Bannerdruck für Messen, Ausstellungen und Events
Materials for banner printing compared
If you want to have banners printed, there are a few things to consider that are important to know for successful banner printing. We have compiled the most important information about banner printing here.
Many different materials are used in banner printing. Depending on the intended use, a different banner material makes sense. A distinction can be made between outdoor and indoor use. But the light permeability of banner materials can also be decisive. Banners can be opaque, meaning that no light passes through, e.g. to darken something. But mesh banners are also an option for printing. The mesh fabric serves to increase wind permeability. This results in larger mesh openings in the fabric. Nevertheless, this banner material can be printed well. From a greater distance the banner is still very clearly visible as a graphic. The ink coverage with this banner material is of course not as high. But a fine gauze is also an option as a banner material. Here too, the ink coverage is not quite so high. But effective spatial designs can be realised with this banner material. If the banner is to be backlit, a higher ink coverage may be useful for printing. This increases the luminosity of the colours when the light first has to pass through the banner and then the ink. So when ordering banners you can certainly indicate whether they are to be backlit in their later use. We then take the corresponding ink coverage into account during banner printing.
File format for banner printing
Banner printing is usually done using the CMYK process. The banners are printed in large-format digital printing and then made up. Normally the resolution of the print template does not need to be quite so high for banner printing. It is rare to have a file as a bitmap that still has a resolution of 300 dpi at 3 metres wide. But this is also not necessary. Large banners are naturally viewed from a greater distance too, so the need for a high resolution in banner printing is no longer given. If banners are to be used as display walls and possibly provided with text, a high resolution is of course quite useful. So that legibility on the banner remains good, the texts should be in vector format, which is usually already the case during creation anyway. With banner printing the resolution is then irrelevant. If texts on a banner are to be clearly legible, the choice of the right banner material is quite important. There are various types of fabric for banners. To ensure good legibility of texts on a banner, the banner printing must be done on a finer or coated fabric. On the aforementioned mesh fabric, on the other hand, a finer resolution is completely impossible. Here it is also of no use to apply a high resolution in banner printing.
Preparing the print data for banner printing
When preparing the print file, care should be taken to use vector graphics where possible. Normal pixel graphics always suffer corresponding losses when greatly enlarged. You should also ensure that pixel graphics and vector graphics are created separately. The print file for banner printing should therefore not be exported as a pixel graphic in TIFF bitmap or JPEG format. This is why the PDF format is most ideal for the print file in banner printing. Here pixel graphics and vector graphics can occur mixed.
Print data is best created with professional graphics programs. These include Illustrator or CorelDraw. Both programs allow print data for banner printing to be created with the corresponding colour specifications in the CMYK colour space. You can export the finished print data as an EPS file in order to then convert it into a professional PDF with the Adobe Distiller program. Overall, however, it can be said that the requirements for the print file in banner printing are not particularly high.
Important properties of the banner material
Banners used at a trade fair require a certificate of the existing fire protection. This is generally referred to as a B1 certificate. Banner printing must therefore in any case be done on a certified banner material. The classification “flame-retardant” according to DIN 4102 or EN 13501-1 is today an important component in the quality of banner materials.
Another special feature is the classification for sprinkler compatibility. Here the banner material is designed so that, even under sprinkler systems, it does not present an obstacle to the extinguishing water. This can be used when a trade fair stand is to be covered over a large area with a banner at a fair. It must be noted here that the respective fair has the right to set the rules. So the size of the areas may differ somewhat at the different fairs. The inspectors also vary in how strict they are.
But sprinkler-compatible banner material is also suitable for banner printing. Of course, the print area here is also significantly smaller than with normal banner material. But colour schemes or even very large logos can nevertheless still be displayed visually.