Which banner material for which use?
Frontlit PVC is the everyday material of outdoor display: printed on the face, it is read in daylight. The 440 g/m² at 300 microns covers most banners and most facade displays. The 510 g/m² at 380 microns is thicker, and earns its place when the banner stays tensioned for a long period or catches the wind over a large area; the white coated PVC at 510 g/m² and 390 microns is of much the same thickness. The grey-backed version, 450 g/m² at 340 microns, blocks show-through: choose it in front of a glazed frontage or a light source, or when a second image is printed on the reverse. White backlit at 610 g/m² and 440 microns is not made to be read face on but to be lit from behind: it is the material for light boxes. The two 575 g/m² polyesters differ only in their finish, matt killing reflections under direct lighting while gloss saturates the colours more.
Do you need a fire rating?
Four materials carry one. The 440 g/m² frontlit at 300 microns comes in two versions, one unrated, the other rated M1; the 510 g/m² frontlit at 380 microns is rated M1. The 610 g/m² backlit and the coated PVC at 510 g/m² and 390 microns are rated B1. The question arises as soon as the banner goes up in a place open to the public: an exhibition hall, a sports hall, a trade fair stand. Ask the site manager which rating is required before you order, because the material can no longer be changed once the artwork is printed.
Beyond 1600 mm wide
The eight materials are produced on a 1600 mm roll width, and the price follows the exact dimensions you enter, with no set sizes to choose from. When the width you ask for goes past 1600 mm, the piece is made up from panels that we join with a 5 mm overlap. Allow for that in your layout and avoid running fine text or a logo across the joint. A tall, narrow piece goes through in a single length as long as its width stays inside the roll width, so check the orientation of your artwork before you enter the dimensions.
Preparing your file
Download the PDF template at the dimensions you entered: it gives you the working format, so you have nothing to work out. Then export a PDF in CMYK, with 2 mm bleed and a 4 mm safety margin. On very large pieces, artwork built to a reduced scale is fine as long as the proportions match exactly. Outline your fonts. A banner takes no laminate, so the final look is that of the material you chose. Your piece is printed in our workshop in Manciet, in the Gers; tell us where it will go up and we will help you settle on the material.
