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Max Metal Madness

Geneva Olson

Expert Storyteller
Now that we are all talking about our businesses going to ****, Grimco decided to run a sale on MaxMetal.

I'd like to stock up, but I am holding tight to my cash right now.
I think I'm more concerned about our businesses going to shit? What are we talking about here?
 

Boudica

Back to "educational purposes"
We get bubble X from laird... doesnt help you since they seem to be crappy in your area. I'm lucky enough to have them live 2 blocks from my house, so I can always run and pickup a few sheets of anything on the way into work, it's nice!

We love it too, Laird says not many people buy it - it hasnt found its place in sign shops yet. we pay $18 Canadian ($12.50 usd) A sheet... I use it for everything that doesn't need a flutes for a wire stake, its a minimal cost from coro.. but it's so smooth and rigid that everyone loves it compared to coro, lasts a lot longer too.
We have a Laird supplier here locally. a couple of years ago they had a coorporate rep visiting, they came over and showed us the BubbleX. It looked pretty interesting, but the local shop never stocked it, so we never got any to play with, much less try to sell it to our customers.
Can it be used with H-stakes? I can't remember.
 
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ikarasu

Active Member
We have a Laird supplier here locally. a couple of years ago they had a coorporate rep visiting, they came over and showed us the BubbleX. It looked pretty interesting, but the local shop never stocked it, so we never got any to play with, much less try to sell it to our customers.
Can it be used with H-stakes? I can't remember.
Nope. It's a honeycomb hardish plastic, not fluted. It's ten times as durable...and less see through than coro. We've had a few agents switch over to it for swb inserts or hanging sides, but it's not good for yard signs.


It's also perfectly flat...so it looks way better than coro. I think we pay exactly double for it, so it's still really cheap. We use it for anything that is more high end than coro, but the customers too cheap for alupanel
 

ikarasu

Active Member
Not sure how prelevant Laird plastics is out there.. But they're the only ones who sell it here. They keep a healthy stock of it, and best of all they're on my way into work... Free pickups!

Most other vendors we've asked have never heard of it. We love it though. It's uv printable so I imagine its latex printable as well.
 

FireSprint.com

Trade Only Screen & Digital Sign Printing
Do you guys use alot of bubble-X? It's kind of stuck in the middle of coro and pvc IMO. Can't put it on a stake, and the edge isn't smooth like a sheet of PVC, Foamcore or Styrene. I think that's why most places don't stock it.
 

ikarasu

Active Member
We still use Coro mainly... Bubble X is the inbetween.

A lot of places use SWB's here all summer.... Nothing looks more Tacky than a place charging $75 for a steak with a coroplast sign hanging in a A frame or on their window advertising specials... We use bubble X for customers like that.

It's also more ridgid and seems to last forever.... So when we do 4x8s for real estate or other "Temp" signage, we tend to use bubble X when the customer doesnt want to pay for plywood.

Signs that have straight stakes instead of H stakes... Anything we CNC to a shape we use bubble X where we can because its a much nicer cut.

For every $20,000 in coro...We probably do $500-1000 in bubble X. So we use it where we can... But not as often as we'd like.

I just did a few hundred 12 x18 fence signs on bubble X for a customer... It grommets easy and its indestructable. You can use it as a frisbee and the worst it gets is a bent corner... It's rare we get to see stuff after its been in the field for a long time, but it wouldnt surprise me if these bubble X signs last years outdoors constantly being re-put up, where as coroplast would likely tear in half after being used a half dozen times.

Less future orders for us! so there are downsides. but for the price point, I think it's a great product and I'm surprised it hasn't caught on as much as it should.


https://www.primexplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Bubble-X-Flyer-1-2.pdf


We've only tried the 3 mil, our supplier doesnt carry thicker... but can get it in. With how ridgid 3 is, I wonder how good 5 is!
 

ikarasu

Active Member
This guy shows how indrestrucable it is... 3 mil isnt as strong as this, but he shows the bendability vs 10 mil coro. Especially smaller thin signs like this I can see bubble X working out great.
 

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
We use a lot of BubbleX, AkyPrint, and our own version called BubbleBoard. It's a great alternative to coro and PVC, and it's very outdoor stable. You can print it on the R series HP as we have tested it when checking to see if the R series was a good fit for us.

No, you can't use stakes with it, but you gain durability even over PVC and a smooth Matte finish to prevent glare.
 
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