How To Design A Pull-up Roller Banner

Whether it is for an exhibition, a point of sale or just a networking meeting, you need to design a pull-up roller banner that will get you noticed. This is probably one of the largest pieces of advertising you will own unless of course you want a few bill boards…

A Pull-up Roller Banner is very light weight so easily transportable.  A powerful marketing tool on its own and very low cost. In a room full of people it’s an excellent way to advertise your presence!

However due to its size it may not be quite as simple to design as you think. The average size is 2000mm x 800mm. It needs to be created at no less than 50% of the final size in a suitable software programme, not anything Microsoft!.

When adding text, a logo or images it is essential for them to be the correct size that will produce a good printed quality.

Recently I was approached to quote to design a pull-up roller banner with artwork supplied. When asked what format it was in, I was not surprised to hear it was a Microsoft word file! The A4 file contained a photo which would have only printed a size of 15mm in width. The logo was 150mm, so slightly bigger.

Understanding sizes required for printing is a common problem, understanding resolution requirements is essential. You cannot increase the size of images and photos to whatever size they need to be unless they are at a large enough resolution.

At actual size images need to be 300dpi, so at 50% they need to be 600dpi.
Many printers will accept 300dpi at 50%, which means they would be printing at 150 dpi. Usually you can get away with it but for any images less than that it is not recommended. Consequently the quality of the photos or images will be grainy and blurred.

Files for pull-up roller banners are better when produced as vector files so they can be enlarged to any size without losing quality. Although that may not always be possible, DON’T design a pull-up roller banner in Adobe Photoshop! The size of the file at 300 dpi will be immense!  A roller banner file opened in photoshop will more than likely crash or take several days to load! I have never tried it but I know a man who has!

• At 50% your artwork must be 400 x 1000mm in size with at least 25mm bleed (bleed is the excess paper or material that is trimmed away to allow a good edge) or more. A larger bleed at the bottom may be required for fitting it into the canister mechanism so you don’t end up with a white border at the base of your banner.
• All photo images must be a minimum of 300dpi but no smaller.
• Files must be saved as CMYK not RGB in your final file to print correctly.

When creating the design, much will be down to personal choice but here are some recommendations:

• If the banner is going to be used at an exhibition with a table in front any details below the tables height will not be seen.
• The main marketing message should be higher up so it is easily spotted from a distance.
• Your logo does not have to be huge but in the top half of the banner in order to identify you and enable you to be easily recognised!
• Keep your branding consistent.
• Don’t have too much text, people wont bother to stand and read it.
• Think of it as acting like an arrow pinpointing your position in a room full of other businesses.
• Most people will see your banner from a distance not up close.
• If the banner is not obscured at all you have more scope and space to utilise but the most important details should be above eye level.

There are no hard and fast rules when you design a pull-up roller banner. A roller banner offers great scope and opportunity for promotion and advertising if you do it right. Many people think the contact details should be above the middle as well and easily spotted. I think as long as they are clear and easy to read you are safe.

There are many pull-up roller banners offered on the internet for a variety of prices. Remember, you get what you pay for. Some mechanisms come from the Far-East and may not be as robust as the ones which are slightly more expensive. The vinyl used can vary in quality. The thinner ones tend to curl or tear easily.

There are often good deals for banners and you can buy a variety of sizes including A3 and A4 desk top versions.
Whether your banner is for an exhibition, networking or marketing event or a promotion, it is easily portable and convenient. Variations on size can cover all requirements, you can fit an ipad into it for video or slideshows. They can be used to promote menus outside restaurants, life size products for windows and doors, all manner of sales promotions and information depending on where and when they are required to be used.

A pull-up roller banner is very versatile and can last for a long time.

When designing your banner think about the places it will be used and consider carefully what message it needs to communicate.
There are lots of good ideas for banners if you do a Google image search, see what you think works!

Call me to discuss how to design a pull-up roller banner, and I’ll give you an honest opinion and a free Quote.

Read more about Pull-up Roller Banners – How Much Should You Pay?

Written by Angie Phillips, Design Consultant - Helping you create business by creating IMPACT! Fabulous effective design that makes you say WOW! Using my expertise to promote yours. Fiercely committed to my clients and getting my hands on your assets! Always happy to offer help and advice. Promoting and helping you to grow through networking & introductions even after our work is done. #CreatingBusinessByDesign  #CreatingIMPACT  #LOVEwhatIdo

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