Banners for shopfronts, schools, events and birthdays

Two things decide whether a banner works: how big the text is, and how well it is fixed. Both get decided before printing.

Text size versus distance. The working rule is roughly 2.5cm of letter height for every 10 metres of viewing distance, and most people undershoot it badly. A banner across a shopfront read from the pavement opposite, say 15 metres, needs its main text around 4cm tall as a minimum. On a 2m x 1m banner that means your headline is a handful of words, not a sentence. We check every banner file at the distance it will actually be seen from, free, and tell you if the phone number is going to be invisible.

Say less. A banner has one job. Business name and what you do, or the event and the date, plus a web address if there is room. Everything else is decoration that makes the important parts smaller.

Wind is the enemy. A solid PVC banner in an exposed spot acts like a sail and can tear at the eyelets or pull its fixings out. For anything on scaffolding, a fence line, a roof edge or a windy corner, ask about mesh banner material, which lets air through and dramatically reduces the load. It costs a little more and it is the difference between a banner that lasts a season and one that lasts a weekend.

Fixing. Our banners come hemmed with metal eyelets every 50cm as standard. Cable ties are the quickest and most secure fixing for railings and fences. Bungee cords are better where there is movement, because they give rather than tearing. For a flat wall you need something to tie to, so tell us the surface when you order and we will advise before we print, not after you are up a ladder.

Shopfronts and openings. The 2m x 1m at £95 is our most popular size because it fits the average East London shopfront above the window and reads from across the road.

Schools and community events. Fairs, fetes and sports days. These often get reused year after year, which is worth designing for: leave the year off and the banner works again next summer. It is an obvious trick and almost nobody does it.

Birthdays and celebrations. A 1m x 1m at £55 for a 90th, a christening or a homecoming. These are usually rush jobs and we are used to that. Turnaround is 2 to 4 working days including delivery, so tell us the date when you enquire and we will confirm we can hit it.

Site and trade. Hoardings, scaffolding and contact boards. For anything rigid rather than flexible, 5mm Foamex boards are the better product: they do not flap, they do not need tensioning, and they are built for years outdoors.

If you need something portable to take to markets and events rather than fixed to a building, a roller banner at £79 including stand and case goes up in seconds and packs into a bag.

Only got a logo? Our designer will lay out the banner properly, and sizing the text for the distance is the part most people get wrong. Design work starts at £15.