Digital Printing

Look at how long the piece has to live. For a notice, campaign or fair job that will not outlast a few months, digital printing is both far faster and far cheaper. If it is something that will stay on the facade for years, such as the name of the business, a sign is the right investment. Print fades in the sun over time, while a sign is illuminated and reads at night too.

Yes. Just tell us what you want to say and where it will hang. We design the poster or banner from scratch. Reading distance is what drives the design. On a banner hung across a building facade only a few words will be read, so the text is never set tight.

It depends on material quality, where it hangs and the weather. A quality banner tensioned properly lasts a long time outdoors without trouble. In high, windy spots we recommend mesh, because it lets wind through and reduces the load on the tension points.

We print single pieces too. That said, setup cost in printing is fixed, so the unit price drops as quantity rises. If you expect to need several of the same piece, saying so up front works in your favour.

All three. Poster printing is used indoors, behind shop windows and for short campaigns. Vinyl printing has an adhesive face and can be applied to glass, walls and vehicles. Label printing is asked for on product packaging, shelf information and on-product notices, and comes as sheets or rolls. Banner material is chosen for work that will hang outdoors for a long time, because it stands up to rain and sun.

It can, and the reason is nearly always resolution. An image taken on a phone or downloaded from the internet looks fine on screen but blurs when enlarged. The larger the print, the higher the resolution needed. The one exception is viewing distance. A banner on a building facade is looked at from thirty metres, where low resolution goes unnoticed. A poster in a window is looked at from half a metre, where every flaw shows. Send us your file and we will tell you in advance how it will come out at print size.

Not exactly, and saying so up front is a matter of honesty. A screen produces colour by emitting light, print does it with ink. Some vivid tones, bright greens and oranges in particular, come out a shade duller in print. If your brand colour is critical we take a small colour proof before the run, printing a sample onto the real material to show you. That step saves time on large jobs. If the colour is rejected after a whole banner has been printed the job starts again, whereas a proof takes minutes.

The two do different jobs. Eyelets are metal rings punched around the edge of the banner. Tied with rope or cable ties, they are easy and cheap to install. They move a little in wind, so they suit short-term work. A tension system stretches the banner inside a frame, leaving the surface perfectly flat and looking professional. For work that will hang for a long time and represent the frontage, we recommend tension. Which one suits is something we say after seeing where it will hang, because wind load varies enormously with position.

Anywhere wind is an issue. Mesh is a fabric with small perforations that lets wind pass through it. On building facades, scaffolding and upper floors it is essential, because a solid banner behaves like a sail there and both the banner and the structure holding it are put under strain. The price of mesh is a small loss of visual sharpness, since the perforations make the colour look slightly lighter. We compensate for that in the design. On scaffolding banners there is another advantage, as the view out is preserved and the working area does not go dark.

It depends on the material. A banner hung with eyelets comes down in minutes and can be stored and rehung next season. That is why we suggest leaving dates off, since an undated banner can be used more than once. Vinyl stuck to glass needs heat to remove and can leave adhesive behind if it has been up a long time. For short-term window work we therefore use a different adhesive class, so removal is clean. Tell us at the start how long it needs to stay and we choose the right material.