Generally speaking, creating a banner to be printing on vinyl is easy. Anybody with a little bit of graphic design experience can design a vinyl banner. And even if you have no experience, your supplier can point you in the right direction, or even design your banner for a small charge.
Here are some things to watch for when designing…
1. Use software that handles CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) full color output. There are at least three kinds of software you can use:

– Image editors like Photoshop, PhotoPaint, or PhotoImpact
– Page Layout programs like Quarkxpress, Pagemaker, or InDesign
– Illustration programs like Illustrator or CorelDraw

Generally speaking, programs that are designed for consumers or general office applications are not recommended: e.g., Word, Wordperfect, Publisher, Excel, etc. If you have a specific inquiry, don’t hesitate to ask your vinyl banners supplier.

2. Keep your design simple and striking. The best designs contain two or three basic elements. Usually these will be a photograph, a large headline, and an “identifier” such as your company name, logo, or phone number.

3. Use bright colors. The most striking vinyl banners have lots of bright colors.

4. Design your banner so it is readable for your target audience. If it is going on a building or beside a road on a fence, or on an outfield fence at a baseball or soccer field, MAKE SURE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE IS LARGE ENOUGH TO BE READ.

5. Make sure your images have sufficient resolution. Minimum 200 dpi recommended at full output size

6. Make sure your banner fits the area where you’re going to mount it. Don’t guess at the size. Most people who are not familiar with signage will UNDERESTIMATE the required size.

7. Consider alternative mounting methods. Grommets are the “default” method of mounting a banner on a wall or fence. But often “pole pockets” are simpler and more efficient.