Chalkboards Offer
The humble chalkboard is a cheap, bespoke and adaptive method to inform your customers, entertain the kids or to compliment your interior. Drive sales in your pub, bar or restaurant or use one to jot some notes. The possibilities are endless…
For clarity, we use the terms blackboard chalkboard interchangeably! We simply mean a flat surface that you can write on using chalk or a chalk pen.
At home, chalkboards, kitchen blackboards and kids chalkboards make for a highly interactive, easy to use features that can complete your home’s interior.
Majisign manufactures chalkboards at their UK-based workshop. This means that you’re able to buy pre-made products in regular sizes or contact us directly for a specific size, shape or request.
Visit the chalkboards product page
Historically chalkboards were typically used as pub blackboards; a simple frame with poster therein or just left entirely plain, without a frame and maybe a simple bevelled edge.
The blackboard and chalk combination has served the industry for decades. But the usefulness still persists and can be something that you can take advantage of, too.
Chalkboard designs & pre-purchase questions
When we think of chalk boards, we think about ;
What should the shape of my chalkboard be? Should my chalkboard be wall mounted or free-standing? Do I need chalk pens? Do I need a chalkboard combined with another product?
We may also have some concerns, such as if a chalkboard is even right for me. Are the messy? How do I clean a chalkboard? Should I buy a whiteboard instead?
Majisign’s unique product design, sales assistance and ability to manufacture high quality products means that we can give you the answers.
For a detailed chat about your needs, feel free to contact us!
Let’s talk about the standard shapes of a chalkboard and how that can help you. Each of our boards use MDF. We use ethically sourced MDF since it’s important to have a smooth, grain-free surface to write on. We machine the MDF into various standard ISO sizes; like A4 or A5, etc. From here we send the boards to our spray shop, where they recieve multiple coats of our blackboard paint. This stage is critical as it’s important to maintain the smooth finish. We paint on both sides and the edges. Once dry, the chalkboards are finished, which means we manually quality assure each board and fit any attachments, such as hanging hooks, drill holes or we send them to our print room (more on this later!).
What makes a good chalkboard?
A painted piece of wood might seem like a simple product to buy or to make yourself. And that’s somewhat true, except there are some common pitfalls to avoid. Majisign’s products are designed and manufactured to help you overcome these issues;
Using chalkboards outside or in an environment with varying humidity, like your kitchen, requires a base board that is manufactured to exterior standards. For everything else, a high-quality interior board is just fine. Getting this wrong means that chalkboard paint cannot adhere properly and leads a variety of problems including peeling and warping.
Next is the type of paint that you use. In theory, buying chalkboard paint should be as easy as buying a tin with “blackboard paint” written on the side. With the quality varying, it can be hard to know how long the paint may last. The other issue is one of removing chalk. There isn’t a dedicated chalkboard cleaner, so you can run the risk of harming the finish. with the chalk removed, you can be left with a darker area, which cannot be removed. This is known as “ghosting”. The only fix is to repaint. Majisign’s chalkboard finish is extremely hard wearing and is resistant to ghosting.
You’ll find that most products sold today use thin boards and cheap paint. Shopping online introduces the issue of being unable to judge the quality for yourself, needing to rely on other people’s reviews and the variances of what “quality” means to you. Whilst we point to our corporate customers that run thousands of pubs across the country, if you’re still unsure, phone us and we’ll send you a sample of our board!
Lastly, “good” only really counts when we can make the exact product you need. If you need something bespoke, special or particular, simply contact us and we’ll design you a chalkboard to fit your needs.
Using shapes for added clarity.
Rectangles, squares and some curves are usually just right. But sometimes you need a shape to help communicate your intention to people. Directions, common outlines and even imitating objects can help people understand your message, often without reading the text!
Here’s our reference table to help you decide which shapes might work best:
Shape Usage
· Arrows – Direct people, cars, visitors towards their intended destination
· Gender – Toilets, dressing rooms where gender separation is intended
· Rectangles – Lists; menus, guidance and general information
· Circles – Often used to give rule-based information to drive behaviour
· Triangles – Warnings about hazards that may exist (although for health and safety we recommend following the regulations!)
· Irregular shapes / curves – To enhance existing styling
Some examples;
Where can I buy a chalkboard sign?
Right here! Head over to the shop section of our website. We supply blackboards all over the UK, to every type of business and also to domestic users, regardless of volume or requirement.
You can also buy chalkboard easels, kitchen blackboards or contact us to make a blackboard wall for you; we’ll design your chalkboard to be the perfect shapes – from a trophy to a speech bubble or to fit a space in your kitchen or bar.
Bespoke requirements
Above shape, colour and print, sometimes a little extra is needed. From wall mounted magnetic chalkboards to chalkboard easels, we’ve a variety of chalkboard-based products available. There’s an incredible range chalkboards for sale. It’s not always just about blackboard or chalkboard but instead how they’re used with other products.
For example, wooden crates are embellished with a small chalkboard as this serves as a convient label. Pump & optic clips can be manufactured in the same material (just cut a lot smaller) whilst kitchen blackboards take on a variety of forms; from a kitchen chalkboard wall to a series of small “reminder” fridge magnets.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, browse our bespoke gallery
What about chalk board art?
You’ve 3 options!
- 1: Employ a chalkboard / blackboard artist to draw your perfect display
- 2: Order a plain chalkboard and do it yourself!
- 3: Let us print a design for you!
We love option 3, as it means you get a high-quality “chalk-a-like” display. We can print directly onto the chalkboard using white ink and if you like, make it look like chalk. This method means that we can print just like you’d expect when ordering a poster. We can include your logo, border, pictures and text. For ultimate usefulness we can print just one side, leaving the other side blank, so if you want to turn it around, you can!
