A whiteboard gets used every day in classrooms, boardrooms and training rooms, so the surface matters more than the price on day one. A cheap board can stain and ghost within months; a good steel, enamel or glass board lasts for years. Tell us the sizes, how many boards, whether they are wall-mounted or mobile and where they go, and we pass your request to independent office, school and stationery suppliers in your area, who quote you directly, often with installation. The request is free.
Types of whiteboard
- Painted steel (magnetic): the common office and school board. Holds magnets, good value, but the coating wears with heavy daily use.
- Enamel or ceramic steel: a harder, baked surface that resists scratches and ghosting, often chosen for schools and lecture rooms. Also magnetic.
- Glass: very hard wearing and easy to clean, looks neat in boardrooms. Magnets need to be strong ones.
- Melamine or laminated board: the lowest cost, fine for light use at home or in a small office, but stains sooner.
Sizes, mobile boards and installation
Common sizes run from about 900 x 600 mm for an office up to 2400 x 1200 mm or larger for a classroom or training room. Measure the wall and think about the back row: a bigger board lets you write larger. A mobile double-sided board on castors moves between rooms and doubles as a breakout surface in workshops. Wall boards must be fixed into brick or a stud wall with the right plugs. Ask the supplier whether installation is included, especially for many boards across a school or office park.
Markers, erasers and cleaning
Use only dry-erase markers on a whiteboard. Permanent and flip chart markers leave marks that need a solvent to remove. Wipe the board daily with a dry eraser or microfibre cloth and use a whiteboard cleaner weekly. Ghosting (faint old writing) usually means the wrong markers, writing left on for days, or a worn painted surface. For paper work alongside the board, see flip charts, and for a touch screen version, interactive whiteboards.
Buying for a school or office
Schools often replace boards class by class, and companies kit out several meeting rooms at once. Ask for:
- The surface type and the warranty on it
- Frame, marker tray and mounting kit included
- Delivery and installation, and whether old boards are removed
- A quote per board and for the full order
For a school, plan the work for a holiday or a weekend so drilling does not interrupt lessons, and ask the installer to fix boards at a height that suits the learners in that phase. Office parks often have rules on contractor access and wall fixing, so check with the landlord first. Add markers and erasers in bulk from a supplies order.
What to include in your brief
- Sizes and how many boards
- Painted steel, enamel or glass
- Wall-mounted or mobile on castors
- Installation, and removal of old boards
- Markers, erasers and cleaner to include
Whiteboards for business, government and communities
- Companies and head offices: glass or steel boards for meeting rooms, project rooms and training rooms
- Government departments and municipalities: boards for departmental offices, training centres and municipal boardrooms
- Schools, colleges and universities: enamel boards for classrooms and lecture rooms, replaced class by class
- NPOs, churches and community groups: a mobile board for a church hall, community centre or NPO office
- Small and family businesses: a single magnetic board for planning, sales targets and team meetings
- Mines, plants, factories and farms: boards for shift handovers, safety briefings and production planning
- Event organisers and associations: mobile boards for breakout rooms and registration areas at a conference
- Training and skills development providers: boards for permanent training rooms and mobile ones for client sites
Frequently asked questions
Do you sell whiteboards yourselves?
Which whiteboard is best for a school classroom?
Are all whiteboards magnetic?
How do I remove ghosting from a whiteboard?
Whiteboards by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg