Many businesses still rely on many of the traditional marketing channels and platforms to help them get their message across to the ideal target audience. While print media in local newspapers and posters that are placed at the right spots still have their place in traditional marketing strategies, a lot of business owners find that banners seem to have the major impact when it comes to physical advertising material used in the modern-day.
With the right banner design printed and placed at an appropriate location, it is possible to provide a significant level of exposure to a business, whether that banner only contains general information about the brand or has been designed to promote a specific discounted promotion that the store is running.
While printed vinyl banners, pole banners, and similar options all have several benefits to bring a business, when wrinkles and folds develop in them, their appearance can be affected. This can be disappointing, since printing these products can be costly – especially when the banner is large, and multiple ones need to be printed out to cover a larger area. In this post, we look at how wrinkles can be effectively removed from a vinyl banner, and we also consider what steps can be taken to avoid such issues in the future.
Is It Possible To Remove Wrinkles From A Vinyl Banner?
While PVC is a beneficial material, due to its lightweight and its strength, as well as the durability presented by the type of material, there is a common issue when it comes to having a PVC-based vinyl banner. This would be the fact that they tend to create wrinkles in areas where they have been folded.
When a wrinkle develops in a vinyl banner, it can often cause a number of problems. The wrinkle might develop in an area where important information is displayed. This could be a contact number or perhaps even the address of your company. When such information is no longer visible due to a wrinkle in the banner’s material, it means people walking by will not be able to easily see information about who to contact or where to go if they want to take advantage of the promotion being advertised.
This brings us to the question as to whether or not a vinyl banner wrinkles can be removed. The truth is, there isn’t a straight answer that is always correct for this particular question.
In some cases, when a wrinkle has developed in a vinyl banner, it would be possible to use certain techniques in order to remove it. This is not always the case, however. Sometimes, depending on a few factors, it is possible that the wrinkle cannot be removed – and when certain strategies are used to try and remove the wrinkle, the PVC material will end up damaged instead.
To determine if a wrinkle can be removed from a banner, a couple of factors should really be taken into consideration. First, the nature of the wrinkle will be an important factor here. If the wrinkle is especially deep, then you might find it difficult to remove the wrinkle. It may also take a significantly longer period of time to get it straightened out, and you run a much greater risk of causing damage to the PVC material that the banner is made from.
Another factor that needs to be taken into account here is the strength and overall durability of the vinyl banner. Even though PVC is the default material that is used in the production of these products, there are different types of PVC materials, and they are not all equally strong. If you have decided to cut costs by opting for a vinyl banner that is made from a weaker quality PVC material, then you might find that the material is going to get damaged much quicker.
The Best Methods For Removing These Wrinkles
When you find that your banner has developed a few wrinkles, the first step before you start to implement any kind of strategy to remove the wrinkle is to ensure you will be able to do it safely. You will also need a few tools in order to achieve the desired result. Fortunately, there is a number of different methods that can be used here – each with a unique set of tools. Thus, you should take a look at the different methods that can be used and determine which option would be most appropriate for you, based on the tools and equipment that you have access to.
The idea behind the removal of wrinkles in vinyl banners it usually to apply heat to the product. In turn, the material will become soft, which allows you to remove the wrinkles and ensure it hardens smoothly again.
There are two ways to do this – either with a hairdryer or with a steam iron. These are basic household items that most people already own. There are other tools that can also be used, such as a heat gun, but if you are concerned about damaging the product, then these two are the ones you want to try out first.
If you are going to use a hairdryer, you should ensure you do not keep the hairdryer in the same position for too long. It might be a good idea not to use the highest heat setting on your hairdryer as well. If you find that the medium or low setting does not cause the material to soften, then set it to high, but keep the hair dryer further away from the banner.
As the material softens, you need to use an object to smooth out the wrinkles. Do this slowly in order to ensure you do not damage the material or rip a hole in it. Remember that the heat causes the PVC material to become softer. This makes it less durable and weaker than it normally is.
The other option is to use a steam iron. Do not use a normal hot iron, as this will definitely cause significant damage to the PVC material. You should use a steam iron and allow the steam to heat up the PVC material. The iron should not be held too close to the banner and should never come into physical contact with the material.
As the steam of the iron touches the material, the PVC will become softer. Once it has softened enough, you should use an object to straighten out the area where the wrinkles have developed.
It should be noted that whichever of these two methods you do decide to use, never heat the printed area of the banner. Instead, lay the banner with the printed side down. You should apply heat only to the area of the banner that is not printed.
How To Avoid More Wrinkles In The Future?
When a wrinkle develops in a banner, it can be quite a time-consuming task to get that out. Furthermore, you do risk ruining your banner if you do not ensure you are careful while implementing these particular strategies that we discussed in this post.
Luckily, there are a few ways to help prevent wrinkles from occurring. The best way is to ensure you implement appropriate preventative methods. The majority of wrinkles tend to happen during the storage of PVC vinyl banners. How you store your banner will have a major impact in terms of whether it will roll out perfectly again or come out with a number of wrinkles and creases.
Never fold a vinyl banner. This is the number one cause of wrinkles in these products. When you fold the banner, then you are likely going to open it up again with wrinkles – and to make matters worse, when you constantly fold the banner in the same location, the print in the parts where the folds are made often tend to fade.
Instead of folding, get a round cylinder and roll the banner up around it. The cylinder is important, as this will help to provide a supportive structure on the inside, ensuring the banner will not be pressed flat, which ultimately creates folds as well.
Conclusion
While banners offer a great way to promote a business or a particular event, when folded, they can become wrinkly, which can have a negative impact on their appearance. Fortunately, in a case where a banner has developed wrinkles, a few simple steps can often be followed to remove them. This is, however, not always possible. It is important to consider the nature of the wrinkle, as well as the banner, to determine if implementing such a method would be a good idea.
