Retractable Banner Stand Overview
Lifetime Warranty on our Retractable Stands
Banner stands have been around for a number of years and are a very popular, inexpensive sales tool. When banner stands were first introduced, there were only a handful of manufacturers producing them. As ‘supply and demand’ dictates, prices were high.
As our 9/11 hit, business everywhere was down, and companies looked for more inexpensive ways to get their message out to prospective buyers.
Enter the Chinese! The Chinese started copying banner stands. All of the sudden there were more banner stand styles, sizes, and materials available than anyone could ever imagine. The choices were/are ‘mind boggling’. All of the sudden, the Chinese were offering copies of major manufacturers, at 10% of the price (90% off wholesale). The retail prices dropped like rocks.
Double sided, rolling, twirling, replaceable cartridge, dual, sets of three/four, tall, short, table top, floor, retractable, non-retractable, where does that leave the average buyer? CONFUSED AT BEST! Let me clear up a few things. The vast majority of banner stands are 33” x 78” tall. That has become the standard size, with 39” x 86” tall running a very distant second.
The most ‘value’ in a banner stand can be found in the aluminum extrusion. The aluminum, extruded tube, banner stand is generally the lightest/strongest/best option available for most buyers. These stand up to maximum abuse at a reasonable price.
Graphics panels, now what? Titanium? PolyPropolyne? Vinyl? UV calendared vinyl laminate? Dupont Teijin film? Laminated? Fabric? Satin? Waterproof? Dye ink? UV ink? Confused?
As web based companies E marketing companies try to “one up” the next company in price reduction wars, graphic materials gets cheaper and cheaper. That is why there is such a price difference on the WWW.
The highest quality comes from titanium, Dupont Teijin film, generally 5 mil thick. But there’s a catch! Some manufacturers don’t finish the job by adding a 3 mil UV calendared vinyl laminate. This leaves the print vulnerable to smudging, scratches, dirt etc. It’s like having a Ferrari with a Yugo engine.
Vinyl, Polypropylene and a variety of other materials are used for ‘economy’ banner stands. There’s nothing wrong with these materials as long as you don’t have any long term plans for your graphic. You can imagine your graphic with the ink exposed, rubbing on itself, every time you roll it up. Common sense tells you it’s not long for this world.
We actually do these for certain customers who use these (hundreds of units) for new product launch etc. They are looking for an inexpensive, short term solution to their problem. You must know your ultimate objective.
Another material that has taken the market by storm, is Satin Polyester material. Coupled with UV ink, it provides the best of the best. It gives you the lightest, brightest product available. It has a luminescent material impregnated on the back for the highest color saturation. It is also waterproof. So any creases (always a problem with ALL the other materials), will generally be removed with a gentle steaming from a clothes steamer. Remember, the ink is NOT waterproof, so steam sparingly and always let the ink re-dry after steaming, before rolling up.
As far as the inks used, it’s ALWAYS BEST to use UV ink for banner stands. Regular dye ink starts to fade in a matter of weeks, when submitted to harsh ultra violet (UV/fluorescent) and/or sunlight. We use HP UV ink which is guaranteed not to fade, when exposed to direct sunlight for 5 YEARS!
Again the same customers that buy 100’s of banner stands for new product launches want DYE based inks because we can achieve 10-20% BRIGHTER colors. He understands the life span and only needs them for a few weeks.
These are the reasons we only carry aluminum banner stands, preferably loaded with a Satin Polyester fabric printed with UV ink.
The 5 mil BannerJet when laminated with the UV vinyl makes a nice unit for people wanting a more “glossy” look to their graphics. |
