UltraBoard Sign Material
UltraBoard is a family of foam-core display panels made for sign, print, photographic, and graphic applications. UltraBoard Classic uses a polystyrene foam core between rigid polystyrene faces, giving it more durability and stiffness than standard paper-faced foam board.
Material
Plastic-Faced Foam Core
Thickness Range
3/16 in to 3 in
Environment
Primarily Indoor
Graphics
Direct Print · Vinyl · Paint
Overview
UltraBoard is a product family from United Industries built around foam cores with tougher facers than standard presentation foam board.
UltraBoard Classic, one of the most common versions, uses a polystyrene foam core between rigid polystyrene sheets. The manufacturer positions it for interior permanent displays and signs, printing, painting, vinyl, routed letters, POP displays, and photo mounting.
Thickness
UltraBoard Classic is available in a much broader thickness range than standard foam board. That allows it to work as both a thin display panel and a thick routed foam-core piece.
Material Comparison
Printing & Fabrication
UltraBoard Classic is made for sign and display fabrication. It can be printed, painted, covered with vinyl, cut, and routed.
Foam Board Compared
Ultraboard and Gator Foam are the two rigid foam boards people usually weigh against each other. Both are far tougher than paper faced foam board. The difference is the face: Ultraboard uses plastic, Gator Foam uses a wood fiber veneer.
Stands & Displays
Because the board is light, an Ultraboard sign can stand on its own feet in a lobby or at an event table without a heavy frame. That makes it a common choice for welcome boards, wayfinding at events and sponsor displays that get packed up and reused.
Indoors & Out
Ultraboard is built for interior work. It copes with handling, cleaning and the humidity of a busy event space far better than paper faced foam board, which is the main reason to pay more for it.
For a sign that lives outside, choose aluminum composite or Coroplast for short campaigns.
Edges are the part that shows wear first. A painted or capped edge on thicker boards keeps a display looking finished after it has been carried in and out of a few events.
Choosing the Material
FAQs
Its polystyrene faces resist moisture much better than paper faced foam board, so it handles damp event spaces and occasional cleaning. It is still an indoor material and should not be left outside for long periods.
Standard foam board has paper faces that dent and absorb moisture. Ultraboard uses rigid plastic faces, so it is stiffer, tougher at the corners and better for displays that are handled or reused.
Yes. We print directly onto the smooth plastic face on our flatbed press, which avoids the lifting edges that mounted prints can develop.
Choose Ultraboard for displays that get handled, moved or wiped clean. Choose Gator Foam when a large panel needs to stay very flat on a wall and will not be moved often.
Yes. Thicker boards can be routed into logos, letters and freestanding cutouts, which is why Ultraboard is often used for dimensional display pieces.
On This Guide
Quick Facts
Plastic-Faced Foam Core
3/16 in to 3 in
Primarily Indoor
Displays · POP · Routed Shapes
Related Materials
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This guide covers the material. These pages cover the signs we build from it.