Vinyl Banners Get a Second Life

A couple weeks ago, I tweeted about a company in San Francisco, that uses old trade show banners, to create vinyl items like bags and folders. Since then, we've been sending our vinyl misprints to them for their skilled repurposing.

What do we mean when we say misprints? Well, sometimes spelling errors make it through our customer's proofing process and it may not be noticed until the Finishing Department gets it - in which case, we'll fix the spelling and reprint it (all without our customers realizing they had an error).

This, along with the occasional color drop, results in a few hundred square feet of wasted vinyl a week (sometimes, it seems like a day).

Recently, we came across an article in which the Women's Pavilion organization has begun a similar project, in San Antonio to help save the Women's Pavilion at HemisFair Park and the planet.

We think this sort of thing is great because, while our vinyl banners are awesome, they do, ultimately, end up in landfills (sometimes it takes years, sometimes they're ordered just for a specific event and find there way there quickly).

So, please keep ordering, we love printing all the orders, and know that we're working to reduce our impact on our world so we can all enjoy it.

Till Next Time...

Installing Vinyl Banners Inside

A few days ago, I tore a grommet out of a 13 oz. banner to highlight the importance of using grommets in outdoor (read windy) locations. Now, heavier vinyl isn't the answer - after all, 13 oz. is industry standard in outdoor locations and if you give me 15 oz. material I'll rip the grommet of of that one as well - it really is the bungee cords.

But if you're hanging vinyl banners indoors, perhaps in your business or even at a tradeshow or convention, the method of installing them can vary greatly. For instance, if you've received your banner and you're looking to place it in store windows, heavy duty suction cups could work, as could adhesive velcro, since wind isn't an issue.

Another good use for banners inside your establishment would be display tables and/or event booths. Table Banners are great in that they don't take up any space, enhance your display area, and help create storage space right where it is needed most by hiding anything placed beneath the table.

A properly sized banner to be used for a table should be 29" tall, as this will cause it to almost touch the floor if attached with Velcro to the front of the table. Even though its being used indoors, I'd suggest having grommets on the sign as well, just in case you decide to move it around later. Afterall, if you expect your staff to be versatile, you should expect nothing less of your banners.

Till Next Time...

Resisting the Wind - Installing Vinyl Banners Outside

I just got in from shooting a YouTube Video on the importance of hanging banners with bungee instead of with ropes. After that video, I just had to share my comments on things.

While I know we suggest that you use all the grommets you possibly can, we hung a 4' x 8' banner using only the 4 corner grommets. Of course, these aren't just any ordinary grommet - they're the toughest (and prettiest) grommets we could find on the open market.

That left 4 grommets completely unused on our vinyl banner. We attached the left side with bungee cords and the right side with nylon rope and fastened it securely between a couple of ADA parking signs out in the lot. Once it was nice and taut, my co-worker, Mario, turned on the camera and we started filming.

The point of the video was to show that, with proper hanging, the grommets would be just fine, but with the nylon rope, some serious wind could possible do some damage to it. I was the wind.

The bungee corded side wasn't phased by me pulling on it, while the rope side, after a few attempts, definitely lost the fight and gave up the grommet.

So, if your custom banner is being hung outside, invest in some bungee cords and extend its life by making it more able to resist the wind by installing it well.


Till Next Time...

Caring for Your Vinyl Banners

Vinyl banners are great at what they do, but people will judge you on them. If they're obviously torn, wrinkled, or dirty, it reflects on your business just as if the potential customer were in your store.

That said, you want to make sure that your banner properly represents you and your business.

When your banners aren't in use, it should be rolled, graphics in, and stored (preferrably in the box it came in) on its end. Laying it flat could cause it to crease over time.

With proper storage, wrinkles shouldn't be a problem for your vinyl banner, but if wrinkles appear, the easiest way is to hang your banner, taut, out in the sun. The heat from the sun will soften the vinyl sign, making it more pliable which the banner's own weight will then smooth things right out. This method of removing wrinkles also keeps your banner doing its job for you with no downtime.

The cleanliness of your vinyl banner is another factor under your control that is easy to handle. Usually, vinyl banners can be cleaned with a damp cloth, water, and nothing else. If this doesn't do the work, use a mild soap/detergent with the damp cloth and then rinse and dry.

Never use any abrasives, harsh cleansers, or solvents on your banner as it may affect the print quality. When done, make sure the banner is thoroughly dry before storing it.

If you keep these things in mind, you're sure to always have a great looking banner so long as it is installed properly...but we'll get into banner installation next time.

Designing Print-Worthy Files for Vinyl Banners

Last week, we talked about Effective Design Tips, in order to maximize your signs' advertising impact. Now, translating those design tips into a 3' x 6' vinyl banner may seem a little daunting, but it's actually pretty simple, regardless of the program you use.

There are a few universal guidelines to keep in mind and we'll cover them in the order one should address them in when setting up their file:

• Set the canvas/page size to the real sign size in inches - If using the above 3' x 6' banner as a reference, we'd want the canvas/page size to be 36" x 72" (not 3" x 6"). This ensures that your file will not only be proportional to the sign you're interested in, but also helps with the next step.


• Resolution. Ideally, this should be set at 150 dpi (dots per inch) with your image created at the print size. This helps to ensure that your design will look great when printed. Trust me, there's nothing worse than spending lots of time and effort making a 150 dpi file and being told that it won't print well because it was created as a 3 inch by 6 inch file instead of 3 feet by 6 feet.


• Your signs and banners are meant to get noticed, so set the color mode to CMYK, which is used for full color digital printing. This allows lot of colors with all the intended hues and shading you can design (RGB will works too, in a pinch).

After following the above steps to start your file with, you're all set to start designing and this is where it should get fun because anything you can design, we can print.

Once everything is set, just view it at 100% (actual/print size) to see how it will look when printed and, if you're satisfied, save it per our File Setup Instructions and you should be all set to have your vinyl banner printed and shipped for you, knowing that it will look great when it arrives.

Till next time...