Architecture exhibition boards in Foamex

Architecture exhibition boards in foamex start with a choice between 3, 5 and 10 millimetres

19 October 2026

Most architecture shows rest on boards. A graduate exhibition, an open studio or a public consultation in a community hall depends on drawings, renders and site photographs mounted on stiff panels. So do the awards evenings and other building events in the calendar. Yet the panel behind the work decides whether a long section stays flat, whether it can hang from a railing and what the venue will want to know about it. For anyone organising a set of exhibition boards, that choice comes before the layout.

Choosing the thickness

Foamex is a core of foamed PVC between two plastic sheets, with a smooth white surface that takes print well. HelloPrint supplies it in three thicknesses, 3, 5 and 10 mm, with each sheet made to a custom width and height between 15 cm and 1500 cm. Orders start at 1 piece, and the material is B1 certified, so it is fire retardant. For a small indoor sign such as a project caption beside a model, 3 mm is lighter than 5 mm and can be curved slightly when it is mounted. Bigger panels are better on 5 mm. It is heavier but also stiffer, and it is the thickness to specify when foamex signs printed for a show will be fixed to railings without supports. The 10 mm board is the thickest and stiffest of the three, and it can also go outdoors for short periods.

What the venue will ask first

Venues tend to ask about fire safety before they say anything about the graphics. The answer here is short, because the material carries B1 certification and counts as fire retardant. It is worth putting that line in the first email to the venue manager.

Where to order is the next question for many practices. Online printers in the UK make foamex panels to a custom size from one piece, so nobody has to commit to a print run to put up one drawing. HelloPrint works that way on its UK site, so a consultation with three boards and a graduate show with thirty go through the same ordering process. The design is printed directly onto the panel.

Fixing the panels and preparing the files

When a sign is ordered with drilled holes, each hole is 5 mm in diameter and its centre sits 8 mm from the edge as standard. On a small sign that puts the holes close to the artwork, so keep titles and logos away from the corners. In the file itself, add 5 mm of bleed and leave at least 10 mm between any text and the edge. Practices preparing work for one of the exhibitions and building events listed on e-architect can settle these details before the drawings go to print.

The sequence of decisions is therefore straightforward. Pick the thickness by the size of the panel and the way it hangs, have the fire rating ready for the venue, and only then finish the layout. Whether the work goes on show in a practice reception or in a full architecture exhibition, HelloPrint supplies foamex signs in 3, 5 and 10 mm, starting from one board, and every one of them carries B1 fire retardant certification.

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