Specification

Elegant touch offers its clients unique tactile signage that is unequaled in the interior design industry. One of the few manufacturers offering Braille that is an integral part of its product with rounded edges. We meet your needs with superlative quality and peerless elegance within your assigned budget.

In order to assist you with your designs and call outs we have developed the following to give you a better understanding of the production requirements inherent to the materials used in our products. It also, outlines custom and standard options available to you. We hope the following will be of benefit to you.

Artwork Specification

Braille
Elegant Touch provides all Grade 2 Braille translations with accuracy guaranteed. Just provide the location you desire with a rectangle on drawings and we will insert the Braille text for you.

Digital / Electronic Artwork
We prefer that you provide your artwork on disk, CD, or via email to
sfloyd@elegant-touch.com. We are currently running the following programs:

Please provide a hard copy of all artwork digitally or electronically transferred.

Fonts
While we have thousands of fonts available in our system, when providing electronic or digital artwork, we prefer you to convert all text to paths to prevent any conflicts, or provide us font information so we can ensure that our font is the same.

Design Hints

All holes must be a minimum of 1/2" from the center of the hole to the edge of the glass. Standard hole size is 1/4", to accept a 3/16" piece of all thread in order to mechanically fasten to wall. Larger and smaller holes can be used, to accept different fasteners. This can vary with different sizes and thicknesses of glass.

Laminated, tempered and annealed glass may have different specifications. Please contact our office for details.

To retain a clear beveled edge on glass that is being blasted, the frosted area must stay a minimum of a 1/4" away from the edge of the bevel.

Minimum letter height in raised copy is 3/8". Smaller copy can be achieved by incising into the glass or opting to silk screen.

Frosted glass cannot be screened but after applying protective "shield", vinyl copy can be applied. ;Raised evacuation maps on glass must be simple line drawings. This also applies to Corian and Fountainhead. If smaller and more detailed maps are needed, screen-printing is a viable option.

If cutouts - square or rectangular - are specified in the glass, an 1/8" radius must be maintained in the corners. This prevents forming a break point at the corners which will, eventually, cause the piece to break. Larger cutouts may require up to a 3/16" radius at the corners. Contact our office for more details.

Illuminated glass cabinets must be a minimum of four inches deep to provide space for electronic components, either in edge- or backlighting. Fiber optic options are available for lighting. Contact our office for more details.

ADA Compliance

Glass
ADA glass (non-glare) is clear float glass that has been treated to reduce its reflective level (65 to 75%), per government specifications. This fulfills the contrast standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Braille
The American with Disabilities Act has stringent requirements. Braille cannot be larger, smaller, or closer to other text or symbols, elongated, condensed or modified in any way. A dot size of 24 point with 36 point leading, spacing and 1/32" height must be maintained.

Grade 2 Braille is specified in the Act. Elegant Touch guarantees its Braille and translations to meet all of these stringent requirements.

Grade 1 Braille is also available, but is used primarily outside the United States and Canada.

Glass and Stone Specification

Glass

Other Materials
Tile (Quarry and Porcelain), Stone (i.e., Granite/Slate), Corian or Fountainhead.

Actual tile and stone products not listed above must be tested by us prior to production.

Note:; Most Avonite products and Terra Cotta tiles are soft and not suitable for blasting. Contact our office for details.

Sizes Available:

Standard Shapes and Sizes
Standard shapes for signs are rectangles and squares. Custom shapes are available.

Glass Weights

Edge Treatments

Tempered Glass
Glass is tempered by customer request only and tempering is done after the surface blasting process is complete, and before finishing.

Safety glass (tempered) may be required to meet building codes in some states; however this is not the rule in most cities and states.

Note:; Internal, non-optically apparent, structural flaws in glass, after tempering create internal stresses which may cause glass to fracture at any point in the future. Once the surface tension is broken with even a small scratch or glass is bumped on the edge, it can shatter. The heat tempering process causes the edges to become brittle and extra care must be taken when handling tempered pieces. If the sign size is over 24x24" we recommend that a channel be included to protect the edges, if installed, other than flush to the wall.

"Frost Finish"
The natural result of our blasting process is a frost finish, which is coated with a clear liquid polymer to resist fingerprints and soil. We supply a bottle of this "Shield" with sign orders so that clients can apply it, as needed, with a soft white cloth to maintain a clean product. Vinyl lettering or graphics will not adhere to the surface of frosted glass until the polymer coating is applied. Glass will maintain a certain amount of sheen even after the face has been blasted. We can apply a coating of matte lacquer, which will cause the frosted area to return to a semi-transparent look. If we apply a "dead" flat lacquer to the frosted area it will completely deaden the natural sheen.

Applied Color to Glass

Screen Printing and Paint Fills
The client can specify paint colors: there are no standard colors and even metallics can be used. Elegant Touch can match PMS colors for screening or clients can provide color chips for matching. This applies to all raised copy, background colors and screened text. All paints are baked after screening to harden the bond between paint and substrates.

Backplate Options

Elegant Touch stocks standard metals for sign backplates, which are .032 Aluminum:

Clear anodized (silver brushed finish);
Gold Anodized (gold-brushed finish)
Anodized Stainless (stainless brushed finish)

Horizontal grain is normal on back plates and used unless otherwise specified. Custom options including satin or polished brass, aluminum or stainless steel are available. Please call us with your ideas.

Metal backing has to be affixed to the glass in some manner. Most popular is by drilling holes in the glass and using decorative hardware to attach to the glass to the wall. Painting of backplates is an option, then using foam tape and silicone to attach to the wall. Several types of hardware are available (see Mounting Options).

Mounting Options

Brass, aluminum and stainless steel tamper resistant circular knobs are standard. Minimum height for knobs is 1/4" (so that the set screw hole can be drilled in the side) and minimum diameter is 3/8". Many other variations are available, such as doomed covers, which are recessed in the back to cover screw heads and adhesive mounted to the glass. Holes in the glass can also be counter sunk to accept a variety of different fasteners. Manufacturers are now marketing a number of decorative hangers and fasteners for various applications. Contact our office for more information.

Cleaning Instructions

Glass products without a Frost Finish

• Clean with glass cleaner without ammonia and a soft white cloth.
• Never use solvents, harsh or rough cleaning materials.

Glass products with a Frost Finish

• Dust will periodically collect on the surface and can be removed with a feather duster or soft white cloth.
• To refresh frost finish (remove finger prints or visible soil) clean the surface with a glass cleaner with no ammonia and reapply the polymer "Shield" sent with your order.

Handling and Shipping Glass

Handling:
As you know extra care must always be taken when handling and working with glass products. However, we strongly recommend the following procedures:

• When handling any large piece of glass, never attempt to move or pick it up flat. Always rise from one edge, transferring the weight to the opposite edge. Lift it up and move in this vertical position. Always use this technique with piece 24 square inches and larger.
• Due to the heat process used in tempering process, glass becomes very brittle, especially on the edges and extra care should be taken when working and handling the glass. See tempered glass section for details.

Shipping
As in handling, extra care should always be used when shipping glass products. Each piece should be individually wrapped in a foam or other cushion product. A hard sided shipping box or wood crate is recommended. No more than ten pieces should be shipped in one container. Any piece 24" inches square or larger must be shipped with the glass in a vertical position, on a pallet, with A-frame style supports. Any size glass with cut-outs, oval top or bottom, must be shipped vertical as described above and no more than two pieces per carton.

Freight Damage
Although we take optimum care in packaging our products, breakage can occur during shipping. Inspect shipments while carrier is still on your premises. Should any of your signs be broken, cracked or chipped upon receipt at your facilities note the damage on all copies of the bill of lading and notify our office immediately so claims can be filed. In most instances the claim has to be filed by the receiver but we can explain the different procedures to be followed and save you some time and frustration. Please be sure that all containers and shipping materials are saved on damaged shipments in case the carrier requires inspection of these materials.