AVERAGE WIDTH: Average width refers, in the case of cast metals & molded plastic, to the averaged measurement from left side to right side of the numbers & letters in the font set. For cut materials the average width in the dimensions tables is for numbers only. See "width" below for explanation of how width is determined.

CAB: Cellulose Acetate Butyrate is a highly impact-resistant plastic used for thermoforming our formed and injection-molded house numbers and letters. CAB is made from cotton and wood fibers. This product is manufactured from a renewable resource and is recyclable.

CAST METAL:   Molten metal poured (cast) into a mold and then allowed to cool in the shape of the mold.

DEPTH:   Measurement of the distance from the face to the back of a number or letter. See "Return" below.

FACE:   The front surface of a number or letter.

FINISH:   The look of a piece after it has been finished (completed) with a certain process. Different finishes are achieved by different processes. For example, natural satins are brushed or sanded raw metals finished with the final process of applying a clear-coat of acrylic.

FONT:   The style (design) for a set of letters, numbers, & punctuation.

FORMED PLASTIC:   Flat, heated, pliable plastic sheet is drawn by vacuuming against a  mold of numbers or letters. The result is a number or letter "formed" shell-like within the mold. Technically this process is called thermo-forming.

HEIGHT:   Measurement of distance from top to bottom of number or letter. Height is seldom uniform for an individual font set. The measurement given for a particular font set is usually based on a number or letter with flat edges on the top and bottom - see for example, Helvetica.   Pieces  curved on the top and/or bottom will usually have a height slightly larger than the designated size. Height & width are the distance of the vertical and horizontal sides of a level rectangle holding the level, measured piece & where the edges of such piece touch the sides of the rectangle.

INJECTION-MOLDED PLASTIC:   Heated, molten plastic injected under pressure into hollow spaces of a closed steel mold. For house numbers & letters the  mold's hollow space is in the form of these numbers or letters.

RETURN:  The side of a number or letter. Distance (depth) of the return is measured from the face of the piece to the back edge of the piece.

STAND-OFF:  The distance between the back surface of the number or letter and the wall to which it is mounted. Stand-off is created by placing spacers (small metal tubes) over the studs so that a letter or number is held off the wall.  Standoff is used to create a drop-shadow effect or to allow easy painting of the wall surface without marring the number or letter.

STROKE:   The width of the various face elements of a number or letter. When the measurement of a font's stroke has a range such as 1/4" to 1/2", the font has an asymmetrical stroke - see for example Americana Bold. When the measurement of a font's stroke is a single dimension such as 1/4", the font has a uniform (symmetrical) width for all the face elements - see for example, Ribbon.

STUD:   A stud is threaded (all-thread)  aluminum or stainless steel hardware that screws into the rear of the number or letter. (See the illustrations in the Kit Install section.) By default the stud is c. 2" long. Stainless steel studs are used for large pieces.

WIDTH:   Maximum measurement of a number or letter from left to right. "Average width" refers to the averaged measurement of all numbers and letters in the font set. Height & width are the distance of the vertical and horizontal sides of a level rectangle holding the level, measured piece & where the edges of such piece touch the sides of the rectangle. NOTE: Average widths for Numbers are set forth on the individual font pages for Cut Materials. Average widths for uppercase Letters are set forth on our individual font pages for Cast Metal or Molded Plastic.