A-Frame Sign Boards Explained, Sizes That Fit and What They Cost

Three board sizes cover the entire sidewalk range, and none of them matches the frame dimension. Read the middle column before you set up artwork.

The gap between the two columns is the frame lip, the moulded edge that grips the board and holds it flat. On a Signicade that lip covers roughly half an inch all the way round, so anything closer than an inch to the trim edge is at risk of being half hidden. Pull the phone number, the arrow and the closing line of type well inside, and treat the outer inch as decoration rather than information. A correctly sized starting layout saves the argument entirely, and the blank template library has one for each board size.

Each size comes with its own print choices. The metal rod board prints double sided, with the same image or two different images, and has grommets at the top corners, with 3 business days standard production. The Signicade, Simpo and aluminum kits print two front-only boards, with the same art on both or different art on each, and take 4 business days standard. Every one offers a Free Online Proof before the boards go to press.

If you are still choosing a size rather than a frame, our complete guide to standard A-frame sign sizes lays the dimensions out next to legibility distance, and the A-frame signs range shows what each frame costs with a live configurator.

If the frame is still open, how to choose an A-frame sidewalk sign narrows it down, and how to design an A-frame sign covers the layout once the board size is set.

Board material is a shorter decision than it looks, because one option does most of the work and the other three exist for specific problems.

• 4mm corrugated plastic. The default, on nearly every frame we ship. Two polypropylene skins with a fluted core between them, so it stays rigid at 24 by 36 inches, sheds rain, and weighs almost nothing. Buy this unless you have a reason not to. The same sheet is what a plain coroplast sign is cut from, priced from $25 for one sign at 11 by 17 inches.
• Adhesive vinyl on the frame face. Used where the surface itself has a job to do. It is a graphic applied to the panel rather than a loose board you slide out.
• Dry erase lamination. A writable coating over a printed vinyl face, so your logo and layout stay fixed and the daily line changes with a marker. The dry erase Signicade starts at $185.63 for one and is the honest answer for a soup special or a wait time.
• Reflective film. Full color in daylight, and headlights and streetlight come back off it after dark. The reflective Signicade starts at $163.67 for one and earns its keep on an unlit corner or an evening event, not on a bright shopping street.

The trade-off is reprints. A coroplast board is a panel: it slides out, you file it, and you put it back next season. A dry erase or reflective face is bonded to the frame, so changing the printed part means a new sign rather than a new board. Choose the writable surface for a message that moves daily and the plain board for a message that moves quarterly.

Flute direction is worth thirty seconds of attention too. Corrugated plastic is stiff along the flutes and floppy across them, so a tall panel wants its flutes running the long way. On a grommeted metal rod frame that is the difference between a board that hangs flat and one that curls in a crosswind. If you want the material in more depth, what coroplast signs are covers how the sheet is built and how it ages outdoors.

Two things put A-frames in the bin early, and neither is print quality. The first is wind. A 24 by 36 inch board is 6 square feet of sail per face, and on an exposed corner that is enough to walk a frame into traffic. The 24 by 18 inch board on a metal rod frame is half that area and stays put in conditions that flatten the tall ones. Either size down, weight the base, or accept that the sign comes in when the wind gets up.

The second is the permit. The pavement outside your door is usually public right of way, and cities regulate sandwich boards on it by width, distance from the curb and hours. Rules are municipal rather than statewide, so a rule you read for one city means nothing three towns over. Check before you print, not after: our sign permit guide points you at the right office.

When it is time for the second print, measure the old board rather than trusting the product name. Confirm the size, count the grommets, and note whether the frame takes one panel or two. Send a print-ready PDF, JPG or PNG, take the free online proof seriously, and remember that standard turnaround on these runs 3 to 4 business days with rush options down to next day on most frames and same day on the metal rod.

Still deciding between formats? Yard signs vs A-frames vs banners compares the three on cost per impression and where each one physically fits, and Signicade vs aluminum vs plastic settles the frame body question. To see the full curbside range in one place, browse sidewalk signs. The Aluminum A-Frame Signs story shows the satin silver frame with a board in each face.