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No matter what your statement is, a large banner with a bold design, complete with striking colors and simplistic text, is a great way of making it. Of course, banners and other types of signage and advertisements are everywhere. There’s quite a bit vying for our attention as we walk down the street and through buildings, so how can you ensure your banner gets noticed?
The perfect banner doesn’t happen by accident. It takes some strategic design decisions. Let’s check out eight vinyl banner design tips to help you create the perfect banner.
To design the perfect banner, you need to start by making sure you have a clear understanding of your purpose. Why are you creating one in the first place? What is it meant to achieve? Here are a few possible goals to consider:
There are countless potential purposes for banners — these are just a few examples. Note that some purposes are more ongoing and may involve banners being hung for a long time, while others are temporary in nature.
It may seem overly obvious to consider your purpose, but this is a crucial first step. Once you know exactly what your banner is meant to achieve, you can let that goal — or those goals — directly inform the way you design it. As we’ll talk about later, you want to keep your banner simplistic in its design, so it’s critical for every bit of the design to help you achieve your purpose.
After you have a firm idea of your banner’s purpose, you want to think through exactly where it’ll be placed. For starters, will it be inside or outside? At your place of business or event location, or hung elsewhere? While placement is important for a number of reasons, the key here is the banner’s physical surroundings. You want your banner to pop in order to get the attention of passersby, so you must consider what backdrop it will be competing with to stand out.
If you don’t pay close attention to surroundings, you could, for instance, design a banner with what appears to be an eye-catching red and orange color scheme and then find out that it’s hung on the face of a red brick building, where it gets lost in the similar surrounding colors. In this case, a color like white, blue or green would be a much better choice than red or orange.
In some cases, you may need to include a white or black border around the sides of your banner’s design to help it pop, especially if it’s going to be competing with a busy backdrop. A banner that contrasts from its surroundings will be more noticeable. In addition, according to what’s known as the isolation effect, this kind of placement will also increase the likelihood that people remember the banner, even after it’s no longer in sight.
Choosing a color scheme that helps your banner pop isn’t the only thing to think about. Anyone who works in marketing or graphic design knows that color is also critical in conveying the right message. One study found that people form an opinion of people and products within 90 seconds, and anywhere from 62 to 90 percent of that opinion is based solely on colors.
While color associations and preferences are a personal matter that varies from person to person, there are also broader cultural associations attached to various colors that tend to affect people’s perceptions in general. For example, in the U.S., green is often associated with the environment and with money.
If color is so important, what are the best colors for vinyl banners? The answer depends on what sort of impression you want to give. In many cases, the important work of choosing appropriate colors for your banner has already taken place with your branding. If you’re designing a banner that’s meant to get your name out there and create better brand recognition, it’s crucial for the design to prominently feature your brand’s colors.
Not only do you want your banner to feature your brand’s colors, but you also want to make sure it does so accurately. In other words, you don’t want a different tone or shade of blue than the exact blue you’ve chosen to represent your brand. To achieve perfect accuracy, make sure you hire a print company with expertise in color matching.
Whether they’re photographs or graphic art, eye-catching images offer an excellent way of enhancing your banner’s design. However, one of the most common wide-format printing mistakes is to use low-quality images that look blurry or grainy on the finished product. When you’re looking at a picture on your computer screen, it can be difficult to tell what that item will actually look like when it’s blown up to fit a banner that’s several feet across.
For your image to look clear and sharp even when it’s enlarged, you need to use the right type of file with a high enough resolution. In general, images saved from the internet won’t fit the bill. There are two main file types to be aware of:
If you’re creating a graphic for your banner, be sure to save it as a Vector file. Doing so ensures that the image won’t lose clarity when it’s enlarged. If you’re using a photograph or any type of raster image — including .jpg, .tif and other common file types — make sure the file isn’t compressed, and save it with an output resolution between 100 and 200 dots per inch (DPI) at the full image size. This strategy will help you achieve the best clarity.
You should also make sure you use a printer that will print your banner using a high resolution. For example, at Speedpro, we often print images at 720 DPI, which results in an impressively sharp image.
The good news regarding image quality is that the further away a person is from the banner, the sharper the images on it will appear. However, the distance can potentially have a negative impact when it comes to readability. The key is knowing what distance your banner will be viewed from and then making sure any text on the banner is easily readable from that distance. This design tip is an especially important one for someone creating an outdoor banner.
Have you ever created a slide presentation that appeared to be perfectly readable on your computer screen, but once projected on the wall a distance from the audience, clearly needed a larger font size? This same scenario can play out with a banner if you’re not careful. It isn’t just size that can be an issue either. Some fonts, especially script fonts, can be difficult to make out, especially from a distance.
So how can you make sure passersby have no trouble reading the message on your banner? First, choose a classic font that’s not too stylized. You may even want to bold the font if the letters look a bit thin.
Second, follow the 10 to 100 rule of thumb. This rule dictates that your letter height should be 10 inches to be readable at a distance of 100 feet. We can turn this rule into a simple formula that would look like this: Distance in feet/10 = letter height in inches. See our Letter Visibility Chart under the Signs category on our FAQ for more details on how large your text needs to be in order to be seen from various distances.
If you’re having trouble making your text large enough without running out of room on the banner, the answer isn’t necessarily a larger banner size, though that may help increase the impact of your banner. No matter how big your banner is, you want to keep your text concise. It’s not the time to wax poetic. Instead, you want to focus on getting your message across as directly as possible.
Especially if your banner is going to be placed in a location with foot traffic, you can’t expect people to stop to read your banner for as long as it takes. They’ll most likely only glance at it for a few seconds. How can you package your message so that it fits within this short attention span? One way is to take advantage of the non-textual elements you include. Make sure the graphics on the banner help to convey the message just like the text does.
For the text, stick to the three by five rule. No, it doesn’t mean your text needs to fit onto an index card, thankfully. The three by five rule is a helpful guide for banner design. This guide says to keep text to a maximum of 15 words, which can appear roughly as three words times five lines or as five words times three lines.
Especially for large banners, part of your strategic design must be designating a clear focal point. The hope, of course, is that people will see and read the entirety of your banner, but if they’re just giving it a passing glance, you want to tell their eyes where to look so that they gather the essential information.
Your focal point can be an image, a logo, a word or a line of text. You can put the spotlight on a certain portion of your banner in a number of ways. Here are a few methods to try:
As you’re determining where your banner’s focal point is, don’t worry over the idea that it’ll be the only part of your banner people pay attention to. Your focal point is like the hook. Remember, you have to get people’s attention first before they’ll be interested enough to look at the rest of the banner.
So what if you follow the last seven tips and design a banner that’s eye-catching and informative, but it gets printed on low-quality materials or with low print resolution? That’s not a situation you want to experience. As you get caught up in designing your banner, don’t forget that the physical materials themselves are also extremely important if you want your finished product to look professional.
One thing to consider when you’re choosing materials is your banner’s setting. If your banner is going to be placed inside, this factor isn’t much of a concern. However, if it’s going to be hung outside where wind may be an issue, consider using a mesh banner that allows airflow to pass through.
An experienced printer should be able to steer you toward the best materials for your application. Make sure your printer uses high-quality materials from leading manufacturers so that they can present you with a finished product that lives up to your expectations and catches the eyes of passersby with its vibrant colors.
When you’ve spent precious resources on coming up with the perfect banner design, you want to make sure you entrust that design to a printer who can turn your dream into a reality. At Speedpro, we have the expertise to help guide you through the printing process, and we’ll produce a finished product you’re proud to display.
We print our banners with fade-resistant, full-color inks, so you can be sure your banner will look just as vibrant much later as it did the day you received it. We’re equipped to print a wide range of banners that vary in size and color, so you won’t have to limit yourself when you work with us. If you want to make an impact, we can help you do it in style. Get started today by finding a studio near you.
Nowadays, the demand for banners is rising. A lot of businesses are making use of banners as an effective promotional tool. Banners are also regarded as a big business especially for the sign makers.
Not only that, but the banner is a recognized element in most commercial sign organizations. So, it is pretty clear that opportunities are big whenever a business uses this tool for promoting their business. Banners can drive sales to the business when created in the right manner.
Custom made banners are estimated to account for 40% of the profits of a sign shop. Isn’t that interesting? Well, it is, and these are not only popular but also lucrative if priced right.
Business banners have a large as well as a deep market. You can easily sell those to retail stores specifically in high volume and smaller volume to a diverse range of places such as municipalities, schools, and entities. All that you need is to learn how to create, sell as well as install banners, and that too in a correct manner to turn out to be a lucrative sign business.
But, the fact is that not everybody is a professional designer and so, they may lack the skills for creating great banners. So, this guide is dedicated to helping you learn how to make appealing banners that aid in driving sales for businesses.
Also, this banner creation guide will provide you with an outline of the equipment, sign designer tool, supplies, and tools that are required in the overall process. Some other points that we are going to cover in this guide include pricing guidelines, display options, etc. Let’s dig into this detailed discussion to understand this well.
Whenever it comes to banners, you will specifically come across two options. You can either choose to print digitally or you can embellish it with the help of self-adhesive vinyl. Whether you print or plot, you should consider starting with a PC along with decent software that will aid in graphic designing. You should essentially check the feature list in your particular software as it tends to play a crucial role in making or breaking your design.
Avoid restricting yourself to only beginner software as you would not be able to set yourself apart from your competitors. In this regard, you can create unique designs of banners that sell as well as work effectively using packages such as Master Plus, LXI Master, Flexi-Sign, or CorelDRAW.
Printers And Plotters: A commercial-grade plotter with good tracking is all that you need, in case you are looking forward to making vinyl decorated banners. In this regard, you should focus on considering one that comes with great precision as well as media handling. Most of the plotters especially those that are of entry-level are considered to be superb for small decals, but these fail to precisely cut ahead of 8 – 10 ft.
Therefore, before selecting a plotter for banner making, you need to essentially ask about tracking. If you prefer designing specifically with gradient color as well as photographic elements, you may choose to create your banners by making use of a digital printer. Banner printing is considered to be a task that almost everyone enjoys and also, it will save you from the hassles of weeding vinyl graphics.
Now, which sort of banner material you use will depend on whether you use a plotter or a printer. Printers are considered to be more expensive up front, but these also effectively reduce the cost of material by directly imaging the banner rolls. These are less expensive when seen per linear foot when compared to banner blanks that are finished.
You would be able to make a profitable banner just with a few supplies as well as a little labor. Once you have got your software, PC, as well as plotter or printer, now your main focus should be on adding banner making hardware.
The edges of completed banners must be hemmed or sealed, as well as grommets or some other method for hanging is needed to be used. These items are not essential, due to the ready availability of pre-finished grommeted banner blanks. You may want to hold off till you have made some money first. These nifty devices can be utilized for sealing the edges as well as affixing the grommets.
Grommet Setter And Dies
It is a basic yet tough system that is involved in piercing the banner material and it helps in setting the grommets that are utilized for hanging the banner. You need to invest a lot of time in setting your grommets.
But it lets you buy banner rolls rather than blanks. Also, these are regarded as a more cost-effective option. You again need to consider setting your grommets as you cannot feed grommeted banner material specifically through a digital printer, in case you are involved in vinyl banner printing. Grommet setters are available in a variety of grades in the market. You need to choose one that is suitable for your project requirements.
Alternatives To Grommet
Technology has given us many of the easy-to-use alternatives to grommets, just as it has given us digital sign-making. Banner tabs can be positioned in the same way on the banner blank corners and the best part is that they can be used as effectively as conventional grommets.
Drawing A Blank: Your equipment choices will influence the supplies you are going to require in the process. A vast majority of the signmakers begin with plotters as well as small budgets, necessitating the purchase of banner blanks (pre-grommeted). These are available in various weights, colors as well as sizes.
Also, these are generally hemmed. In this case, you will find that the edges are creased over as well as sewn shut which is specifically done by the manufacturer. After that, it is grommeted in the corners, so that, one can hang it easily.
Nowadays, heat-sealed banners are also getting very popular that make use of extreme heat for fusing the banner material. As a result, the banner that is made is more durable as well as resistant to tear.
Whenever it comes to business banner signs making, the most frequently asked question is about weights. In this regard, you need to have a clear idea that the heavier material is particularly stronger, thicker, as well as more durable. A banner’s outdoor durability is determined by a variety of factors that one needs to consider for a better output.
By The Roll: As previously stated, banner blanks would not help you much in case, you are looking forward to printing. Grommeted material cannot be fed through most digital printers without causing any risk of costly damage specifically to the print head. In this regard, you will require to order unhemmed banner media rolls that are compatible with the ink system of your printer.
It can be advantageous as the cost per linear foot is much lower as the producer does not have to seam, cut, and grommet the material. You will again have to do some finishing work after printing the image, but it is the most cost-effective option in the long term. Make sure to do some preliminary research. It is really simple to find suitable business banner media, in case, you have an eco-solvent or solvent printer.
Many of the different issues mainly arise with newer ink technologies. In case, you are having an aqueous inkjet printer, you will require to buy inkjet-coated banner media, which is less UV resistant as well as much more expensive. Again, for your prints from fading visibly in the sun, you may need to apply a liquid overlaminate.
Although hanging banners is the conventional method to display those, many different options are also there which you should focus on considering.
Whenever possible, you can make use of bungee cords or rubber rope to provide some amount of flexibility specifically in the tension. Making use of no-flex rope or string exerts too much pressure on the scrim which is the woven layer present beneath the surface as well as thereby resulting in a tear.
X Type:
For outdoor banners, hanging is the preferred way of display. But who says banners are only for outside use? How about utilizing a banner to promote a sale at a mall? Well, it is possible, and it is also known to work well. All that you need is to make use of the newer X type as well as rollup banner display products for these indoor retail opportunities.
Grommeted banner blanks work well with X-type banner displays. These tend to have little, prongs (adjustable) that hook onto the grommets as well as keep them stretched. Again, these simple and inexpensive machines open out the market for specifically the spot color vinyl banners. You can sell effective banners for both outdoor and indoor uses just by implementing a very good design along with some X-type displays.
Roll Up:
All that you can do is try out a roll up banner stand for a more sophisticated look. These are excellent exhibits for banners that have been digitally printed. The best part is that they effectively complement each other. The banner is needed to be trimmed to fit.
These displays are typically 32″ wide, and also 6″ narrower than the narrowest width for unhemmed banner media. As a result, a roll up banner requires a bit more finishing. The advantage is that you would not have to grommet or hem it. Simply print, trim, as well as insert it into the display. Also, add 3″ of bleed to the bottom.
The main problem that comes with a roll up banner display is that in case, you use a lightweight scrim, the edges (un-hemmed) have a tendency to bend. If possible, you can consider making use of a scrim that is heavier or “semi-rigid” material.
As these particular displays are frequently viewed up close, a standard scrim banner media is unlikely to produce good print quality. A vast majority of semi-rigid films specifically for roll-up banners are found to be optimized for high-resolution large banner printing. These films will effectively highlight the details that your customers will find appealing.
Pricing: Another important consideration involves pricing. Whenever you are getting started, may have heard the old maxim about charging 30% more than your material cost. This is fine for simple vinyl decals, but it is not the correct way to price banners. A well-designed banner is considered to be more worthy than what is indicated by its cost.
While deciding the price, you need to first get a sense of what industry standards are for spot color banners made using vinyl. Based on that, you need to decide the pricing. For deciding the right price, you need to do effective research on the overall market. Also, choosing a good banner printing machine ultimately decide the success of your business.
Final Verdict
So, we hope, after reading this detailed banner making guide, you have got a very good idea about the basics of hardware, display options, supplies, pricing considerations, and a lot more. All in all, banner making is something that involves a lot of work to create an outstanding piece that brings business.
In case, you are involved in a particular business, then you may lack the skills, expertise, and time to make a great banner. If you are one, who does not have the time and skills to make one, then don’t worry, you can opt for the assistance of a professional web to print store like WTPBiz.
At WTPBiz, we are updated with the latest technology which is proved to be very helpful for your banner making project. So, what are you waiting for? Create an appealing and effective banner today with the help of our effective web to print technology.
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