Yard Sign Materials: Coroplast, Aluminum and Foam Board

How Do Coroplast, Aluminum, Foam Board, and Paper Compare?

Coroplast is the lawn sign material, aluminum is for a sign that stays up for years, and foam board and paper belong indoors. We print yard signs on corrugated plastic only, and the long-life outdoor sign on solid aluminum.

As general practice, the boards in that conversation are corrugated plastic, aluminum, foam board, and paper. They are not four versions of the same yard sign.

Corrugated plastic, our 4mm coroplast, is the yard sign. It is light enough to stake, the flutes take a wire H-stake, and UV ink is printed for outdoor exposure. It handles sun and rain through a normal listing or campaign cycle. That cycle language is the product page's. It is not a count of weeks.

Aluminum is .040 in solid aluminum, UV printed, for a sign that should stay. The product page says it will not rust and rates it for 5+ years outdoors. It mounts to a post, a wall, or a fence. It is not a fluted board, and it is not what the yard sign page sells.

Foam board is a 3/16 in foam core with paper facing. On our site it is indoor only. It is a presentation board, not a lawn sign.

Paper is the board that fails first outdoors, as general practice, because water and wind destroy it. We do not sell paper yard signs.

The fuller board comparison, including GatorFoam as its own indoor-style product, is in foam board versus GatorFoam versus aluminum. GatorFoam is not a material on the yard sign page.

Why Do Foam Board and Paper Fail Outdoors?

Foam board fails outdoors because the facing is paper over foam, and the product is sold for indoor use only. Paper signs fail because the sheet itself takes on water.

An 18 x 24 in foam board is $64.19, produced in 3 business days after proof approval. That is the same dollar total as a double-sided 18 x 24 in coroplast yard sign, and the jobs are not interchangeable. A 12 x 18 in foam board is $42.79. The small boards are minimum-priced: 11 x 17 in is also $42.79, and 8.5 x 11 in is $32.09, so they do not fall far below a 12 x 18 in. None of those prices buy outdoor life. Rain softens a paper face. A wet foam board warps and sheds the print. Leave it indoors: presentations, wayfinding inside a building, a sign that never sees weather.

We do not sell a paper yard sign. If the piece has to survive a lawn, the closest product we print is the 4mm coroplast yard sign. If someone needs a board we do not list, ask on the contact page.

When Should You Step Up to an Aluminum Sign?

Step up when the sign is meant to stay for years, not for a listing, a weekend, or a campaign cycle.

The coroplast page points to aluminum for signage that stays up for years rather than months, and it still does not publish a month count for the plastic. Aluminum's own page is specific: .040 in, will not rust, 5+ years outdoors. A 12 x 18 in single-sided aluminum sign is $74.89. An 18 x 24 in single-sided aluminum sign is $96.29. A 24 x 36 in single-sided aluminum sign is $181.89, which is the size walked through in aluminum sign cost for 24 x 36. Production is 3 business days after proof approval, not the next business day.

That price jump is the durable metal, the mounting, and the years. It is not a prettier version of a stake-in-the-lawn sign. Aluminum wants a post, a wall, or a fence. Holes in the panel are an option on that product, at $5 for the hole set, if you need them. Rounded corners are a separate $10.70 option. Neither add-on turns aluminum into coroplast.

We do not sell aluminum composite, the 3 mm panel, on the site today. A composite quote goes through the contact page. The outdoor metal we do sell is the .040 in solid sheet. More yard sign paths sit under yard signs.

Are Stakes Included With a Yard Sign?

No. Stakes are not included with loose coroplast signs. A standard wire H-stake is $3 each. Heavy-duty stakes are $4 each, and only when the order is 10 signs or more.

The standard stake is a wire stake shaped like the letter H. Two prongs go into the turf, by hand or with a foot, and the two upper wire ends slide into the vertical flutes along the bottom edge of the sign. One stake per sign is the usual lawn setup. The flutes have to run up and down for those wire ends to enter. Check that on the proof if you are pairing a custom size with stakes.

You cannot add the $4 heavy-duty stake to a one-sign order. The $4 grade starts at 10 signs. On a wide face, that heavier stake is the one to consider once the order is large enough, especially on a windy corner. The 36 x 24 in sign is the largest coroplast face we stake.

Sign and stake packs are the other way to buy. The stakes are already in those pack prices, one per sign on the sizes that pack that way. Pack totals live on the pack pages and in yard signs with stakes, and what they cost. This article does not reuse a loose-sign price as a pack price.

What Wears a Coroplast Yard Sign Out?

Sun, wind, and the stake are what wear a coroplast sign. The site does not publish a month count, so none is given here.

The board does not absorb water the way paper does, and the ink is UV printed for outdoor exposure. Color holds through sun and rain for a normal listing or campaign cycle. Over time, sun still fades ink. That is general practice on any outdoor print, even a UV print. Wind works the panel against the stake. A light stake in soft ground lets the sign spin, and the top bar can chew the flutes. A sign that lives through a storm season may crack at a flute or bend if it takes a direct hit. None of that is a published test rating. We do not publish a wind speed for this board.

If the sign has to ignore that cycle and still be the same sign years later, it is an aluminum sign, not a thicker guess at coroplast. We do not sell a second yard-sign plastic.

How Much Do Yard Signs Cost?

One 12 x 18 in or 18 x 24 in single-sided coroplast sign is $53.49. The double-sided print of either size is $64.19.

Every yard sign row is 4mm coroplast, UV printed, one sign. Stakes are extra at the prices in the last rows. Aluminum and foam board are in the table so the materials stay next to real totals. Do not apply one size's price to another size.

Custom yard sign sizes can be entered on the product page. This table prices the stock sizes above, not a custom rectangle. Flat $10 ground shipping to any US address is charged per product. It is not inside any row.

How Do Artwork and the Next Business Day Work?

There is no production setup fee. A file or image you already have goes through AI image to print for $14.99 per item, once per cart line.

Design it for me is $29.99 and includes two revisions. It is free only when that item is $499 or more. One yard sign in the table is well under $499, so design on a single sign is $29.99. There is no free online designer, and we do not send a proof before the order.

The free digital proof comes after you order. Production starts when you approve it, not when you check out. For yard signs that production is the next business day. Next day means the next business day, so a proof approved on Friday is produced Monday. Transit comes after that. The site does not publish a number of transit days, and faster shipping methods can appear at checkout for an added charge. This article does not name a carrier or a travel time.

Aluminum and foam board are slower than the yard sign: 3 business days after proof approval. Do not plan an aluminum panel on the yard sign's next-day clock. Printed in the USA, ships nationwide, flat $10 to any US address.

Need yard signs or other custom printing? Inline Graphics helps businesses, churches, schools, and event organizers across the country design and print cards, banners, signs, decals, displays, and marketing materials that get noticed. Contact us today for a quote.