Whiteboards and/or dry erase board surfaces should be durable, have stain resistance including guarantees, are easy to clean and made with solid construction resulting in lower lifetime cost.
Wondering what the difference is between a whiteboard and a dry erase board surface? The terms today are used interchangeably in practically all websites and major search engines. Whiteboards and Dry Erase Boards almost always refer to framed boards. Sometimes dry erase surfaces may be referring
to a surface used on other non-framed substrates. The main difference for all boards no matter what you call them is the surface material and construction described below.
When making your choice for the best whiteboard start with your intended use and environment. Educational settings normally include boards that are in constant use, erased often, need to made of durable construction, normally require standard sizes and may call for projection. In the case of sports teams, custom printed boards with logo’s or replicated sports venue’s for coaching may be best. Healthcare environments require quality construction as well with custom prints to match the communications needs for a certain room or nursing environment etc. In these situations the highest quality boards are those where the designed print is under the surface guaranteeing its protection when writing or erasing the board.
Business and/or manufacturing environments may want to consider interior design, space planning, wood frame options, tough construction, use magnets for organization or planning and include custom or large sizes. These environments may need a board that has more flexibility including mobile boards and perhaps projection surfaces for production meetings, brainstorming etc.
Whiteboard surface material options include proprietary hard-coats over films, melamine, porcelain and glass. Which is the best material for your whiteboard surface? Here’s a look at each dry erase material surface type:
Nonporous hard coat surfaces stand up to heavy use, usually have a guarantee, require little maintenance, clean easily, stay white without ghosting, include the use of film and other layers all adhered to a substrate. The structure can be magnetic or non-magnetic.
EVERWhite has a 9 step process all made in the USA to create the most durable whiteboard in the industry. This process includes but not limited to; a nonporous hard coat cured to a film and if desired attached to a high gauge steel for magnetism (non-magnetic is available), a corrugated backer with additional support materials to strengthen the overall construction and framed with anodized aluminum. Combined with a guaranteed surface against ghosting this combination makes the EVERWhite surface best in class. EVERWhite also offers this award winning surface when resurfacing old 
whiteboards/chalkboards or when the job calls for large whiteboard wall installations. EVERWhite also offers UltÍmatte which has a projection friendly surface and is 5’ tall to aid in projection.
Melamine boards cost the least, but require the greatest amount of regular maintenance and have short lifespans. So use of melamine boards can be more costly for a school, business, hospital or other organization in the long run. The surface of these boards is very porous, leading to staining from regular use of dry erase markers. If permanent markers are accidentally used, the ink cannot be cleaned off because it has soaked into the surface pores.
Another disadvantage of melamine boards is that the material is not magnetic, so papers and posters can’t easily be displayed on them. Based on those issues, melamine boards are not the best whiteboard option for most users.
If you have a stained melamine board, you can cover the surface with cut-to-size sheets of dry erase material, such as EVERWhite’s EverEZ resurfacing panels, or products from our sister company Everase such as dry erase resurfacing film.
Porcelain boards are common, offering many advantages over melamine surfaces, but still with issues that could frustrate users. Porcelain boards are manufactured with an enamel surface with varying degrees of ink resistance. They can become stained over time with regular use depending upon the type of porcelain, and require frequent use of whiteboard cleaners. On some of these boards, removal of permanent marker ink is difficult.
Most porcelain boards have steel backing so these boards are mostly available in magnetic versions. These boards have a longer life than melamine but are often heavier than Melamine boards.
So if you need the quality of a non-staining surface but not magnetism, porcelain boards may not be the best option. (Non-magnetic whiteboards cost less, so if you don’t need to magnetically attach documents to a board, you might not want to pay for that magnetic feature.)
Marker boards made of tempered glass are another option, but have limitations. Because the surface is not white, it can be difficult to view presentations made on them. It’s also difficult to take pictures of what’s written or drawn due to high reflectivity. Words and drawings on a glass board can appear less than sharp due to the very slick nature of glass surfaces.
Glass marker boards can be made magnetic by adding a steel backing, but that can cause reflective problems. Because of the strength of glass, these boards do not need framing.
Glass marker boards tend to be more expensive than whiteboards. They are very easy to clean.
Cleaning Dry Erase Surfaces:
EVERWhite boards are the simplest to clean because the patented surface is non-porous. For regular use, all that is needed is a cloth; microfiber cloths work best. For occasional cleaning, water or any standard window cleaner, such as Windex®, can be used without harming the surface.
So, when you are wondering what the best whiteboard is for your needs, pay special attention to the type of surface.
EVERWhite is your partner to create a custom board to help your environment to be more successful. Call us at 1-800-335-7319 for a custom business or educational design. “We Can Do That”
