Banners, A great advertising TOOL

Yes, it needs to be said. Banners are wonderful. Easy to make, easy to put up, easy to take down, easy, easy, easy. However, they are far from permanent. If a company has a quality product and they have a ratty banner as their store front, how does that affect the customers urge to buy from that company? To be honest it takes a good sign for me to enter and receive services from an establishment that has bad signage.

Banners are made from a material that can withstand the elements for a short amount of time, they can fade, crack, rip, bend, etc. Some companies will put wind slits in the banner to help with the wind force, but that isn’t a save all. You are cutting into a material and sometimes the wind slits will rip the banner even more. Same method used to make paper tear, with small cuts called perforations. The banner will tear in those locations.

In windy locations, use a mesh type material that will allow 36% of the air to pass through the banner. It will increase the banner life in windy locations, while presenting a good image detail. Something to consider, before allowing your sign company to cut banner wind-slots in your perfectly new banner.

Best thing? Keep the banner for advertising short-term sales, events, etc. Make your statement about your business with a high quality sign that you can be proud of for years to come. There is a sign for every purpose and a reputable sign company can help you with those decisions.

Low Cost Wall Graphics Cost More?

On a recent expedition by our installers, nerves and patience were tested. The plan was to install a rather large interior wall graphics, that of course had to be supplied by the franchisor. The franchisee was instructed, “Do NOT attempt this installation, hire professionals to install this wall graphics.” Would this be a Red Flag? We had to bid this installation sight unseen, raising yet another “red flag”. Not sure of what we were gettining into, the only option we had was to price this out based on actual hours.

Once approved by the client, we moved ahead with scheduling the installation. Our team arrived, set up and prepared to dig in. As soon as we opened the box we knew there would be challenges. The material and graphics were rolled backwards, with the image in and paper carrier outside. Caution: This causes the vinyl to “Tent” or buckle every couple of feet, resulting in the vinyl curling and refusing to lay flat. Suddenly it required four hands to install each panel rather than two hands.

Now we started to remove the paper backing, exposes the adhesive side of the wallpaper. Instant tearing and cracking with normal handling, REALLY? It was also apparent we were not dealing with a vinyl or even paper here, but a low cost Korean PVC substrate with a clear overspray. At this point frustration was setting in, and I’m sure this stuff was never going to survive the inside corner we have to navigate. We had planned and scheduled for one afternoon and unfortunately, we had to return the next day to finish the wall Mural installation.

So, was this lower cost graphics really result lower cost overall? A simple 4 hour installation, actually ending up taking 9 hours. The additional labor cost resulting from working with inferrior products, almost equaled that of a quality American made material, installed. Things are not always as they appear, so it is important to look at the whole cost picture and not just the surface.

One thing I forgot to mention was removal. When this stuff has to be removed, the costs will surely be more than the orginal installation. So was this really a good deal?