Giant banner printing

Wind is the first design problem

A solid sheet on a building behaves like a sail, and the load grows quickly with size and height. That is why large exterior work is commonly made in mesh banner material, which lets a proportion of the air pass through. Mesh does not remove the load, it only reduces it, and it softens the image slightly. Sheltered or indoor sites may suit solid PVC instead. Whoever is responsible for the structure should confirm it can carry the banner safely.

What happens at the seams and edges

Most materials come on rolls narrower than the finished piece, so a very large banner is made from widths joined together. Plan your artwork so those seams avoid small text. The perimeter also takes the strain, which is why edges are normally reinforced and finished with eyelets, webbing, pockets or rope, spaced to suit the fixings. The right finish depends on what you are fixing to, such as scaffold tube, cable or a frame, so share a photo and a sketch of the structure early.

Three things to settle before you order

• Permission: an external banner may need advertisement consent and the owner's agreement, so check with your local planning authority first
• Access: decide who will rig it, how they will reach it safely, and how it will come down
• Life span: a two week event and a year on a scaffold can need different materials

For a whole-elevation job, compare this with building wraps, and for site perimeters look at hoarding graphics before settling on a format.