If your office, school, store, design studio is equipped with a printer that uses aqueous pigment inks, you can print more than posters, renderings, and drawings. With inkjet media from Freedom Paper, Sihl, Canon, Kodak, and HP, you can also make simple banners, point-of-purchase signs, yard signs, window graphics, temporary wall coverings, and short-term floor graphics.

Below is just a sampling of the many types of signs and posters that you can make with your wide-format inkjet printer.    

Banners 

In general, a banner is defined as an unframed or hanging sign made of fabric, vinyl or other non-rigid material. Below are a few examples of the different types of banners and why they require different types of materials.  

Fence Banners: Promotional, branding or safety banners can be hung on construction-site fences. Or, you can cover ugly metal barricades at events with a sewn banner printed with promotional or branding graphics. Extra-large outdoor banners for construction sites are typically made with an open-weave mesh banner material. The open weave allows wind to pass through and reduces the weight of the banner for easier installation.  

Hanging Banners: Banners can be hung in freestanding or ceiling-mounted displays. Banners can hang above trade-show booths, in retail stores, and at company events. Banners can also be displayed on the grounds of schools, churches, and local businesses. If the banner will be visible from the both the front and back, choose an opaque banner material that can handle two-sided printing.  

Parade Banners: These horizontal pole-mounted banners are designed to be carried by two marchers along a parade route to identify the group marching behind the banner.  

Podium Banners: Banners can be attached to the front of a podium to identify the event or the hosting organization.  

Pole Banners: These two-sided banners are mounted vertically on round poles or square tubes. Pole signs are popular for celebrating the seasons, holidays, or special events.

Banner Stand Graphics: These banners are specifically designed to fit portable roll-up, retractable, or X-frame display stands. Many of these banners are made from polypropylene materials that stay flat and are durable enough to withstand repeated rolling and unrolling.  
 
Praise Banners: Churches use religious-themed banners for seasonal decor (such as Easter or Christmas), to upgrade an auditorium, to create worship spaces in non-traditional settings, and to celebrate church dedications and other special occasions. Pastors can create banners to reinforce sermons or church-school lessons.  

Step-and-Repeat Banners: These large, logo-filled banners form backdrops for photographing celebrities or dignitaries at charity galas, press conferences, award ceremonies, and other events. The step-and-repeat printing pattern ensures that event-organizer and sponsor logos remain visible even when the celebrity is being photographed from many angles.  

Table Banner: These banners are hung from the front of tabletops at events and trade shows. Fabric table banners can be draped over the table like a tablecloth that goes all the way to the ground.   

Posters 

A poster is a visually compelling graphic, photo, or decorative artwork that is usually printed on paper. Posters can be framed, mounted on rigid substrates, or hung on a wall with mounting tapes, putty, or hook-and-loop tapes.  
 
Some posters today are printed on inkjet-receptive non-woven fabrics that are backed with repositionable adhesives. These posters can be easily installed in meeting rooms, dorm rooms, or offices and removed without leaving unsightly residue.  
 
Advertising and Promotional Posters: The graphics and text call attention to new products, special offers, and upcoming events. Indoor posters can be printed on inexpensive heavyweight coated bond papers or inkjet photo papers. Outdoor posters for short-term advertising can be printed on tear-resistant, water-resistant polypropylene materials.  

Collage Posters: A collection of smaller photos printed on a single poster-sized sheet can recognize group accomplishments, company milestones, or special moments in the lives of individual retirees or graduates.      

Commemorative Posters: To help us remember special occasions, events, or people, commemorative posters can be produced as gifts for event attendees, speakers, or honorees.  

Decorative Poster: These posters provide an inexpensive way to update room or office décor. Decorative posters can be calming or energizing, depending on whether the graphic depicts nature scenes or favorite sports and activities.   

Devotional Posters: provide visual reminders of topics related to the Christian faith and life. 

Infographic Posters: These posters visually present facts and statistics for fast comprehension. 

Informational Posters: These graphics summarize complex information in a single, easy-to-read poster.   

Maps: The oversized way-finding graphics can be converted into decorative or functional poster-sized prints.  

Motivational Posters: These prints can encourage participation in sales competitions, charity drives, or weight-loss contests. Or posters can inspire employees to adopt attitudes conducive to teamwork, leadership, and success.  

Safety Posters: These posters can remind employees of guidelines for safe equipment operation, materials handling, recycling, or food-handling. Or a safety poster can ensure that proper first-aid procedures are easily accessible during workplace emergencies.   

Team Posters: Groups of individuals can be honored in a team poster. When a group shot is enlarged to poster size, each employee’s face is more visible. Plus, you can add a headline and a few lines of text about the team’s accomplishments.  

Point-of-Purchase (POP) Signs 

This broad category of signs, banners, and displays includes graphics designed to capture a buyer’s attention when they are ready to make a buying decision. These types of displays are also known as Point-of-Sale (POS) signs. 

You can mount POP banners, posters, and decals on walls, windows, counters, display cases, or sidewalk sign boards. Or, you can hang POP signs from ceilings or insert them in tabletop displays or free-standing or wall-mounted sign-frames.  

Below are some types of POP graphics you can create with a wide-format inkjet printer:    

Backlit Signs: A sign that is illuminated from a light source behind the printed surface of the sign. Backlit signs created with translucent backlit films are typically mounted in a lightbox. Backlit signs created with translucent fabrics can be window mounted or stretched on specialty sign frames with built-in LED lighting. 

Decals: Text or graphics printed on adhesive-backed vinyl and cut to a specified shape.  Decals look like large stickers and can easily be applied to almost any smooth surface that is flat or slightly rounded. Some decals require specific types of vinyl and/or laminating films. For example, floor decals must meet safety standards for slip-resistance. Some window decals are printed on optically clear films so they don’t obscure the products on display.  

Pennants:  A triangular-shaped flag is called a pennant. Pennants are often hung on a string to add a festive, colorful flair to promotional graphics.  

Shelf-talkers: These small signs hang from store shelves to call attention to products that have been favorably reviewed or temporarily discounted. You can buy acrylic shelf-sign holders and print and cut promotional graphics to fit the sign holders.  

Wraps: Like a decal, a wrap is made with adhesive backed vinyl or fabric. But a wrap is generally much larger than a decal and is often used to completely cover the surface of objects with graphics. The graphics can be decorative or promotional.   

Specialized skills are required to design and wrap larger objects such as cars and trucks. But with high-quality cast vinyl, almost every object can be custom-decorated with a wrap. For example, wraps can be applied to the surfaces of tables or chairs or items such as books, lunch boxes, or beverage coolers.   

Window Signs

Window signs are a popular form of branding and advertising because you don’t have to deal with many of the codes and restrictions placed on outdoor signage in public spaces. Signs can be displayed in storefront windows or mounted to the interior of the window surfaces. Signs mounted on the exteriors of windows are susceptible to damage from weather, vandals, abrasion, or pollutants.  

The primary caveat for making window signs with aqueous printers is that you must use a printer with pigment inks. Dye inks can fade quickly when exposed to UV light. 

Opaque Window Graphics: These graphics can cover up the windows of buildings being remodeled. A “coming soon” message can show passers-by what the space will look like when the remodeling is finished.  

One-way See-Through Window Graphics: These graphics are made with perforated vinyl that allows building or vehicle occupants to see out of the graphics that are visible to people outside.

Temporary Window Graphics: These graphics are popular for seasonal decorations or point-of-purchase promotions. The materials for temporary graphics include advanced adhesives that make it easy for untrained personnel to install, reposition, and remove the signage.

Decorative Window Graphics: These graphics can increase the privacy of glass-enclosed office spaces by emulating the look of stained glass, frosted glass, or etched glass.  

Yard Signs 

These small, easy-to-install, short-term signs are a popular with contractors, real-estate agents, political campaigns, local businesses, and event organizers. They can be used to recognize event sponsors, promote sales, or guide drivers to temporary parking facilities or event sites.    

In most communities, you don’t need any special permits to install the signs on property that your company owns. However, you might want to check if your community has restrictions on the size of yard signs or the length of time they can be displayed.  

To produce your own yard sign, you will need self-adhesive vinyl, pressure-sensitive laminating film, a trimmer, and a yard sign frame with a pre-cut board on which to mount the printed sign.  

What Signs Can’t You Make Yourself? 

The wide-format inkjet printer in your office, studio, or store can be a great tool for quickly printing a few banners, posters, signs, and decals. There are many occasions when you will want to temporarily change the décor of specific areas in your building or create low-cost, portable branding or ad graphics for event venues or construction sites.   

Unless you have access to a large-format or grand-format printer that uses latex, solvent, or UV-cure inks and specialized cutters, the signs listed below should be professionally produced and fabricated.  

• Outdoor signs and billboards that must last four months or more 
• Signs affected by local ordinances, building codes, highway safety, or ADA regulations 
• Supersized mesh banners for construction sites or outdoor concerts 
• Permanent POP displays such as merchandising kiosks or patio umbrellas 
• Permanent installations of floor graphics, architectural signs, and traffic signs.   

Any Questions?  

If you would like advice on which materials on the Freedom Paper website would be most appropriate for the type of sign you are planning and type of printing you use, call us at 866-310-3335 for recommendations.