Banners signs are ubiquitous.
They are seen all over the countryside advertising specials, and drawing attention to events and businesses.
There are a few good reasons why they are so popular--the cost of a banner is often lower than a hard sign, they can be produced quickly, and they are easily installed for maximum advertising.
Vinyl banners material is one of the most common materials for exterior use.
It's made with nylon thread (called a scrim) embedded in the vinyl in a crosshatch pattern to give it extra durability.
Vinyl banners also come in a variety of weights--from a low of 8 oz, suitable for indoor use, up to 22 oz, which is rugged enough for outdoor use when it's windy.
The strength of the nylon scrim and the weight of the banner material affects the price of a banner with lightweight banners being less costly than heavyweight ones.
Despite the weight of banners, they continue to be more fragile than hard signs--they can become tattered by the wind, or pulled apart by aggressive bungee cords when installing them.
How do you maximize your advertising dollars with banners? In other words, how do you keep them as long as possible, and in as good a condition as you can so that you can use your banners again and again? Add webbing.
You can ask your sign maker to sew webbing into all four sides of the banner when it's hemmed.
As the vinyl is rolled over for sewing, a tough, flat nylon material is placed in between the front of the banner and the hem and then sewn to hold it in place.
When the banner is hung by its grommets (brass eyelets), the webbing helps distribute the wind load across the entire length of the banner and helps prevent the vinyl from tearing when stretched and tugged at by the wind.
Tie them properly.
Bungee cords and rope can pull on vinyl material, too, and cause the grommets to rip out.
Run your rope through the grommets on the top and bottom of the banner rather than just tying onto the corner grommets.
The rope helps support the banner across the full length and spreads the stretch over several grommets instead of putting the load only on the four corner grommets.
Use banners as a temporary sign.
That's what banners were made for, anyway-infrequent use.
They are not designed to be permanent signage, and you wouldn't want your permanent sign to look like a banner.
But they do look good as supplemental signs, and when not exposed to the elements 24 hours a day for weeks or months at a time, they will last longer.
Cut banner slits.
Or not? A popular thing to do, and is often required by municipalities for banners that are hung across roadways, but not recommended.
First, they look awful since you are literally cutting half-moon slits into the banner.
The half-moon piece of vinyl now flops to and fro in the breeze.
Also, you have compromised the scrim reinforcement, weakening it, and the wind may or may not travel directly through the hole you've made anyway.
Store banners rolled up.
Storing your vinyl banner rolled up will keep the material smooth.
Folding it puts permanent creases into the material and no amount of flattening will remove the creases.
Once rolled up, place in a shipping tube.
Your banner will look great the next time you need it.