Street banners carry special requirements for hanging.
If you find yourself in the market for purchasing an over-the-street banner, also known as street banners and road banners, you'll need to keep in mind that those particular banners may need to adhere to some pretty specific rules and regulations. Since road banners are hanging over city thoroughfares, streets or in public areas they need to meet specific codes to be deemed safe. The extra safety features that over-the-street banners require make them a bit more expensive, but it's best to purchase a properly coded banner at a higher cost, than to buy a regular extra-large vinyl banner that doesn't meet the city specific requirements. Because if your street banner doesn't meet the allotted requirements you may be forced to buy a banner that does, which will cost you more money in the long run.
Always check with your respective city before ordering!
First and foremost, before you order any over-the-street road banner either call or go down to your local city planning department and inquire about their specific street banner specifications. Most of them will hand you a flyer (like the one in picture to the left) which will call out precise instructions as to how the banner must be executed to be allowed to be hung above any street or main thoroughfare where the general public traverses.
Common Over-the-Street Banner Requirements!
VINYL BANNER WEIGHT: Whether you are purchasing a single-sided street banner or a double-sided street banner, most requirements call for a heavier weight vinyl for banner printing. Most standard vinyl banners are printed on a 10 oz. or 13 oz. vinyl banner material, whereas, most over-the-street banners might require a 16 oz. to 20 oz. vinyl banner material weight.
SEWN-IN ROPE: To be able to properly secure the banner for hanging, over-the-street banners require a certain amount of rope to be sewn into the hemming of the banner. The rope usually needs to extend at least 25 feet from all four corners of the banner. The extended rope allows for the banner to be tied between two unattached structures for over the street viewing.
REINFORCED CORNERS: Some cities require that all over-the-street road banners have reinforced corners. Reinforced corners help secure the edges of the banner, since they can carry extra tension under windy conditions, which may cause the corner grommets to be more susceptible to ripping out. Installing reinforced corners on a road banner helps relieve that tension and alleviate issues with corner grommets ripping out.
SNAP-HOOKS: Depending on your specific city regulations and requirements, your over-the-street banner will have to either be outfitted with snap-hooks at some point to properly hang the banner. Snap hooks either loop through the over-the-street banner grommets (brass eyelets for hanging a banner) or can be sewn into the banner with webbing. The snap-hooks allow the banner to slide onto steel cables, which are usually in place where street banners are sanctioned to be hung.
WIND SLITS: Wind-slits are semicircle holes that are cut into the vinyl banner material to allow wind to flow more easily through the banner. Although wind slits do make the flag more aerodynamic, cutting into the material actually can result in the wind slits fraying over time, which can compromise your banner from any future repetitive use. If your city requirements to not insist on wind slits for your street banner, then we would suggest leaving the banner intact to avoid any unnecessary damage to the vinyl banner material.
Have questions or need help ordering an over-the-street banner to meet your cities requirements? Give us a call at (714) 573-9313 for professional sign making advice and pricing.