Call us : 1800 781 814
info@focusbanners.com.au Call us : 1800 781 814
info@focusbanners.com.au Call us : 1800 781 814

Corflute signs are unbeatable for medium term signage for a range of businesses and uses. Corrugated plastic, core-flute or corflute is constructed similar to cardboard carton. The corrugated centres add strength and depth to plastic signs. 

The cheapest corflute signs are made from 3mm corflute. It has some advantages over 5mm but it is not as strong and tends to bend in outdoor windy conditions. 3mm corflute signs are best for toblerone signs or other applications which require a degree of flexibility.

Five millimetre corflute is a very versatile indoor and outdoor rigid sign material. Corflute printing is done with a flatbed printer. It is easily cut to size with a CNC router. Custom shape corflute and corflute cutouts are also very easy to create.

The top 10 uses for corflute signs in Australia are:

Site Safety Signage

More than any other sector the construction industry is a big user of corflute signs. The durability of plastic signage is essential on building sites. Signs need to withstand the elements and be outdoors for at least 6 months. Site safety signs take many forms. Large building sites might have up to 200 individual signs ranging from 300mm x 200mm up to 2.4m x 1.2m. We keep a list of all our clients site safety signage needs. They merely need to fill out an order form we generate for them and even the most complex signage project can be completed quickly.

Election Signs

Corflute is virtually essential for election signage in Australia. The signs need to be exposed to the elements for up to 3 months depending on the area.One of the advantages of corflute is its ease of installation. Election signs are generally held up by a hardwood stake which is quickly installed in soft ground and just as quickly removed. Popular sizes for election corflutes are 600mm x 900mm and 450mm x 300mm. Election signs are almost always 5mm corflute. Our only wish is that aspiring politicians would recycle corflute.

Real Estate Signs

Real Estate agents use corflute signs regularly. Corflute delivers strong colour representation and inks do not fade quickly making it ideal for medium term outdoor advertising. Corflutes is used to advertise homes for sale or rent, advertise upcoming developments or as wayfinding to show buyers how to find a property. Common sizes are 900mm x 1200mm for larger property signs, 600mm x 900mm for lease signs, and 450mm x 300mm for wayfinding or open house signage.

Shop Signage

Although not ideal for indoor signage, cheap corflute signs often replace foam board or paper board signs for retailers. The corrugations in corflute are visible at close range so clients looking for a high end finish generally go for foam board as a replacement. For clients on a budget corflute signs are more popular. Signage can be stuck on with double sided tape, or hung from the ceiling with clips. Because corrugated plastic holds its structure it is ideal for custom shapes. Many shops create retail displays with custom cut corflute shapes.

Event Wayfinding Signs

Large events need a lot of signage. Corflute is an ideal material for wayfinding and information delivery. Corflutes cheap pricing means events are able to show their guests the way to the toilets, or the bar or the exit, etc, etc. Corflute can be installed on temporary fences or small stakes. Corflute is often used to cover registration desks or speaker stacks. It is the ideal material for bar or food menus at events.

Toblerone Signage

Otherwise known as bollard signage, toblerones prove the point that any object is a potential advertising medium. 3mm corflute is made into a triangular shape to cover bollards or posts. Triangular corrugated plastic signs are often seen in service stations, shopping centres and supermarkets. This type of sign is also very good for event signage on electricity poles or trees.

Corflute Selfie Cut Outs

Instagram cut outs have become popular in recent years. We are a B2B printing service so we only make these in large quantities.

Corflute A Frames

Corflute A frames are used by retailers, real estate agents, schools, sporting teams and event organisers for all types purposes. The great thing about corflute A frames is that the corflute insets can be swapped out instantly creating new messages as frequently as needed. The frame is made from steel so A frames are stable in medium wind conditions. They are also available in a few different sizes.

Field Signage

Triangular corflute signs are often seen on the sidelines of sporting events. Their design allows them to display branding on both sides of the corflute. The signs can be carried and stored flat for efficient storage. Eyelets on the bottom allow for tent pegs to hold these signs down in windy conditions. Weights can also be used and easily hidden inside the triangular prism.

Property Signage and Branding

In recent years there has been a proliferation of small signage at residential and commercial properties. Signs for landscaping businesses, signs for pool makers, electricians signs, air BnB signs, holiday rental signs, property maintenance business signs, and signage for many other business service providers

At Focus Banners we can provide all types of signage for B2B clients or trade customers. Our bulk corflute prices are the best in Australia. We supply corflute signs for a lot of printers and graphic designers around the country.

Corflute, or corrugated plastic signboard as it is otherwise known, is a wonderfully durable material. Able to withstand the elements, completely waterproof and tough in very strong winds. It is a very widely used material in the signage industry from real estate signs to election signs.

As we drive past all those election signs we have to wonder if politicians and political aspirants are being responsible with the signs they use to promote themselves.

The argument for coreflute signs

The greatest argument for coreflute signs is their durability. They will outlast the longest political campaign by years. Elections are generally short-lived affairs with candidates and parties getting limited time to prepare their campaigns and woo voters.  These days political campaigns are truly integrated marketing campaigns spanning print media, social media, radio, television and out of home (OOH) signage.

Corflute is the most common form of out of home election signage and it needs to last the duration of the campaign. No matter what weather gets thrown at it, corflute will most likely come through undamaged.

That is good news for candidates, and somewhat for the environment. Fluted plastics midterm durability means they do not need to be replaced potentially saving the plastic required to replace them and the emissions in installing new signs.

Corflute is made from polypropylene which can be recycled and reformed into itself. It also has a wide range of reuse applications from protecting floors to lining planter boxes.

The argument against coreflute signs

Corflute signs are inescapably plastic. Polypropylene is formed from non-renewable oil. Despite its durability, it will degrade when exposed to UV creating microplastic waste.

It is recyclable but there are limited recyclers and getting the post-use product to the recycler is complicated and costly. Normal waste streams like curbside rubbish removal cannot handle corflute signs. They are a contaminant in the plastic waste stream (whatever that is in Australia).

Signs can only be recycled if they are free of foreign objects like eyelets or stakes. Many of these signs are made by applying a PVC sticker to the face of the corflute – this renders the plastic unrecyclable.

So corflute can be recycled if ALL the following conditions are met:

  • It is direct printed and not sticker applied
  • Eyelets, stickers and stakes are removed
  • It is bundled into industrial quantities (ie palletised)
  • It is delivered to the recycling plant

Most council waste streams will not have a dedicated collection for corflute. The truth is election signs will end up in landfill. Our leaders either willfully or ignorantly ignore this inconvenient truth, Greens included.

How to fix this situation?

Aside from the obvious cure of changing to signs made from renewable products which can be recycled in the normal waste stream there is something that can be done.

Reducing the number of signs a politician is allowed to display would be the most obvious and would also level the field (if you are into that type of thing). Reducing the size would be another. Most election signs are 600mm x 900mm but one half the size would contain the same message. Dare we say less signs may actually look better given the clutter elections can create.

Ultimately councils are responsible for setting rules as to what happens within their boundaries. Waste disposal is one area of government that rests firmly with councils, as does the use of signs. So when the federal government comes knocking and placing a billion signs around their area, they are well within their rights to tell them where they are allowed to display them, how many they are allowed to display, what size they should be and how they need to be recycled.

Councils should take an active role in recording and ensuring that candidates that display signs, also handle them responsibly after they are used. Election sign stewardship is not the most impractical idea and one that should be run in every council for every election.

Alternatives to corflute

Outdoor paper board is viable alternative to corrugated plastic.  Boards such as Oppboga or Katz board are specifically designed to last outdoors.  These signs are not meant to last 500 years, just around 12 weeks or the amount of time it takes to run an election campaign. They are sourced from responsibly farmed forests and are recycled in the curbside waste streams. Unlike corflute, outdoor paperboard is completely renewable.

Candidates tend to get on a roll with corflute because it is cheap to produce, so signs that could be paper posters become corrugated plastic.