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ADA Signs

New ADA Sign Regs Present Opportunities and Challenges

Material vendors offer market insights

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In 1990, when Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, the legislation issued a sweeping mandate to make public facilities accessible for the physically challenged, as well as to prohibit discrimination against the people with disabilities. The result was the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). Although these ambitious standards addressed many needs of this population, some ambiguities still created confusion.

The Department of Justice, working with the U.S. Access Board (a governmental agency that advocates for comprehensive accessible design), and various representatives who serve the needs of the blind and low-vision communities, developed an updated ADAAG standard in 2010. Enacted into law March 15, 2011, it will require all public-accessible facilities to observe the new guidelines by March 15, 2012 (see related article).

The new regulations will signif-icantly impact the ADA-sign market. A few industry experts offer their insights on what the new measures will mean. For the complete ADA standards, go to the 2010 version.

U.S. Access Board
Dave Yanchulis is an accessibility specialist for the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency that promotes equality for the disabled via accessible-design leadership. In 1990, the ADA authorized the Access Board, an independent, federal agency, to develop accessibility guidelines for buildings and transportation, as well as communication and information technology. The Board also enforces accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities, and provides public outreach and technical assistance to promote accessibility.

“It’s important that the ADA standards, like other building requirements, be periodically reviewed and updated,” he said. “The new 2010 ADA standards improve accessibility, facilitate compliance and harmonize provisions with model building codes and industry standards.”

Yanchulis continued, “Updated signage provisions clarify which signs are required to provide tactile access and visual access. They also provide greater detail on character height and proportion, and on the placement and location of signs. They improve visual and tactile legibility for the visually impaired, and make it easier for sign providers to understand what makes a sign compliant. All scoping provisions related to signs are now consolidated in one section [216, which references the technical criteria in ADAAG section 703].”

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Many questions the Board receives concern tactile-signage requirements. The Access Board’s standards require signs that identify “permanent rooms and spaces” to be tactile. He said, “They’re intended for rooms and spaces whose function is unlikely to change without significant alteration. Tactile-required signage includes restroom signage, room numbers and other space names unlikely to change, floor-level markers and required exits, as well as door or doorway signs. Information and directional signs must be visually accessible, but tactile graphics aren’t required.”

Penalties for noncompliance can be severe. According to the enforcement section on www.ada.gov, “The Department of Justice may file lawsuits in federal court to enforce the ADA, and courts may order compensatory damages and back pay to remedy discrimination if the Department prevails. Under Title III, the Dept. of Justice may also obtain civil penalties of up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for any subsequent violation.”

Advance Corp.
Advance Corp.’s Braille-Tac Div. (Cottage Grove, MN) offers a broad array of ADA-compliant products: cast zinc and magnesium; photo-polymer; inkjet-printed graphics with raster braille; and injection-molded plastic. Kathy Wilson, the company’s marketing director, characterized the changes as “minor,” but still requiring attention.

“There seems to be a lot of denial and confusion about the regulations,” she said. “The tolerances are very tight, but they’re clearly outlined with precise language and measurements.”

However, Wilson noted the laundry list of specs: “Who is going to police all of these regulations? The average signshop owner just wants to sell signs; is it his job to measure the dot height, the letter-to-letter space? Manufacturing them is our business, and we make sure they’re compliant, but it puts a burden on the shops to verify the materials and process.”

She participated in the ADAAG standards’ creation firsthand; she attended meetings held with industry representatives, the Dept. of Justice and the Access Board.

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“There was a lot of debate and a lot of information about fonts and signage usage,” Wilson said. “There are so many populations that we have to serve – the blind, the visually impaired, those with vision problems who are also wheelchair-bound – and signs have so many different possible uses. A lot of good information comes out of those meetings, but the policing and enforcement components often aren’t there.”

As a result, she said the onus often falls on her company to closely monitor orders: “Designs aren’t regulated, so customers can send us whatever they please. And, often, it incorporates a logo or other element that’s not compliant, like a serif font. It’s even tougher if it comes from an ad agency, because they’re further removed from thinking about ADA requirements. They aren’t thinking about sans-serif fonts, appropriate color contrast, or compliant letter spacing.”

APCO Sign Systems
APCO Sign Systems primarily produces ADA-compliant, photopolymer signage, although it also fabricates etched zinc for spaces without temperature control. Teresa Cox, APCO’s president, said, “The original ADA accessibility guidelines were developed in a relatively short period of time without much input from our industry. Work began on updated standards almost immediately after the first ADAAG was published. The sign-related section of the new ADAAG has been rewritten, and features numerous changes. For example, braille must be placed directly below corresponding raised text to make it easier for users to find it.”

She said people commonly err when reading the standards by bypassing the scoping requirements the Access Board created in Section 216 and proceeding directly to Section 703 in the ADA standards: “The scoping defines what signs are subject to require-ments, and what’s exempt. Even some code administrators have insisted on raised characters where they aren’t required, intended
or even helpful to the visually impaired.”

One recommendation eliminated from the new standard suggested a 70% color contrast as measured by a formula that measures light-reflectance values [LRV]. The recommendation was published in the guideline’s appendix, which is no longer part of the recognized ADAAG regulations. Although it’s a common guideline, it’s preferable that it’s not an ironclad mandate. Cox said, “We know good color contrast when we see it, but it’s difficult to measure. The old formula is flawed because LRV measures grayscale, not pure color. Also, ambient lighting, both by type and degree, impact how we perceive color.”

She strongly encourages ADA-sign providers, especially those new to the market, to educate themselves about the new standards’ ramifications. She credits the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) for taking a leadership role via its development of an ADA whitepaper and continuing education through its professional-development program.

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“We anticipate a lot more interest in signs that use separate raised and tactile characters to better address the needs of both the visually impaired and the sighted,” Cox said. “There are numerous updatable sign systems, which easily incorporate dual messages, available on the market.”

Dixie Graphics
Dixie Graphics (Nashville) fabricates etched-zinc signs for the ADA-compliant market, as well as some photopolymer for projects that require both sign types. Matt Williams, the director of the com-
pany’s architectural-sign division, praised the new regulations as providing “a common and reasonable playing field that addresses acces-sibility needs” because “there was previously a patchwork of various state codes that were inconsistent and needed a unified standard.”

He endorses dual-role signage — high-contrast and tactile signs that serve the visually impaired and the blind: “I don’t see why one sign can’t do two things. From a functionality standpoint, that’s more efficient. I’ve walked into stadiums where several signs each perform a different function. That’s distracting to those with low vision.”

Williams said he’s frequently contacted by ADA-sign designers and fabricators who express concern about the new regulations: “When-ever there are new regulations, it’s a natural reaction to think they’re more restrictive. Those I’ve interacted with in the design community perceived this will stifle their options. But, I think these regulations let them do more. Now, with dual-function signs, the uppercase-only, sans-serif rule only applies to tactile text. The high-contrast text for low vision users allows lowercase letters and simple-serif fonts. This distinction wasn’t made with the 1990 standards.”

Williams said some customers mistakenly believe private property isn’t required to meet public-accessibility guidelines: “A condo complex is a series of private residences, but the public still has access to all areas outside the actual residences. Thus, we sometimes have to educate customers that these areas still require compliant signs. Still, many say they don’t care. We remind them compliance is their responsibility."

Gemini
Gemini Inc. (Cannon Falls, MN) offers ADA-compliant plaques, which comprise metal with a powdercoated or baked-enamel finish and integral braille dots. Dave Welch, the company’s marketing manager, said they’re primarily fabricated from aluminum and, to a lesser extent, bronze and brass.

“One of the more popular ADA offerings right now is a giclée, four-color print of customer-furnished designs,” he said. “ADA signage and graphics provide an opportunity for an institutional or corporate environment to create an identity and differentiate itself. New standards should streamline and simplify the design process and ultimately lead to better signs.”

Welch notes that typeface and design remain common hurdles: “We still have customers who specify elements that aren’t ADA-compliant. We make it very clear what the guidelines allow and don’t allow. Some customers are savvy to the regulations, but many still need a primer on the purpose of ADA
and how room-ID or wall signs reinforce that.”

Roland DGA Corp.
Roland DGA Corp. (Irvine, CA) recently introduced its first “turnkey” solution exclusively targeted to
the ADA-sign market through its introduction of EGX-350 desktop and EGX-400 and -600 benchtop engravers bundled with ADA kits that include EngraveLab Expert 8.0, with translators required for trans-forming text into Grade II Braille, and ADA-compliant clipart and toolpaths. Rick Rivera, Roland DGA’s product manager, said customer feedback provided the impetus for developing the system.

“With the enacting of the new standards in 2012, it’s a great time for shops to get into the ADA sign market,” he said. “Banks, office buildings, schools and other types of new constructions will be required to comply with the new standards, so it’s a good oppor-tunity to familiarize yourself with ADA standards and become a provider to this growing market.”

Rivera said adding inkjet-printed graphics to ADA-compliant signage would benefit providers because they generate a value-added product with higher profit margins.

He continued, “With improved technology and the broad array of affordable materials you can use to fabricate ADA-approved graphics, there’s really no reason to outsource production. Maintain your quality control, and you’ll deliver more rapid job turnarounds that generate repeat business.”

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