What are PVC Banners made from?
PVC Banners Materials
The most widely used material is technically known as PVC, a heavy-weight vinyl. The weight ranges from as light as 9 ounces to as heavy as 22 ounces per square yard (900 gsm) for the various banner substrates and can be double or single-sided. In order to promote the hanging of the banner, you can also add eyelets (eyelets).
A high-frequency weld, stitching or banner hem tape is often used to neatly attach the hems and provide eyelets/eyelets for insertion. Large banners are usually printed on a special mesh PVC material so that any wind can move through them (which can be so large that they cover the side of a building).
Printing onto PVC
There are different vinyl banner types. Its useful life varies from 3-5 years.
With digitally printed banners: printed with inkjet inks that are aqueous (water-based), eco-solvent, solvent-based or UV curable.
The latter three forms tend to contain robust pigments, offering superior resistance to weather and UV fading. Currently, large-format inkjet printers are used, usually developed by companies such as HP, EFI Vutek, Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh, or one of many manufacturers in China or Korea.
Very large banners can be created using “grand format inkjet printers” with a width of > 5 m or computer-controlled airbrush machines that print the ink directly on the material of the banner. 280 m2 per hour can be printed by some of the fastest wide and large-format inkjet printers.
Vinyl lettered banners:
Created by applying individual elements cut through a computer-driven vinyl cutter from self-adhesive vinyl. With the advent of large format printing, this technique is now uncommon.
Screen printed:
Created using screen printing, using screens containing a picture stencil through which the screen printing ink passes, in which different colours are laid down one at a time. Screen printing can be conducted on hand benches, single/dual colour machines, or multi-colour high-performance screen presses that can print at approximately 1,000 m2 per hour plus. Due to cost-effectiveness, screenprinting is typically reserved for large amounts of the same banner but is closely matched and even exceeded by digitally printed banners.
Crafted:
Graphics and lettering painted by hand. With the advent of modern banners printing, such kinds of banners are unusual.
How PVC banners are finished.
Hems: for vinyl banners, the most common method of finishing. Hems allow eyelets or eyelets to be more firmly inserted, allowing the banner to be fixed or hung.
Eyelets:
Eyelets are small metal rings secured into the banner hem that allows the string, cable ties or bungee cords to be attached to the banner to assist fixation (typically 12.5mm diameter inner) rings.
Pole Pockets:
Pole pockets may be completed with vinyl banners, usually at the top and/or bottom, where a loop is made of the same continuous material and attached by a high-frequency weld, stitching or banner hem tape to the back of the banner. This is popular on scaffold banners in order to protect the banner on-site; a scaffold pole is slid though. Hung banners will carry a weighted bar at the bottom with a pole pocket that can add friction to the show and keep it from billowing up.
The Applications of PVC banners.
Vinyl banners have many applications and uses. Quite commonly, they are used for advertising the logo of a corporation, a special campaign, event, team or school. Since vinyl is a very versatile and compact material, you can see vinyl banners almost everywhere. Vinyl banners are usually used as billboards, table banners, banners for trade shows, banners for buildings, street banners, banners for festivals, as well as flags for stadiums.
In order to ensure the eyelets are correctly protected, a quality vinyl banner may also use an outer hem. The nickel holes that allow the banner to be hanged on fence posts, walls, or on the side of buildings are eyelets. Under windy conditions, these grommet holes will quickly break out of the banner if eyelets are not fixed into the hem of a vinyl banner. As decorative trim and to avoid delamination and raising of vinyl hems, banner hem tapes are also used.
