Products
Grooved Boards and Perforated Boards for Reception and Public Areas
Both of these get called notice boards in a purchase order, and both are something else. A grooved board holds printed cards in horizontal grooves; a perforated board is a black panel with a hole pattern that takes hooks and inserts.
Neither is a pin-up surface, and specifying one as a notice board is the common mistake this guide exists to prevent. Plusmark lists both under Display Boards, alongside the Letters & Figures Set.
Grooved Boards
Grooved boards carry printed cards in grooves running across the panel. The card slides in and slides out, so the display changes without pins, tape or damage to the sheet.
The catalog lists nine sizes in landscape and portrait, and gives the applications as hotels, reception areas and leisure centres. That is the tell: a grooved board is for a place where the display is read by visitors and changed by staff — room numbers, rate cards, function schedules, spa and gym timings, menu inserts.
- Nine sizes, landscape and portrait
- Cards insert and remove without fixing the sheet itself
- Listed for hotels, reception areas and leisure centres
Perforated Boards
A perforated board is a black panel with a regular hole pattern, in a golden anodized frame, and information can be displayed vertically as well as horizontally. Hooks, holders and inserts go into the perforations, so the layout is rearranged without tools.
The catalog lists offices, hotels and public places as the applications. In practice it is the board for a wall that has to carry a changing set of items rather than a changing set of sheets — key and card holders, small tools, badges, sample swatches, signage inserts.
- Black perforated panel with a golden anodized frame
- Displays information vertically as well as horizontally
- Listed for offices, hotels and many other public places
Which one, and how they differ from a notice board
If what goes up is a sheet of paper that someone pins, you want a notice board — blazer cloth, velvet cloth, cork or fabric. If what goes up is a printed card that slides into a groove, you want a grooved board. If what goes up is an object that hangs on a hook, you want a perforated board.
Reception areas frequently need two of the three, because a hotel front desk displays rate cards and also holds room keys.
| Notice board | Grooved board | Perforated board | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holds | Pinned sheets | Printed cards in grooves | Hooks, holders and inserts |
| Surface | Blazer cloth, velvet cloth, cork or fabric | Grooved panel | Black perforated panel |
| Typical place | Offices, institutions, corridors, societies | Hotels, reception areas, leisure centres | Offices, hotels, public places |
Letters and figures complete the display
The Display Boards collection also carries the Letters & Figures Set, which is what makes a perforated or grooved installation able to spell out a message — letters in 12, 18, 24 and 36 mm, with a letters set of 112 pieces and a figures set of 100 pieces.
Order the board and the set together, since the letter size has to suit the board dimensions and the reading distance.
Questions on this topic
- What is a grooved board used for?
- Grooved boards hold printed cards in grooves across the panel, so displays change without pins or tape. Plusmark lists them in nine landscape and portrait sizes for hotels, reception areas and leisure centres.
- Is a perforated board the same as a notice board?
- No. A perforated board is a black panel with a hole pattern in a golden anodized frame, for hooks and inserts, and it displays information vertically as well as horizontally. A notice board is a pin-up cloth, cork or fabric surface for sheets of paper.
Boards mentioned in this guide
Sizes, surfaces and frame variants listed here are made to order. Send Plusmark your room details and quantity and the team will confirm what is available in that series.
