If you’ve never heard of foam board signs, it would be a great idea to familiarize yourself with them. You may know them by a different name like foam core board or simply foam core. They are interchangeable, to let you know. This article will help to guide you on your way to a fantastically smart and inexpensive form of advertising. Foam board signs are the perfect short-term form for promotion and brand awareness. They are commonly found at trade shows, conventions, expos, stores, restaurants, and more. You may not have realized you’ve seen them, but you undoubtedly have. The reason is that they are out there, utilized by businesses, professors, guest speakers, and so many others. Let’s dive in so you can get a better understanding about what we’ve teased in this opening paragraph.
Available Sizes for Foam Board Signs:
The first two questions we’re typically asked are:
- How much does a foamboard sign cost?
- How soon can I get my foam sign?
The answer to the first question regarding foam board signs is that our prices start at just under $44 for our very commonly ordered 24”W x 36”H signage. We do have smaller sizes if that’s what you’re looking for, but our low-end price does begin at $43.72. But, for example, if you wanted to purchase an 8.5” x 11” foamboard, you would have to buy a minimum of 4. The good news is that the cost drops significantly down to under $6 each. With any purchase of multiple foam board signs, the cost drops incrementally.
As far as how soon you can get your sign, once you order and approve the proof we send you, your foamboard sign will be ready for you to pick up, or us to ship to you, in just two business days. We are efficient and adept in our process, and that’s all the time it takes for us to have your signage ready for you.
Foam Board Sign Sizes- There are several different sizes that a custom foam board sign can come in. What size you get is completely based upon your needs and your circumstances.
There are foam board sign size orders that we receive more frequently than others. One example is quite a small 11”W x 17”H sign. This size is perfect if you want to print a photo of your family or a pet and place it in your office at work.
Another commonly ordered size is our 16”W x 20”H sign. In the print industry, this is a standard medium poster size. It’s often utilized by store owners who are holding sales. A foam board sign is an extremely inexpensive type of advertising. We urge you to think about purchasing multiple signs and place them in different locations of your store to promote specials or sales. Here’s a thought for you store owners out there– we recommend you buy our dry erase board or our dry erase laminate. This way, you can quickly and easily wipe off the message about a sale or special each week. Then turn around and write up next week’s sales and specials, and move your signs around the store for display on those items.
Next up, there are 18”W x 24”H foam board signs. This is another medium-sized poster style board that is often employed by store owners for advertising purposes. Many other categories of businesses like this size because it draws the eye without overwhelming the eye of customers.
We’ll routinely get orders for sized ones of 22”W x 28”H. They’re commonly used placed on an easel in trade show booths.
We also sell the very popular foam board check. You’ve likely seen one being presented symbolically to the winner of a golf tournament or the like. We suggest that you order one with maximum dimensions of 24”H x 45”W.
If you were to order one any bigger, the shipping expenses end up costing quite a bit more. Rest assured that your foam board check will be packaged very securely. We package using boards on both sides of the product, bubble wrap, and corner protectors.
If you want to be different than your competitors who employ typical rectangular signs, know that we can shape cut yours any way you want. If you can imagine it, we can do it.
Foam Board Material:
We use the five-star rated Insite Reveal™ brand for our custom foam board. The material is a bright white paper foamboard with a moisture-resistant clay coating. This is an industry standard for quality, well priced foam board printing.
We also carry a more rigid, durable type of foam core signage called Gator foam, aka Gator board signs. They are similar to foam board signs, but are stronger and more stringent. They are constructed of an extruded polystyrene core sandwiched between 2 wood-fiber veneers.
We print digitally on a flatbed printer using top-shelf UV ink applying a matte finish. If you want an image that’s super high definition, you’ll want to ask us about how we can print for you with a decal option.
Foam Core Pros and Cons- As a company that fully believes in honesty and integrity, we want to talk about the cons of foam board signs, and not just their good traits. But, we’ll start with the positives.
As alluded to earlier, foam boards are extremely inexpensive—so much so that a restauranteur could buy them in multiples and place them at the host stand to be used as a menu board, to display prices, or to provide customers with the daily specials. They are also very lightweight, which makes them quite easy to transport and carry. A great example for usage is for business owners who rent booths at a lot of trade shows, expos, or conventions.
Another positive attribute is that there is nothing to it when putting them out for presentation. Add to it, they can be displayed in several different ways. A foam board sign can go on an easel and be perfect for that trade show booth. It can be connected to our easel back product.
They can go on walls, windows, or any flat surface using Velcro patches or Command™ Strips. A foam board sign can also hang with string or twine by drilling holes in the foam, which we’ll take care of upon request. What we don’t recommend is to put grommets in a foam board due to its delicate nature. That leads us right into discussing some negatives of foam board signs.
While they are light and easy to carry around, as well as move, it’s critical that you handle foam board signs with extreme care and diligence. Because they aren’t a strong material like aluminum yard signs, they can easily be damaged if not properly handled or transported on flat surfaces. Their composition does make them fairly easy to break. So put yourself in a position where you don’t have to carry several other things at the same time or be in too much of a hurry to put them in your vehicle.
Another downside is their lack of longevity. After about 60 days, larger foam board signs have a propensity to warp because the material will tend to absorb moisture in the air.
Lastly, we’d say that as a guideline, indoor use is where you should really plan to display your custom sign. Foam is most definitely not intended for long-term use outside. If you put your sign outdoors, it should be very temporary. You will expose it to heat, precipitation, and high winds, depending on where you live. Foam board signs cannot handle any kind of sustained outdoor elements for long.
Common Foam Core Sign Uses:
We spoke to the fact that foam core signs are perfect for expos. It’s not just for those looking to sell a product or create brand awareness for their business as a whole. They’re also used as directional signs to steer attendees toward a certain room for an industry leader giving a lecture or presentation. Expos, conferences, and trade shows are the premier locations many of our clients buy foam signs for. It’s not by accident, as they work extremely well in these settings.
Foam board signs are also commonly implemented to attract potential customers when used as a promotional item in stores. If you enter a department store and there’s a product like perfume on sale, a foam board sign will invariably let you know.
When you go to see a movie at the theater, all those posters that advertise the upcoming films that will be playing there…yep, what you’re seeing is a foam poster board. It’s intended to pique your interest.
Then after the enjoyment of the movie you see that time, coupled with that tasty, buttery bucket of popcorn, you’ll experience a Pavlov’s dog response. The theater hopes you will come back over and over again, continuing to build on their revenue stream.
Foam board signs are absolutely ideal for stores wanting to promote Christmas discounted items. The advertising tool can be put up the day before Thanksgiving to prepare for the impending holiday rush. Due to the lifespan of about a month or so, the timing is perfect for this inexpensive, yet highly effective bulletin.
You want a more places foam signs can be used indoors? Here are a couple out of the myriad of possibilities just waiting for you utilize.
- Universities- professors love foam signs with which to display charts and other information. They can use them for each class they teach. And if the instructor buys a dry erase board, they can put notes on there for the next topic they’re educating students on.
- Hospitals- These facilities always preach safety first. By placing these signs (which can double sided printing for traffic in either direction) in many locations, precaution is prevalent, and it does help to prevent accidents.
Storing Your Foam Board Sign- Earlier, we recommended that you use your signs indoors. With that recommendation, store your sign in a low moisture, low humidity environment, and always inside. This will aid you in earning an increased lifespan for your sign.
Caring for Your Sign- When cleaning the product, do so gently with a dry cloth. Our dry erase laminate does help in the protection of the signs, and it’s easy to maintain their crisp look. Just wipe the glossy surface with a cloth that’s non-abrasive. From time to time when you feel it’s warranted, go ahead and apply some isopropyl alcohol to the cloth.
Ordering:
We’d like to think we are the place to go for all your sign needs. If you agree, there are three easy ways to order your custom sign.
#1- Dial us up at (800) 614-8040 and speak with our talented professional sales staff. They’ll listen to your needs and talk through everything with you.
#2- Go online and head to our website at www.goodguyssigns.com. When you are on the product page, you’ll be able to use our handy, user-friendly design tool. Click on “Get Started” when you choose your sign(s), and you’ll be off and running just like that.
#3- If you have the means to use your own software like Photoshop or other, you can create your own graphics. Upload them when you do, and email them over to us at goodguyssigns@gmail.com.
Wrapping Up:
Foam board signs are inexpensive, useful for messaging, and easy to move around due to their lightweight nature. Unlike some other physical advertising tools, there are plenty of places and many ways in which they can be displayed. If there any questions that haven’t been answered in this article, feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to providing you with service, speed, and sincerity. We’ve gotten very good at our craft since we opened our doors back in 2009.
