Dibond Printing London
020 3375 6674 info@silverimagelondon.com Open 24 hours, 7 days a week — call or email and we will tell you what is possible today.
Dibond and aluminium composite signs printed in London, same or next day for flat panels. 3 mm ACM — two aluminium skins over a solid core — printed direct on our UV flatbed and cut on the Zünd: rated 5–10 years outdoors, dead flat, and the specification for anything fixed to a building. Weighing it against foamex? Foamex vs Dibond — which board outdoors compares them line by line. V-groove folded tray signs, fire-rated mineral-core ACM and brushed metal faces are made to order. Collection round the clock or courier across Central London.
Every job is quoted on its specification. Send us the sizes and we will come back with a firm figure.
What Dibond is, and where it earns its keep
Dibond is the trade name for aluminium composite material: two thin aluminium skins bonded to a solid plastic core. The sandwich gives it what neither material has alone — the flatness and weather-resistance of metal at a fraction of the weight, with none of the oil-canning ripple of solid aluminium sheet. It barely moves with temperature, which is the whole reason it exists: a Dibond panel fixed to a south-facing facade in July is still flat in February.
We print direct to the board on the UV flatbed — the ink cures instantly, scratch-resistant and waterproof — and cut on the Zünd to size or shape. For boards doing a full tour of years outdoors, a protective over-laminate goes on before cutting: matt to kill glare on a sunlit wall, or anti-graffiti where the neighbourhood argues back.
Where it goes: building signage — fascia panels, entrance plaques and estate boards that must stay flat and legible for years; wayfinding — directory boards and totem inserts for multi-tenant buildings; hoarding runs — the long-life panel for printed site perimeters; and interiors — reception feature panels where a painted wall would look tired in a year. If the sign lives on a fence for a season, Correx is the honest recommendation instead; Dibond is for the positions measured in years.
| Specification | Build | Availability | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 mm ACM, white | Aluminium skins over a solid polyethylene core | Stocked — same or next day | Building signs, estate boards, hoarding panels, directory inserts; 5–10 years outdoors |
| 3 mm fire-rated ACM | Mineral-filled core in place of polyethylene | Ordered in for the job | Specifications that call out a fire classification — manufacturer’s datasheet supplied with the order |
| Brushed silver / gold face | Metallic brushed face layer on the same core | Ordered in for the job | Entrance plaques and prestige wall signs where the metal is the finish |
Printing, laminates and tray folding
Flat panels are the same-day half of this product: printed direct on the UV flatbed and cut on the Zünd, with drilling for your fixing positions done here so text never ends up under a screw head. The over-laminates — matt for glare, gloss for depth, anti-graffiti where a wipe of solvent needs to take spray paint off without taking the print with it — are applied before cutting, so the film seals to the edge.
Tray signs are the made-to-order half. The Zünd routs a 90° V-groove through the rear skin and core, the front face stays intact, and the edges fold back into a rigid box that mounts on a concealed frame — the classic fascia build. Folded work and metallic-faced boards are quoted with their own lead time, and we would rather give you an honest date at the quote than a hopeful one at the deadline.
Fixings, for the flat boards: screws with caps through face-drilled holes for brick and timber; high-tack exterior tape for smooth cladding; stand-off barrels where the panel should float proud of the wall. Say which one when you order — the holes go where the fixing needs them. And the standing boundary: we print, cut and finish; fitting is yours or your contractor’s.
Turnaround and delivery
Flat Dibond panels run same or next day: sheets are stocked, the ink cures instantly and the cutting happens on the same floor. A file approved in the morning is normally ready the same day, subject to capacity and the size of the run — and because the workshop is staffed through the night, files and approval by 21:00 are printed overnight for a morning delivery. There is no fixed cut-off: capacity decides, so call at any hour and you will get a straight yes or no on your deadline.
Courier delivery runs across Central London — the City, West End, Canary Wharf and Southwark are daily routes — typically within 1 hour of dispatch. Collection from the counter is available around the clock. Tray signs, fire-rated boards and brushed-metal faces carry their own quoted dates, agreed before the job starts.
Artwork specifications
Bleed, drill positions, folds, colour, file format
Panels this rigid deserve files this clean: check print size and DPI first.
| Requirement | What we need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | 5 mm on every edge | The Zünd cuts to the printed edge; bleed is what keeps the aluminium edge clean. |
| Safe margin | Text 15 mm inside the trim; 25 mm clear of screw corners | A drilled fixing hole takes a real bite. Tell us the fixing positions and the artwork keeps out of their way. |
| Tray folds | Add the fold flange to the artwork — we confirm the allowance on the proof | A folded edge consumes face area; artwork that stops at the visible face leaves raw white on the fold. |
| Colour mode | CMYK, not RGB | Brand colours shift in an automatic RGB conversion — send Pantone references where the colour is the meaning. |
| Resolution at final size | 150 dpi at the finished size; 300 dpi for plaque-scale text | Measured on the printed board, not in the file. A wall plaque is read from arm’s length — it needs the higher figure. |
| File format | PDF preferred — but send what you have | Every file is checked here before production; if something will not survive at full size we say so before printing, not after. |
Before you upload
- Export a print-ready PDF, vector wherever possible
- Convert fonts to outlines
- Extend backgrounds into the bleed
- State quantity and size, flat or folded tray, and the laminate
- Say which fixing you are using — screws, tape or stand-offs
Q&A
5 to 10 years is the honest range. The aluminium skins do not rust or rot, the core does not absorb water, and the panel stays flat through freeze-thaw winters and south-facing summer sun. What ages first is the print, which is why long-term exterior boards get a protective over-laminate.
Dibond is an aluminium-and-plastic sandwich: heavier, dead flat, and dimensionally stable outdoors for years, which makes it the board for anything fixed to a building. Foamex is solid PVC foam: lighter, cheaper, better value indoors, but it can bow on a long span in direct summer heat. Fixed to a facade for years - Dibond. Indoors or short-term - Foamex.
Yes. The Zund routs a 90-degree V-groove through the rear skin and core while the front aluminium face stays intact, so the edges fold back cleanly into a tray with smooth metal corners and no exposed raw edge. Tray signs are made to order and quoted with their own lead time.
Yes. Where the specification calls for a fire classification, we supply ACM with a mineral-filled core in place of standard polyethylene, ordered in for the job. The classification belongs to the board manufacturer, and we pass the certification datasheet to you with the order so your paperwork matches the material on the wall.
Three usual ways: face-drilled and screwed with caps over the heads, high-tack exterior tape for smooth surfaces, or stand-off barrels that float the panel proud of the wall for a premium look. Tell us the fixing when you order and the holes are drilled here - text is kept clear of the drill positions. Fitting itself is yours or your contractor's.
Yes. Metal recyclers separate the aluminium skins from the plastic core and both streams go back into production. A Dibond sign that has done its years on a facade does not need to go to landfill.
Often ordered with this
Key facts: ordering tonight
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, including Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
- Print production runs 24/7; the walk-in counter serves the day and evening, and the status bar at the top of the page shows live whether it is open right now.
- Files and payment received by 21:00 → overnight production for delivery before 9am the next morning, subject to that night’s capacity; we confirm at quotation whether the run fits.
- No fixed overnight cap: tell us the quantity and we say at quotation whether it can be done in time.
- Overnight jobs are normally couriered to arrive before your office opens; collection is arranged around your arrival time — call before you set off after 8pm so the job is bagged and waiting at the counter.
- No minimum for walk-in jobs during the day — one copy is a normal job. Out-of-hours collection or delivery carries a £95 minimum plus courier if required.
- Same-day and overnight courier delivery across London, most often EC1–EC4, W1, WC1–WC2, E14 and SW1.
- Exhibition delivery to ExCeL, Olympia, the Business Design Centre and other venues: send us the hall, your stand number, the named person on the stand and their mobile, and the build-day or opening time you need it by; we deliver to the stand.
- Send what you have: we check the artwork before anything goes on press and tell you what to fix; a print-ready PDF (CMYK, 3 mm bleed) is the fastest route.
- Quotes come with a secure payment link — Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Klarna; production starts once payment is in.
- Courier delivery within London is usually in the region of £35–45, depending on the postcode and which courier is free; the exact figure is on your quote and is added to the job price.
- A proof is available on request; when we design the artwork you always get a final proof to approve. Print-ready files are printed on site and our operator checks the run against a printed proof sample before it leaves.
- Before we accept an urgent job we look at what could go wrong with the file, the stock and the finishing, and plan so that a reprint would still fit inside your deadline.
- Every order has a dedicated member of staff and an agreed completion deadline; we do not run an e-commerce queue, so the time we give you is for your job.
- Bank transfer is accepted alongside the payment link: tell us when you have sent it — the job goes to production once accounts confirm it has arrived.
- Outside London and towards the M25 courier costs more: we check with the couriers and confirm the price with you before booking.
- For Dibond orders, allow 5 mm bleed on every edge; stocked white 3 mm flat ACM panels run same or next day subject to capacity and run size, while folded trays, fire-rated ACM and brushed-metal faces have separately quoted lead times.
Send us the board list
Sizes, quantity, flat or folded, laminate and fixing — that is the whole specification. We come back with a firm price, and an honest date for anything made to order.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Call before you set off after 8pm so we have your boards ready at the counter.
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