There are many hoarding products and applications available that can make it confusing to navigate.

Here our General Manager Steve Filear introduces the 3 most popular products, when they are best suited and why a site visit is so important.

Self Adhesive Vinyl

Self Adhesive Vinyl (SAV) applied directly to hoarding works best when the hoarding itself (generally plywood or mdf) is of a high quality.

This method is traditionally used for internal refurbishments and commonly seen on retail and shopping centre hoarding.

The high quality photo-grade graphics means it’s suited to being viewed up close by passing pedestrian traffic.

It can be applied in strips or sections across the hoarding base or complete floor to ceiling graphics.

It’s the most expensive of the three and while easy to install it is the less flexible in terms of replacement.

Aluminium Composite Panel

Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP) is the most durable and commonly used hoarding product.

It is essentially flat panels consisting of two thin coil-coated aluminium sheets bonded to a non-aluminium core and provides a sturdy material for many signage applications especially hoarding.

ACP performs well outside in the elements and it’s great for covering a hoarding base that isn’t attractive.

Printing methods can be either direct to the ACP substrate or via SAV applied to the panels. Printing directly will still provide vibrant colour results and a gloss laminate anti-graffiti coat can also be applied.

The upside of the panelling means that install is quick and the panels can be easily and cost effectively replaced should the need arise.

Sail track banners

Sail track banner hoarding features printed vinyl banner applied with a sail track system.

The beauty about this method is that the graphics are easily interchangeable, working well when your project requires graphics to be replaced fairly regularly especially for promotions.

Mostly used for external hoarding, this method is a good one to consider when the risk of vandalism is high. It’s cheap and fast to replace.

The UV inks printed to the vinyl provides some protection from sun-damage and generally you would expect at least a year before any fading would occur.

It’s the most cost effective method of the three and the ease of quick install and replacement is a real plus.

A site visit is crucial

A site visit plays an integral part in the signage supplier’s hoarding recommendation. Onsite they will assess the quality of the hoarding base, provide a measure-up and consider access points such as walk-ways and doors. It is also great to understand from the appointed builder if sections of the hoarding are planned to be moved or decommissioned in the future works.

All these elements play a factor in what product is recommended – and in some cases there could be a combination of methods enlisted.