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Monday, September 20, 2010

A Guide To Choosing The Perfect Roller Banner

When choosing a banner stand system you will see many different options, including roller banner stands, and your first question will probably be "What exactly is a roller banner stand?". Simply put it is a system for displaying and transporting graphic banners for displays and promotions in retail outlets, trade shows and at events. The principle is very similar to a roller blind, with the roller banner being inside a protective case that also acts as a base so the unit can be free standing. Unlike a blind however, the roller banner is pulled up rather than down so it needs a pole to hold it up.

The main benefits of roller banners over other banner stand types are:
- They are easy to transport
- The graphics are protected
- Banners are free standing
- No tools are required

As with banner stand having different options, there are also different types of roller banners. As far as functionality is concerned there are two main differences, with two options for each feature choice.
The first option is the type of base used on the stand. You have options for stands with fold out feet or ones with a larger footprint that dont require feet. The fold out feet type of roller banner tend to be cheaper and a little less stable, but smaller for easy transportation.
Roller banner stands can also be divided into changeable graphics and fixed graphics systems. Fixed graphics again are cheaper and normally just have the graphics stuck to the roller unit, replaceable graphic systems have either a slide in graphic or a changeable casette. Changable casette systems are the most expensive but by far the easiest to use if your marketing message needs to change alot.

What issues should you look for when buying a roller banner stand?
Obviously roller banners have moving parts so you need to be careful you don't get to a show and find it is broken. Problems I have seen in the past include:
 - The top bar coming off and the banner rolls up inside
the cassette
- The springs inside break and the system loses tension
- The spring units locks and the banner won't come out
- The spring does not have enough tension to hold the banner taught
- The pole at the back holding the banner up breaks

It's tricky when choosing a roller banner stand as many of these units look very similar online and it's only when you compare them side by side you can see where the money has been saved. My advice; spend a little more and make sure you get a reliable roller banner.

Just a quick note on graphics, it won't surprise you to learn that not all graphics are the same either. Two things to consider are the print quality and the materials used.
In regards to print quality this varies hugely depending on the equipment used; large format printng machines range in price from a few thousand up to well over a million. Printers also set up and run their machines at different speeds. My advice is to choose a reputable company with experience who have thier own printing workshop in-house rather than one that's subs it out.
There will be more about large formt print on the blog in future.

If you've gone through this article to find out more about roller banner stands and decided they don't fit your requirements you have many other options available. The most obvious solution is if there is a wall or side of a shell scheme system then your graphics can be attached to them without the need for any type of banner stand.
If thats not possible and you need some sort of stand the alternative to a roller banners is some sort of tensioned pole stand, in which case the banner and banner stand would be seperate. You put up the stand then attach your banner. Once they are up they look very similar to roller banners.
The advantages of a pole banner stand is that there are no moving bits to go wrong and on the whole they are cheaper than roller units. Its also easier to change the graphics without having to go to the expense of having a replacable cassette roller banner.

I hope this guide has helped clear a few things up about both roller banners and the options you have available  to display your graphics.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Making Light Work With Handtrucks

There's nothing worse than when you get to a trade show with a boot full of gear and you have to park miles from the exhibition hall.

It's at times like this you wish you invested in a folding hand truck or for bulkier items a folding platform trolley. Both are lightweight and have the benefit of fitting in the boot of your car.

The other day at a show I saw a nifty idea of a combined hand trolley and step ladder. The fold out platform will take up to 90kg, so it's ideal for all those heavy boxes of literature or brochures.

Where it really scored over the traditional hand trucks was the step ladder. There are 101 things you need to reach on an exhibition stand and sods law there wont be a step ladder in sight.

The combined steps and trolley would be ideal on any exhibition stand whether it's for hanging graphics on your pop up stand or attaching spot lights to a shell scheme. After a bit of searching I found the product at www.discounthandtrucks.com.

They have two step and three step versions but for most exhibition application I can think of two steps would be fine.