Spent an hour lettering a sign only to realize the marker was bleeding through the whole thing

I was making a sign for the city council meeting last week, all proud of my sharp lettering on a foam board. After maybe 45 minutes of careful work I flipped it over and saw the marker had bled through to the back, making a huge mess. Turns out the cheap foam board from the dollar store soaks up marker way different than the name brand stuff. Anyone else deal with marker bleed on budget boards or got a fix that doesn't cost more than the board itself?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan5613d ago

Stop worrying about the back of a sign nobody sees. @wendy820 hairspray works fine if it bothers you that much.

wendy8202d ago

Hah, yeah, nothing says "professional baker" like a reverse inkblot test on the back of your sign!

wendy8203d ago

Did you try one of those clear spray fixatives before you started? I learned that one the hard way too, with a sign for my daughter's bake sale that ended up looking like a Rorschach test on the back. Your mileage may vary, but I've had decent luck with a light coat of hairspray as a cheap sealer on budget foam boards. Just test it on a corner first because I once had the hairspray react weird and make the marker smear. The dollar store boards are a gamble for sure, sometimes they work great and other times it's like they're made of paper towels.