Instant Custom Signs – Drew Brims' Blog

At ICSigns, We Make Them Custom!

We used to make custom dry erase boards by taking a standard white board from a supplier like Staples or Grand & Toy then applying vinyl lettering and lines to it.  This worked fine for a while but as the board got used and erased, the lettering and lines started to lift at the edges.  You can only rub an edge so many times before it starts to lift.  However, it was cheap and cheerful and there was nothing else available in one-off’s for our clients.

With the advent of digital printing in large format sizes, we can now create custom templates for dry erase boards that exactly fit our customers’ needs.  The trick was to find a laminate that is suited to this purpose and is compatible with the vinyl we use to print on.  We spent many days researching different laminates to handle this situation.  Many suppliers told us their material was suited to dry-erase use but we soon found out that it was just okay, not good.  The problems we ran into were laminates that separated from the vinyl because of material incompatibility.  The print is on vinyl but the laminate is polymer and the two do not go well together.  It looks good for a month or so and then the laminate separates from the vinyl and starts to wrinkle. The result is like the skin of an ancient person, wrinkles and ridges all over the place.  We replaced quite a few of these at our expense because when we talked to the manufacturer, they said, “Oh no, this material is designed to be used on paper, not vinyl.”  That’s a lot of help!  Unfortunately, the material supplier didn’t have the same product knowledge as the manufacturer.

Fortunately, after much research and testing, we did find a laminate that is vinyl (so it is compatible with the vinyl we print on) and is created as a dry-erase laminate so it actually performs like a dry-erase material.  The trouble is, it is not stocked in Canada.  I can’t figure this out.  Is ICSigns the only sign shop in Canada that makes custom dry-erase boards?  We have a Canadian supplier who is linked with a larger company in the US.  They bring it in for us as a special order item and we always keep it in stock.

Since discovering this material, we’ve had great success with custom dry-erase boards.  Our customers love them because they don’t have to compromise on some standard template or size that the big stores offer.  They can order a board that is 4’ wide by 10’ long if they wish (we’ve done lots of these for one customer) and the background graphics are limitless.  They use these boards for production performance boards, line staffing organizers, vacation planners, projection planning, sales targets and results, all kinds of ideas.  Having them custom printed makes them unique to their business and allows management and staff to fully realize the potential of the communication.

As with most things, the boards can be a Chevy – plain with no trim or pen tray, or a Caddy – full anodized aluminum trim with a pen tray, bevel block mounting system, etc. or something in between, like plastic trim to finish the edges instead of metal.  We enjoy seeing just how many ways our customers come up with to use these boards.  They are very creative when it comes to putting ideas on paper.  Our job is to make the board to their specifications but in a format that will function for many years.  If you have an idea for a dry-erase board, why not give us a call.  We’ll be happy to talk to you about the project.  Or leave us a comment below. We love getting feedback from our readers. And here on this blog, we offer comment luv. That means that anytime you leave a comment, you can add a link back to your own Blog! That’s great for Search Engine Optimization.

Happy Signing,

Drew.

Tags: Custom Dry Erase Boards, Design, ICSigns, Instant Custom Signs, Signage