Foamex sign boards built for years outdoors

Foamex is expanded PVC, a rigid closed cell plastic board. The reason it is the default for outdoor signage is not cost. It is that it does three things at once.

It does not absorb water. Closed cell means there is nothing for water to get into, so it does not swell, warp, delaminate or rot the way a foam board or a laminated card sign will. A foam centred board left on a fence through a wet winter will be soft at the edges by spring. Foamex will not be.

It is rigid but light. A 5mm A1 board is stiff enough to sit flat on a fence without bowing, but light enough to fix with pads or a couple of screws, so you are not drilling structural fixings for it.

It takes print directly and holds it. Full colour printed straight to the board surface, with no laminate to lift or bubble at the corners.

The practical result is a sign that stays looking correct for years rather than months. That is why it is what you see on building sites, estate agent boards and shopfronts, and why we recommend it over a banner whenever the sign is going to stay in one place.

Choosing a size. A3 at £40 suits door signs and directional or safety signage. A2 at £60 is a decent notice board or small shop sign. A1 at £90 reads from across a road and is the usual choice for site and estate boards. A0 at £145 is a proper shopfront or hoarding panel. As with any sign, the same text size to distance rule applies as on our banners page, so go bigger than you think.

We finish it for you. Cut to size in house, drilled holes where you want them, radius corners on request. Tell us how it is going up when you order and we will drill it correctly, because it is far easier for us to put holes in flat board on a bench than for you to drill plastic on a ladder, and drilling Foamex badly cracks it.

Fixings by surface. On brick or masonry, screws with wall plugs through drilled holes, using countersunk screws with washers so you do not crack the board tightening it. On a timber fence or hoarding, screws with washers straight in, or exterior grade pads for a fixing free finish. On glass or a smooth panel, heavy duty exterior double sided pads, or standoff fixings if you want it held off the surface for a smarter look. Anywhere it might be stolen, security screws, because site boards and estate boards do walk.

Leave room around the holes. Fix through the printed area and you will have a screw head sitting in the middle of your logo. Tell us where the fixings need to be and we will lay the artwork out around them.

Custom shapes. We cut to size, so the board does not have to be an A size. Send dimensions and we will quote the same day. For genuinely unusual shapes or materials, see custom sizes and unusual jobs.

Turnaround is 3 to 4 working days. If you only have a logo and a rough idea, we will lay the sign out from £15. Signage design is mostly about restraint and it is worth having someone do that for you.

For a temporary or flexible sign, a PVC banner is cheaper and faster. For a portable display you take away with you, a roller banner is the answer.