Foam Board vs PVC vs GatorFoam: Cost, Strength and Uses

Should You Choose Foam Board, PVC or GatorFoam?

An 11 x 17 inch foam board sign is $64.99, a 6 x 24 inch PVC sign is $64.99 and an 18 x 24 inch GatorFoam sign is $85.59. Foam board is for short indoor use, PVC resists water, and GatorFoam will not warp. All print in 3 business days in the USA with flat $10 shipping.

Choose foam board for a light indoor sign that is used for days or weeks, PVC for a rigid sign that may get wet or go outside for a short job, and GatorFoam for a sturdy indoor board that stays flat for years. All three are UV printed in full color and cut to size.

The three boards look alike from across a room. The differences show up in the hand and over time: foam board is the lightest and dents easily, PVC is a solid plastic sheet that shrugs off water, and GatorFoam is the stiffest of the three.

Online sizes start at 11 x 17 inches for foam board, 6 x 24 inches for PVC and 12 x 18 inches for GatorFoam, and all three run up to 24 x 36 inches. Production is 3 business days after you approve the free digital proof for each board.

All three are printed in the USA and ship for a flat $10 per product to any US address.

When Is Foam Board the Right Choice?

Foam board is right for an indoor sign that stands on an easel or leans on a table for a short time: a welcome sign at an event, a seating chart, a presentation board, a trade show graphic, a lobby announcement. It is the lightest of the three, so one person can carry a stack of them.

Our foam board is a 3/16 inch foam core with a paper facing, UV printed on one side or both, and sold for indoor use only. Keep it away from sprinklers, rain and the inside of a hot car, where the paper facing can curl.

Foam board is the rigid board often called poster board. A clinic like Larkspur Pediatrics might put a welcome sign on an easel in the waiting room for a month, then swap it for a seasonal one. That is exactly the job foam board does well at its price. For size ideas, see our foam board sign size guide.

When Should You Choose PVC?

Choose PVC when the sign may get wet, will be screwed to a wall, or goes outside for a short job. Our 1/8 inch expanded PVC is rigid, lightweight and water resistant, built for long term indoor signs and short term outdoor use.

That makes it a fit for a restroom or kitchen sign, a menu screwed to a wall, a sign in a drop in frame, or a safety sign zip tied to a job site fence for the length of a project. PVC is slightly pliable, so it flexes rather than snaps when bumped, and it does not soak up water the way paper faced foam board does.

For a sign that stays outdoors for years, PVC is not the long term answer. Step up to .040 aluminum, which will not rust and carries a 5+ year outdoor durability guarantee, or a 3 mm ACM panel.

What Makes GatorFoam Different?

GatorFoam is a dense foam board with a wood fiber facing. That facing makes it much stiffer than ordinary foam board, so it resists dents and stays flat instead of bowing on a wall. It comes in 3/16 inch or 1/2 inch, in white or black.

That stiffness is why GatorFoam is the board for a lobby wall sign, a framed display, a large photo print or a trade show graphic that travels and gets set up many times. An accounting office like Pennyworth Accounting might hang an 18 x 24 inch GatorFoam logo panel above its reception desk and expect it to look the same years later.

GatorFoam is an indoor board. The 1/2 inch thickness gives a bold edge that reads as a solid panel from the side, and the black version suits a dark wall or a dark design.