Menu Boards: Materials, Sizes and Ideas

For a menu on the wall, the choice is between two flat printed boards.

• Flat Foamex sign: a lightweight PVC foam board with a clean, flat finish. It suits indoor menus and shorter-term outdoor use, from £10.50, and comes with a dry-wipe laminate option.
• Flat aluminium sign: 3mm aluminium composite. It is rigid, light and weather resistant, so it suits a menu on the outside of a shopfront, from £16.00.

Foamex costs less, so it is a good fit when you reprint the menu often. Aluminium is the one to choose for a menu that stays put. Our Foamex vs aluminium comparison and sign materials guide go through the differences.

Flat signs come in presets from A4 to A0 and the full 1220 × 2440mm sheet, and in custom sizes from 50 to 1500mm by 50 to 3050mm. Two common board sizes have their own pages, with live prices in both materials:

• 1200 × 600mm: a wide board for behind a counter. See the Foamex 1200 × 600mm page or the aluminium 1200 × 600mm page.
• 1200 × 800mm: a bigger board with room for a longer menu. See the Foamex 1200 × 800mm page or the aluminium 1200 × 800mm page.

Measure the wall and the distance customers will read it from before you choose. Our guide to measuring for a sign helps.

A pavement A-board puts your menu or daily special outside. The printed poster slots into a snap frame, so you can change the message whenever you like, and the board folds flat at the end of the day. It comes in 20 × 30 inch (508 × 762mm), A2 (420 × 594mm), A1 (594 × 841mm), B1 (707 × 1000mm) and A0 (841 × 1189mm), from £66.00 for the smallest. See our guide to A-board sizes.

Most pavements are highway land, so check your council's rules first. Our guide to A-boards and pavement permission explains what to check.

For tables and counters, you have several choices.

• Table-top signs: A6, A5 or A4, single or double-sided.
• Acrylic card holders: A6, A5 or A4 bases with an optional printed insert.
• Strut cards: freestanding printed cards with a collapsible strut on the back, from A5 (148 × 210mm) to A2, made in 1 to 2 working days. Our strut card guide has more.

Double-sided holders suit a menu one side and an offer on the other.

If your menu changes weekly or daily, print it as a poster and swap it. Posters come in A5 to A0 and custom sizes. A double-sided freestanding acrylic poster holder takes sizes from A5 to A1 and can sit on a counter or in a window.

For a window display, see our window graphics, including frosted window vinyl.

• Menu changes rarely: a printed aluminium board, or Foamex for a lower cost indoors.
• Menu changes each season: a Foamex board, so reprinting is easy on the budget.
• Specials change daily: an A-board with a changeable poster, or posters in a holder.
• Menus on every table: table-top signs, card holders or strut cards.

Find more ideas for your type of business on our café, restaurant and takeaway signage pages.