Why Companies are stuck on Magnetic Signs

Any kind of sign works as a hugely important means by which companies can advertise their brand name, products and services. The more people notice and see a company's sign, the more likely it is that the business will grow. However, almost every type of sign has a significant limitation – that is, it is static.

Magnetic signs, however are significantly different. Because they are not fixed permanently to any surface, they may be moved from location to location, either by fixing and re-fixing to any suitable magnetic surface, or by applying the magnetic signs to vehicles, either company cars or vans.

When affixed to a car or van, it is easy to see the advantages of having magnetic signs instead of permanently fixed ones. If the car is used for both private and commercial purposes, fitting the sign during commercial working hours helps to promote the business, but during personal use, the car can be restored easily to its standard condition. This is also of tremendous advantage if you are likely to be selling the vehicle. Vinyl signs for vehicles tend to assume that the vehicle will always be owned by and used by that company. After vinyl has been applied for some time, removal tends to leave behind a dyed residue which makes it impossible to entirely restore the vehicle to factory condition.

magnetic signs mean that the vehicle can easily have all signs removed without any harm to the paintwork, allowing resale of the car or van to take place without any extra cost being incurred.

Many learner drivers use magnetic signs to fix 'L' plates to the front and rear of the vehicle. This is invaluable, as it is against the law to drive a car with 'L' plates if you are not a learner driver. By attaching vinyl or other 'sticky' plates, removal of them is possible only by effectively rendering the signs unusable in future. Magnetic signs are therefore the only real alternative.

However, there are two main differences between the standard type of learner driver magnetic signs and those used commercially. The first is that many 'L' plates have just two magnetic strips holding them to the vehicle. This means that there is very little magnetic surface area to grip the signs to the vehicle,and additionally a gap exists behind the sign, allowing the wind to circulate behind the sign and blow it off. The second difference is that 'off-the-shelf' signs usually have square cut corners. This has been shown to increase wind friction and decrease the bond between the magnetic signs and the surface of the car. Commercially made magnetic signs almost always have round cut corner to improve bonding.

Another advantage of magnetic signs is their versatility when it comes to shape. Standard signs at 24” x 12” are available, which is the normal size to fit most car doors, but magnetic signs are usually less then 1mm thick and can be cut to size or shape easily. As long as they do not cover gaps, trim or curved areas that might impair their magnetic bonding, they can be fitted almost any size or shape of metallic surface on any vehicle.