15/09/2016 at 14:07 pm
When looking to buy any type of display board online you will be met with a vast amount of products available that all look incredibly similar. So how are you meant to know which one to pick!? This guide helps you to understand what to look for when buying your board to make sure you get the product that suits you.
Whiteboards
Surface – The first thing to look at when shopping for a whiteboard is the surface. There are many different types of whiteboard surfaces available. The main types of surface you will see are melamine dry wipe, magnetic and vitreous enamel steel. The melamine surface is the basic whiteboard surface. It just offers a wipe able smooth surface which is fine for most applications. A magnetic surface is similar to the melamine surface, but it allows you to use magnets on the board so that you can stick notices and memos to the surface so that the whiteboard can also be used as a notice board. The vitreous enamel steel surface is the Rolls Royce of whiteboard surfaces. It offers everything the magnetic surface offers, but is also ultra-hard wearing and usually comes with a 25 year guarantee.
Frame – The quality of the frame is not as important as the surface, but it is still something you should check before parting with your money. There are many different types of frames available but the main one you will see is an aluminium frame. This frame is probably to most hard wearing frame you can get on a whiteboard. But be aware of cheap imitations. A lot of the cheaper whiteboards come with a plastic ‘aluminium finish’ frame. These frames are cheaply made and will not give you the quality feel that a real aluminium frame will give you. There are also many different types are wooden frames available that you may prefer depending on the décor of your room.
Fixings – Fixings are a very important part of a whiteboard. It is crucial that the whiteboard is secured onto the wall as safely as possible to avoid any accidents. Corner fixings are known to be the safest and most secure way to fix a whiteboard to a wall. There are other ways to safely secure a board to the wall such as rail systems but try to avoid anything that hangs the board like a picture frame.
Noticeboards
Fire rated – If the notice board is going to be hung in a public building it will have to be fire rated. There are two different classifications for fire rated notice boards. For a board to be used in a public building it needs to be class 1 rated. But if the board is being hung somewhere like a corridor, an escape route or large unsupervised areas it will have to be class 0. It is very important to get this right as it is not a good idea to go against the fire regulations.
Fixings – Notice board fixings are similar to whiteboard fixings. We would recommend to always go for the corner fixings as they are the most secure.
Frame – Again the frames on notice boards are very similar to those of whiteboards. So avoid the cheap plastic frames. Aluminium or wood frames are your best bet.
Glass boards
Glass thickness – When looking to buy a glass board it is important to look at the thickness of the glass. The thickness usually ranges from 3mm – 8mm. A general rule is the thicker the glass, the higher quality the product will be. But this is not always the case. If you want to buy a magnetic glass board, the thickness of the glass will most likely be thinner. The reason for this is to make the board magnetic, a steel sheet is adhered to the back of the board. So the glass needs to be thin enough so that the magnets will stick. But don’t let this put you off as having the metal sheet attached to the back of the board makes up for the thinner glass.
Toughened – Another thing to look at when buying a glass board is whether or not it has been toughened. The high-end glass boards will nearly always be toughened as it makes the board more hard wearing and less likely to get scratched or cracked. This doesn’t necessarily mean the untoughened glass boards are more dangerous. It just means that they are more likely to be damaged.
Fixings – There are two main types of fixings for glass boards. Hidden and un-hidden. Both hold the board to the wall very securely so this is just a matter of looks. Hidden fixings are known to be the more aesthetically pleasing of the two.
So there you have it. The ultimate guide to buying display boards!
By Chris Pinder