FOREX® - An impressive variety

For more than 30 years FOREX® is the synonym for white, rigid plastic sheets made up of PVC. The FOREX® product line (FOREX®classic, FOREX®print, FOREX®color) offers a huge range of lightweight and high-quality materials with a huge delivery program (10 different thicknesses from 1 up to 19 mm, 9 colours, 4 widths, 3 lengths, with or without protective film), especially for direct digital printing, for internal and external applications. Individuality is always welcome: customized colours, special packaging and even products according to customer specifications are an inherent part of our FOREX® offering.

All FOREX® products can be easily processed for different 2D or 3D applications - manually or mechanically. Our technical service supports all our customers with their product-related questions, application or project queries. Due to our excellent distribution network we can offer very short lead times throughout Europe.

FOREX® offers a wide range of excellent properties like high stability despite minimal weight, excellent print substrate. FOREX® can be used internal and external:

  • Signage
  • Exhibitions
  • Digital printing
  • Shopfitting

FOREX®classic is the No. 1 sheet in the FOREX® product family with the best mechanical properties and a top-grade surface quality. The fine, closed, homogenous cell structure and the smooth, silky mat surface make FOREX®classic an ideal material for high quality, longer-term interior and exterior applications. FOREX®classic can be applied in all the areas of visual communication, particularly for sign-making, for exhibition stands and shop fi tting, as PoS/PoP displays and also for interior design. FOREX®classic sheets can be fabricated mechanically without any problem and can also be thermoformed for three-dimensional applications. FOREX®classic sheets are also suitable as a printing substrate for the most varying printing techniques and for laminating.

At a glance:

  • Universal sheet for all display applications
  • Optimum mechanical properties and surface quality
  • Hard-wearing surface
  • Robust sheet suitable for longer-term interior and exterior applications
  • Excellent printing and laminating properties
  • Simple, mechanical processing using standard tools for processing wood and plastics
  • Three-dimensional forming using cold/hot bending and thermoforming
  • Sheet can be used for structural applications
  • Widest range of thicknesses and sheet sizes
  • Difficult-to-ignite and self-extinguishing
    > Euroclasses EN 13501-1: C - s3 - d0 (1 - 19 mm)
    > BS 476-7, Class 1 (3 - 19 mm)

Standard formats ex works

Colour White
Thickness 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 13 15 19
Standard formats (W x L)
1220 x 2440     *    *      *      *
1220 x 2500 * * * * *            
1220 x 3050     *   *   * * * * *
1560 x 3050   * *   * *   * * * *
2030 x 3050     * * * * * *      

Dimensions are in mm

 

 

FOREX®print sheet material is specially designed to meet the requirements in the field of printing. The extremely lightweight sheet is outstanding due to its brilliant white, smooth, even surface which forms the basis for a perfect printing result, particularly for direct digital printing. Due to its surface structure, FOREX®print attains optimum ink adhesion for printing and is extremely colour-fast. The sheet material is suitable for flat applications in such fields as sign-making and advertising for short-term and medium-term use. FOREX®print enables economic solutions in the field of printing applications.

At a glance:

  • Brilliant white, smooth, even surface for good printability, especially for direct digital printing
  • Optimum ink adhesion and colour fastness
  • Good dimensional accuracy of the sheets
  • Suitable for flat applications
  • Practicable for shorter to medium-term applications for interior and exterior use
  • „Ready to use“ – can be printed on directly without any pre-treatment required
  • Difficult-to-ignite and self-extinguishing – fire ratings Class B1 according to DIN 4102, M1

Standard formats ex works

Width 2 3 4 5 6 8 10
Standard formats (W x L)
1220 x 2440 * *   *     *
1220 x 3050   *   *     *
1560 x 3050 * * * *     *
2030 x 3050 * * * * * *  * 

Dimensions are in mm

Cut-to-size formats are available from your local FOREX®distributor.

 

FOREX®color rounds off the FOREX® product family with a selection of nine vibrant colour shades. As the colouring of the rigid foam sheet is uniform throughout, it offers optimum colour consistency and guarantees the same colour effect when viewed from different angles. FOREX®color offers designers the best possible basis for giving colour to the most varying solutions in the field of visual communication, for instance, merchandising displays for the PoS/PoP fields, construction for shop fitting and exhibition stands, or sign-making. FOREX®color can be applied wherever a bright colour effect is required for emphasizing the advertising message.

At a glance:

  • 9 colour shades with a striking colour effect
  • Uniform solid-coloured material
  • Maximum colour consistency throughout the entire sheet
  • Uniform colour effect when viewed from different angles
  • Recommended for interior applications
  • Impervious to moisture
  • Simple, mechanical processing using standard tools for processing wood and plastics
  • Difficult-to-ignite and self-extinguishing
Handling & Installation

Handling & Installation of FOREX®

Storage

  • FOREX® sheets must be stored flat and in a dry place, preferably at temperatures around 20 °C.
  • Packaged sheets should not be stored outside as the heat from sunlight could lead to deformation.
  • Do not store pallets on top of each other. The pressure of the overlaying pallets may cause buckling and permanent deformation of the sheets.
  • Cut the pallet strapping on arrival at the final destination. The high tension of the strapping bands is necessary for transport safety but hinders the dilatation of the sheets.

Cleaning

All FOREX® sheets are ready for use. However, in order to ensure prime conditions for the adhesion of paints, bonding agents and adhesive films, the surfaces must be free of dust, greasy filth, fingerprints and so on before carrying out any decorative work.

  • Use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for cleaning the surfaces of the sheets.
  • Use only non-fluffy paper towels and exchange them regularly.
  • Strong dirt (e.g. felt pen marks) can be removed with a fibrous cleaning pad, accepting a slight dulling of the surface.
  • We recommend all liquid cleaners to be checked for suitability before use. They sometimes leave residues (even methylated spirit), dull the surfaces (especially acetone) or embrittle the material (many solvents contain a high proportion of aromatic components). Attention: Sanding and grinding cause irreversible changes of the surfaces.

Protective film

Tear the protective film off slowly but in one uninterrupted movement to avoid the build up of static charges and at the same time prevent possible rip marks appearing during subsequent direct digital printing.

Service temperature

Sheet materials of the FOREX® range must not be exposed to or used at temperatures above 55 °C.

Antistatic Treatment

FOREX® sheets are good electrical insulators. For this reason static charges incurred by handling or cleaning can only be discharged by artificial means

  • Passing the sheets through a stream of ionised air is an effective physical method.
  • Wiping the sheets with a liquid antistatic agent prevents the build-up of new static charges and in turn the attraction of dirt particles for a certain period of time. As this ”protective film” has a detrimental effect on the adhesion of paints and adhesives, it should only be applied at the end of all surface treatment processes.

Dilatation

Changes of the formats of the panels caused by heat (mostly strong sunlight) is called dilatation. Especially for outdoor exposure of the panels it is important to consider thermal expansion due to temperature changes. The linear coefficient of the expansion can be calculated and defines how a panel of 1m length changes its format at a temperature change of + 1 Kelvin (i.e. + 1 °C). Our experience shows that a linear expansion coefficient of 0,07 mm/mK has proven true for FOREX®classic. This dilatation needs to be considered when installing FOREX® in order to avoid tension or warping of the panels. The dilatation has of course an effect on both, the length and width of the panel.

  • In Central Europe maximum changes in temperature are approx. 60°C (-20°C during winter and +40°C during summer).
  • Darker colour shades heat up stronger in the sun (up to 60°C), than brighter or white panels.
  • Panels in nonventilated rooms (e.g. in shop windows) can easily heat up to 80°C, which results often in deformation of the panels
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