FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Aren't all Teardrop Banners the same?
No there is a big difference in quality between the teardrop banners on themarket. Some of the features that distinguish our Teardrop Banners as being the best are:
• Double Stitching on all seams
• Quick Connect device for easy mounting and dismounting
• True Tapered top poles that are guaranteed.
• UV treatment for sleeve and fabric.
• Heavy Duty Canvas carry bag with padded pocket for stake
• All mounting options have ball bearing spindles that allow the banner to rotate freely.
• Metal rings at pole ends to prevent poles splitting
• Pole internal to sleeve keeping skin taught and reduce 'flapping'
• High flex fibre glass rods that are guaranteed
2. What are the advantages of True Double Sided print?
ExpandaSign pioneered the True Double Sided concept. With a Single Sided banner we print on one side and a mirror image can be seen on the reverse side. This is something some manufacturers call 'double sided'.
With True Double sided printing we print on two specially treated pieces of fabric. The treatment makes the fabric opaque hence the designs on each side will not show through or interfere with each other. As a result you can even have different designs on each side.
True Double Sided is available for the Flying Banners or Tear Drop Banners, Wing Banners and Feather Banners and Ex-Discs.
3. Why aren't there prices for your banners, signs, gazebos and other indoor and outdoor advertising products the web site?
As with most printing scenarios there are several factors that will influence the price of our products. These include; quantity, print type, mounting options etc. In order to provide accurate quotes and make sure you are not paying for something you don't need we prefer to get as much information as possible by asking the right questions.
4. How long do the banners last?
This is a common question but one that does not have a simple answer. The main factors determining the life of any banner are exposure to sun light, pollution (diesel fumes especially) and wind. Other factors are the colours on the banner and the actual design of the banner. The extreme case is a banner left out 24/7 on a busy road in a hot climate. We have seen our banners in these scenarios last between 12-18 months.
5. Is there a minimum order quantity on banners, A-frames and Gazebos?
No. We can print 1 or 10 000 banners and you are always assured of the Expand a Sign quality.
6. How do I order Expand a Sign banners and branding equipment?
Please go to the "Contact Us" page on this website to locate your nearest Expand a Sign office or complete the enquiry form on the "Send Me More Information" page.
Once we have finalized what you want we will send out an official order form for you to sign. After this we need to get the artwork together. Either we can send you the appropriate template and you may get your own designer to layup the artwork according to our guidelines or you can send us what artwork you have in electronic format plus a short brief and we will prepare 3 options for you to choose from. Once you have approved the artwork proof, sit back and wait to be impressed.
7. What formats are your templates available in?
Templates are available in Freehand MX, Illustrator CS3 RDF compatible and GIF for viewing purposes only.
8. What applications do you work in?
The Expand a Sign artwork studio lay up the artwork for the banners onto our templates. We work in the following applications: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Freehand.
9. Do you work with MAC or PC files when preparing the artwork for your banners?
MAC files are generally more workable than PC files. If CorelDraw has been used, it is best to supply the CorelDraw document as well as a PDF files and an Adobe Illustrator version 7 file. We can convert files from CorelDraw 12 (version 12 and down) depending on how the artwork has been set up in the program.
All files need to be saved in an editable format. Do not parse or embed support files into a layout files. We will not be able to adjust a parsed or embedded file for final reproduction.
Linking Files: Always link, never embed. Provide all linked files with layout files (vector files).
10. How does Expand a Sign accept digital files?
The best way for us to use your files is from a CD Rom or DVD.
11. Can I email the digital files to Expand a Sign?
Yes, you can email small files less than 10Mb.
12. What are the different methods used for printing banners?
Digital Printing. This is a broad description but usually refers to micro-sized droplets of inks or dyes that are placed directly onto the surface of a substrate via an ink jet printer. Digital printing is more cost-effective for full colour CMYK prints. The design can be large and complex with many different tonal values comprising many colours such as photographic images. Digital printing has a thinner ink coverage compared to silkscreen and its inks will fade after 6-12 months in the sun therefore it is a better choice for once-off or short outdoor events and promotions. It is cheaper to print under 15 units using digital and the production process has a shorter turn-around time.
Silk Screen Printing. This is more cost effective for spot colour prints where the design is comprised of up to 4 solid colours. This means there are no half tone effects or tonal values in the colour and it is consistent throughout the design. Where the quantity of banners is 30 or more of the same image and the artwork is one or two colour and ink-coverage is 50% of the banner or more, we recommend that these banners be silkscreened for best results.
Digital UV Printing. Due to high demand for short to medium runs of full colour banners, the UV printer is capable of printing pretty much any substrate up to 50mm thick. UV Print is high quality & durable with a very high UV resistance. This is good for indoor or outdoor advertising products and banners. UV Printing does not use any solvents so is more eco friendly than digital or screen printing.