The right materials for your signage project depend on the goals you want to accomplish with your signs and the conditions where you’re using them. If you need a flexible, easy-to-set-up material for outdoor use, vinyl mesh might be the right choice for you.
Vinyl mesh is made using a perforated film base which results in a translucent material perfect for creating flags and banners. The perforated material lets through light, wind and sound and creates striking visuals without completing blocking the view. Mesh banners and flags are perfect for outdoor events, parks, storefront windows, construction sites and more.
At SpeedPro, we print vivid graphics on high-quality vinyl mesh materials. We can help you decide whether mesh is the right material for your project and work with you to meet your signage goals.
Types of Mesh Products
There are several different kinds of signage products that come in mesh vinyl. Here’s a look at the most common ones.
1. Banners
Banners are multi-use products that come in a variety of styles. Our banners are made from high-quality vinyl materials, including cast vinyl, calendared vinyl and mesh vinyl. You can also choose from various types of protective laminates which range from high-gloss to matte.
Our durable banners come in various configurations. The grommet-hanging configuration is a popular choice for mesh vinyl. These banners feature grommets, which are holes through which you thread rope or string to hang the banners. You might also use ball bungees, which loop through the grommet holes and then tighten, to make the hanging method more secure. You can attach these banners to the sides of buildings, fences, ceilings and more. The semi-transparent style of mesh banners also makes them ideal for hanging in windows. Some other configurations include retractable banners, pole-mounted banners, telescopic banners, springback banners and more.
You can get custom banners in a variety of shapes and sizes printed with vivid colors, graphics and text and choose between single-sided and double-sided mesh banners.
2. Flags
SpeedPro also offers flags in mesh vinyl. Companies often place custom flags in front of their business location or at outdoor events. You can also set them up indoors, such as in front of a store in a mall. You can print flags with your company name, logo, values and colors to help spread brand awareness and direct people to your company’s location. Flags are a fun, dynamic type of signage, as they wave with the wind, creating eye-catching movement.
Our flags come in various shapes, including:
- Edge flags, which have a rectangular shape and a bar across the top to keep the flag in place
- Teardrop flags, which are shaped like an upside-down teardrop and have a pole that’s bent over the top
- Feather flags, which resemble a feather with a curve on the top and bottom and have a pole that bends at the top
- Straight flags, which have a curve on top and the come straight down to form a right angle at the bottom
You can also get flags in sizes that range from under 5 feet tall to more than 18 feet tall. Some flags come with a weighted base, or you can put them directly into the ground using ground stakes. You can also choose between single-sided and double-sided flags.
3. Event Tents
You can also use mesh vinyl for event tents, which are an excellent way to create a branded booth space. Tents are especially popular at outdoor events. You can print graphics on the walls and canopies of your tent and place various components inside the event tent, including tables, signs, standup banners and more. These tents come in a variety of configurations, including pop-up canopies, pole tents and frame tents.
Both the canopy and walls of a tent may be made from mesh vinyl. The canopy is the fabric that stretches over the top of the tent and protects your booth space from the sun, rain and other elements and provides canvas space for graphics.
Tent walls are fabric partitions that help to define your booth space, create additional space for graphics and provide further protection from the elements. A mesh vinyl wall offers these benefits while maintaining a sense of openness. You can add either a full-wall or a half-wall to your tent.
You can customize your canopy’s design and colors, finish, size and more.
Mesh Banners Vs. Vinyl Banners
At SpeedPro, we print custom banners and flags on three types of vinyl — mesh, calendared and cast vinyl.
- Vinyl mesh, as we discussed earlier, is made from a perforated film base and has a semi-transparent look.
- Calendared vinyl is made using a fabric material blend that’s similar to canvas. We feed rolls of calendared vinyl sheets through a large-format graphics printer, then dry the sheets before shipping them. This type of vinyl is thicker and less pliable than other kinds. It’s typically between 36 and six millimeters thick, which makes it ideal for longer-term use.
- Cast vinyl begins as a liquid and is placed in molds and heated until it solidifies. Once it dries, cast vinyl is a thin, fabric-like substance that’s durable and weather-resistant.
A prominent difference between vinyl mesh and other kinds of vinyl materials is the perforations that vinyl mesh has. These perforations are what give mesh its translucent appearance. While mesh vinyl has perforations and a see-through look, cast and calendared vinyl are one solid piece of material.
Benefits of Using Mesh
So, why use mesh vinyl over other banner and flag materials? Some of the benefits include:
1. Mesh Creates a Translucent Look
The fact that you can partially see through vinyl mesh provides some benefits. It enables you to display graphics without completely blocking peoples’ view. It creates a sense of openness, while still giving you somewhere to place logos, text and graphics. Mesh also lets light through, so if you place a mesh banner in your window, you don’t have to worry about blocking the light out of your building. This translucence makes vinyl mesh an ideal material for use in windows and on fencing.
2. Mesh Prevents Wind From Messing With Your Signage
Mesh vinyl also lets wind pass through, making it the perfect choice for use in windy conditions. This permeability prevents the banner from billowing excessively in the wind. If your banner moves around too much, it’s difficult to read. Excessive movement also puts additional stress on the banner, reducing its lifetime and increasing the likelihoods of tears.
If you’re using cast or calendared vinyl, you need to cut slits in the material to prevent this “sail” effect. Doing so, however, makes it harder to read your banner. The perforations of vinyl mesh prevent billowing more effectively while better preserving the readability of the graphic.
3. Mesh Vinyl Products Are Easy to Set Up
Our vinyl mesh banners, flags and tents are lightweight, making it easy to transport them and set them up. They also come with hardware that’s designed for easy setup and instructions that will help you to set up your display quickly and safely.
4. Mesh Vinyl Products Are Durable
Our vinyl mesh signage products are made from high-quality, durable materials. This durability ensures that your signage looks professional over the long term, even in windy outdoor conditions. At SpeedPro, we use UV-resistant inks on all of our banners and flags as well as treatments that prevent water damage. You can also choose from a range of laminates and finishes that can provide further protection for your designs.
5. Mesh Vinyl Products Are Cost-Effective
Mesh vinyl banners, flags and tents are cost-effective ways to promote your brand, get information out or add a graphic element to any location. With cheap mesh banners and flags, you can advertise one-time events or sales without worrying about breaking the bank.
6. Mesh Vinyl Products Are Versatile
Mesh vinyl flags, banners and event tents are incredibly versatile. You can use them indoors or outdoors and for one-time events or as longer-term fixtures. You can set flags and tents up anywhere. You can set up free-standing banners using stands or attach them to walls, windows, ceilings and fences. These flags, banners and tents are also useful for a wide range of organizations from music venues to bike shops to non-profits.
7. You Have Lots of Customization Options
You also have lots of options to customize your flags, banners and event tents. These products come in a variety of shapes, sizes and configurations and with a variety of finishes and accessories. You can also, of course, print them with custom designs that feature your brand’s logo, vivid images, bright colors and almost anything else you’d like to print.
Common Uses of Mesh
Mesh vinyl signage products are useful for various types of events, buildings, locations and organizations. Some examples of uses for these mesh signs include:
1. Outdoor Events
Mesh vinyl tents, banners and flags are ideal for use at almost any kind of outdoor event, including festivals, concerts, craft shows, farmers’ markets, sporting events, trade shows and conventions.
You might use an event tent to create a space where people can register for the event. You can also set up a little shop or snack stand using a mesh vinyl tent. Businesses and other organizations may use event tents to create a booth for people to come to learn about what they do. Using mesh vinyl for your canopy or tent wall protects you from the elements and provides somewhere to place graphics while still maintaining a sense of openness.
You can also place flags or banners around the perimeters of where an event is taking place to let passersby know what is going on. These signs might attract more attendees. You could place ads on these banners or flags for companies that sponsored the event. Inside the event, you could use flags and banners to provide directions.
2. Offices
Flags and banners can also be useful outside of an office building. You could hang a banner on the outside of your building or in the window with your company name, logo, colors and other brand elements on it to increase brand awareness. You could also place flags outside the entrance of your building or along the sidewalk leading up to the door with information about your company such as your values or details about the kind of work you do. Boulevard banners, which are banners that attach to streetlamps or posts, can function similarly.
3. Stores
Mesh vinyl banners and flags are an excellent way for retail stores, restaurants and other open-to-the-public businesses to boost their brand awareness, increase sales and more. Placing a banner on the building or in the window with your company name can help you increase brand awareness. You can place flags outside your business’ location to a similar effect. You could also print these signs with information about a sale, new product arrival or special event to encourage people to come into your store. Using mesh helps keep these signs readable even in heavy winds. You can place mesh banner signs in the window without worrying that they will block natural light from coming into your store.
4. Construction Sites
Mesh vinyl banners see frequent use on construction sites because they’re an excellent way to hide the construction site without completely blocking it. Construction companies place mesh vinyl banners on scaffolding, fencing and other fixtures to make the site look more aesthetically pleasing. You can also print the banners with information about the construction company and the project they’re working on. The perforations in the mesh vinyl ensure that light still gets into the site and prevents the banners from moving around too much in the wind. You can also place flags outside the construction site with information about the companies working on the project and details about the project itself.
5. Parks
You can also use mesh vinyl banners in parks, including community parks, amusement parks and other outdoor areas. You can place banners on fences in and around a park and put flags on light poles surrounding it. On these signs, you could place the name of the park, information about upcoming events or the names of companies that sponsor the park.
Signage Solutions From SpeedPro
Vinyl mesh is an excellent material choice for a range of outdoor uses. It gives you a surface where you can print graphics, while the perforations create a semi-transparent look and prevent the wind from making your sign hard to read.
The experts at SpeedPro can help you select the right materials and products for whatever you’re hoping to accomplish with your signage. When you choose SpeedPro, you get more than a printing service provider. You get a partner who’s willing to work with you to help you reach your goals.
We offer a range of high-quality vinyl mesh banners, flags and event tents, plus a vast selection of other products. We print professional-looking graphics exactly to your specifications. As experts in large-format printing, you can count us on to deliver the results you need every time.
To learn more about how we can help you create practical, eye-catching signage or to get started with a project, contact your local SpeedPro studio today.
