What Size Should Your Vinyl Banner Be?
October 26, 2020
Designing a vinyl banner is much simpler than creating an entire catalog or flyer. Your banner should focus on just a few words or short lines of text, or possibly your company logo and phone number. Bright colors help your banner look both inviting and professional.
However, choosing the right size for your banner requires careful consideration of its intended purpose and location. Instead of just getting the largest banner possible, make sure to choose one that fits in the area you’ll want to use it in.
Comix Well Spring has extensive experience in printing full-color banners for businesses and special events. Here’s our best advice for deciding on the right banner size for you.
Available Sizes
Common vinyl banner sizes include 6’ x 3’ for indoor use and 10’ by 3’ for outdoor use. However, the right size banner for your images and text may be larger or smaller than these. You need to partner with a full-color banner printer that has a more diverse range of printing options.
Comix Well Spring makes custom banners ranging in size from 5’ x 2’ to 10’ x 4’. We offer 12 different sizes so you can get the perfect banner for you. If you want a tall and thin vertical banner, you can either use one of our vinyl banners or check out our retractable fabric banners.
Indoors or Outdoors?
Since vinyl banners are tough enough for indoor and outdoor use and have a wide range of potential uses, including birthday parties, family reunions, and other big indoor events. For these types of events, banners usually won’t need to be larger than 6’ or 8’ long, unless you’ll be placing them in a gymnasium or other large space.
For outdoor banners, consider the maximum possible viewing distance. A good rule of thumb is that outdoor viewing areas like the front of a building or the edge of a parking lot often require banners visible from at least 50 feet away. Most businesses will try to get the largest banner possible, and our 10’ x 4’ banners can attract attention from a distance.
Measure Your Space
Whether you’re hanging your banner indoors or outdoors, you’ll want to measure the available space first. If you’re unsure which areas you’ll be hanging your banner in, measure multiple possible locations to get a general idea of your options.
Also, double-check the length of whatever object you’ll hang the banner from. Even if you have a wide space to hang the banner in, it will be challenging to properly hang the banner if the pipe, railing, or ledge you’ll hang it from isn’t very wide.
Larger banners are naturally better for visibility, but a large location won’t matter if it’s in a low-traffic area. Try to choose a location that balances both the size of the banner and its overall visibility to the public.
High-resolution Designs
Getting your banner printed at a large size requires high-resolution art. If your existing company artwork or artwork for a previous banner is too small, the resulting large banner will be grainy and unattractive when viewed up-close. We recommend files set at 300 dots per inch (dpi).
Creating the best banner possible is easiest if your logo is available in vector format, so you can then create a high-resolution JPG or TIF image with the desired text. If you don’t have your logo available in vector format, you can use software to convert it or get a graphic designer to help you.
Considering Cost
Larger vinyl banners are naturally more expensive than smaller ones due to the cost of the banner material. However, the cost difference between different sizes isn’t steep enough to prevent you from investing in a larger size if you need it.
Also, make sure you’re not missing out on an opportunity to invest in multiple banners. You might discover that two small banners are a better use of your money than one large one, especially if you’re using them indoors or if your building is close enough to the street that a small banner would be visible.
Your Best Choice For Banner Printing
Not all printing companies can create wide, beautiful banners on vinyl. Comix Well Spring has the specialized equipment and knowledge necessary to deliver stunning results, whether you order our smallest size or our largest.
We know the ins and outs of color printing on other materials, as well. We make fabric retractable banners, flyers, saddle-stitched and square-bound books, business cards, and much more.
Our team is committed to answering your questions and providing assistance so you can get your banner printed right.