Which Banner Material To Choose?

With such a large array of printed substrate being offered it can be confusing to understand which is the best one to choose for your print. I have created this handy guide with the descriptions and typical uses of the materials below:

When most people think of banners they will be familiar with a ‘traditional’ PVC banner, often seen hemmed (where the edges are folded round and welded or taped to the back) with the addition of eyelets, often attached to a fence or shopfront.

PVC is offered in various weights, can be finished in many ways, is inexpensive and offers a decent lifespan when used outside – making it a ubiquitous option for banners. However, there are some downsides to PVC, mainly that it does not stretch much, so it not a great choice for a banner wrap on an exhibition stand.

What’s the big deal with PVC? Greenpeace claims that “PVC is single most environmentally damaging type of plastic” – a damming statement if you are looking to be more eco-friendly with your graphics. With suggestion that PVC is harmful to humans as well as the environment and with it not being able to be recyclable, you may want to consider different options – this is why there is now an ever-expanding range of PVC-free banners available.

PVC-free options look and feel similar (arguably better) to their PVC equivalents, can be finished in the same ways, tend to have a similar durability too but without the harmful chemicals and the bonus is that many substrates are now recyclable. One of the materials I used most on bespoke exhibition stands is a grey-back PVC free – it has more stretch than PVC and the grey-back blocks out the panels behind so proves a great choice for wrapping onto ‘stock panels’.

So, PVC-free seem to fix the problem of PVC banners, but what’s the catch? The biggest is cost – they are more expensive than PVC, however the other advantages they offer can help offset the additional cost. As PVC-free is not quite as popular (yet!) this may have longer lead times. Although many of the banner can be recycled as they contain polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PT) or polyethene (PE), it may require them to be sent to a specialist recycling company – as with many eco-friendly things, options are getting better.

Personally, I would choose the PVC-free option for my banners.

These, or similar, might be terms you have come across on various media, but not sure what they mean? In simple terms, they have a coating on the back, often a dark colour (such as black or grey) which stop most, if not all, of the light from coming through from the back of the print – giving your print the best look when viewed from the front.

These block-out materials are handy for many uses, hiding poor surfaces behind the print on a wall or stock-panel or making sure no unwanted light strays through your silicone-edge graphic (SEG).

In contrast to block-out materials, lightbox or backlit materials are designed to be illuminated. With a great range of LED’s available these days, lightboxes can used in many places that never used to be possible – such as freestanding or wall mounted silicone edge (SEG) frames – often seen in shops or on both shell-scheme and bespoke exhibition stands.

Most lightbox materials are a coated woven polyester, which is a great material for backlit prints as it can be rolled or folded and when tensioned any creases will drop out. Prints are often produced with a “double-strike” method, laying down more ink than a face-lit print so that the colour is still bold when illuminated. The best production method for lightboxes is “dye-sublimation”, a process whereby the ink is heated post-printing, fixing it into the material, giving a better colour gamut and more durable print that can be washed (gently!)

Polyester display fabric tends to be available in front-lit and block-out options, depending on your desired use. The regular material is usually less expensive than the block-out, but can be a great cheaper option for your silicone edge graphics (SEG) – best to make sure there is not a stray light-source behind if being used freestanding. The block-out is another material ideal for use in exhibitions, trimmed to size it’s great for covering stock-panels, or with gel-edge kedar it can be used in your silicone-edge (SEG) system. Both types can be rolled or folded for storage and creases will drop out when tensioned on the wall or in the frame.

If you need to put a banner in an exposed, outdoor setting then a mesh material is ideal. The material has small holes – about 25% of the banner - which allow the wind to flow through, reducing the strain on fixing point such as eyelets – you will often see this type of material use on large building wraps, but it can be useful on a smaller scale such as on Heras fencing banners.

There are a few different mesh types; standard PVC, standard PVC-free and air-mesh, which is a lighter-weight textile which has larger holes, ideally for particularly windy and wet areas.

It’s worth noting that this does not mean they are ‘wind-proof’ and it is advisable to remove any outdoor graphics (mesh banners, flags, etc) when winds are likely to be above 30mph, like in the recent named storms we have been having.

Often used as hanging double sided banners in exhibition halls or as lamp-post signs outdoors, it can be useful to have a double-sided print. From a production viewpoint, it can be a time-consuming method, having to print first time, re-load the same roll, line up and print again, plus any associated finishing such a trimming, hemming and sewing – hence the price of double-sided banners being at the higher end.

Flags often use the display polyester or air-mesh but require special finishing depending upon your flag type, such as hems, eyelets, pockets, or rope & toggles.

A voile print is on a lightweight polyester fabric, often used as a window display or to separate an area, as it is see-through.

If you are using you banner inside, particularly in an event or exhibition venue, you may be asked to provide fire certificates for the materials you are using – for use in the UK or Europe you are likely to need a material that is “B1” rated, a certificate with a “DIN4102- B1” rating (which we can provide for you prints).

From personal experience I have found French exhibition halls to be very strict on requiring these ratings, so always best to check before you get your banner printed. If you are unsure, just get in touch and we can help.

• See our range of banners here