Vinyl Banners - Easy as 1-2-3

Recently I have had several of my clients contact me directly to order their vinyl banners, which is good. The reason the have done this though is not so good. It has been because they said that my website is just too complicated.

Now standing so close to my website as I do it is very difficult for me (if not impossible) to accurately judge how simple or how complicated my vinyl banners site is to use.

Obviously my aim with my site is to help as many people as I can with a good quality - cheap vinyl banner, and the more people I can help get what they want in the form of a vinyl banner, the better it is for me. I have always believed that in business as well as other aspects my life that everything should always be a “Win Win” situation.

So in this post I am going to explain how simple getting your own vinyl banner can be. To do this I have broken the banner ordering process into three simple steps.

The Three Steps to Owning a Cheap Vinyl Banner;

1. Decide on the size of vinyl banner you need. This is not too difficult, the only considerations you need make are what size of vinyl banner you need in conjunction with how much you want to spend. My cheapest vinyl banner is my 1800mm by 600mm entry level banner. These start at just $99 (Australian Dollars). Easy.

2. Step two is to decide on what you want your banner to say. This may include a picture of your choice that you want to include on your banner (check out my new vinyl photo banners), or just settle on the message you would like to get across to people who will be looking at your banner. Nothing really tough here either… well I hope not. You can also just send me a copy of your artwork or email me your ideas. I will happily create a draft copy of your banner ideas for you, and email it to you for approval or for any changes you would like. Once you are happy with your design we can get started.

3. Now step three is where things get complicated. Once you know the size of your vinyl banner, and you have decided on your message and design, you send me an email telling me what you want and I make it happen for you. Of course I will expect some payment from you for your banner, though Ill bet you guessed that anyway!

That’s about it. You decide what you want, the size, your design and special message. Then all you have to do is to let me know about it. Now that’s not too difficult is it?

By the way, if you do have any suggestions that you think will make my website easier for you to use, to say thank you I will give you 10% of the price of your next vinyl banner order (this offer doesn’t include my specials – they’re cheap enough as it is!).

Thanks for reading

Wishing you the best of success

Steve

Vinyl Business Banners Logo

One of the most common problems I encounter when producing a vinyl banner for business is the incorporation of your businesses logo.

Now this is no feat of rocket science in itself, but the main problem arises from the file that carries your company logo.

The problem is that the logo file is often too small a size to be used on a vinyl business banner. Using too small a file is like spreading butter a little bit too far across a piece of bread, you know it is there but much of the flavour is lost.

It is possible to recreate just about anything logo-wise using the sophisticated software tools I use to help create a vinyl banner for you. Though my thoughts are why reinvent the wheel (or the logo) anyway?

Many businesses these days have a soft copy of their company logo. This usually comes from professional graphic artists and designers for use in the company’s brochures, business cards and letterheads – you know the type of thing. This is where the trouble can start.

Because the people generating the logo usually only see the need to produce logos etcetera in a size big enough for use on the small scale – say about 25mm square for a business card, once we stretch this size image out to 500 or 600 mm, remember the dry bread – think Sahara Desert.

The images are often held in a file format called a JPEG (often called a Jay-Peg – and short for Joint Photographic Experts Group). Now this is a great format for many uses. It is great for photos and it is what is called a “Raster” image (a Raster image is not a photo of Bob Marley by the way), it refers to a method of image production made from a matrix of dots to make up an image.

You are likely looking at quite a few JPEG files right now on my blog. The JPEG (along with bitmap images) are some of the most common file types for images used on the web. It’s short coming is that it is an image made out of little dots called pixels.

When we magnify these images by 20 or 30 times to sit on a vinyl business banner, we have trouble. The edges get a saw tooth or grainy appearance, this is called pixilation and it can ruin the look of your vinyl banner in no time flat. This effect is not as noticeable at distance but closer up it starts to take on that “done with Crayola” look. Not a good impression for your business banner to be making.

So what is the answer? Ask you graphics people for a larger copy of your logo image (a lot larger) if it is in the JPEG format, or better yet ask for a copy of your logo in a Vector file format.

A Vector image unlike a Raster image is made up of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, and shapes (or polygons), which are all based on mathematical equations, to represent the image. What this means is that the image is scalable and adjusts itself based on mathematical formula to create the image we see, regardless of the size – perfect!

Some common vector graphic formats are;

• CGM – Computer Graphics Metafile
• SVG – Scalable Vector Graphics
• ODG – Open Document Graphics
• EPS – Encapsulated PostScript
• PDF – Portable Document Format
• SWF – Shock Wave Flash
• XPS – XML Paper Specification
• Windows Metafile

So as a favour to me make you a great value vinyl banner and many other people who work with your logo, have a huge JPEG file or a vector image for me to work with, you will be the one who benefits.

Best of Success to You.

Steve

Vinyl Photo Banners

Hello Everyone

Now I am not one to normally promote my new Vinyl Banner products through my Blog. I mostly use this part of my website to give my clients and readers some tips on getting the absolute most out of their vinyl banner. Whether they buy from me or some else (hopefully Me!).

This time though is a special exception.

Over the past month or two I have had quite a few enquiries about putting family photos etcetera on Birthday banners or Anniversary Banners. In fact I have had so many great ideas for using a vinyl photo banner come from my clients and blog readers I though it was high time I did something about it.. (Thanks to all my clever clients out there by the way!).

Until now the process of producing a high quality photo banner (whether it is a photo birthday banner or any other kind of photo banner for that matter), has been difficult for me and therefore quite expensive.

As regular customers of mine at B2bJv.com will already know, I pride myself on delivering some of the most competitively priced vinyl banners around. Now I have come up with a new process where I can produce a full colour vinyl photo banner for you for just $129 (1,800 mm x 600mm). I think you will agree that is very good value.

The photos are all clipped (carefully trimmed around the edges) by me personally to make the subject of the image stands out. This effect I like a lot. It makes the person pictured on the banner seem to leap out at you. I hope you like this effect too.

Because of the dozens of ideas I have received already,  I have not restricted the type of vinyl photo banners I will provide.

For a limited time (till I work this out). I am prepare to do any kind of vinyl photo banner for you that you can think of. Whether you need a photo birthday banner, or an anniversary photo banner, it can even be for a team function, or anything at all.

All you need do is send me your photo, tell me what you want the banner’s theme to be (with any special design instructions you like). Tell me the message you want I will do your photo banner’s artwork absolutely free of charge.

I normally charge $100 per hour for my artwork design so I hope you see what great value my new range of Vinyl Photo Banners really is.

So have a think of what you could use a vinyl photo banner.

For the my next photo banner client who comes up with the most creative idea for a vinyl photo banner will receive their new photo banners for just $50. This is just to cover my PVC materials and delivery. This special is for only for my Blog Readers, so get to it.

Cheers

Steve

Or How to Erect a Mini Billboard. – Part 2

Welcome to part two of “How to Erect a Mini Billboard” using your vinyl banner.

We have already covered steps one and two about keeping your vinyl banner level and making sure you get it as high as possible. This week I will cover the third and in my opinion, just as important step “How to tie your Vinyl Banner”.

I will assume you have already have an appropriate location in mind, one with high visibility, and plenty of passing traffic and somewhere where your local council won’t take your vinyl banner down for you – unannounced.

What we want to achieve is a way of tying your banner so it won’t sag over time. There is no point in going to the trouble of making sure it is the right height off the ground and that it is nice and level if it sags within 24 hours of your putting there in the first place.

I usually use nylon rope to tie up my vinyl banners, it is cheap and very strong. I tie the rope to the eyelets in each corner of my banner making a small loop that goes through the eyelet rather than not it directly. This allows the eyelet some degree of freedom to move and it helps prevent the banner scrunching up in the corners.

Most of the banners I use personally are the temporary Billboard style that you see while driving down a road. The one pictured above is my $99 banner, the size being 1800mm x 600mm, you can see that this size can be very effective (see my previous post).

I look for two trees about a third further apart than the width of my vinyl banner (so in this case about 2.4 metres apart), I want them to be angled in such a way that they will allow the banner to face the on coming traffic squarely at about 100-150 metres. This is allows my banner to come into maximum view while it is at a range where it will catch the eye as well as able to be read.

To make certain that your banner remains neat and easy to read, tie your ropes so they split the corner of you banner. Imagine your banner was on a “Rack” and you wanted to stretch it in all four directions at once. This helps keep your banner surface flat, exposing the maximum message potential of your vinyl banner in the clearest manner possible. If it sags without your holding it or a wind pressing against it, chances are that it needs to be tighter or the ropes need to be spread further apart. (see last weeks post)

As I said I tie my banners along road ways, and usually to trees. My favourite trees for this use are one solid sturdy tree with a younger flexible, partner (a bit like life really – however I digress).

Tying you banner between these two types of trees allows you to load the smaller tree a little. This not only acts as a shock absorber in a high wind, it will help keep your vinyl banner looking neat and tidy as a result of the gentle pressure being applied by the smaller tree. This is very important to keep getting the most from your investment over a period of weeks.

I hope this helps you get the maximum from your banner, if you gave any thoughts or need some help, email me or leave a comment on the blog. I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Cheers

Steve

Or How to Erect a Mini Billboard. – Part 1

Once you have your vinyl banner it is obvious it will do you no good at all until someone sees it. So this week I have decided to share three simple steps I always use to make sure my banners look their best and as a result give me the most impact for my dollar (ROI for all you Accounting types).

Today I will cover the first two steps and next week I will cover the remaining step of how to tie your vinyl banner.

Pictured above is an example of how I like to display my vinyl banners (yes I do use my own vinyl banners to promote my website and yes Vinyl Banners do work!).

This image is one I took this morning on the way into the office (with my iPhone). I put this one up early last evening. It is hanging at the entrance to an industrial estate in the Lake Macquarie town of Morisset in New South Wales (about 20 minutes drive from my office).

The first thing to make sure of when displaying your vinyl banner is to make certain it is as close to level as you can make it. Few things look more slipshod than a vinyl banner at an odd angle, this is a definite No No!

The second most important thing to consider is the height of your banner. I have touched on this in a previous post so I won’t go into to too much detail here. You want to have your banners base (the bottom seam or lower ropes) ay least 2 meters of the ground. Ideally we are trying to keep it above hand height for two important reasons.

Firstly the higher you banner is from the ground, the more easily it will be seen, secondly by keeping it above normal hand height it will be fairly safe from being removed and also safe from vandalism.

You may need to invest in a ladder if you don’t already have one. A medium size step ladder should do fine and you will still be able to stow it in the boot of your car.

I will finish up next time with the all important third step. How to select a good location for your vinyl banner and how to tie your banner so it will remain looking good for the maximum time possible.

I will post Part 2 Next week…

Cheers

Steve

Vinyl Banners - Hang Em High

Last year I had a rather large vinyl banner of my own on display on a roadside not far from my place of business. While driving past my banner one morning (I always enjoy seeing my banners on display working hard to generate more business), I noticed that my banner was on the ground. It had been untied.

Naturally I stopped, retied my banner and continued on to the office. I didn’t think much more about it. I thought it may have been a strong breeze or my less than “Boy Scout” ability with knots that sent my banner to the ground.

While driving in the next day, I encountered the same problem again, only this time my banner had been cut down.

Recently, I found out I was not alone with this type of problem. I have spoken with several of my vinyl banner clients who were in exactly the same boat (or worse). They too have had their banners slashed or destroyed completely while in use and on public display.

These banners were for the most part being displayed on roadsides (as temporary roadside bill boards) close to, or on the way to their respective owner’s businesses, just like mine was.

I have had no reports of any banner damage being caused when the banners were in use at the place of business.

The damage (let’s call it vandalism) always seems to occur overnight, so it is safe to say that bravery does not appear to be an attribute of our frustrated “Banner Slasher”. Regardless of the gripe these people seem to have, this cowardly act is costing these business owners money.

This cost is not only the replacement cost of the vinyl banners in question, though in some cases this is considerable. More importantly, it is the opportunity cost of not having the banner on display, working when it would otherwise be creating more business for its owners.

If someone does have a genuine concern about seeing a vinyl banner displayed on a roadside somewhere, I would have thought a phone call would be the most civilised way to air your grievance. Destroying someone else’s property is well… criminal.

I wonder of the “Banner Slasher’s” frustration also goes to street signs, billboards, traffic control barriers and of course the ever popular Corflute telegraph pole ad.. who knows?

There is no cure for this problem with regard to the banners construction. There is no banner fabric I know that is impervious to a knife attack.

The one solution I have tried that does seem to work however is elevation.

My simple solution was to raise my banner higher than arms reach, and up until now this has solved the problem. I had to use a ladder to re-hang my banner, though from this time onward, I have had no problem whatever with someone vandalising my property.

This was probably a little easier for me as my banner was tied between two trees, so lifting it higher was not a real problem.

The moral to this story is that though our heroic “Banner Slasher” is well equipped with a sharp knife, always at the ready to happily destroy someone else’s property, a ladder does not seem to be part of the standard equipment.

So if you are using your vinyl banner on the road somewhere, like Clint Eastwood did.. Hang Em High!

Cheers

Steve

PS. My clients who did send me pictures of their very sorry looking slashed vinyl banners have since had them replaced. I only charged them my costs plus 10%, just to help them out. After all their success with my banners is my success too. When they do well, I do well. Isn’t that what capitalism is all about?

Kind Regards

Steve

Effects of UV Rays on Vinyl

One of the problems associated with vinyl banners used outdoors is that it is at the mercy of the Australian sun. We have all lived through an Aussie summer (well those Aussies reading this article have) and we know how harsh it can be.

The effect sun light, UV radiation in particular is that it will eventually fade the life, the colour out of vinyl (or any other fabric) that stays exposed to the sun long enough, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

What we can do however is find ways to put off the inevitable, to slow down the process and extend the useful life of our banners by months and hopefully years.

The burning question (sorry I could not resist the pun) is how do we delay the onset of colour fade on 3 square metres of digitally printed coloured vinyl?

You may be thinking of a sun block like the ones we use to avoid sun burn our bodies. Well if you are, you’re on the right track, though I have to admit, the thought of pink zinc painted all over your banner may slow down the fading but who will be able to read your message anyway?

The answer to this problem is fabric protector. I use a popular off the self product that is designed for auto use, it Amours my vinyl banners and reduces the fade quite considerably.

These fabric protection products are specifically designed to preserve vinyl and plastic surfaces and while reducing the amount of UV light that they let in to do damage, they still allow the underlying surface (in this case your sales message) to shine through.

There are a bucket full of different types of these vinyl fabric products available, some cheaper others are well… not so cheap. Regardless of which brand you decide to use on your new vinyl banner, make sure that the solution you use is water based not solvent based.

If you are not sure if your fabric protector is OK, try using just a little bit of it on the corner of your vinyl banner, I usually experiment around the eyelets just in case there is an issue. If you can see no apparent problem in say half an hour after application, you should be fine to try it on the rest of your banners surface.

Be gentle when applying the fabric protector. I prefer to apply it with a damp cloth, an old T-Shirt is good, spray some solution onto the damp fabric and rub it gently onto your banner.

You may have to do this every now and then depending on your local conditions, thought in the long run you will not only protect and increase the life of your vinyl banner. It will stay looking good far longer and do it’s job better for you for a longer period.

If you have any tips on protecting your vinyl banner, I would be pleased to hear from you.

Cheers

Steve

Vinyl banners colour & size are important

To get the most impact from your vinyl banner, you not only have to consider the size of the font (the character size) you use. Proper use of colours is also vitally important to the overall effect.

New vinyl banner buyers will often concentrate on making their new banner look nice. Now this is certainly very important, though keep in mind the main purpose of your banner is to deliver your message.

Company colours of course have to be taken into account, though if your message gets lost because of your company colour considerations there is no point in having a vinyl banner to promote your business or organization in the first place.
One of the most important factors in choosing good colours for your vinyl banner is contrast. The colours with the highest level of contrast (no surprise here) are black and white. I know that these are not really colours in the true sense but lets not get side tracked.

Black text on a white background is usually the best, though white on black is also OK if you have some degree of back lighting. White on black for instance is fine for ads on your computer monitor.

The reason we don’t see much black and white used for advertising purposes in the real world (apart from news print) is mainly because it is boring. Think of the last newspaper you read, your eyes usually gravitate towards the coloured ads, not the black and white.

That said, this does not mean that we should use all the colours of the rainbow either. Ideally what we are looking for is a combination of high contrast, eye catchability (yes, I just made up that word), as well as something that is easy for us to digest visually.

The simple answer here is yellow background and black text. This combination answers the contrast question, yellow and black demonstrates about 70% of the contrast of black and white while at the same time offering an eye catching space to look at that is also easy to read.

Have a look at the example image included with this post, examine it from several different distances and see which colour combinations are the easiest for you to read.

There are certain situations where you have no choice with the colours you have to use on your vinyl banner. In some instances we can cheat a little by adding a fine black border to the banner text we use.

This increases the contrast around the text as well as helping our eyes to separate the text from the background. This technique is used when the overall contrast is low. Have a look at the sales banners and business banners in the b2bjv.com website. You will see I have used this method on many of the banners to improve there legibility.

If you have any questions about this feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I will be happy to help you.

Cheers

Steve

Get Your Vinyl Banner Right

For anyone in business, the search for cheap effective ways to promote your organisation is an ongoing battle.

Getting your businesses noticed, whether it is a brand recognition campaign, a sales promotion or merely reminding new and existing customers about your products or services, promotion is one of the most important functions we have as business owners.

One answer to this problem is the humble vinyl business banner. The vinyl banner is a cheap, effective, mobile and long lasting solution to promoting any business.

When you compare the price of a custom vinyl business banner with other forms of advertising, the Yellow Pages or a local news paper ad for instance, the economy of a vinyl banner becomes very obvious.

The trouble is that so many people who decide to use a vinyl banner as a promotional tool simply get it wrong.

How many times have you seen a vinyl business banner along a busy road or outside a place of business where you could simply not tell what the banners message was? The answer to this (at least in my case) is more often than not.

At this point many business owners throw their hands in the air and say, vinyl banners don’t work. This is not the case. If you get your business banner right, they can help drive more business your way, sometimes for years at an extremely small cost.

Over the next few weeks I will pass on a few tips about what I have discovered on how to get the most out of your next vinyl banner promotion. I hope these insights help you and your business to become even more successful.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, and a very Successful year in 2009.

Cheers

Steve.

Welcome to the Vinyl Business Banners blog.

The idea behind our blog is to help you get the most from any vinyl banner promotion you have for your business.

A vinyl business banner can be a cheap and effective way for you to promote you business and like all forms of business promotion and advertising there are right and wrong ways to go about it.

At B2bJv.com we focus on providing you with the most suitable business banner we can to help meet the needs of your business. In addition we have started this blog to share insights based on our own marketing experience and to ensure you get the most from your next vinyl business banner campaign.

If you have any thoughts or questions about a banner for your business, please let me know, I will be happy to assist in any way I can.

To your business success

Steve