Making signs in ADOT's Sign Shop
Making signs in ADOT's Sign Shop
Making signs in ADOT's Sign Shop
Making signs in ADOT's Sign Shop
![Highway signs are stacked in rows on the ground, waiting to be delivered and installed.](/sites/default/files/2023-08/My%20project-1%20%288%29.png)
Signs are everywhere on Arizona’s highways, providing information about speed limits, nearby locations, rest areas and more. But how and where are these signs made?
ADOT has a Sign Shop where signs big and small are produced. The shop can produce signs as large as 16 by 30 feet -- these are the big, green signs above highways. Signs are made of aluminum and many sign blanks arrive pre-cut in standard shapes and sizes. Others are screen-printed.
When a sign order comes in, it’s checked against required specifications for that particular sign and the design is entered into a special cutting machine. The sign is cut and excess film is trimmed. The sign film has transfer tape applied and is rolled onto a clean sign blank. Then the transfer tape is removed and the sign is finished!
Some signs have a special material rolled onto the blank and are hand-trimmed. These are signs that usually have a yellow reflective background.