Zerone and Zerex were brands of anti-freeze manufactured and marketed by DuPont from at least the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s.  The earliest sign I found was from 1937 and the latest from 1956.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find much history on the brands themselves. I have only found dated evidence of the Zerone and Zerex brands being used in advertising and signage within the twenty year span listed above.

The particular design supplied here is based on an ad from 1948.

Of particular note, I’ve come to realize that billboards of this time period were very often a standard size as seen in the vintage film of 1940s Chicago. I’m sure this was to allow advertisers to have one set of billboards printed with the comfort of knowing they could be used in most locations.

After some research, I’ve found that the standard size was 19.5′ wide by 8.5′ so that is what I’ve provided here.  I will try to focus on this size for future printable billboards with an occational varying size since that would be the most prototypical approach. 

These standard size billboards usually had a white border between the printed image and the actual frame that held it.  This was likely done so that frames of slighty different sizes could still accomodate standard-sized advertising.  In most cases, the white border looks to be around 2′ around the printed signage. 

Save and Print the Billboard

To use the image below on your own layout, simply save the image, and print it on a color printer.  Typically, to save an image from the Web, right-click your mouse on the image and select “Save As”, “Save Target As” or something similar.  The specific process for saving the image may be slightly different depending on your individual Internet browser and setup.

Note that when printing anything in color for your layout, some types of printers work better than others.  For example, the inks on images printed with an ink jet printer tend to run when then they come into contact with moisture (like glue or Dullcote).  Color laser printers, and some photo printers tend to work best.