Are Banner Wind Slits Necessary?
Some companies say yes...we say no.
Even though it is a proven fact that printed vinyl banners have the tendency to act like a sail, cutting into the material to produce wind slits, isn't necessarily the best plan. To create a wind slit on a banner, you are actually cutting into the vinyl banner material itself. Our point of view is that this weakens the banners initial integrity, and can lead to unnecessary ripping or fraying where the wind slits have been applied, thus negating the overall durability of the banner.
Most banners, when installed properly, pose no problem when subjected to normal wind conditions on a daily basis. You'll notice that a lot of over-the-street banners and fence banners have no wind slits and are used outdoors day after day without incidence. However, if your banner will be placed in a particular windy area, there may be better banner options that still won't require cutting wind slits into the banner.
Another thing to consider when contemplating ordering a banner with wind slits is the fact that the location of the wind slits on the banner may compromise the visibility of the information on the banner. And in conjunction to the message of the banner, the wind slits tend to make your banner look like Swiss cheese and less visually attractive.
Ultimately, it's the customer's choice to choose if wind slits on their banner are the right fit or not. Typically, we won't produce a banner with wind slits, because of possible complications that can arise, but every customer is dealt with individually, so we won't completely rule out making a banner with wind slits.
More often than not we offer the customer other more viable banner options that will help reduce the wind drag of a vinyl banner (see our Mesh Banners); or possibly suggest banner finishing options that could help fortify the banner for more windy conditions, like in the case of over-the-street banners, where you can have extra webbing sewn into the banner, reinforced corners, rope or snap hooks stitched into the banner that more securely attaches to cabling systems, etc.; and depending on your advertising needs offer up a fabric wind/flag banner option which might be a better choice over a printed vinyl banner. By offering alternative banner options, our customers will get a banner that suits their needs, while also meeting specific environmental challenges, without having to cut wind slits into the banner which could be the demise of a banner no matter how it is hung.