Capabilities

Die Cutting - Screen Printing - Embossing - Digital Printing - Laminating - Punching/Piercing - Etching - Metalphoto®

Die Cutting
Steel Rule Die Cutting is the method we use to produce special shapes on products such as vinyl decals and many different varieties of plastic items in gauges from .005 - .060, these plastic products include but are not limited to:

Polystyrene parking hang tags (hang from interior mirror)

Polycarbonate control panels

Polycarbonate nameplates

Polystyrene or polyethylene car tags and promotional items

Rigid vinyl sample books and whatever else you might imagine.

Steel rule cutting can also be used for kiss cutting (i.e. cutting pressure sensitive material through to the liner without penetrating the liner) rather simple shapes in pressure sensitive materials like vinyl, gold, chrome or clear polyester, etc.

Screen Printing
Dixie Signs & Decals, Inc. has been screen printing for more than 25 years.

Like many trade activities screen printing has come from somewhat of a primitive art form to a highly technical set of procedures and skills (especially in the last ten years or so) using many modern tools and machines to measure and achieve repeatable excellence.

Dixie Signs & Decals has worked hard over the years to acquire the tools, machinery and skills to provide our customers with the finest quality in the most reasonable time frame at competitive prices.

All of these improvements over the years have allowed Dixie Signs & Decals, Inc. to offer its employees a clean and for the most part, stress free work environment. In turn we offer the same to you, the customer, but these are just the peripheral characteristics of our mainstay.

The main virtues of screen printing and Dixie Signs & Decals are the products and the unmatched flexibility, durability, crisp, clean and colorful images that are produced on a wide range of materials to suit your particular needs.

The durability of screen printing lies in the fact that it lays down a thicker ink deposit than any other printing process.

Taking proper care to study your needs will produce a product that will resist sun and outdoor elements as well as exposure to most chemicals and cleaning agents. Even in harsh environments you can expect a durable product.

Color and material choices offer unlimited possibilities for achieving the look and functionality you need. Dixie Signs & Decals offers a huge range of both standard and custom colors to choose from. Materials include aluminum and other metals, pressure sensitive vinyl (decals), polycarbonate (Lexan), polyethylene, styrene and much more.

We can apply many different finishing procedures, such as laminating clear materials to the front for extra graphics protection or adhesive and a liner to the back, die cutting pre-masking, embossing and more.

Embossing
Dixie Signs & Decals, Inc. offer embossing or debossing on a variety of materials. Finished products range from metal nameplates, polycarbonate labels, decals and polycarbonate control panels.

Some of our customers have replaced cast aluminum and injected molded zinc nameplates with our embossed nameplates because of reduced cost and ease of application. Our metal or plastic nameplates can be laminated with up to 1/8” foam adhesive over the entire back for application to textured surfaces or surfaces such as tread plate using no screws or rivets.

Embossing is a process where a die is pressed into the back of a nameplate to raise the letters or other design elements to add depth, class and eloquence to an otherwise ordinary design.

Embossing is a process which is essentially the opposite of embossing, where a design element is pressed down from the front side of the material, such as a texture in a background.

Digital Printing

Since the founding of Dixie Signs & Decals, Inc. in 1981 we had been involved in fabricating and installing all manner of outdoor signs (internally illuminated, architectural, shopping center pylons, etc.) as a separate division. After about an 8 year process of eliminating these products and services from our repertoire (ending in 2003), we kept the portions of this department that were well suited and enhanced our screen print department.

At the time these were "cash and carry" (computer driven, plotter cut) pre-spaced vinyl, aluminum and plastic signs and small format vinyl decals printed on a resin ribbon, print and cut system "older technology" which has improved.

Meanwhile, large format digital printing using inkjet technology had improved to the point of producing photo quality images with an outdoor life of 3 years right off the press and up to 5 years when a clear UV protective laminate is applied over the image.

What made this process even more exciting was that computer driven plotters had been built to read what an inkjet printer had output, making it possible to print, and then contour cut the design to shape.

The following is a list of products and services made available through this technology:

Digital Banners: Full color banners or just copy, with enhancements like chiseled or chrome lettering with feathered, gradated shadows, etc. through programs like "Photoshop" & "Illustrator."

Proto-types: the materials are somewhat limited compared to screen printing in that they must be somewhat flexible and generally come in roll form, but there are many different types of materials for many purposes, and as stated the sizes can range from tiny ¼" x 1" up to five foot wide by almost any length in feet. 

Trade Show Graphics: Translucent panels for your internally illuminated headers, table skirts, and floor graphics to lead people to your booth, posters created by applying printed vinyl graphics to rigid card or plastic materials, mounted with Velcro or on easels, accessories are many. 

Short Runs: Are made more cost effective, especially multi color jobs. But whether your needs are decals with one color or multi-colored or even die cut, when it comes to quantities of a few hundred or so you will save the majority of the set-up costs of screen printing and the costs of expensive dies for cutting to shape.

Fast Turn-Around: Since jobs done digitally do not have to go through the normal processes of film making, screen making and then run through the screen print presses and or die cutter or wait on dies to arrive, you can receive your products in as little as 2 to 3 days.

Laminating
Dixie Signs & Decals, Inc. / DSD, Inc.'s laminating capability and the wide variety of adhesives available from 3M and Avery, just to name a couple of our premium sources make it possible to create labels from many different materials including:

• Lexan
• Polycarbonate
• Rigid Vinyl (Clear, White and Colors)
• Aluminum, Brass, Stainless Steel
  

Available in a variety of gauges ranging from .005 to .125 thick and finishes ranging from high gloss to matte and an assortment of textures from silky smooth to a sandy feel.

Over-laminates have many of the same characteristics as mentioned above as for the finishes that are available. Some of the factors that determine the uses for over-laminates are:

• Ultraviolet exposure
• Chemicals exposure
• Decorative qualities
• Humidity exposure
• Protection from a painting process (paper pre-masks) to be removed after painting
  

Punching/Piercing

Punching & piercing are achieved using hard tooling to cut through metal and heavier harder plastics and also to do forming in metal. We can punch, pierce or cut metal up to 3/16 inch thick.

The cutting "tools" for punching, piercing and forming metal consist of a two part system which is referred to as a punch and die set.

The punch and die set are installed in a press that is quite different than a die cutting machine, the main difference being the amount of pressure that can be applied to penetrate the heavier materials.

Punch presses are also used when multiple stages or progressions are required to complete a product; these progressions may be required for a number of reasons, including:

• Proximity of holes to be punched.
• The amount of pressure required to pierce the material.
• The life of the tooling is expected to last tens of thousands of hits.
  

Etching

Etched nameplates are recommended for harsh indoor or outdoor applications where exposure to weather, temperature extremes, sunlight, chemicals, solvents, fuels and lubricants is possible. Etched plates are commonly used in military, aircraft, marine, heavy construction and industrial applications. Images are chemically etched into the substrate surface and could be filled with ink for added aesthetic and functional value. The most common material used for these etched plates is stainless steel because of its hardness and durability. Other materials available are brass, nickel, and aluminum.

Metalphoto®

Metalphoto® anodized aluminum combines unusual durability with a long-lasting quality appearance. Metalphoto® nameplates and panels function perfectly for years, maintaining their original good looks under a broad variety of challenging environments, including high temperatures, long term outdoor exposure, abrasion, salt spray and most chemicals. Metalphoto® gets its durability from its unique process which embeds the image within a saphire hard anodized layer.

Metalphoto® has been widely specified for military data plates and panels for over 40 years. It meets the most stringent MIL-spec standards such as MIL-DTL-15024 Type G & H and MIL-P-19834. Metalphoto® is the product for you when the appearance, legibility and longevity of id plates in challenging environments are important. This is an excellent material choice when either a few or many one-of-a-kind parts are required.