Standard banner sizes: work back from where people will read it

Standard banner sizes run from a small 4 ft × 2 ft up to 9 ft 10 in × 6 ft 7 in (3000 × 2000 mm), and the right one depends on two numbers: the space you are filling and the distance people read it from. Most people start with the space. Start with the reader instead, then check it fits. If you only want a safe default, 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm) is the size shops, schools and clubs buy most, because it reads from across a road and still fits most railings.

The standard banner sizes we stock #

Every size below comes in both PVC and mesh, and each one has its own page with a live price. The UK trade still talks about big banners in feet, so feet come first with the exact millimetres in brackets.

Size in feet	Where it tends to go	Exact size
4 ft × 2 ft	Market stalls, indoor notices, short bits of railing	1219 × 610 mm
6 ft × 3 ft	Shop fronts, school gates, club railings	1829 × 914 mm
8 ft × 3 ft	Longer railings, stage fronts, fences	2438 × 914 mm
8 ft × 4 ft	Taller fence panels and building fronts	2438 × 1219 mm
10 ft × 3 ft	Roadside fences, sports grounds	3048 × 914 mm
9 ft 10 in × 4 ft 11 in	Big events, backdrops, hoardings	3000 × 1500 mm
9 ft 10 in × 6 ft 7 in	Stage backdrops, large sites, building fronts	3000 × 2000 mm

There are metric-led sizes too: 4 ft 11 in × 1 ft 8 in (1500 × 500 mm), 6 ft 7 in × 1 ft 8 in (2000 × 500 mm), 4 ft 11 in × 3 ft 3 in (1500 × 1000 mm), 6 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in (2000 × 1000 mm), 9 ft 10 in × 3 ft 3 in (3000 × 1000 mm) and 13 ft 1 in × 3 ft 3 in (4000 × 1000 mm). The whole list sits on one page under banner sizes.

Step one: where will people be standing? #

Picture the person reading it. Are they in a car passing a fence, on the pavement opposite a shop, or at the back of a village hall? That distance decides the letter height, and the letter height decides the banner.

Sign makers work to a rough ratio: capitals about 25 mm tall per 3 m between reader and banner if the words are to jump out, and half that as the absolute floor. So for a reader 15 m away, aim for capitals around 125 mm tall. Fit a headline that size plus a phone number or web address, and you have your minimum banner.

Setting	Sizes worth a look	Reader usually this far away
Reception, hall or indoor stand	A roller banner, 4 ft × 2 ft or 1500 × 1000 mm	Between 2 and 5 m
Shop front or pavement railings	2000 × 1000 mm, 6 ft × 3 ft or 8 ft × 3 ft	Between 3 and 10 m
Fence alongside a road	3000 × 1000 mm, 10 ft × 3 ft or 4000 × 1000 mm	Between 10 and 30 m
Building site or large event	Heras size, 3000 × 1500 mm, 3000 × 2000 mm or custom	20 m plus

Treat that as a starting point. When torn between two, pick the larger: an oversized banner is rarely a problem, but one nobody can read is money down the drain. Fewer words helps too. One headline, one line of detail and a contact is plenty.

Step two: measure the spot #

Now check it fits. On a fence, measure between the posts or rails you will tie to. On a wall, check how high you can safely reach. A banner a touch smaller than the space looks neater than one that overhangs a gap or has to be folded.

Write it down in millimetres as well as feet. Frames, hooks and most tape measures are metric, and a banner that has to fit an exact frame should be ordered to the millimetre. Our measuring up guide walks through tricky spots.

Step three: stock size or custom? #

If one of the standard banner sizes is close, use it. If the space is odd, custom size banners let you type in any width and height, and the price updates as you type so you can compare two options side by side.

A few jobs have their own sizes:

• Heras fencing: Heras fence banners are made to cover a standard panel, with eyelets ready for cable ties.
• Scaffolding: scaffold banners tend to be long and made in mesh so the wind passes through.
• Roller banners: these only vary in width (800 up to 1500 mm); height is always 2000 mm. The roller banner guide has the details.
• Backdrops: photo and stage backdrops are usually square or wider than tall, such as 8 ft × 8 ft (2438 × 2438 mm) or 3000 × 2000 mm.

Feet and metres are not quite the same #

This catches people out. A foot is exactly 0.3048 m, as set by Schedule 1 to the Weights and Measures Act 1985. So 6 ft is about 1.83 m, 8 ft about 2.44 m and 10 ft about 3.05 m. That makes a 10 ft × 3 ft banner and a 3000 × 1000 mm banner cousins, not twins: the imperial one is roughly 5 cm longer and 9 cm shallower. If it has to fit something exact, give us millimetres and go custom.

Which way round? #

Most outdoor banners are landscape, because fences and railings are long and low and a wide banner keeps the letters big. Portrait suits lamp posts, narrow walls and banners hanging inside a building. Any of the standard banner sizes can be made either way; just set your artwork up in the orientation you want.

Finishing and artwork #

Hems and eyelets sit inside the size you order, so a 6 ft × 3 ft banner is still 6 ft × 3 ft when it arrives. Keep text at least 5 cm from the edge so no eyelet lands on a letter. Build the file at full size or to scale, such as 1:10, and at full size 100 to 150 dpi is plenty for something read from a distance. Big simple fonts and strong contrast do more than clever design. Everything else is in the artwork guidelines, and each uploaded file gets a free check by a person at the real banner size.

Solid or mesh? That depends on wind more than size; the PVC and mesh guide sorts it out.

Delivery on big banners #

Banners are made to order and dispatched from the UK. UK mainland delivery is £7.95, free once your order reaches £100 after discounts. Anything over 3 m on any side adds £15, so the 10 ft × 3 ft and 4000 × 1000 mm sizes carry it, while the 3000 mm sizes sit right on the line and do not. Full rules are on the delivery page.

Still stuck between two standard banner sizes? #

Snap a photo of the space, tell us what it needs to say, and send both through the contact form. We will tell you which size will read best from where your customers stand.