What is the best quality printed banner?

What is the best quality printed banner? Which is the best banner printing is not as simple a question as it may seem. All types of banner material have different properties, making some better than others in different ways. Probably a better question to ask is ‘which printed banner is best for my intended use?. To answer the question, we will first look at the different banner materials, banner types and the benefits and disadvantages of each.

Laminated banners vs coated banners. Which is best?

Traditional solid banner material can be either coated or laminated. However, coated banners are more expensive, while laminated banners offer much lower cost banner printing, perfect for banner printing on a budget.

Laminated PVC Banner Material

Laminated banners are budget banners made from promotional grade laminated banner material. Perfect for small banners which you would usually see outside a local Costa Coffee, subway or McDonald’s restaurant. Laminated banners are suitable for short term promotional use and can last up to 12 months outdoors. Laminated banners consist of a nylon type woven mesh inner sandwiched in between two pieces of PVC material. The material is then heated and put through pressure rollers, creating a laminated product. As the product is laminated together, the material is more prone to tearing more easily under extreme circumstances.

Coated PVC Banner Material

Premium printed banners use a coated material. Featuring a woven mesh inner, with Raw molten PVC sprayed across the nylon mesh inner. This process creates a much stronger banner, similar to pouring concrete onto reinforced steel. The PVC and Nylon mesh inner intertwine with each other creating superior strength. The coating manufacturing process is more expensive but does make banners up to 3 times stronger than laminated products.

For a more detailed explanation of laminated and costed banners, we have another article that details this topic.

UV printed banners

PVC banners, including Mesh PVC banner printing, use a UV print technology the same as all other PVC banners. UV printing bonds the light-sensitive ink to the banner through the UV curing process. Heavy-duty lights pass across the print bed following the print head, curing the ink on every print pass, creating a super-strong bond to the material. The finished print has good UV resistance properties making the product fade and scratch-resistant.

Block out banner printing

The strongest banner on the market uses a block-out light stop material. Blockout banner used for creating double-sided banners and super durable single-sided banners is the most durable material on sale. However, block out banner material is more expensive than other banner materials. Block out banners are a coated banner material that makes them very strong. The term block-out banner printing is a term for referring to light stop material. Light stop or blockout means that this super thick material doesn’t let the light show through its face. The block out banner material features a centre black liner or sometimes dark grey, stopping lights transmission through the banner.

From a strength perspective, block-out banners are the strongest banners. The banner fabric is 650gsm with a fibrous centre making it a super robust product. However, the face on a block out banner is solid. Solid banners act like giant sails. Because the banner face is solid, a large blockout banner wouldn’t be suitable to create a building wrap. Also, the high GSM makes blockout banners are very weighty, so large banners would be challenging to handle and install. Block out banners are ideal for use on any small to medium-sized banners. Perfect for small and medium-sized scaffolding banners, lamp post banners, and any banner requiring double-sided printing.

Block out banner printing Benefits

1. Super durable and Creates super sturdy banners.
2. Light stop centre liner, so no show-through of light or image from the other side.

Block out banners Disadvantages

1. Solid banner and can act as a large sail, so ideal for small and medium-sized banners.
2. Hefty material and could be difficult to handle.
3. Expensive material.

Premium banner printing

Our premium PVC banner printing is a high-quality single-sided product similar to our block-out banner without the light-stop liner. Premium banners are ideal for printed banners of any size. Because premium banners are single-sided printed only, they would usually be attached to a backing of some kind. Usually, a wall or cladding premium banners on a backing are not affected by high winds. The wind is only an issue when a banner isn’t flat to a fixed surface. For example, on a wall, the wind cannot get behind the banner as the printed banner is attached directly to the wall’s surface.

Premium PVC single-sided banner printing Benefits

1. Premium banner material creates strong banners.
2. Ideal for large banners and perfect for long term solutions on industrial units and fixing to walls or timber backed hoardings.

Premium PVC single-sided Disadvantages

1. Solid faced banners so not suitable for large banners fitted to railings or fencing where wind can get behind them.

Event banner printing

Our event banners are most probably the cheapest banner printing. Very similar to the premium banners, the only real difference is our event banner is made from laminated banner material. The biggest benefit of laminated material is the cost. Prices from as low as £7.50 per square metre, including finishing, makes event banner very affordable. Event banners are superb for smaller banners and banner, which require less of a lifespan. Event banner printing can last up to 12 months outdoors; however, we have known this to be much longer in sheltered areas. Ideal for promotions and offers, the physical look of the event banner is very similar to premium with identical print quality. Perfect for advertisements or promotions when a shorter lifespan product is required.

Event banner printing Benefits

1. Cheap banner printing. Lower cost than our competitors.
2. Ideal for smaller banners and good for short to mid-term advertising solutions.

Premium PVC single-sided Disadvantages

1. Laminated banner material so not as strong as premium banner printing.

Mesh banner printing

Mesh banner printing is precisely that. Manufactured from a PVC mesh, the face of a mesh banner contains a perforated printed face that features thousands of tiny holes. We offer three types of mesh banners: PVC mesh, Airmesh and the third option is fabric mesh. The Mesh PVC options are:

1. Standard Mesh Banners 330 gsm. Mesh 330gsm is our most popular mesh product with standard airflow.
2. Air Mesh PVC 270 gsm. Similar to 330 gsm, however, this mesh features larger holes for better airflow. This material offers the highest airflow properties of any printed banner, so if wind and adverse weather are an issue, this is the perfect material for your needs.

PVC Mesh banners have lower load characteristics due to the air holes on the banner material surface. The air holes allow air to pass through the printed surface, drastically reducing wind loading. Because of wind load reductions, mesh banner is ideal for large banners, building wraps and fence banners. Mesh banners are perfect for construction fence banners, printed building wrap any large application. Standard 330gsm mesh offers good airflow properties, while 270gsm air mesh provides banners with the greatest airflow properties better suited for adverse weather conditions.

PVC mesh banners Benefits

1. Ideal for use on large banners due to lower wind loading.
2. Lighter weight than standard PVC banners, so easier to handle and install
3. Cost-effective and good value.

PVC mesh banners Disadvantages

1. The print face features air holes that will affect print’s vibrancy due to the loss of print area per square metre.

Air mesh polyester banners

Our premium mesh banner product. Similar to mesh banners, polyester air mesh has holes on the surface to decrease air loading. We print our Fabric air mesh banners using a different process to all other banners mentioned here. Polyester banners use a dye sublimation print process. Polyester banner printing produces banner which is much lighter than PVC banner. Because Polyester printed banners are lighter weight and are fabric makes them easier to fold up and store when not in use.

Air-mesh fabric banner printing Benefits

1. Ideal for use on large banners as mesh reduces wind load.
2. Lighter weight than PVC banners, so easier to handle and install.
3. Easily foldable into a small package for storing away when not in use.

Air-mesh fabric banner printing Disadvantages

1. The printed face has air holes in the surface, so it reduces the vibrancy of the print.
2. More expensive than PVC mesh banners.