The best banner material for your job: answer four questions first

The best banner material for most people is 440gsm PVC: bright, opaque and tough enough to take eyelets. Swap to 260gsm mesh when the banner is going on a fence or scaffold that catches the wind, and to 400gsm PVC-free for indoor displays where PVC isn’t wanted. Roll-up stands have their own pair of materials, and exhibition walls use stretch fabric. To land on the right one, you only need to answer four questions.

Four questions that pick the best banner material #

1. Where is it going? Indoors, on a wall, on open fencing, on a stand?
2. How long is it up for? A weekend, a season, or until it wears out?
3. How exposed is the spot? Sheltered shop front, or a building site on a hill?
4. Is there light behind it? A window, a spotlight, another display?

Keep your answers in mind as you read. Each section below says which answers point to which material.

The line-up #

Material	Its strength	You’ll find it on
440gsm PVC	Opaque, vivid colour, holds an eyelet firmly	PVC banners, backdrops, scaffold and Heras fence PVC banners
260gsm mesh	Wind passes through, easing the load on ties	Mesh, fence mesh, site, festival and race banners
400gsm PVC-free	No PVC; for indoor and short-term jobs	PVC-free, indoor and exhibition banners, backdrops
440gsm banner vinyl	Lies flat and prints cleanly on a stand	Roller banners, the green screen backdrop
610gsm blockout PVC	Light behind it can’t shine through	Roller banners, blockout roller banners

There’s a sixth, stretch fabric, but only on our fabric walls and snake stands. Those are frame systems, not something you tie to a railing.

What the gsm figure tells you #

gsm means grams per square metre. It’s a weight, and it hints at thickness, but it isn’t a score for quality. Here’s a worked example. A 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm) banner covers about 1.67 square metres. Made in 440gsm PVC, the sheet alone weighs close to 740 g. In 260gsm mesh, it’s nearer 435 g. Hems and eyelets add a little on top.

Each weight is there for a reason. 440gsm has enough body to hang flat and grip an eyelet without ripping. Mesh is light deliberately, since its whole point is airflow. The 610gsm blockout is heaviest because it must stay fully opaque and hang perfectly straight from a roller bar. Choose by job, and the right weight comes with it.

440gsm PVC: start here #

Answered “shop front”, “wall”, “railing” or “indoor event” to question one? This is your material. Solid PVC gives the brightest colour and keeps small wording crisp for people standing close. The downside of being solid is that wind presses on every square inch, which is exactly why mesh exists.

PVC banners start at 4 ft × 2 ft (1219 × 610 mm), with stock sizes up to 9 ft 10 in × 6 ft 7 in (3000 × 2000 mm) and made-to-measure up to 16 ft 5 in × 9 ft 10 in (5000 × 3000 mm). They leave in 2 working days on express, 4 on standard or 6 on saver, once your order and artwork are confirmed.

260gsm mesh: for wind and open ground #

If your answer to question three was “exposed”, think mesh. Heras panels, scaffolding and long runs of open fence are its home. Mesh banners always come hemmed, with a choice of plastic or metal eyelets, and take a little longer: 4 working days express, 6 standard, 8 saver. You do trade some sharpness up close, and light shows through the holes. Our PVC or mesh banner guide goes into that decision properly, so we won’t repeat it here.

400gsm PVC-free: when PVC is off the table #

Some venues, and some organisations’ buying rules, ask for PVC-free graphics. If you’re printing for an exhibition or event, check with the venue first. PVC-free banners come in the same sizes as the PVC range with the same finishing: hems, plastic or metal eyelets, and cable ties. In a reception, shop or exhibition hall it prints and hangs much like PVC.

Roll-up stands: vinyl or blockout #

A roller banner works differently from a tied banner, so it gets its own two choices. On our roller banners you pick the graphic material and the cartridge (Budget, Standard Plus or Premium), in widths from 800 to 1500 mm, all 2000 mm tall.

• 440gsm banner vinyl is right for most rooms, receptions and stands with a plain wall behind.
• 610gsm blockout PVC carries a blocking layer. A window, a spotlight or the stand behind yours won’t show through your print. That’s question four answered: if there’s light behind, go for blockout roller banners.

The roller banner buying guide covers sizes, stands and layout.

Backdrops and fabric walls #

For a stage or photo wall, backdrop banners are made in either of two materials: hemmed 440gsm PVC with eyelets, or 400gsm PVC-free. The smallest is a 2 m square; the largest runs 4 m wide by 2.5 m high. There’s also a green screen backdrop, 1.5 m wide and 2 m tall, on 440gsm banner vinyl.

Exhibitors who travel tend to like fabric. It’s what our straight stretch fabric display wall and its siblings use, in widths between 2.5 and 6 metres, one or two printed faces, with or without the frame. It folds into a small bag and shrugs off creases better than vinyl does, which is handy when it’s in and out of a van every month.

Finishing matters as much as material #

• Hems. PVC and PVC-free banners can be ordered with a hem or with raw edges. The hem is the edge turned over and welded, so it’s double thickness exactly where eyelets punch through. Anything living outdoors should have one.
• Eyelets. You choose plastic or metal; they go at each corner and along the edges. For a banner that’s out for weeks, pick metal.
• Cable ties. PVC and PVC-free orders can include a bag of ties, or two, or none at all. Saves a trip to the hardware shop on the morning of the event.

Leave a 5 cm margin between your wording and the edge, so no hem or eyelet ever lands on a letter. Bleed and safe areas are explained in our artwork guidelines.

One printed side

There’s no double-sided choice on the PVC, mesh or PVC-free pages, so plan on a single printed face. If a message needs reading from the road and from the car park behind the fence, buy two banners and hang them back to back. Where printing on both faces is possible, for instance on the fabric walls or on feather flags, the product options include a Sides Printed setting.

Quick matches #

Your job	Best banner material
Cafe front or school railings	PVC at 440gsm with hems and metal eyelets
Scaffold or a Heras fence on a breezy site	Mesh at 260gsm
Conference hall with a no-PVC rule	PVC-free at 400gsm
Pop-up stand in front of a sunny window	Blockout PVC at 610gsm
Pop-up stand in an office reception	Banner vinyl at 440gsm
Birthday party or photo wall	A backdrop, PVC or PVC-free

Before it goes up #

An outdoor banner is treated as an advert in planning law; in England the rules sit in the Control of Advertisements Regulations 2007. Most modest banners need no application, but a big one, or one staying up for months, is worth a quick call to the council.

On delivery: UK mainland is £7.95, or free on orders of £100 or more after discounts, and anything over 3 m on any side adds £15. Still torn? Send us your four answers through the contact form and we’ll name the best banner material for the job.