My office is located in a building that houses several other offices. I love the convenient location and spacious parking lot that my office provides to me and my clients. Not only that, but my rent is also extremely reasonable. Having low rent keeps my operating costs low which makes my business more profitable! I have only ever had one problem with my office situation, and that was when my landlord would not let me put a permanent sign outside my office door. This problem was only temporary, however, as my landlord and I were able to resolve our disagreement.
FOR EVERY PROBLEM THERE IS A SOLUTION
I studied my options and decided that installing a full color banner would be the best solution to my problem. My landlord was very supportive of my proposal, as I explained to him that the vinyl banner would make a minimal impact on the exterior of the building and could easily be removed should I ever move my office. The next day I went to my local print banner maker and ordered a glorious full color banner which I hung above my door for all to see.
SOMETIMES SOLUTIONS BRING ON MORE PROBLEMS
I was initially very happy with my vinyl banner. {Unfortunately, my satisfaction was soon replaced by disappointment, as a strong windstorm came through town about a week later and ripped the nails holding my vinyl banner clear out of their holes allowing my custom banner to fly away. Luckily I found the banner down the street from my office, but I still had a new set of problems to deal with. The worst of the damage to the actual print banner was that the holes where the nails had pierced the banner sign had ripped during the windstorm, thus affecting the integrity of my custom banner.
NEW PROBLEMS LEAD TO NEW SOLUTIONS
I explained to my local custom banner maker the problems that I had had with my vinyl banner. I’m really happy that I went back to my vinyl banner maker, because he provided me with two great tips on how to prevent my same problem from happening again.
GET YOURSELF MORE THAN JUST A COUPLE OF GROMMETS!
A grommet is a metal or brass eyelet that encases a hole in a full color banner so that the weight of the banner does not cause the vinyl to tear when the custom banner is displayed or hung from an elevated area. The print banner maker was happy to install a couple of extra grommets into my full color banner in order to give it more strength. The more grommets there are on a vinyl banner, the less weight each hole is forced to support. The saying “strength in numbers” applies perfectly to this situation.
TIP NUMBER TWO: PULL IT TAUT!
When you are hanging your custom banner on a wall, you want to make sure that you pull the banner very tightly against the wall so that there is very little, if any, slack. By pulling the print banner taut, you prevent wind from getting behind the banner and pulling it off its perch. After speaking with my local banner maker, I realized that when I first hung my banner I did so carelessly and thus, my banner blew away in a strong windstorm.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION!
So there you have it. Two simple tips on how to get the most out of your vinyl banner without having to experience the trial and error that I experienced. I hope you get as much joy out of these solutions as I have!
Tags: banner maker, banner sign, color banner, custom banner, office situation, vinyl banner, windstorm
No Comments // Posted on July 29, 2010 // General
Vinyl banner signs have been around for ages, and in all shapes and sizes. Vinyl banners are one of the most popular types of signs there is. They offer the most value when promoting your business, event, school or organization to people all around you. Banner signage has come along way over the past few years making it more economical to move forward from one color vinyl banners to full color digitally printed banners. It is also cheaper and easier to print much larger custom banners.
Vinyl banner signs open the door to make a long lasting impression on potential customers. Pretend you are walking through a shopping center. Most shopping centers have a wide variety of shops, packaging centers, restaurants, etc. You are at the shopping center just to browse…
What would you notice first?
1. The packaging store with a several small “Ship Here” signs at their entrance
2. The coffee shop with the “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” mocha special decal on their window
3. The full color vinyl banner that fills the storefront at the travel agency promoting a cruise special they are offering to the Caribbean
I don’t know about you, but I can smell the ocean and feel the sand under my feet just from looking at that full color banner in the window! That definitely caught my attention even though I had no intentions of shopping for a cruise package.
Why choose Vinyl Banners over all the other types of signs?
Vinyl banners are offered in a many different sizes, have simple installation and require very little assembly. Vinyl banners are great for indoor and outdoor uses. They can be mounted to buildings, hung across streets, attached to light poles or simply mounted to the inside of a travel agents window. Plus, depending on your needs, vinyl banners can be made either single sided or double.
Custom banners are especially ideal for temporary promotions, city events, grand openings and so much more. They roll up for easy storage, are economical to ship, and still offer that WOW factor!
You wouldn’t want to replace your roadside sign or backlit store front sign every time there’s a new sale or weekly special. You do not want to have to buy a new wood sign every time you have a fundraiser in your town. You do not want your back room to be crammed full all year with your Holiday Specials Signs because you needed to make a BIG impression last Christmas season, but couldn’t roll your signs up and tuck them away!
In many cases, custom banners are the most logical and economical decision. They offer limitless options to give you a BIG impact no matter what your message is or who you are reaching out to. Vinyl banners help you leave a lasting impression without spending a fortune or taking up all of your storage space.
Are all vinyl banners created the same?
Not exactly. Vinyl banners can be made on various weights of material ranging from 10 ounce to 16 ounce. The standard weight for most banners is 13 ounce vinyl banner material. This is the most readily used banner material in the sign industry. It is a nice, heavy weight material that is ideal for indoor or outdoor use. And vinyl banners can still be made the old fashioned way on manufactured banner material with vinyl letters and graphics applied to the surface of the banner, but most sign stores today digitally print all banners whether it is one color or full color. This way everything is printed straight from the computerized file and there is less room for manual error. Another advantage of digitally printing all banners is that there’s no vinyl for people to mess with or remove, causing damage to your banner sign.
There are several ways to finish your vinyl banner, pertaining to the way they are hemmed or mounted. Most sign stores offer taped hem or heat sealed edges. You can have sewn hems done or no finishing at all. No finishing is usually only suitable for one time use or occasional use. Taped hem or heat sealed edges give you a nice finished look with durability for long term use. Sewn hems are needed especially for street banners and other larger exterior banner signs that will be under more wear and tear.
Other finishing for vinyl banners are determined by how exactly it’ll be used or installed. The most popular are grommets, also known as eyelets - these are typically applied every 2 feet so that you can install your vinyl banner with rope, zip ties, suction cups, etc. depending on where it is being installed. Other mounting finishes include pole pockets, sewn in rope, webbing, D rings and Wind Slits.
All serve different purposes, have different uses and range in cost, depending on the size of your vinyl banner.
Where do you begin to create vinyl banners for your business?
1. Decide on a main message - Don’t overdo it - keep it simple but BOLD!
2. Figure out how far away it needs to be seen - Will your audience be walking by or across the street?
3. Is there a color scheme you want to go with?
4. Any logos or specific graphics you would like to use?
5. Where do you plan to put it?
By getting a head start with these key points, you will have a good idea of what you are looking for. This way your sign company will be able to design a custom business banner that will not only make your desired statement, but meet your needs for how you plan to use it. By knowing how far it needs to be visible from your sign company can design your vinyl banner to insure it will make the biggest impact possible to your audience.
So the next time your customers are walking through your shopping center, who would you rather be?
The packaging store, the coffee shop or the travel agency?
All bets are on the trip to the Caribbean…
Tags: banner signs, color banner, color vinyl, cruise package, packaging store, vinyl banner, vinyl banners
No Comments // Posted on May 3, 2010 // Business