Weather. It’s a very tricky thing. While meteorologists on your local news most often have the forecast nailed, sometimes you just never know how strong a wind or a rainstorm will be. When it comes to forking over some cash for a banner to promote a grand opening, church event, or Black Friday sale, you should be familiarized about the best practices for use of this promotional item, and if it can handle the outdoors.
We’re based in Tampa, Florida, so we are pretty well aware how weather wakes up in the morning wanting to take a toll on outdoor banners. We have hardcore thunderstorms nearly every afternoon during the summer. Heat and humidity can be oppressive. Oh yeah, there’s those hurricane things that make a path toward us every year. Those three weather patterns aren’t the only ones that can wear down custom banners placed outdoors. But it does give us, and subsequently you as our client, a head start on knowing the ins and outs of outdoor banners for advertising. Let’s get started.
Wind:
Wind is probably the biggest culprit that can ruin the day of banners.
Banners are typically comprised of vinyl, and they are strong. Good luck punching through one of our standard 13-ounce vinyl custom banners. Strong is good, as rain or light-to-medium snowfalls don’t have any real effect on banner material. However, if you’ve ever seen the dramatic movie Castaway, this scene should be very familiar.
Remember being so happy and relieved when Tom Hanks’ character made it off the island with the help of his sail? Remember just a few minutes later, the despair and empathy you felt for him when his sail detached from the raft and was blown away, and out of sight forever? I know, that may have taken a long time to get here. The point is, high winds can turn a thick, heavy-duty outdoor banner into a sail of sorts. If your banner goes flying away, you may now have a Grand Opening that no one knows about. If using custom banners in a high-wind environment, we advise that you add slits to allow wind to pass through (we’ll take care of this for you), or switch to a mesh banner material.
How to Mesh Wind with a Win:
You can stave off those wind gusts much better if you choose to go with a mesh banner.
Our nine-ounce mesh custom banners are most suitable for use in areas with wind exposure, such as chain-link fences. Other scenarios in which mesh banners work well are when attached to the side of buildings. This form of outdoor banner is much lighter and holds up better over time compared to the standard 13-ounce vinyl banner. With thousands of tiny holes intertwined in this fabric, wind can pass through, making a mesh banner tear and fade- resistant, as well as fire retardant.
Heat & Humidity:
Maybe you live in Arizona, where the dry desert heat can scorch up to 120+ degrees regularly. Perhaps you reside in Florida, where temps get into the high 90s, but the humidity causes you to sweat profusely in three minutes. As far as banners go, dry heat or a humidity-filled atmosphere, the heat doesn’t care.
Toasty temps on a custom banner cause cracking and overall destruction over time. Here’s a nice little nugget for you…if possible, place your banner facing north (don’t do it at the cost of losing eyeballs). A north-facing banner is not directly exposed to sunlight. This will increase the longevity of your outdoor banner.
When it’s all said and done, vinyl banners can last two to three years outside, depending on weather conditions and sun exposure. When it comes to mesh, these custom banners have the ability to survive wind gusts and moderate sustained winds far more than solid vinyl banners. However, the life expectancy is a bit shorter, lasting around one to two years when cared for properly.