Acrylic is a cast or extruded sheet that behaves like glass without the weight or the risk. Laser cutting leaves a clear polished edge straight off the machine. We cut, print and assemble it at Ravenhall.
Acrylic sheet, sold under names like Perspex and Plexiglas, is polymethyl methacrylate. It comes in two grades that look identical on the shelf and behave differently on the machine. Cast is poured and cured between glass plates. Extruded is pushed through a die. Cast laser cuts to a clear, glass-like edge. Extruded is cheaper, holds a tighter thickness tolerance, and suits routing and forming better.
Made by Melbourne Trade Signs, a large-format print and signage company on Unit 6/43 Orbis Drive, Ravenhall VIC 3023, in Melbourne’s west. Printed in-house and installed Australia-wide. Phone 0415 743 691.
It gets specified because it looks considered. A 5mm panel on standoffs throws a shadow on the wall and reads as a fixture rather than a printed sheet. Scratching is the honest downside: acrylic marks more easily than glass, and a clear panel at hand height shows it within months. It also moves with temperature, so an outdoor panel needs oversized fixing holes or it crazes.
We cut, print, polish and assemble acrylic in Ravenhall, which is why a one-off reception panel is no harder to run than fifty table signs. Laser cutting means shapes and lettering come off the machine finished, with no sanding. If a panel is going on a wall we can install it, and if you are fitting it yourself it arrives drilled, with hardware and the protective film still on.
The grade decides how the sheet cuts. The colour decides how the sign reads on the wall. Both want settling before artwork, because a design that works on opal can disappear on clear.
| Grade or colour | What it looks like | Laser cut edge | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast clear | Optically clear, faint green edge | Glossy and transparent | Reception panels, cut lettering, visible edges |
| Extruded clear | Clear, slightly softer surface | Cuts, but can look hazy | Printed panels, routed work, holders |
| Opal white | Milky white, fully opaque | Clean matt white | Directory boards, illuminated panels, opaque backgrounds |
| Solid colour | Opaque black, white or brand colour | Matches the face colour | Cut lettering and logo shapes |
| Frosted or satin | Diffused and non-reflective | Soft translucent edge | Meeting room and privacy signage |
| Mirror acrylic | Reflective, lighter than glass | Clean, though the backing can chip | Retail display, feature lettering, fitouts |
Acrylic is priced on the sheet area consumed, not the finished sign area, so a shape cut from the middle of a sheet costs what the whole rectangle costs. Nesting several pieces is where the saving is.
Most acrylic decisions come down to three things: which side the graphics go on, how the edge is finished, and how the panel meets the wall. Each changes the look more than the material does.
Artwork is printed mirrored onto the back face and viewed through the acrylic, which gives depth and a glassy gloss. The ink is protected, because the sheet itself is the wearing surface. A white flood prints last so the colours read solid.
Straight onto the visible surface, usually on opal or coloured sheet. Colour is more accurate than reverse printing gives, and it suits matt and frosted stock where the depth effect is lost anyway. Add a laminate if the panel gets cleaned regularly.
Individual letters and logo shapes cut from cast acrylic, with the polished edge left as the finish and each piece pinned off the wall so it throws a shadow. Works in clear, black, colour or mirror. Watch fine serifs under 5mm.
Machined barrels holding the panel 15 to 25 mm off the wall, which is why acrylic reads as a fixture rather than a sign. Supplied in brushed stainless, chrome, black or gold. We drill the panel here, because the wrong bit on site cracks it.
Laser cutting already gives a clear edge on cast sheet. Where a panel has been sawn or routed we diamond or flame polish it back. Worth specifying on anything freestanding or at eye level, since a raw sawn edge is what people notice first.
Two or three sheets bonded or spaced apart build real depth, often clear lettering floating over a coloured back panel. For desks and counters, slot-in feet or a folded L-shape stand a panel up where nothing can be fixed to a wall.
The panel behind the front desk, meeting room identification, floor directories and department wayfinding. Usually 5mm on brushed standoffs, matched to whatever the fitout designer has specified elsewhere. In a leased tenancy, standoffs into a few fixing points do less damage at end of lease than a full-width applied graphic across the wall. We drill the panel here to the standoff centres.
Price lists, service menus, opening hours, treatment room names, and the sign by the register that has to be readable and wipeable. Frosted or opal acrylic handles bright downlighting without glare. Clear panels with reverse-printed artwork suit fitouts where the wall finish is meant to show through around the edges of the sign. A wipeable face matters more than looks near a coffee machine.
Shelf and counter signage, product information panels, brochure and card holders, and cut lettering for a feature wall. Acrylic holds up under retail lighting because the gloss face reads as considered rather than temporary. Multi-site retailers order a full set to one spec, so every store looks the same on opening day. We keep the cut file so later stores match exactly.
Honour boards, donor and sponsor walls, engraved-look plaques and feature signage for a function space. Acrylic takes fine detail and looks appropriate in a room where corflute plainly would not. For weddings and one-off celebrations, our sister company Event Signs covers that side of the acrylic work instead. Layered panels add depth to a donor board without the cost of fabricated metal.
Acrylic is cut on a laser and often printed as well, so the file needs to separate what gets cut from what gets printed. Getting that right at the start saves a round of proofing.
Very few people send a file that is already cut-ready, and that is fine. Send the logo and the wording, say roughly how big the panel should be, and we will draw it up and show you a proof.
Acrylic runs through several stages: cutting, edge finishing, printing, sometimes bonding, then hardware. All of it happens at Orbis Drive, so we see the whole job rather than chasing a supplier for one part of it. Tell us the install date early and we will say plainly whether it works. Small panels collect easily from Ravenhall, and larger pieces travel filmed and boxed.
Perspex is a brand of acrylic sheet, the way Corflute is a brand of fluted polypropylene. The material is polymethyl methacrylate, usually shortened to PMMA.
Plexiglas, Lucite and Acrylite are other trade names for the same plastic. Anyone asking for a Perspex sign almost always means cast acrylic, which has the best clarity and the cleanest laser cut edge. The distinction that affects your sign is cast against extruded.
Choose cast if the sign is laser cut, if the edge will be seen, or if it is being heat formed. Choose extruded for a plain printed rectangle where budget matters.
Cast sheet lasers to a genuinely clear edge and resists crazing around drilled holes. Extruded holds a tighter thickness tolerance, which helps for routing and for anything slotting into a channel, but its laser edge looks hazy and it crazes more readily.
Print on the back when the sheet is clear and you want depth with a protected ink surface. Print on the front when the sheet is opal, coloured or frosted, or when exact colour matters more than the glassy look.
Reverse printing lets the acrylic protect the ink, so the panel cleans without touching the graphics. It also shifts colour slightly, since you view it through 5mm of faintly green plastic. For an exact brand colour, front printing on opal is safer.
Cast acrylic holds up outdoors better than most plastics and does not yellow the way polycarbonate does. It is used for outdoor light boxes for that reason.
The real issues outside are thermal movement and scratching. Acrylic expands and contracts between a cold night and a hot afternoon, so external panels need oversized holes and fixings left slightly loose, or the sheet crazes. For a large exterior sign, ACM is more sensible.
A standoff is a two-part barrel. The base screws to the wall, the panel drops over it, and a cap screws through the hole to clamp it, finishing 15 to 25 mm proud.
Into plasterboard you need proper anchors, because panel and hardware together weigh more than they look. Into brick, block or render over masonry, standard plugs are fine. We drill the acrylic here to exact centres, since a twist bit used on site chips it almost every time.
It scratches more easily than glass. Light surface marks usually polish out. Anything you can catch a fingernail in generally will not.
Plastic polish and a soft cloth lift haze and fine scuffing from a clear panel. Deeper marks need wet sanding and machine polishing, which works on an edge but leaves a visible patch on a large flat face. Practically, specify frosted or matt sheet in high-traffic spots.
Still deciding? See our sign materials guide.
The exterior alternative. Flatter over a large span and far more tolerant of sun and thermal movement than an acrylic panel on an outside wall.
See the detail →The same material and the same laser cutter, angled at ceremonies and receptions: welcome boards, seating panels and table numbers rather than corporate reception work.
See the detail →Cut vinyl applied direct to glass or a painted wall. A cheaper way to get crisp type where a physical panel is not needed at all.
See the detail →Browse the full list on our A–Z of everything we print, or see how this fits into signage in Melbourne.
Tell us the size, the colour and whether it goes on a wall or a table. We will price it within two business hours.