How to hang acrylic signs and non-lit letters:
Installation tips & step-by-step instructions
How to hang acrylic signs and letters on the wall
Non-lit signs and letters are an elegant and cost-effective alternative to illuminated signs. If you don’t have a power outlet handy or just want to upgrade your wall lettering, cut-out logos and letters may be the product for you!
Sygns offers flat, non-lit logos and letters milled from acrylic, dibond, or aluminium sheets in a variety of colours and with various mounting options. In the following you will find step-by-step instructions for the most common ones, as well as tips and tricks for an easy installation.
Non-lit acrylic letters installation – step-by-step instructions
The most popular option for direct-to-wall products is to install the cut-out letters with clip-in acrylic standoffs, commonly known as "snapfixes". These are included in the delivery.
Snapfixes consist of two parts: a stud ball ("male part") and a socket ("female part"). The stud balls are already glued to the back of the letters when you receive your order.
Snapfixes should only be used on smooth, level, stable surfaces. Screws and dowels should be selected to fit your wall type.
Installation guide:
non-lit letters + snapfixes
1
Tape the mounting template to the wall and make sure that the mounting points are aligned with the tip of the stud balls fixed to the back of the letters. Drill holes in the assigned areas.
2
Insert dowels and fix the sockets with screws and a screwdriver.
3
Align the letters with the sockets and gently clip in the stud balls. Please be careful when applying pressure so as not to break or bend the material!
How to hang acrylic signs without drilling and holes
If you want to mount your non-lit sign or logo without drilling any holes, the best way is to use double-sided tape. This of course does not make your 2D letters stand out from the wall, but it’s still a great eye-catcher and definitely an upgrade from wall stickers or wall paint!
Your Sygns product comes with 3M adhesive wall tape already fixed to the back. This should only be used on flat, even, smooth surfaces free of dirt and dust. On certain surfaces, the tape might be detachable with the help of a solvent, but usually this is a pretty durable mounting method.
If your product is very large or you want to fix it in an even more durable way, you can use an additional adhesive, such as Epoxy.
Delivery typically includes either a mounting template or a stencil (a “negative” cut-out). Stencils can include the entire logo or word (for smaller products) or only the bottom half to align the letters on the wall (split stencil).
Installation guide:
non-lit letters + wall tape
1
Align the stencil or template using a level and tape it to the wall.
2
Remove the protective foil (masking) from the tape and put the letters in their assigned spot one by one. Do not apply too much pressure yet, but rather set the letters lightly on the wall so that you can make sure that they’re visually straight. Adjust if needed.
3
Once all letters are in place and aligned straight, apply firm hand pressure all over the letters for a few seconds. The letters may have a layer of protective foil on the front which you can peel off carefully.
For further information, please refer to our XPS Letters Manual, as the installation is very similar.
Acrylic sign installation with distance holders
If you choose the pre-mounted product variant, the installation is even easier! Your logo or letters come already fixed to an acrylic backplate which can be quickly mounted with the help of standoffs (distance holders). These are available in different lengths (sizes) and will be included in the delivery.
Distance holders, similar to snapfixes, consist of two parts: the barrel (“body”) and the screw-on cap. We recommend using this mounting option only on level surfaces as well so that your sign does not end up looking lopsided.
In case you lose any parts, you can conveniently re-order distance holders in the available standard sizes from our Accessories shop.
Installation guide:
acrylic sign + distance holders
1
Mark the mounting points using the pre-drilled holes in the backplate. Unless your sign is extremely large, it will have only four holes.
2
Drill the holes and insert the dowels. Screw the barrels into the holes with a screwdriver.
3
Align the acrylic sign with the barrels and screw on the caps of the distance holders, sandwiching the sign between the barrels and the caps.
Tips & tricks for hanging plexiglass signs
If you don’t want to use the distance holders, you can also insert a rope or steel cable into the upper mounting holes of the plate and hang the sign on a hook like a photo.
Unless the backplate of your sign is transparent or the sign is very large, you can also use poster strips (such as 3M Command) or adhesive pads (such as Pattex or Patafix) to hang your pre-mounted sign. Please note that this is only possible on smooth, dry walls and should not be used for heavy products.
For obvious reasons, we recommend this mounting option only for coloured / opaque backplates, as otherwise you will see the strips or pads through transparent acrylic plates.
For outdoor signs, the above-described installation options with snapfixes or wall tape are not recommended. Instead, we offer threaded metal rods with spacers or coupling nuts as a mounting feature. These are more suitable for aluminium or other metal letters as acrylic might break during the installation.
If you’re unsure which mounting option is the best for your product and your purposes, please ask our sales team during the quoting process! We will surely find the ideal solution for your custom sign.