compliant signs are required by law,” she says. “The key is to offer branding into the overall signage plan for environmental spaces. Working with architects and designers to specify your specific sign designs can also give you a leading edge versus the many pre-fabricated options available on the market.”

Sharon Toji, president of Access Communications and ADA Sign Products, a consultant and provider of ADA products, also suggests due diligence on the part of aspiring sign-making folks.

“For the most part, most people don’t have a clue about how people with visual impairments or the blind actually go about reading signs,” she says. “So when they begin making signs, they sometimes try to follow the rules, but don’t really understand the rules or the nuances.”

As federal regulations morphed between the initial adoption of the ADA and refined legislation in 2010, Toji and other industry representatives offered their perspective on making that onerous set of rules a little more sign-maker friendly, but she says she was disappointed by the results.

“People always said, ‘well, why didn’t you tell me that in the rules,’ and we would say, ‘how thick do you want the rulebook to be?’” Toji notes. “In the end, we tried to write a prescriptive sign-making guide, but the feds took those regulations and said, ‘this is way too long,’ and smooshed it all together. I think they actually made it more difficult.”

Despite the regulatory hurdles, Kathy Wilson, VP of sales and marketing with Minnesota’s Advance Corp., a major wholesaler of ADA-compliant signage, equipment and production supplies, says there are still plenty of opportunities in the field.

“Would I personally invest in this sort of niche? I would go running to this. We make buildings better, and we help everyone navigate more easily,” she says. “While the federal law is very stable, it’s the local and state regulations that can be complicated, and that used to mean more controversy in states like Texas and California – that’s kind of a scare for a lot of people. Now I would say it’s very easy to get information and get all the resources required – you just have to know how to do it right.”

Wilson says that a solid business plan is critical to figure out the real costs of either purchasing equipment yourself or outsourcing production to a wholesaler, combined with some realistic expectations about potential growth.

“You probably already have a client list that’s suitable, and the sign guy is always the go-to guy. But how much time does it take to make, or order signs?” Wilson says. “What kind of margins will you see? And what about installing? That can be tricky, especially if you’re a company that’s just done banners or traditional signage. You also have to think about deadlines. How will you get those 800 compliant signs you’ve promised out the door, without having everyone in the shop work on them at the same time? You don’t want to jeopardize your other commitments.”

For those wanting to produce material themselves, Rowmark’s Cordes says the most important equipment consideration is a rotary engraver, which mechanically carves the images and words into plastics or other substrates suitable for signage.

“With a rotary engraver, you can cut out all of your materials and prepare the sign for Braille – there are small tabletop models all the way to large-format options, so the investment can vary widely based on the size and type of rotary device you choose,” she says.

As a very specialized solution, Braille signage can also be made with an automated system called the Raster sphere device, which mounts on a router/engraver to dispense and insert tiny raised metal dots to create Braille letters. Alternately, Cordes says some engravers choose to engrave the holes with a specialized bit and then apply the dot-like spheres with a Raster pen device, though it requires the purchase of a license.

Cordes says new UV-LED printers are also offering the flexibility to produce contoured and engraved Braille products in a non-mechanical way.

“One of the most innovative features of UV-LED printing technology is its unique ability to create raised or textured images and shapes, including ADA-compliant Braille,” she adds. “As the ink does not absorb into the substrate, it gets higher with continual passes of the print head. Creating signage (this way) saves significant time, with less manual work and less steps involved.” 

And then there’s the issue of materials, which have to conform to ADA-compliant color choices. Rowmark has added its own photoluminescent acrylic products for safety and egress signage; design must be balanced out with the rules at every step of the process.

Wilson says some newcomers quickly discover that the ADA-compliant sign-making business is not quite the turn-key operation they’d hoped it would be, as they haven’t considered the bigger business plans necessary to make a go of it.

“People buy an engraver and then it’s up for sale next year, and they tell me, ‘I didn’t have any more work,’” she says. “That’s a mistake. But I see a lot of idle equipment – there’s a flood of equipment on the market right now. Some of that has to do with format restrictions, as a machine from five years ago can’t handle some of the same products, when now you can get a better price for a larger, faster machine with better yields.”

Instead, going the wholesale route and outsourcing production can be an easier entry point into the business, though Wilson cautions aspiring sign shops to get samples, ask for references and do some investigating when lining up wholesale services.

“Find out if a wholesaler or retailer is limited in the kinds of options they have for materials, processes and service – can they provide a la carte componentry, and can you find one that does all the work you need?” she explains. “If you have a client who says they need compliant signs, a company like ours can help – we already do it, we deal with the regulations and we can help them walk through it. We can give you some links, some samples and some images of signage and you can take them to your next meeting.”

Whether you opt to equip yourself to produce your own materials or work instead with a wholesaler, Wilson says the biggest boon is the potential for repeat work once you build that client base.

“The great thing is that this is business that can continuously repeat over time with the same clients – they’re going to need logo updates and such as they go along,” she says.