ORALITE to ASTM D4956 Type Crosswalk

Which ASTM D4956 Type each ORALITE grade satisfies. This is the table a spec writer or municipal buyer needs, and it is the one the distribution channel mostly does not publish properly. For what the Types themselves mean, see ASTM D4956 sheeting types explained.

ORALITE grade	Name	ASTM D4956 Type	Construction	Published durability
5500	Engineer Grade	Type I, Class 1	Enclosed catadioptric glass beads in transparent plastic	7 years
5600	Fleet Engineer Grade	Type I, Class 1	Glass bead	7 years (see note)
5600RA	Fleet Engineer Grade, RapidAir	Type I, Class 3	Glass bead	7 years unprinted; up to 6 years printed and laminated
5700	Engineer Grade Premium	Type I, Class 1	Glass bead	7 years
5800	High Intensity Grade	Type III, Class 1	ORAFOL states “special cellular structure” — see note	10 years
5900	High Intensity Prismatic	Type IV, Class 1	Sealed cells of air-backed microprisms, total internal reflection	10-year limited warranty; orange #035 is 3 years
6700	Engineer Grade Prismatic	Type I, Class 1	Prismatic	up to 7 years
7900	Wide Observation Angle Prismatic	Type IX, Class 1	Prismatic	up to 12 years
9900	Brilliant Grade Premium	Type XI, Class 1	Prismatic	12 years standard colours; 10 years fluorescent yellow-green and fluorescent yellow; 3 years fluorescent orange
V82	DOT-C2 Conspicuity	Type V	Metallised microprismatic cube corner	10-year warranty
V92	Daybright DOT-C2	not published by ORAFOL	Metallised microprism	5-year warranty

Read the colour exceptions, not just the headline year

Two grades carry a fluorescent colour rated far below their headline figure: 5900 orange #035 at 3 years against a 10-year warranty, and 9900 fluorescent orange at 3 years against 12. Work-zone signage is exactly where fluorescent orange gets used, so this is not a footnote — it is the number that governs the job. Quote the colour, not the grade.

Notes that matter for a submittal

5600 and 5600RA differ by Class, not Type. Both are Type I, but 5600 is Class 1 and 5600RA is Class 3. The RapidAir version has a low-initial-tack repositionable permanent adhesive, removable with heat; the standard 5600 is high initial tack. If a spec calls out a Class, they are not interchangeable.

5600’s durability is stated two ways by ORAFOL. The data sheet gives a “minimum life expectancy… 7 years” while the product page says “up to 7 years (unprinted)” and “up to 6 years (printed + laminated).” Minimum versus up-to is a real difference if a warranty argument ever follows, so get the wording you are relying on in writing.

5800’s construction is not stated as bead or prismatic. ORAFOL’s data sheet describes a “special cellular structure of the film” and does not say glass bead or prismatic. Type III in D4956 is the encapsulated-lens high-intensity class, which implies bead — but ORAFOL does not write it, so we do not either. If you need that on a submittal, ask us and we will get it confirmed.

5900 has conflicting Type designations in ORAFOL’s own documents. The March 2021 data sheet says it “fully meets and/or exceeds the requirements of ASTM D4956 for Types III and IV and AASHTO M268 Type B.” ORAFOL’s product page and its Engineered Matched Systems page both say Type IV, Class 1. We publish Type IV and cite the product page, because two of three ORAFOL sources agree and Type IV is the industry-standard designation for high intensity prismatic. If your spec is tight, get it confirmed in writing.

V92’s Type is genuinely unpublished. ORAFOL’s V92 data sheet cites FMVSS 108 and DOT-C2 compliance and stops there. V82 states Type V, and both are metallised microprismatic conspicuity sheeting, so Type V is a reasonable inference for V92 — but an inference is not a certification. Also note the V92 sheet available online is dated December 2015; ask us for the current revision before submitting it. Both grades are covered in DOT-C2 conspicuity tape requirements.

Never cite “ASTM D4946”

ORAFOL’s own ORALITE 5900/5910 practical application document, dated August 2024, reads: “These processing instructions apply to the following ORALITE High Intensity Prismatic Grade films, ASTM D4946-19 Type IV Sheeting and AASHTO M268 Type B.” The string “D4956” does not appear in that document at all.

D4946 is the Standard Test Method for Blocking Resistance of Architectural Paints. The retroreflective sheeting standard is D4956. This typo has propagated into third-party literature; do not let it into a submittal.

Two Types that no longer exist

Types VII and X are discontinued — their products were reassigned to Type VIII between the D4956-04 and -13 revisions. Current Types are I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX and XI. Any spec table listing Type VII or Type X is out of date.

Data sheet currency

Worth knowing when you rely on these figures: the only ORALITE 5500 Americas data sheet published online is dated August 2016, and the 5700 sheet is dated December 2015. The prismatic and conspicuity grades are more current. If a durability figure is going into a contract, ask us to confirm the current revision with ORAFOL rather than trusting a decade-old sheet.

Also unpublished across the ORALITE prismatic and conspicuity range: service temperature ranges, and thickness on the 5900 data sheet specifically — though the product page states 9 mil.

Knowing the Type is only half the job

Which Type you are allowed to supply is set by the specifying agency, not by this table — see which ASTM sheeting type does your state require. And on federally funded work, domestic content is a separate test again: Buy America and BABA for sign sheeting.