Vinyl Banners, Flags, or Custom Signage? A Phoenix Business Owner’s Guide

Walk down almost any commercial corridor in Phoenix and you’ll see the same three tools doing the heavy lifting for local businesses: a banner announcing a sale, a flag flapping by the entrance, and the occasional oddly-shaped sign squeezed onto a space nothing off-the-shelf would fit. Each one solves a slightly different problem, and most business owners only learn the difference after ordering the wrong one for the job.

Let’s take a look at where each of these fits into use and when to determine which one your business needs.

Vinyl Banner Printing: The Default for a Reason

Most people think of vinyl when they think about ‘a banner’, and it’s an appropriate choice. It’s cheap, low-cost, and prints brightly and true in saturated colour, and it’s also fairly weatherproof when it comes to the outdoors, given that the material weight is equal to the job. A vinyl banner is the quickest way, without long-term obligations, to effectively communicate a message to foot traffic and drive-by crowds at a grand opening, seasonal sales, or a building announcement.

If you live in a hot climate such as Phoenix, the one thing that should be done is to get the right material grade. The thicker the vinyl (13-18 oz) and the more UV-resistant the ink is, the longer it will last in direct desert sun, compared with economy vinyl, which may fade or become brittle after one summer in the desert sun. If a banner is being displayed for more than a couple of weeks, it’s best to ask the printer if a different type of banner can be used, up front, rather than reprinting later.

Flag Printing: Movement Gets Noticed

One of the problems vinyl banners have is that they require people to be within a few inches or feet of them to catch their attention, which is impossible in a parking lot or a busy street, where a driver has only a second or two to see a sign before driving off. A flag moving in the wind has the ability to draw the eye into its direction; a static banner just doesn’t have that effect, and that’s why feather flags and blade flags have been a staple at car dealerships, real estate open houses, retail storefronts, and expo booths.

A double-sided print is a great choice for printing flags that will be seen from both sides of the street, and a solid ground mount or cross-base mount is more important in Phoenix than in a different climate: afternoon wind gusts are not uncommon, and a lightweight base is no use if it is blown over and rendered useless.

Banner Printing Beyond the Basics

Banner printing encompasses a wide range of applications that can go beyond just a rectangle of vinyl. There are many different types of mesh banners, from fence banners to retractable banner stands to step and repeat banners for events, all under one category and each appropriate to a specific event. If a business has a booth at the same location in the same market for every show, they may not be taking advantage of a better format; instead of ordering a new vinyl banner, they could order a retractable stand for the booth and save money.

Custom Banners: When Off-the-Shelf Doesn’t Fit

Most of the tim , standard sizes fit most situations, but there are many spaces that are not like a standard storefront overhang, fence line, vehicle wrap, or a uniquely shaped interior wall. Custom dimensions and shapes are perfect for the space in question and are not the size of a standard dimension or shape.

Consistency is also an issue with custom work. When your business flags, banners, and storefront signs are all designed and printed in a matched set – the colors, logo placement, overall design – your business will look more established and professional than a collection of mismatched signs made at different times from a variety of sources.

Matching the Format to Your Situation

Common sense generally can be determined by a few simple questions:

Are the people strolling by or driving by? Flags are more effective for fast-moving traffic, and banners and signage with more text are effective for foot traffic that has time to read.

Is this something you need to change once, or do you need to make it a habit? If you’re in the same trade show spot every quarter,r then it makes more sense to invest in a banner stand that will sell regularly, but if you’re only going to use it once, it may be more affordable to spend money on a one-off vinyl banner.

Do the dimensions conform to a normal size? Otherwise, you won’t have one of those “afterthought” signs.

The Value of a Local Printer

The best way to make material and format decisions is to let the printer who is making them know what conditions the sign will be subjected to — Phoenix’s sun and wind being included. Working with a local provider of custom banners that Phoenix businesses already trust means faster turnaround, the ability to see proofs or samples in person, and recommendations based on what actually holds up locally rather than a manufacturer’s generic spec sheet.

The Bottom Line

The vinyl banner, flag, and custom signage are not synonymous; each serves a purpose of solving a problem of visibility. Other than the obvious point of matching up the format with your traffic, time, and space, it is the difference between signage that will be noticed and signage that will simply fade into the background.