Quartet Magnetic Porcelain Whiteboard, 8' x 4' White Board, Premium, Duramax, Sliver Aluminum Frame (2548)

I researched white boards for months before finally deciding to take the plunge and purchase this Quartet board. I use the board in my home office. I was a little worried about purchasing after several reviewers commented on the difficulty of hanging this board but decided to purchase it anyway.I'm very happy with the board. It wasn't nearly as difficult to hang as I thought it would be, although it's best if you have someone helping you.The board comes with a set of markers and I've found that it's best to use the included quartet markers. I purchased an additional set for larger color variety. These markers are brighter, easier to erase and leave virtually no ghosting.My son drew a happy face on the corner of the board the day we got it. After a few months, I erased his drawing and it came off completely. I also LOVE that the board is magnetic. I use our old refrigerator magnets to keep important papers on the board.Overall, I'm very happy with this board and glad I decided to purchase it.

With half the price, Office Depot managed to deliver this board within 2-3 days. Kudos to Office Depot. After double check the model number on the packing, this is indeed the same Quartet DuraMax Porcelain 5'x3' that's sold at twice the price by Amazon and others.However, there are two parts justified the low price and if the defects are consistent on all Quartet DuraMax Procelain board sold by others, the high price tag by Amazon and others is simply outrageous. But since I didn't get one of those, I can't speak about those sold twice of the price shared the same defects that I've experienced with Office Depot's delivery.The first issue is assembly and mounting. I have to drill 4 holes on the aluminum frame in order to fix the board and that's straight following instruction came with it. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read it and I made sure I'm not alone or misread it. Check other amazon review on this board, it appears this is a standard practice by Quartet whiteboard. However once mounted, it's secured and safe I must say.Secondarily, the prorcelain surface although felt the same "porcelain" as other board, when erase writing the board left with ghost and often just darn right not erasable (a dirty mess is what's left). Although I blame the "low order" marker might be the cause, but the same markers have much clean erasing result on other porcelain board (I also have a Lorell porcelain board).In all, I wish I have spent another $50 and get the board from a more reputable manufacture, or unless I'm cheated by Office Depot selling a lower end of board under the high end Quartet model. I have had faith in Amazon so presumably that's impossible, but I really don't have a reasonable answer to explain the low quality of this Quartet DuraMax (2545) 5x3 feet board.The board deserves a 1 stars but for the price I gave it 2 star, yet I don't recommend to buy this board if you're willing to spend extra $50. Otherwise, for the price you get what you paid for.

Board is short by a couple inches off the expected dimensions. The middle section of the board seems nice, it just seem like they did a shoddy job around the edges. If you are going to pay that much for a whiteboard, I expect to see better installation hardware. I had to use alternative drywall hardware. The visible mounting hardware should be painted the same color as the edge of the board. This board was just such a pain to hang. This is one of those times the company should have just printed on the inside of the box, install everything using the cardboard layout and then tear away the cardboard. A couple times it felt like we were going to drop it trying to get it on the small flat hooks. The other suggestion to the company is to install small millimeter grooves on the board edge where the 4 hooks to prevent tilting line up. This will make hooking the board easier. There is a cost effective solutions to make installation easier. If they cut corners here, I wonder where else they cut corners. I attached photos of the edges.

The board arrived in perfect condition via freight, although one of the brackets was missing, but Quartet replaced it quickly. As other reviewers have stated, the board isn't easy to install (more time-consuming than difficult), but we have mounted several different boards and the install is pretty much the same. (That said, I did learn that if you mount the hardware too far from the edge of the board, the edge will warp - we mounted the bracket a couple inches further from the edge than recommended so we could hit a stud.)The board surface has for the most part been great. The porcelain surface is far superior to the melamine board I have in another room. I have had issues with ghosting, but I have noticed that the marker and eraser I use make a big difference. The worst markers I have tried are the expo click - they are easy to use, but they don't just ghost - they smear everywhere. I have also noticed that black expo markers seem to smear the worst. The best erasing markers I have used are the Quartet markers that come with the board, and the blue and black erase the best - they don't seem to smear (unless the marks are not dry yet), but they do ghost slightly. You also have to make sure you have a clean eraser. I have tried washing erasers, but they don't usually work as well as new ones, so I replace them frequently.

This is my second Quartet porcelain whiteboard. What can I say, I like the first so much that I bought another for my daughter who just started High School. She loves it, as it keeps her more organized. The board is magnetic and easily cleaned of stubborn dry erase markers using ethanol and a microfiber cloth. Its Awesome.