What Are Whiteboards Made Of?

Porcelain-On-Steel Magnetic Whiteboards are comprised of four parts: The liquefied enameled writing surface, the backing (substrate), the foil backer (moisture barrier) and the frame.

The writing surface, often referred to as "Porcelain on Steel", "Ceramic Steel" or "Magnetic", is formulated into a frit (porcelain surface) by combining cobalt, nickel and glass and heated at very high temperatures. These products together are applied to a very high grade of steel sheeting and heated to over 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. The porcelain writing surface (often referred to as the skin) is finished in large coil form and shipped to whiteboard manufacturers.

Once at the manufacturer, the coils of porcelain are put into a cutting machine where it is cut into the required size and laminated with hot glue to the backing. The backing can be made up of a number of different surfaces including fiberboard, hardboard, medium density fiberboard or particleboard. Once laminated the boards are stacked on top of each other to keep constant pressure while the glue cures. Once the curing process is over, the boards are framed, packaged and shipped all over the world. The finished product is what we see in today's classrooms, conference rooms, offices and training rooms.

Classroom Plus offers a wide variety of whiteboards including melamine non-magnetic, porcelain-on-steel, sliding whiteboards, whiteboard easels, interactive whiteboards and student whiteboards. Classroom Plus can make Custom Boards to fit your needs including size changes, frame changes and powder coated colored frames.