OUTPUT

Gantries on the M80 Glasgow Southern Orbital motorway have been fitted with new traffic signs, featuring translucent sign faces supplied by William Smith designed to be inserted into LED rear-illuminated box signs.

Tegrel chose William Smith to supply 16 single-sheet sign faces from 3M Diamond Grade DG³ Reflective Sheeting, measuring from 3m up to 7m wide x approximately 1.8m tall.

"Because of the physical size of the sign faces, we sat down at length with William Smith to discuss the methodology of applying the 3M vinyl," says Tegrel managing director Richard Leech. "Production was a mammoth task and William Smith also did all the cutting to size."

Previous rear-illuminated signs used in Glasgow incorporated 400-watt halogen lamps, but for the new signs an LED solution was implemented to save energy and reduce maintenance requirements. "LED lasts around five years, whereas halogen lamps require changing every four months," comments Leech.

Tegrel's specially designed printed circuit board with LEDs and a device to scatter light in a required pattern allowed the use of particularly slimline, 100mm-deep boxes in the M80 job, as opposed to the previously required 500mm.