A Beginner’s Guide to Banner Making

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.

How To Make A Banner? 

Equipment Used In Creating Banners

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. 

Tools For Creating Banner

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. 

Supplies For Banner Making

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. 

Banners Display Options 

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 Tips To Keep In Mind

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.