Foamex or Dibond – which board for outdoor signs?
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The short answer from a floor that prints both: fixed to a building, outdoors, for more than a season — Dibond. Everything else — Foamex, and your budget will thank you. Foamex is a light foam PVC board (our standard sheet is 3mm at 1220 × 2440mm); Dibond is an aluminium–and–plastic sandwich that stays dead flat outdoors for years. The deciding question is almost always how long and how exposed, not which looks better on day one — on day one they look the same.
Written by Maciej Antosz, Production Manager at Silver Image London ·
These two boards carry most of the signage printed in London, and they get mixed up because the print on top is identical. The difference is entirely in what the board does after it is installed — and that is a question about weather, fixings and time.
What is each board, physically?
| Foamex (foam PVC) | Dibond (aluminium composite) | |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Solid foam PVC sheet — 3mm standard, 5mm where extra stiffness is needed | Two aluminium skins bonded to a plastic core |
| Weight | Light — easy to install, hang and carry | Heavier — needs proper fixings, rewards them with rigidity |
| Flatness over time | Good indoors and sheltered; a rigid board that cannot be rolled | Dead flat, and dimensionally stable outdoors for years |
| Weather | Fine for short and medium-term exposure | Skins do not rust or rot; the core does not absorb water |
| Typical jobs | Event signage, exhibition boards, site boards, interiors, point of sale | Shop fascias, building signs, anything fixed to a wall long-term |
When is Foamex the right call?
When the sign has a calendar. An event, a launch, a sale, hoarding around a six-month build, an exhibition stand — work that does its job and comes down. Foamex is light enough to install without a crew, stiff enough to look like a permanent sign while it is up, and priced so that ordering ten boards is not a committee decision. Our standard 3mm sheet at 1220 × 2440mm is also where hoarding panel sizes come from — runs are planned around the sheet, which keeps waste and cost down.
When does it have to be Dibond?
When the sign is part of the building. A fascia over a shopfront, a plaque by the entrance, wayfinding bolted to brick — anything expected to look straight and true after several London winters. The aluminium skins shrug off weather, the core does not drink water, and the panel does not slowly relax the way any plastic sheet eventually will in direct sun. It costs more and weighs more; both are the price of it still being flat in year five. The product details are on our Dibond printing page.
Does the print itself differ?
No — the same flatbed prints both, from the same artwork, at the same resolution. Artwork rules are identical too: final size, 3mm bleed, and enough resolution for the viewing distance — the arithmetic for that is in our DPI guide, and the preflight checker will measure your file in the browser before you send it. Both boards run on the usual schedule, including same day and overnight.
The short version
Ask one question: will this sign still be up in two years? Yes — Dibond, and budget for proper fixings. No — Foamex, and spend the difference on printing more of them. If the answer is “not sure”, tell us where it is going and we will pick the board with you — it is a thirty-second conversation.
Send us the job
Say where the sign is going and for how long — the board picks itself. Firm quote before anything prints.
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