PIGMENTED COLORS: Only available up to 1/2" thick This is the color of the material itself and generally goes all the way through the material. There are exceptions though. Metallic pigmented colors are generally only metallic on the face itself and will reveal a black edge when cut. Metallic Silver and Gold are particularly effected. Solid colors will generally have the same edge color as face color. Acrylic has extremely good weather ability but some darker colors may begin to show fading in heavy sunlight after a few years. Acrylic is basically a colored Plexiglas™, and is not particularly strong in thin materials such as 1/8 and 3/16. The larger the letters are, the more vulnerable they are to breakage. A rule of thumb is to increase thickness when increasing height.
TRANSLUCENT COLORS: Only available in 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" thickness. The translucent appearance of acrylic is actually due to it's thickness, which becomes more opaque as it gets thicker. By the time it gets to 3/8" thick, it is totally opaque and will not transmit light. Darker colors lose translucency faster than lighter colors. Any mounting hardware applied to the back may be seen through the face. In addition, lighting with LED's on acrylic that has mounts applied will cause dark areas where the mounts are glued.
BAKED ENAMEL COLORS: 30% extra up to 1/2" then no extra cost for 3/4" and 1" Painted in professional spray booths with architectural grade, UV resistant, acrylic polyurethane which is very tough, long lasting and wont fade, crack or peel under normal use. Color definition, especially with metallic colors is much greater than the pigmented versions and the edges will be the same color as the paint. Painting the acrylic removes the "plastic look" and hides the true nature of the material. For instance, a painted acrylic letter will look the same as a painted metal letter to the casual observer.
MIRROR & CLEAR: Clear comes in 2 types. Regular clear may have visual imperfections and wavyness when looked through. Optical clear has no imperfections and is optically as clear as glass. Mirror acrylic, is just like mirror glass. It has a coating on the back of clear or colored acrylic that makes it act like a mirror. Mirror acrylic has it's own page under the plastics > cut plastic menu.