An aluminium tray sign is a folded aluminium panel with built-in depth and clean boxed edges — the kind of sign you see on quality shopfronts, retail parks and business parks across the North East. At DE Signs North East we fabricate tray signs in-house at our Blaydon workshop, powder-coating or printing each panel to your brand and fitting them with hidden fixings for a seamless finish.
Full-width or shaped aluminium trays that box in your shopfront with clean edges and any brand colour. The single biggest upgrade a plain fascia can get.
Individual or grouped trays on brick, render and cladding for unit signs, business names and directional panels.
Building name and number trays for business parks, care homes, schools and apartment blocks — sized for legibility from the road.
Trays combined with LED lighting or built-up lettering so your sign keeps selling after dark, with sealed IP-rated modules for outdoor life.
Brushed silver, brushed bronze and metallic-effect powder coats that read as premium at a fraction of solid metal cost.
Full-colour digital print with protective laminate bonded to the tray face — photography, gradients and complex logos handled in one panel.
The tray construction is the secret: folding the aluminium edges gives the panel genuine depth and rigidity without welding or a heavy frame, so a 3-metre fascia stays dead flat with no visible supports. The composite core keeps trays light enough to mount on most walls while shrugging off North East weather — rain runs off powder-coated faces, salt air does not spot them, and the boxed edges shed water away from fixings.
Maintenance is where trays beat most alternatives. There are no acrylic faces to crack and no painted render to re-do every few years — a wipe-down restores the finish, and if a panel is ever damaged, we re-print a single tray from the original artwork rather than rebuilding the sign. That is why so many North East business parks and retail parks standardise on tray signage.
Against flat composite panels, trays add depth and a shadow line that reads as quality. Against built-up letters, they cost less while still carrying any colour or print across the full surface. Many of the best shopfronts we build combine the two: a powder-coated tray fascia with 3D built-up letters or illuminated lettering mounted on top.
We fabricate trays from aluminium composite sheet — the same weatherproof material family as our Dibond signs — folded to your chosen return depth, typically 25mm to 100mm. Faces are finished three ways: polyester powder coating in standard RAL colours for a hard, uniform finish; brushed and metallic-effect coatings for a premium look; or full-colour digital print with an anti-scratch laminate for logos, images and gradients.
Fixings are planned at survey: hidden brackets and stainless fixings on brick and concrete, or direct bonding on smooth surfaces, so the finished tray appears to float on the wall. For illuminated versions we fit sealed LED modules behind laser-cut or built-up lettering, wiring in IP-rated gear so the sign stays serviceable for years.
Retails units and shopping parades use trays as the fascia base under lettering; business park and industrial units use entrance trays and unit number panels; restaurants, pubs and salons combine trays with lighting for evening trade. They are equally at home indoors as reception and lobby signage — the same crisp edges, just fitted with invisible stand-offs.
Recent in-house work has included ACM tray-style fascia signage for a Newcastle sushi restaurant and fascia and storefront work for Metrocentre retailers — both fabricated and fitted from our Blaydon workshop. Whatever the setting, we start with a free survey and a full-size proof so you see the exact finish before anything is made.
Three generations of sign making for North East businesses, from single shopfronts to multi-site rollouts.
Folding, coating, printing and finishing all happen at our Blaydon workshop — no outsourcing, no telephone-chain.
We measure up, check access and fixings, and flag consent questions before quoting — at no cost.
Most tray signs go from approved artwork to fitted in 1-2 weeks, with faster options for straight panel work.
Tell us about your shopfront, unit or building and we will survey free of charge, quote honestly, and build your aluminium tray sign in-house. Call 0800 288 8004 or send your artwork or a photo of the site to our contact form.
Related services: Dibond signs · Fascia and shop front signs · Illuminated signs · 3D built-up letters · Large format printing
We make and install aluminium tray signs across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham and the whole North East.
Aluminium tray signs are priced with our standard fascia ranges: composite tray panels typically fall in the £450-£1,200 band depending on size and finish, with illuminated trays and large fascias quoted individually. Free site surveys and quotes are available across the North East.
Powder-coated aluminium trays are one of the longest-lasting fascia options we make — typically 10-15 years of North East weather with just occasional cleaning. Printed tray faces carry a protective laminate that keeps colours stable for years.
Non-illuminated fascia trays on commercial premises usually do not need consent, but illuminated signs, projecting signs and conservation-area frontages typically do. We flag what applies at survey stage and can prepare the specifications councils ask for.
Trays are made to measure, not from stock sizes — from small entrance panels to full-width fascias. Large fascias are fabricated in sections that join invisibly so the finished sign reads as one continuous tray.
Most tray signs go from approved artwork to installation in 1-2 weeks. Straight panel and printed tray work can be faster; illuminated trays with built-up lettering take slightly longer for the sealed lighting build.