Polyvinyl chloride—a vinyl polymer made of so-called repeating vinyl groups, resembling a kind of patent leather at first glance, and now said to be the third-most widely produced plastic, and known usually by its acronym PVC—is inexpensive, durable, and easy to make . . . and display. Which is a major reason why PVC banners have become fixtures at trade shows, outdoor retail and snack stands, or even just for giving a business location or a local event an additional promotional boost.
Businesses large and small favor these banners for trade show appearances or special exhibitions at sports stadiums, shopping centers, and even swap meets because they are easy to transport, store, clean, and maintain, no matter their size. You can buy them either in plain rolls that you can cut down to various sizes or leave intact, all ready for printing to be added; or, you can buy through a company that will offer various sizes and do the printing for you.
If you prefer to do your own banner printing and trim your own sizes, one good option may be the Hewlett-Packard Scrim, a PVC banner roll 60 inches by 50 feet compatible to the company’s Inkjet printing modes. It comes in white and weighs just less than two pounds. The price is about $466, but keep in mind that you can cut the material down to several sizes and produce more than one banner. Unless you have your own on-site printing capability for PVC banners, however, you will require an outside contractor to handle the printing, though prices can be found as low as 99 cents per square foot.
EmpireBanners.com offers both text-only and high quality digital-print banners. PVC banner printing is available in many styles. For text-only banners, you can choose the size and the text of your banner(s) on-site with their size and design text tool at a cost of $16 per banner for a 2×4 banner up to $47 for a 6×4. You can also have the company do the design work for you with another on-site tool in which you enter your chosen text, whether you want single- or double-side printing, and pick the size(s) you need. Here, the price is $15 for a 2×4 banner up to $46.80 for a 6×4 banner, though larger sizes are available. For digital-print banners, the printing is done free and the prices stagger from 1×1 (feet) at $2.40 to 10×1 (feet) at $24.50 and $1,470 for 100×6 (feet), the largest size available.
Before planning and ordering your banners, consider how you want to mount them. There are numerous ways to do it, whether mounted on a banner stand, easel, or frame to hanging it suspended between posts, lampposts, trees, or even buildings. Be certain your chosen banner provider outlines all available mounting styles. Some banner makers include metal grommets, whether strictly on the corners or several across top and bottom, through which you can mount the banners with twine or heavy cord. Others may make your banners with end sleeving through which you can run poles, dowels, or twine or cord to mount them. Still others will carve wind slits into your banner in the event your display will be outdoors in heavy enough wind conditions, the better to keep the wind from folding or rolling your banner and obstructing the information or art you wish to display. The one drawback with wind slits is that, should the wind conditions prove excessive, the slits can be converted into starting points for gaping rips in the banner itself.
Some companies offer roll-up PVC banners. These banners are kept typically in an oblong cartridge from which the banner is rolled upward and hung on a hook at the end of an extension post in the rear—very much the way old-fashioned projection screens were rolled up and mounted for home movie viewing. These banners will normally include the top firmed with a dowel or tube sewn inside a rounded sleeve to keep the full banner display straight and fully visible. Some of these roll-ups are designed or weighted to sit independently on the ground or the floor; others are set a few inches from the ground of floor and, when rolled up, resemble an artists’ canvas on an easel. Most come with their own specially designed carrying cases, making storage and transport simple.
Caring for a PVC banner is simple. You need only soap and water to wash it after each day’s display; or, you can use isopropyl alcohol. However, storing your banner is critical—most manufacturers recommend that you do not fold but, rather, roll the banner with the artwork facing out. Depending on the climate conditions in your designated storage unit, if the artwork faces in it can be damaged or even faded off the banner. PVC banner material is made to be low maintenance. If you decide to invest in roll-up banners, they will be set to roll down with the art facing outward, and the metal cartridge from which they roll up offers additional protection for your banners.