Ok, so now we know that glass dry erase boards are inherently better than the older style porcelain on steel or the plastic coated kind.
Although relatively cheap, the previous generation of marker boards have a tendency to “ghost” up…the faint shadow of yesterdays meeting is still there today. And after a while, the stains and shoddy appearance becomes so annoying that they’re thrown out and replaced.
A tempered glass surface is hard as quartz. It will never absorb inks or stains–ever! And they look great too. They show no signs of wear and will last a lifetime. And maintenance is a snap…a squirt of glass cleaner and 20 seconds and it looks like new!
Now it’s time to discuss the merits of magnetic glass dry erase boards versus non-magnetic. Generally speaking, there are three styles of non-magnetic boards. The first is clear tempered glass, which although seem to “disappear” on the wall, can set up an irritating double image when written on with dry erase pens. The second kind are “frosted” glass boards which are either sand blasted or acid etched. These are translucent and are attractive looking, especially if they are frosted “low-iron” glass(much clearer), eliminating the “greenish” color associated with standard glass. However, both the clear and the frosted versions can eventually get dirt or oil stains (from the air) in the back and it’s difficult to clean them when they’re installed on the wall. The third variety are made of tempered glass that is then “back-painted”, usually in white, but in any other color as well. These kind are opaque so that cleaning the back is not an issue. Also, the dry erase pens contrast better on this style, especially if they’re white. All non-magnetic glass boards usually come with a “chalk-tray” that mounts below the board. And although they can look “messy”, you need a handy place to keep the pens and eraser.
The magnetic glass dry erase boards consist of back painted or coated tempered glass which is then glued or fuzed to steel. This version offers some additional advantages. Although tempered glass is strong and hard to break, it can shatter under some circumstances, like a basketball backboard (what a mess!). By fuzing the tempered glass to steel, you have a whiteboard with all the advantages of an opaque glass surface in a shatterproof, almost indestructible product that will last forever with no liability issues. And as a bonus, they double as a magnetic tack board as well. Some, like the “Foreverwhite” glass whiteboard by glasswhiteboard.com comes with a magnetic pen and eraser organizer set that simply “clicks” right to the board…very convenient.
If you are considering moving up to glass dry erase boards, stay with American made…there have been serious quality issues with the cheap Chinese versions. And to fully appreciate how nice a dry erase board can be, consider a top shelf magnetic glass whiteboard. They really are better.
