There are many different apparati for utilizing dye sublimation printed fabrics. The simplest method is, of course, to hang a print similar to how you'd hang a banner - by tacking it to a wall or hanging it from grommets and using screws or nails to attach it to a wall.
Using a Hanging Rod with a Fishing Line
After that, the next easiest method to hang a banner would be to use a hanging rod with fishing line, wire, string, or rope (depending on the size and weight of your hanging bar/banner combo. This method will typically require that you have the printer sew a top "pole pocket" and a bottom pocket if you want to add a pole there for weight and/or anchoring the banner to keep it from swaying or blowing in the wind.
This method is probably one of the most common methods also, because it is simple and it looks great. The pole need not be visible, or it can be visible if it is attractive, though the limitation to this method is the length of the pole. However, we've used the top rail for chain link fence for longer banners that we've hung in the past. These top rails will fit together, end to end, to create a long pole that will support a long banner, though you may need to add center supports to one or more locations on the pole to keep it from sagging.
To hang this type of banner, drill a hole through the top of the pole,and if you're using string, you can tie the string to a small washer to prevent it from being pulled through the hole. If you're using fishing line, piano wire (or another thin wire), it might be better to drill your hole to fit a small eyebolt that has a nut/washer assemble and attach it to your pole ends. If you need a center support, cut a small hole where you need to attach the wire and use a self-drilling screw with a small fender washer to tap into the pole. Create a small loop at the end of the wire, then tap the screw with the washer over the loop into the pole. Attach the free end to the ceiling or supports secondarily to doing this step.
Using Pop Up Displays
Other structures include the trade show booth pop up display. The fabric can be sewn to fit like a glove over the display if it is a "serpentine" display, but more often the dye sub printed fabric (which is really just a printed fabric banner) has "loop" velcro attached every couple of feet on the back side which will attach to "hook" velcro that is adhesively attached to the display frame.
Once a pop up display is removed from the box and "popped up," the mildly stretchable printed polyester banner can be unfolded and attached tautly with the velcro-to-velcro tabs that are on the frame and the banner. This is a relatively inexpensive option that is immensely popular with companies on a budget that are trying to promote their firms at various trade shows.
On the aisle at a trade show, you'll often see various banner stands, from roll-up or retractable banner stands to tension banner stands to teardrop banner stands to feather banners stands. Using a stable (we hope) base, often weighted with a plastic "donut" filled with water, these free standing banner stands are typically vertical in orientation, and look great with fabric printed graphics.
In Conclusion
Finally, there are many shapes of hanging apparati that also use the slightly stretchy printed poly fabric banner material, stretched tightly over the frames and hung from the ceiling supports. You can see these from quite a long way off if you're at a trade show, and companies that use them like them because of their ability to advertise to clients who may be several aisles away.
While this is not an exhaustive list, and there are many other ways to hang fabric, these are at least some of the more popular ways to hang dye sublimation printed fabric banners.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barry K. Brown has been in the Sign, Banner, Decal and Display Business for over 20 years. It isn't what he thought he'd do with his life, but he says he knows too much now to do anything else!
He has been marketing these products online since 1998, and the company he was general manager of in 1998 was the first sign company to be listed on Yahoo!
