What impact will custom banners make on your customers?

All shapes and sizes of vinyl banners have been around for ages. Vinyl banners are one of the most popular types of signs there is. They offer the most value when promoting your business, event, church or organization to people all around you. Custom banners have come along way over the past few years making it more economical to print full color banners instead of plain, one color vinyl banners.  It is also cheaper and easier to print larger custom banners.

Vinyl banner signs open the door to make a long lasting impression on potential clients. Imagine that you’re walking through a shopping center. Most shopping centers have a lot of shops, packaging centers, restaurants, etc. You are at the shopping center just to browse…

What would you notice first?

   1. The packaging store with a few small Ship Here signs at their entrance
   2. The coffee shop with the “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” mocha special decal on their window
   3. The full color vinyl banner that fills the store front at the travel agency showing a cruise special they are offering to the Bahamas

I can almost smell the ocean and feel the sand under my feet just from looking at that full color banner in the window! The agency’s custom banner grabbed my attention even though I was far from shopping for a cruise package.

But why choose custom banners over other types of signs?

Full color banners are easy to install, require very little assembly and are offered in a wide range of sizes. Vinyl banners are great for both indoor and outdoor use. They can be mounted to buildings, hung across streets, attached to light poles or simply mounted to the inside of a travel agents window. Plus, depending on your needs, vinyl banners can be made either single sided or double.

They are especially great for temporary promotions, community events, grand openings and so much more. They roll up so they are easy to store, are economical to ship, but still offer that WOW factor!

You wouldn’t want to replace your roadside sign or backlit store front sign every time the weeks special changed or you had a sale. You do not want to have to purchase a new wood sign every time you have a fundraiser in your town. You do not want your back storage room to be loaded down year round with your Holiday Specials Signs because you needed to make a BIG impression last Christmas season, but couldn’t roll your signs up and put them away!

In many cases, custom banners are the most logical and economical decision. They offer limitless options to give you a BIG impact no matter what your message is or who you are speaking to. Vinyl banners help you leave a lasting impression without spending a fortune or taking up all of your storage space.

Are all vinyl banners created equal?

Not really. Vinyl banners can be made on many different weights of material ranging from 10 ounce to 16 ounce. The standard weight for most banners is 13 ounces. This is the most readily used banner material in the sign industry. It is a nice, heavyweight material that is ideal for indoor or outdoor use. Vinyl banners can still be made the old fashioned way on manufactured banner material with vinyl letters and graphics applied to the surface, but most sign stores today digitally print all banners whether it is a one color banner or full color. This way everything is printed directly from the computerized file and there is less room for human error. The other advantage is that there’s no vinyl for random passersby to tamper with or remove, causing damage to your banner sign.

Vinyl Banners can be finished in several ways as well, from the way they are hemmed to the way they are to be mounted. Most sign companies offer taped hem or heat sealed edges. You can also opt to have hems sewn on  or choose to have no finishing at all. No finishing is okay for one time use or occasional use. Taped hem or heat sealed edges give you a nice finished look with long term durability. Sewn hems are highly recommended for street banners and other larger exterior banner signs that will be under more wear and tear.

Other finishing for vinyl banners can be determined by how it will be used or installed. The most popular are grommets, also known as eyelets – these are typically applied every 2 feet so that you can install your vinyl banner with rope, zip ties, suction cups, etc. depending on where it is being installed. Other mounting finishes include pole pockets, sewn in rope, webbing, D rings and Wind Slits.

All serve different purposes, have different uses and range in cost, depending on the size of your custom banner.

So how to I get started with the creation of a custom business banner?

   1. Choose a main message — Don’t overdo it – keep it simple but BOLD!
   2. Figure out how far away it needs to be seen — Will your audience be walking by, driving by, or seeing it from across the street?
   3. What colors do you want to go with?  (Perhaps the colors of your company’s corporate branding)
   4. Are there any logos or specific graphics you would like to use?
   5. Where do you plan to put it?

By thinking ahead on these key points, you will have a good idea of what you are looking for. This way your sign company will be able to design a vinyl banner that will not only make your desired statement, but meet your needs for how you plan to use it. By knowing how far it needs to be seen from your sign company can design your banner sign to insure it will make the most impact possible on your audience.

Next time your customers are walking through your shopping center, who would you rather be?

The packaging store, the espresso shop or the travel agent?

All bets are on the trip to the Bahamas…