Durable Dibond Helps New Sign-MakerFulfill Premium Outdoor Signage, Art Niche

When Sarah Toupin decided to go into business for herself in 2012, she wanted to use her artistic talents to fulfill a unique business niche in eastern Ontario. Trained in administrative finance and interior design, she was also an avid photographer and thought she could combine these talents to provide promotional signage for the local business community.

“In the business-to-business market segment, there’s always a need for advertising and signage,” said Toupin, president of Kingston, Ontario-based Sarah Toupin Inc.

But it was her selection of substrates that would set her apart from other signage providers in an area that is hit with some pretty severe Canadian climate conditions, including lake-effect wind and snowfall from Lake Ontario.

“I wanted a material that would be very unique,” said Toupin, who said she “stumbled upon” aluminum composite material. “I got to know Dibond and just loved the quality. Its outdoor capabilities would allow it to withstand fluctuations in our weather. I loved Dibond’s light weight yet sturdiness. I knew it could withstand the wind and snow bouncing off signs. It also offered several fabrication options, including straight cutting, rounding the material and forming it into three-dimensional shapes. ”

(Dibond by 3A Composites USA (www.GraphicDisplayUSA.com) is a rigid, durable aluminum composite material consisting of two pre-painted sheets of .012-inch aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core – a unique composition that makes it approximately one-half the weight of aluminum. Dibond, the flattest panel on the market, offers a superior surface for direct digital printing and screen printing as well as mounting graphics. Dibond provides excellent durability in outdoor applications and won’t bow or oil can. Dibond is available in 12 standard colors, including six metallic shades. Dibond is stocked in sheet sizes ranging from 48-by-96 inches to 60-by-120-inches and in thicknesses ranging from 2mm to 4mm.)

Discovering Dibond allowed Toupin to push her small business plan by specializing in outdoor signage, she said.

“I wanted to become an expert in outdoor signage,” said Toupin, whose company is focused on providing premium quality outdoor art and signage. “The more I learned about Dibond – including its manufacturing process and printing process as well as the brand’s reputation – I really shifted my energy into using this product to fill a niche for outdoor business-to-business signage. This product is perfect for printing photos, business logos and graphics. It can be bent, shaped and cut with curves. To me, Dibond is the ultimate substrate. Its possibilities are beyond limitless.”

Toupin landed her first business-to-business job in September 2012, when she was hired by the Black Prince Winery in Picton, Ontario, to update the image of its royal namesake on the winery’s outdoor monument signage.

The Black Prince Winery, a 12-year-old winery located in Ontario’s Prince Edward County, is named after the Black Prince, the eldest son of England’s King Edward III, who also was named Edward but died before his father. The Black Prince disguised himself in battle by wearing black armor. An image of the Black Prince created from a portrait was positioned atop the winery’s monument signage. The Black Prince also graces the labels of the winery’s bottled offerings.