Guide · Window graphics
Storefront window graphics in Toronto: what to put on the glass
Storefront window graphics in Toronto do three jobs: tell people who you are and when you are open, show what you sell, and control what passers-by can see inside. This guide covers the film types, what Toronto's Sign By-law says about window signs, and how to plan the glass before you ask for a quote.
Updated
Your window is the one sign every customer reads up close. The letters over the door get noticed from the road, but the glass is where people check whether you are open, what you sell and whether they want to walk in. Planning it properly also keeps you inside the City's window sign rules.
What usually goes on a storefront window
- Name and logo, often at eye level on the door or the main pane, so people know they are at the right place.
- Hours, phone and website next to the door. Cut vinyl in one colour is the usual choice, and hours can be changed without redoing the whole window.
- Services or products, as a short list or a few words, so people walking past know what you do.
- Promotions, printed on removable film so they can come down when the offer ends.
- Privacy, with frosted or one-way film over storage areas, offices, treatment rooms or the back of a display.
All of this is made by our vinyl graphics team. For the lit sign above the door, see channel letters. For a glowing sign behind the glass, see neon signs.
Film types compared
| Film | What it does | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Cut vinyl | Letters and shapes cut from solid-colour film, with clear glass around them | Name, logo, hours and phone number |
| Printed vinyl | Full-colour print, laminated for wear and UV | Promotions, product images, branded panels |
| Perforated one-way film | Shows a full graphic from outside while you can still see out from inside | Covering large panes without losing the view out |
| Frosted film | Gives privacy while letting daylight through, often with a logo or pattern cut in | Offices, clinics, storage areas and glass doors |
Films come in two lives: short-term promotional films made to come off cleanly, and long-term films for permanent graphics.
What Toronto's Sign By-law says about window signs
Toronto's Sign By-law (Municipal Code Chapter 694) defines a window sign as a sign erected, painted, attached, etched, inscribed or projected on the inside or outside of any part of a window, or located within or in place of the glass. It does not include a sign that forms part of a window display. The chapter does not regulate signs inside a building, except window signs, so graphics on the glass are covered.
According to the copy of the chapter dated June 3, 2024:
- First party window signs can go up without a sign permit, outside the R and RA (residential) sign districts, if the total sign face area of all of them is no more than 25 percent of the area of the window, excluding its frame.
- The sign may not be above the second storey of the building (the third storey in the Chinatown Special Sign District).
- A sign that does not meet an exemption needs a sign permit from the Chief Building Official.
- Electronic window signs, which show electronic copy, are a separate sign type with their own rules.
A City training document for the Sign Variance Committee describes the purpose of the 25 percent limit as keeping the window working as a window.
Sources: City of Toronto, Municipal Code Chapter 694, Signs, General and Sign Variance Committee training session, July 2019. By-laws change, so we check the current rules for your address before we print. When a permit is needed, our Toronto sign permit guide explains what the City asks for, and we prepare the drawings and apply as part of the job.
Outside Toronto
Each GTA city has its own sign by-law. Mississauga's Sign By-law 0054-2002, for example, counts a sign inside the premises within 1 metre of a window and facing it as a window sign. It limits window signs to 25 percent of any single window, or 25 percent of a group of windows, and says they must not block the clear view of exits or entrances and must keep the inside of the premises visible at all times. Source: City of Mississauga, Sign By-law 0054-2002.
Tell us the address and we will check the local rules, and your landlord's sign criteria, before quoting.
Planning the glass
- Measure each pane. Coverage limits are worked out per window, so the size of every pane matters. We measure every pane on site.
- Put the essentials at eye level. Name, hours and phone number by the door, where people stand and read.
- Keep promotions separate. Put changing offers on removable film so the permanent graphics stay put.
- Decide where you need privacy. Frosted or one-way film can hide storage or a back room without blacking out the window.
- Ask your landlord. Many plazas and buildings have sign criteria that cover windows as well as the fascia.
- Look at a proof. We send a proof on a photo of your storefront, so you can see the layout and size before anything is printed.
We install with our own crew, after hours if needed, so graphics line up across mullions and doors without bubbles or gaps, and we remove old vinyl and adhesive first.
Real examples
We have not published a storefront window project yet. You can see our other work, including lit storefront letters, on our projects pages, for example the King's Landing illuminated sign in Toronto.
How to get a quote
- Send a photo of the storefront taken straight on, and the address.
- Tell us what you want on the glass: name, hours, services, promotions or privacy, and whether it should be permanent or temporary.
- Add the rough size of each pane if you have it, and the landlord's sign criteria if you rent.
- We send a quote and a proof on a photo of your storefront. Every job is quoted per job from that information.
Running a restaurant? See our restaurant signs guide. Looking after a clinic or health office? See our medical office signs guide, which covers frosted film for waiting and treatment rooms. Thinking about a lit sign in the window? See our neon signs for business guide.
Questions
