Summer was still sweltering when the City of Safety Harbor contacted us with a request of Autumn street pole banners. They requested a fairly uncommon product: digitally printed canvas fabric street pole banners. Normally fabric canvas banners are screen printed on sunbrella, which makes for a great long lasting product, but there are a few drawbacks:
- Screen printing does not allow for design flexibility: This means you can only use solid colors and have a maximum of 5 colors on your banner
- Screen printing requires high order quantities. Due to the physical nature of screen printing, economies of scale can only be achieved at high quantity orders. Not great for a small order of 50 pole banners or less.
- Screen Printing can be unpredictable- Since you need to physically create a screen and then physically mix inks and impregnate them into the street banner fabric, the cost associated with creating a sample is very high. With screen printing, there are no second chances. The color comes out the way it comes out, unless you're willing to spend a very high amount on a pre-production sample
So...now that we've discussed what industry norm is for custom printed fabric street pole banners, let's jump into why the City of Safety Harbor's project was so innovative. The city wanted a product that had full flexibility when it comes to design (it's 2023! No one should be limited to a small amount of colors and the inability to print gradients or photos!) and enjoy the long lasting properties of a canvas street pole banner.
With the Street Banner Co. unique digitally printed poly canvas street pole banners, you can get the best of both worlds: Long life + full color and no design limitations
We use a marine-grade canvas as our substrate as it has an extended lifespan in all kinds of harsh environments and is coated to accept 3M UV rated Inks. Our substrates and inks are all UV rated provide the best looking product for years to come. Digital poly canvas street banners can be produced in small quantities (even just one!) and a single order can have multiple designs.
Combining the best aspects of digital print with the unparalleled longevity of poly canvas as a street pole banner material, the Street Pole Banner Co (and it's clients, like The City of Safety Harbor) are able to enjoy beautiful long lasting banners for years to come.
For a more detailed look into this and how a substrate affects the longevity and and design flexibility of a street pole banner, see our article here
