Blog Archives

With our unbeatable turnaround on Foamex Printing in London, our reinvestment in machinery has always been pivotal. We’ve recently upgraded to our new Mimaki JFX flatbed UV printer, with white ink and varnish capabilities – further keeping us at the forefront of Same Day Signs across London.

The machine has already proven a valuable tool on jobs for The Banksy Exhibition, Brit Awards, exhibition shell scheme panels and event signage for Red Bull.

Based in North London, we operate 24/7 – specialists in wide format signage, vinyl, foamex and installation. We stock 3mm and 5mm Foamex, as well as eco alternatives such as Akyboard which you can read about here.

Foamex and Correx are the two most popular forms of both temporary and permanent signage and one of the main kinds of Same Day Signs we produce – but what’s the difference and which is right for you?

The first clue really is in the name of each, so let’s take a look first at Foamex. As the name would suggest, it is a foam style substrate, made from white PVC and fairly rigid. It’s not to be confused with foamcore board which is fairly disposable and moreso for crafts.

Foamex comes in many colours but the most common option is white. You will have seen foamex used in retail signs, exhibitions, events and most POS scenarios. It’s used as it’s rigid yet lightweight, smooth with a matte finish and easy to trim and cut to custom shapes. We hold a large amount of white foamex stock in common thicknesses of 3mm and 5mm.

Printing directly onto foamex is our most common method for producing Foamex signs. The high quality produced by our SwissQPrint Flatbed printer allows us to deliver vibrant colours, high definition text and images, as well as an instantly dry matt finish. We can print on a sheet up to 2.5 x 1.5m in one piece.

Foamex is usually our go to recommendation for signage – be it for an exhibition, event or temporary sign. Whilst it is durable when used externally and waterproof, it can warp in high temperatures and we’d recommend Dibond Aluminium Composite panels for this instance.

Here’s a great instance of Foamex being used with its smooth matt finish ideal for being hung in Amazon’s Warehouse.

Correx on the other hand is everywhere – most commonly used as Estate Agent signs. Its corrugated effect allows it to easily bend, provides excellent weather protection and is an ideal lightweight substrate. Correx is often used when the signs aren’t intended to be seen up close as the corrugated effect can break up the imagery, but it’s still ideal for large and small applications. We’ve used Correx for some really impactful jobs like those below.

Correx has the added bonus that it’s lightweight, making delivery and installation easy – with the element of reusing and relocating signage equally as simple. You can fit either Foamex or Correx with double sided tape, screws or clamps.

Whilst you can have peace of mind knowing we are committed to reducing waste and emissions across our business, Correx is a Class 5 rated plastic meaning it can be Recycled and often turned into brooms, brushes and ice scrapers! Any Correx offcuts we have are reused for printer testing and packaging.

Netflix’s Top Boy Billboard Sign, partially produced by Citiprint for Build Hollywood

So, if we can help with your Same Day requirements for Foamex Printing or Correx Printing – do get in touch with us on 0203 167 0400 or use our LiveChat. We hold large stock of material and print directly on it to provide a high quality instantly dry finish.

Turning any bespoke service around the Same Day is always a big feat but we’ve been doing it for nearly five years now, providing a reliable and efficient service 24 hours a day across London on everything printed – we’ve signwritten Private Jets overnight, transformed the interior of Harrods and even printed props for blockbuster films. So… how do we do it? 🤔

Firstly, we owe a lot of it to our well maintained printers themselves! As this article is about Foamex, the machine in question is our swissQprint Oryx, a UV printer which allows us to print directly onto pretty much anything! So, that’s the introductions complete, let’s run you through the process in just FIVE quick steps!

1. We’ve recently completed a huge refurbishment of our London premises, allowing us to hold even more stock of substrates (that’s sheets of foamex, aluminium, correx etc) so we’ve always got the board you need for your job. We tend to recommend 3mm foamex for most scenarios – it’s light, flexible and our most popular option.
2. The Van Gogh stage – your artwork! We RIP your artwork (not literally!) – this means we get your files ready for printing then after a few minutes, we have a converted file ready for printing so it’s off to the Production Area and our UV workstation…
3. Let’s hit that big red print button – we load your sheet onto the printer and make sure the printer is up to temperature and that the colours are spot on (we can achieve 99% of the CMYK colour gamut but that’s a geeky post for another time)
4. Time for a trim – our UV printer dries the ink it prints straight away, meaning we can take your job straight to the cutting bench or use our huuuuge guillotine and cut your job down to size. Now…. importantly, we recycle any waste from this process, ensuring none of the material we buy in feels left out!
5. Boxing – Here’s the fun bit, finding the right packaging for your job, we carefully wrap and box all substrate jobs so that it feels safe and loved in transit from us to you! ❤️

So there you have it, that’s the abridged version if you like of how we transform your design into Foamex, on a Same Day turnaround in London – on time, every time! If you’d like to know more, why not visit us or better still, try us on your next Foamex job.

Fast Turnaround on 3mm Printed Foamex boards (A0 Size) for Paddington Central in support of the Royal British Legion. We specialise in Same Day turnaround Print and Signs including Foamex Printing London.

Printed graphics fitted to foamex board then mounted onto an experiential coffee van for a short term event. Artwork received at 6pm on Friday night and fitted on site Monday 7am in London.