Aluminum vs. Dibond signs

The short answer

Choose solid aluminum for small and mid-size signs that get drilled and screwed to a wall, door, fence or post — it is the default business sign for a reason. Choose Dibond aluminum composite when the panel is large, has to stay perfectly flat across a shopfront, or needs to be cut to the shape of your logo. Neither one rusts, and both take the same direct UV print, so the deciding question is simply: how big is the sign, and does it need to be a rectangle?

Side by side

Where solid aluminum wins

A solid aluminum panel does not swell in the wet, does not rust and stays flat through a full temperature swing, which is why offices, clinics, workshops, gyms and job sites order it in mixed batches. A .040" panel is plenty for anything under about three feet; step up to .063" when the sign is big enough to catch wind or low enough to get knocked. Corners come rounded as standard and holes are drilled to your mounting plan, so aluminum business signs arrive ready to screw up.

Where Dibond earns its place

Dibond is two thin aluminum skins bonded to a polyethylene core. It behaves like sheet metal but stays flat at sizes where a single skin would ripple — exactly what a shopfront needs when it is lit from the side. Because it is cut on a flatbed router, a Dibond storefront sign does not have to be a rectangle: logos, arches, ovals and full silhouettes come off the same table. The one thing to watch is the edge: the core is exposed at every cut, so edges should be trimmed clean and sealed on a sign that lives outside.

The verdict

Pick solid aluminum for door plates, suite and department signs, parking and rule signs, and anything up to about three feet that is going onto a wall, fence or post.

Pick Dibond for storefront and fascia panels, monument and pylon faces, site boards and any sign cut to a custom outline.

Either way, orders start at 12 signs and come with a free vector redraw of your logo, a free mockup within 24 hours and shipping in about 2 weeks. Want the wider picture? Read our guide to sign metals: aluminum, Dibond and steel, or browse every style we make.