What Is Expanded PVC?
Expanded PVC is a solid, closed-cell plastic sheet with lower weight than solid PVC and a smooth face suited to sign and display work.
SINTRA is a well-known expanded PVC product made for graphic display and fabrication. Its homogeneous sheet construction gives sign makers a consistent surface for printing, painting, cutting, routing, and forming.
Common Expanded PVC Thicknesses
Expanded PVC is available in thin sign panels and much thicker fabrication grades. For everyday sign work, 3 mm and 6 mm are familiar starting points, while thicker sheets add stiffness and material depth.
How Expanded PVC Can Be Finished
Sign-grade expanded PVC accepts several common graphic and fabrication methods. The selected thickness and product grade affect how aggressively the sheet can be routed, formed, or mechanically fastened.
Where Expanded PVC Needs More Planning
Expanded PVC is light and easy to work, but it is a plastic, and plastics move and soften with heat. Large panels, dark colors, full sun and tight fixings are the conditions that turn a flat sign into a bowed one, so those decide whether PVC is the right board for an exterior job.
Why Dark Expanded PVC Warps in the Sun
Expanded PVC softens at a far lower temperature than metal. A light colored panel in shade never gets close to that point. A dark panel on a south or west facing wall in July can, and once it softens it bows between its fixings and does not always flatten again.
So the color of the artwork matters as much as the thickness. A white sign with dark letters behaves very differently from a full black background on the same board.
Mounting PVC So It Can Move
Every plastic panel grows and shrinks with temperature. PVC that is screwed down tight through small round holes has nowhere to go, so it buckles in summer and can crack at the fixings in winter.
Sintra and Other Expanded PVC Boards
People often call every white PVC sign board Sintra, the same way corrugated plastic gets called Coroplast. Sintra is one brand of expanded PVC. Other boards such as Komatex and Celtec are made for the same kind of sign and display work, and the grade matters more than the name on the label.
What we look for is a print grade sheet with a smooth, consistent face and a thickness that suits the size of the sign. See our PVC and Sintra signs page for finished sign options.
When Expanded PVC Is the Right Choice
Consider another material when
Expanded PVC Questions