If you're doing regular traffic sign work, you've probably run the numbers at least once: is it actually cheaper to sheet and trim your own blanks, or order them finished?
The material cost looks lower on paper when you do it yourself. Once you add crew time for sheeting, trimming, staging, and inventory management, the math often shifts. That's before a DOT compliance requirement or a warranty documentation step gets added to the job.
Most sign shops doing consistent traffic work settle into a rhythm: some jobs stay in-house, others get handed off to a manufacturer. Knowing which is which is where the real efficiency comes from. Grimco's Manufactured Products Division covers both options: finished MUTCD signs, pre-sheeted reflective blanks, and raw aluminum for shops doing their own finishing.
What Grimco's MPD Produces
Grimco manufactures finished traffic signs and pre-sheeted aluminum blanks through its Manufactured Products Division using 3M MCS-certified equipment, screen print inks, and High Intensity Prismatic reflective sheeting. Signs produced through Grimco's MPD carry up to a 10-year 3M warranty when built to spec with 3M's 1170 overlaminate.
Products Available to Order
- Finished MUTCD signs that arrive ready to post, with no in-house sheeting or trimming required
- Pre-sheeted .080 HIP blanks for jobs where your shop handles lettering and installation
- Bare aluminum for shops doing their own reflective application
- Custom and non-catalog signs quoted to spec for municipal or DOT jobs with unique requirements
Wholesale Only, Trade Customers Only
Grimco sells to sign shops, fabricators, and contractors only, not to end users. To be a Grimco customer, you need sign-making equipment. That means your municipal client can't bypass you and order direct. Grimco's business is built around yours.
The Make-vs-Buy Decision for Traffic Sign Jobs
The jobs where ordering finished makes the most sense tend to share the same traits: standard MUTCD shapes, tight turnarounds, and high enough volume that your crew's time has a real cost attached. Sheeting a stop sign octagon in-house isn't adding value. It's using hours that could be spent on installations, custom fabrication, or work that actually bills at a higher rate.
Where Pre-Sheeted Blanks Save the Most Time
Sheeting and trimming eat up production time that doesn't show up on the job estimate. For standard regulatory and warning signs in shapes and sizes Grimco stocks in quantity, ordering pre-sheeted blanks cuts that step entirely. Your crew picks up at lettering and installation, the part of the job where their time bills out.
For shops handling DOT-deadline projects, the scheduling benefit is just as real. When materials arrive finished, you're not dependent on your sheeting station being free when the job needs to move.
3M-Approved Sign Manufacturing
Grimco is recognized as the largest 3M-approved manufacturer and distributor of traffic signs in North America. That approval covers the full production process: 3M MCS-certified equipment, screen print inks, High Intensity Prismatic sheeting, and 3M 1170 overlaminate. That combination is what's required for DOT compliance and 3M warranty coverage on finished signs.
For shops bidding jobs where the client requires documented compliance, ordering finished signs from Grimco's MPD means the certification is already part of the product. Whether Grimco is screen printing or digitally printing using wide-format equipment, the process meets DOT standards from the substrate up.
See the Facilities
Ordering Custom and MUTCD-Compliant Signs
For regulated signage, MUTCD traffic control signs, DOT-spec regulatory signs, or custom shapes for a specific project, Grimco's MPD can produce to specification. Non-catalog orders are handled through a quote process. If you're bidding a municipal wayfinding project or a DOT job with unique specs, that's the path to use.
Request a Quote for Custom or MUTCD Signs
Availability and Shipping
Traffic signs and aluminum blanks ship from local warehouses nationwide, with next-day availability on standard shapes, sizes, and reflective grades. For shops running tight schedules on municipal or DOT projects, that predictability matters as much as the unit cost.
Your crew can redirect the time saved toward:
- Installations and field work that bill at a higher rate than shop production
- Custom fabrication jobs that actually require your sheeting station
- Sales and estimating on the next municipal or DOT bid
