Which board for which job
The right board depends on where the sign lives and for how long. Here's how they compare:
- Foam board — light and stiff, with a smooth face. For indoor event signs, easel signs, posters and directional signs that live for days or weeks. It dents if it's knocked and doesn't like water or heat, so keep it indoors.
- Corrugated plastic — the yard-sign board: light, fluted inside, and unbothered by water. For outdoor directional, parking and entrance signs and short-run promotions; wire stakes slide into the flutes.
- PVC board — a solid plastic sheet, heavier and tougher than foam board. For wayfinding, room and door signs, and retail displays that need to last and wipe clean.
- Aluminum composite — two thin aluminum skins over a solid core: flat, rigid and made for weather. For long-term outdoor signs, building and parking signs, and anything screwed to a wall or a post.
Printed direct or mounted
A rigid sign is made one of two ways. The board can be printed directly, with the ink on its face, or the artwork can be printed on adhesive vinyl — laminated where it needs protection — and mounted to the board. Each suits different boards and jobs; your quote says which method each sign gets, and why.
Either way, tell us whether the sign is one-sided or two-sided, and whether it'll be handled a lot. A sign that gets carried between rooms and leaned against walls all week needs a tougher face than one that sits on an easel for an afternoon.
Event and wayfinding signs
Event signs have a short, hard life: carried in, propped on an easel, read for a day, carried out. Foam board does that job for most indoor signs. Corrugated plastic takes the outdoor ones — parking, directional and entrance signs that sit in the sun and wind.
For wayfinding, plan the set before the artwork: one template, the same arrow and type sizes on every sign, the room or track name largest. Send one file per sign, named the way they'll be placed, and we'll quote the set together. Pair them with floor graphics for arrows people follow without looking up.
Signs you'll use again — a welcome sign, sponsor boards, a standing wayfinding set — last longer on PVC or aluminum composite than on foam board, and they're easier to reuse if the date and the year stay off them.
One venue rule to know: at the Las Vegas Convention Center, signs and banners can't be hung with nails, tacks, screws or tape, and window signs — foam core included — must leave no residue. Plan on easels or stands, and ask your show how signs may hang.
Source: LVCC Facility Guide, July 2026 (p. 7), as of October 2026. Rules change each season — confirm with your show.
Custom shapes, letters and routed panels
Most printed signs are rectangles. For a sign cut to the shape of a logo, an arch, dimensional letters, or a panel with routed openings, our sister company The Job Shop routes aluminum composite and acrylic on CNC routers — they cut the shape, we print the graphics.
Send the shape as a vector outline with your artwork, and we'll coordinate the cut and the print so the two line up.
Files for signs
Build the file at the finished size or to scale. Let the background run past the edge so nothing white shows at the trim, and keep text and logos a little way in from the edge. Vector logos and type (PDF, AI, EPS, SVG) stay sharp at any size.
Photos need enough pixels for how close people read the sign. A directional sign read from a few feet away needs more detail than a banner seen across a room. Send what you have and we'll tell you if an image will print soft at your size.
Showing and installing signs
Tell us how each sign will be shown — on an easel, on stakes in the ground, hung, or fixed to a wall or post — so the board suits it. Wall-mounted signs can be installed by our crew in offices, storefronts and event spaces where the property allows; see installation.
What moves the price
Signs are priced from the job. What changes it:
- The board, the size and how many
- Printed direct or mounted vinyl, and any laminate
- One side or two
- Custom shapes routed by The Job Shop
- Design help, including a wayfinding set from one template
- Installation
- Turnaround, and pickup or delivery
How to order
Send us a request with each sign's size and quantity, where it'll be (indoors or out) and for how long, how it'll be shown, and the date you need it, with your artwork attached if it's ready. We'll reply with a quote and proofs; you approve them, pay, and we print. Pick the signs up at the shop on W Reno Ave or have them delivered in Las Vegas.
Questions we get
Do you print foam board signs in Las Vegas?
Yes. We print foam board and other rigid signs at our shop at 4545 W Reno Ave for events, wayfinding, retail and offices. Send your artwork and sizes and we'll quote each sign, with the board and build confirmed on the quote.
Which material is right for an outdoor sign?
Corrugated plastic for short-term outdoor signs — directional, parking and promotional signs on stakes. Aluminum composite for long-term outdoor signs fixed to a wall or post. Foam board belongs indoors. Tell us where the sign goes and for how long, and we'll recommend the board.
Can you cut signs to a custom shape?
Yes, with our sister company. The Job Shop routes aluminum composite and acrylic to custom shapes on CNC routers, and we print the graphics. Send the shape as a vector outline with your artwork.
What's the difference between foam board and PVC?
Foam board is lighter and made for indoor signs that live for days or weeks. PVC board is a solid plastic sheet: heavier, tougher and better for signs that are handled, wiped down or kept for months, like room and door signs.
How big can a rigid sign be?
Sign boards are commonly made in 4 × 8 ft sheets, so that's the usual largest single panel. Bigger signs are made from more than one panel. Tell us the size you need and we'll confirm what's possible on the quote.
Are foam board signs OK outdoors?
Not for long. Foam board dents easily and doesn't stand up to water, heat or wind. For an outdoor sign, use corrugated plastic for the short term or aluminum composite for the long term.
What do you need to quote a sign?
Each sign's size and quantity, indoors or out, how long it needs to last, how it'll be displayed, the date you need it, and your artwork if it's ready. Send it all in one request.