On public roads, sign size follows the speed of the traffic that will see it: standard signs such as triangles and circles are 600mm for 30mph roads, rising to 750mm at 40mph, 900mm at 50mph and 1200mm at 60mph and above.

Text signs are often sized by their x-height (the height of a lower-case letter x): roughly 60-75mm for 30mph roads, 100mm at 40mph, 125-150mm at 50-60mph and 200mm or more on faster roads.

On private land and in car parks you can choose any size you like, because speeds are lower, but a bigger sign is always more prominent, and we're happy to recommend one.

Yes. Choose "Provide custom size" on many of our custom signs, enter your width and height in millimetres (minimum 200mm x 200mm) and we'll make it to measure. Signs on the public highway must use the sizes prescribed in TSRGD, so custom sizes are best suited to private land, car parks and bespoke designs.

Class RA1 (often called engineering grade) is the entry-level reflective sheeting, with the lowest reflectivity of the three classes. We use 3M Engineer Grade Prismatic, which 3M rates for a 7-year performance life. It's a cost-effective choice for car parks, private roads, estates and well-lit areas, but it isn't recommended for signs on the public highway.

Class R2/RA2 is high-intensity reflective sheeting and the standard for most permanent road signs in the UK, as recommended by the UK National Annex to BS EN 12899-1 (R2 is the UK name, RA2 the European one, and they mean the same thing). We use 3M High Intensity Prismatic, warranted by 3M for up to 10 years. Choose this for any sign on a public road, or anywhere it needs to be read clearly at night.

Class R3B/RA3 is the brightest grade, made from full-cube microprismatic sheeting rather than glass beads, so it returns far more light to the driver. We use 3M Diamond Grade DG3, warranted by 3M for up to 12 years. It's specified for high-speed roads, unlit rural roads, overhead signs and hazardous junctions, and it's the recommended grade for temporary signs on high-speed roads under Chapter 8.

Every permanent sign can be ordered for wall mounting (flat back, no channel) or post mounting (aluminium channel fixed to the rear, ready for clips), and our arrow signs can also be flag mounted on T-brackets so they project sideways from a post, which is ideal for double-sided signs. Post clips, screwband clips, posts, base plates and caps are all sold separately in our Posts & Clips range.

Wall-mounted signs are supplied with a flat back and no channel, so they fix straight to brickwork, fencing or hoarding with screws through the face of the sign. They arrive undrilled and without fixings, because the right screws and plugs depend on what you're fixing to. If you'd like holes pre-drilled in the corners, just ask in the notes when you order.

Post-mounted signs come with aluminium channel fixed across the back; a clip slides into each channel and bolts around the post with a single M6 bolt, so all you need is a spanner. As a rule of thumb, signs up to 900mm tall have two channels and need two clips per post, and taller signs have three. Clips and posts are sold separately. Choose clips to match your post diameter (76mm is the most common).

Our permanent signs come on either 3mm aluminium composite (two 0.3mm aluminium skins bonded to a polyethylene core, which makes it light, rigid, rust-proof and worthless to metal thieves) or 3mm solid aluminium (the traditional highway choice, stiffer and the longest lasting). Both are faced with your chosen class of 3M reflective vinyl, and where the specification calls for it the finished sign is UKCA marked to BS EN 12899-1 for use on the public highway.

Many signs, e.g. weight limits, bridge heights etc, require customisation. If you need to adjust the text on the sign, please fill in the details on the "Custom Text" input field. You can also write notes describing the layout in the "Customer Notes" field. If needed, we will supply you with a draft of the sign prior to manufacturing for your approval.