Few marketing strategies send as powerful a message as large-format vinyl banners. Draped on building walls, suspended over streets and hung from poles, custom vinyl banners command attention for sheer size and position; so using banners to market your business is an astute marketing strategy that can pay huge dividends with minimal investment.

Banners should be both great looking and durable, which is why you should use a commercial printer like us. No matter which custom vinyl banner material you select, we use state-of-the-art large-format banner printing presses, so you get a high-quality banner that stands out in a crowd.

Resolution

Resolution, also known as DPI (Dots Per Inch) or PPI (Pixels Per Inch), can be described as the number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one-inch space. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail captured and the sharper the resulting image.

Photoshop
To see if your file has the proper resolution for printing in Photoshop, click on Image>Image Size. View the resolution section. The resolution should be set to 300 dpi.

Acrobat
To see if your file has the proper resolution in Acrobat, set your view to 300%. If your artwork appears pixelated beyond this point, then your artwork is low resolution.

How do I know if my resolution is good for print?
If your artwork appears pixelated beyond the 300% view in Acrobat, then this
is an indication that your file is low resolution. If your artwork appears crisp at 300%, then this is a good indication that your resolution is print ready.

DO NOT ENLARGE a 72 dpi file in your 300 dpi document.
A common misconception is that you can convert a file from 72 dpi to 300 dpi. This is both true and false. If your image is 4 by 6 inches at 72 dpi, the image will actually be smaller when importing it to a 300 dpi document. This is not the same for files that are large in size at 72 dpi. For example, if your file is 28 inches by 40 inches at 72 dpi, then the file is large enough to import into a 300 dpi document.

DO NOT RESAMPLE THE RESOLUTION in Photoshop.
Another misconception is that you can up the resolution from 72 dpi to 300 dpi in Photoshop simply by changing the current dpi to 300 dpi. This is incorrect. Doing so will make your file pixelated.

CMYK Color Mode
Color mode must be in CMYK to be a print ready file. If file(s) are submitted using any other color mode, such as RGB or Pantone, the file(s) will be converted to CMYK during preflighting. Conversion from one color standard to another may result in a colors shift or colors dropping out.

A hard copy proof is available in most of our products to view an accurate color representation of your artwork before going to press.

The following illustrates the visual difference between RGB (monitor) and CMYK (printed).

Bleeds

Bleeds are required in all artwork with an image extending to one of the borders. Add an eighth of an inch (0.125") to each side to allow for cutting. 

Borders

1/8" Added for Bleed
1/4" Minimum Border Size

Borders should be at least 1/4" thick PLUS 1/8" bleed for a total size of 3/8" thick.

The cutting process for printed materials has a mechanical tolerance of about 0.0625 or 1/16 of an inch. When using a border in your artwork, it is essential that your design use at least 0.25 or 1/4 of an inch of white space from your border to the cut line to maintain a symmetric appearance.

How Do I Get My Blues To Not Print Purple?

For more accurate color reproduction of your files, we recommend you follow the CMYK color values.

Printing tip: When trying to achieve reflex or navy blue values, it is important that the magenta value is not too high, as blue + red (cyan + magenta) = purple vs. blue.

Depending on the blue you desire the best practice is to ensure that the magenta values are no more than 60% for reflex blue and no more than 70-75% at the most for richer/darker blues.

Edge Finishing: Pole Pockets (Left/Right)

Material: 13 oz. White Matte Vinyl

Our 13 oz. white matte vinyl material is a high-grade, flexible banner material with a matte, front-lit finish. This treated smooth surface has high durability and puncture resistance.