The Most Common Rollup Banner Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Rollup banners are one of the most forgiving display formats available. They are quick to assemble, easy to move around and difficult to break if handled properly. However, the ease with which they can be used also leads to carelessness — and careless rollup banner decisions cost money, cause frustration at events, and yield results that are counterproductive to the brand they were designed to promote.

The majority of rollup banner errors are not committed during the event. They are created weeks before – at the time of writing the brief, preparing the artwork, selecting the supplier and placing the order. When the banner is pulled out of its carry bag for the first time, the damage is already done by the time it reaches the banner.

Let’s look at the most common rollup banner pitfalls — and how to avoid them.

Mistake 1 – create a design for print, not for distance. The first mistake is to design for print, not for distance.

The most frequent design error for rollup banners is to use them as a printed brochure. A brochure is read at desk distance (30-50 centimetres). A rollup banner is read over a room, 3-5 metres wide, usually while the reader is in motion.

Text smaller than about 30 points is hard to read at 3 metres. Below 60 points at 5 metres is a blur. Most designers who are creating their first rollup banner don’t consider this — they design at screen size, approve a proof at desk distance, and send the file to print. The outcome is perfect when it’s on the office floor, but it’s unreadable when it’s up at the event.

The alternative: Plan for the longest possible viewing distance, not the shortest. Make the headline as large as possible. Use only 3 or 4 lines of body text at the most. Step away from the screen and squint — if you can still read the key message at arm’s length with your eyes deliberately squinted, the design will work at distance.

Mistake 2 — Ordering the wrong size.

The standard width of rollup banners is 800mm to 1500mm, with 850mm being the most popular. Many buyers will choose the cheapest or most readily available option without taking into account whether it is suitable for the space.

An 850mm banner on a 3-metre wide exhibition stand takes up less than 30% of the stand’s width. It appears as a footnote. Three 850mm banners side by side begin to fill the space — but the space between the units and the slight difference in graphic finish from panel to panel creates a disjointed effect.

On the other hand — a 1200mm banner in a narrow corridor, a small retail space, or a small conference room dominates the space in a way that feels cramped instead of impactful.

The alternative: Measure the space available before ordering. If the banner is the only display element, it should occupy about 60% to 80% of the display width. If you are using multiple banners, calculate the total width of all banners and order them based on the available space.

Mistake 3 — Providing low-resolution artwork.

For rollup banner printing, the artwork must be at least 150 DPI at the final print size and be at least 850mm wide. This is something most graphic designers are aware of, but it’s often when a client provides a logo, image or graphic element from a website at 72 DPI and the designer doesn’t notice or doesn’t challenge.

A 72 DPI website image scaled to banner height will look crisp on screen and will be clearly visible as a pixelated image when printed. The client approves the proof on screen, the banner arrives and the logo that represents everything the brand stands for looks like it was printed in 2005.

The alternative: Use all graphic elements in the highest resolution possible: Original vector format for logos (AI or EPS) and at least 150 DPI at final print size for photographic elements. If the original files are not available at the required resolution, create the logo in vector format instead of scaling a low-resolution version of the logo.

Mistake 4 — Ignoring the Safe Zone

Most rollup banner suppliers will provide a safe zone guide with their print templates, which is usually 20mm to 30mm from the edge of the banner when it is finished. The safe zone is created because the rollup banners flex slightly at the edges when they are tensioned in the mechanism and slight variations in the cut position during finishing can cause the finished edge to be 5mm to 10mm inside the designed edge.

The most frequent safe zone error is positioning text or logo elements near the edge, especially at the bottom of the banner where the graphic is fed into the base mechanism. Text that extends to 10mm from the bottom edge often gets cut off at the bottom or behind the base unit in finishing. A phone number, website URL or social media handle in this area may not be visible at all on the final banner.

The alternative: Use the safe zone template provided by the supplier exactly as it is written. Ensure that all important information, such as text, logos and calls to action, are at least 30mm from the finished edge on all four sides. The bottom 150mm of the banner should be designed as a “no trim or mechanism overlap” area, meaning that the content will not be lost if it is trimmed or overlapped by the mechanism.

Mistake 5 — Choosing the Cheapest Hardware

The printed graphic on a roll up banner is the star of the show. The base mechanism is treated as a commodity — all bases are assumed to be the same and the cheapest base wins.

They are not the same. Economy rollup banner mechanisms are lighter spring mechanisms that lose tension more quickly, bases that tip over more easily on uneven surfaces, and carrying cases that offer little protection when transporting. An economy mechanism used at one event per month will begin to cause issues (sagging graphics, stiff or uneven retraction, bases that no longer lay flat) in 12-18 months.

An executive mechanism with a heavier base, a higher-tension spring, and a sturdy carrying case will operate for 5 years or longer under the same conditions.

The alternative: Match the hardware grade with the frequency of use. If the banner is used only once or twice a year, economy hardware will suffice. If you are using banners for several events each month, make sure to start with executive grade hardware. The cost difference per unit is more than made up for by the cost of replacement and the aggravation of a mechanism that fails at an event.

Mistake 6 — Not Ordering Early Enough

Rollup banners are manufactured with a lead time of 3-7 working days from artwork approval to delivery. Most buyers are aware of this in theory, but forget it in practice.

The pattern is always the same: the event is booked months ahead of time, the banner order is placed 3 days before the event, the artwork takes longer than expected to approve, the production slot is not available, and the banner arrives the morning of the event with no time to check it before setup.

Rushed orders lead to a chain of problems: less time for artwork review, increased risk of errors that can’t be fixed, no time to request reprints, and premium express production charges that increase the cost of what should be a standard order.

The alternative: Place an order at least 2 weeks prior to the event. This gives time for artwork review, one revision cycle if necessary, standard production and delivery, and none of it is urgent. For events where multiple banners are being produced, add another week minimum.

Mistake 7 – Poor Storage Between Events

A rollup banner that is properly stored between events will appear as nice at the 10th event as it did at the first event. A rollup banner that is not stored properly will exhibit visible signs of degradation: creasing in the graphic, discolouration due to humidity, spring damage due to being stored partially retracted, and base damage due to being stored without the carry case.

The most frequent storage errors are storing the banner partially retracted, leaving the banner in a hot car boot for too long, and stacking several banners against one another without their cases.

The alternative: Always retract the graphic completely before storing. Keep in the carry case in a dry, temperature controlled area. Avoid leaving a rollup banner in a vehicle for extended periods of time — the heat inside a parked car during the summer can cause the base to warp and the spring mechanism to become damaged.

One Last Thing Before You Order

The majority of rollup banner issues can be resolved by selecting the right supplier from the outset, one that offers a suitable print template that includes bleed and safe zone guides, recommends the correct hardware grade for the frequency of use and verifies artwork resolution before printing, not after.

A good rollup banner supplier will identify these problems before manufacturing a banner that shows them. The cost of a good supplier and a cheap supplier is not that much different, and the cost of ordering a reprint is not that much different from ordering it the first time.