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Measuring up for a banner is less about the wall or fence and more about whatever you’ll tie it to. Get the gap between those anchor points, knock off a little so the ties can pull it tight, and choose the biggest standard size that squeezes inside what’s left, or have one made to your exact millimetres. Err on the small side: a short banner can be tensioned, while a long one sags, creases and hides your words. The method, with worked examples, is below.
Haven’t decided how big the message itself should be? Read what size banner do I need first, then come back here to fit it to the spot.
The three numbers you’re after #
Forget the size of the wall. You need just three figures:
- The span: how far apart your anchor points are, whether that’s posts, hooks, uprights or a frame.
- The visible drop: how much height people can actually see once cars, bins, hedges and railings are in front.
- The reading distance: how far back your audience stands. This sets letter size rather than banner size, but you’ll be out there with the tape anyway.
Take a steel tape of 5 m or more (fabric ones stretch), your phone and, for anything wider than 2 m, a second pair of hands. Only use steps if they’re on solid, flat ground.
Six steps to measuring up for a banner #
- Pick your anchors. Walk the site and choose exactly which uprights, rails, hooks or battens will take the ties. They define the size; the surface behind doesn’t.
- Get the span, twice. Run the tape from the outside of the left anchor to the outside of the right, in millimetres. Do it at the top and again at the bottom, since very few fences are square, and keep whichever is smaller.
- Get the visible drop. On railings that’s usually top rail to bottom rail. On a wall, go from the highest fixing you can safely reach to the lowest line still visible over whatever gets parked or placed in front.
- Note what’s in the way. Gates that open outwards, lamp posts, downpipes, window sills, alarm boxes and signs that are already there. The banner has to miss every one.
- Take off the tie gap. Deduct the allowance for your fixing method from each side (figures below) so the banner has room to be pulled taut.
- Pace out the reading distance and take a photo. Walk from the banner spot to where your readers will stand and count it out. Then snap the space. The picture helps when you design, and it helps us if you ask for a second opinion.
Tie gaps for each fixing method #
| You’ll fix it with | Knock off, per side | The reason |
|---|---|---|
| Cable ties to rails | 25 to 50 mm | A tie over a short gap cinches tight and holds it flat |
| Bungee cords to hooks or posts | 100 to 150 mm | Bungees only grip when they’ve room to stretch |
| Rope or string to hooks | 50 to 100 mm | Space for knots and for adjusting as it settles |
| A frame or fixed battens | Nothing: measure the frame | It’s made for one exact size |
Why err small? A banner that’s a touch short can be pulled out with the ties. One that’s a touch long has nowhere to go, so it gets folded or left to flap, and somehow the crease always lands across the phone number.
Quirks of different spots #
- Railings: only count the section between the uprights you’ll tie to. Spiked tops mean the banner hangs below the spikes, so start the drop at the top rail. Check a gate can still swing.
- Fence panels: ties or screws go at the posts, so it’s post to post. Temporary site fencing? One panel is your span; our Heras fence panel size guide has the numbers.
- Shop fronts and walls: reuse fixings already there if you can. Measure the fascia or the stretch of wall over the window, and make sure you won’t be covering your proper sign, lights or the alarm.
- Halls, churches and venues: write down where you can hang from and how high the ceiling is. Stay clear of doors and fire exit signs.
Worked examples #
School railings. Uprights 2100 mm apart, rails 1100 mm apart, cable ties. Take 50 mm per side and you’ve 2000 × 1000 mm to play with. That’s exactly a 6 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in banner, which is about as tidy as measuring up for a banner ever gets.
Garden centre fence. Posts 2600 mm apart, hooks giving a clear drop of 1250 mm, bungees. Deduct 150 mm per side: 2300 mm wide and 950 mm high. An 8 ft × 3 ft (2438 × 914 mm) is too long, so a 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm) fits, or order a custom width.
From your numbers to an order #
Using cable ties with 50 mm spare each side, these are the gaps you’d need for common stock sizes:
- A span of 1319 × 710 mm or more fits 4 ft × 2 ft (1219 × 610 mm).
- 1929 × 1014 mm or more fits 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm).
- 2538 × 1014 mm or more fits 8 ft × 3 ft (2438 × 914 mm).
- 3148 × 1014 mm or more fits 10 ft × 3 ft (3048 × 914 mm).
Work in millimetres, not rounded feet. By law a foot is 304.8 mm exactly (Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1), and treating it as 30 cm leaves a 10 ft banner almost 5 cm longer than you’d bargained for. All our standard sizes are listed on the banner sizes page.
No standard size a good fit? PVC banners go custom from 300 mm right up to 16 ft 5 in × 9 ft 10 in (5000 × 3000 mm). Type your width and height into custom size banners and the price changes as you go. If any side is longer than 3 m, a single £15 oversize delivery charge is added to the order.
What the reading distance tells you #
Allow 25 mm of capital height for each 3 m your readers stand back. At 9 m that’s capitals near 75 mm; at 15 m, near 125 mm. The full table is in our sign text size guide.
Slips people make measuring up for a banner #
- Taping the entire fence when the banner only spans two posts.
- Leaving out the tie gap, so it bunches.
- Rounding feet to 30 cm.
- Writing height before width. Width first, always.
Once it’s delivered, our page on how to hang a banner talks you through putting it up. Tricky spot? Send a photo and your figures via the contact form.