Banner Sizes
Beta
Read from across the street, or it's just a very large napkin.
The sign trade rule: one inch of capital letter height for every ten feet of viewing distance.
Minimum capital height
5 in
At that height this banner holds about 4 lines of headline text. Write that many.
Capitals 5 in tall stay readable to about 50 ft. Measure the capital, not the point size: a 72pt font does not give you a 1 in capital.
- Finished size
- 24 x 48 in
- In feet
- 2 ft wide x 4 ft tall
- Printed as
- Vinyl Banners
- Document size with bleed
- 24 1/2 x 48 1/2 in
- Keep text inside
- 2 in from every edge
- Pixels at 150 DPI
- 3600 x 7200 px
4OVER4 asks for 1/8 in of bleed on standard print and 1/4 in on large format. This page uses the large-format figure because the configurator marks this product as large format.
An outdoor banner is hemmed and grommeted. The hem folds about an inch of the edge over, and a grommet punches a hole through whatever is printed there. Keep everything important 2 in inside the edge.
Letter height by viewing distance
| Read from | Minimum capital height | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 1 in | A table-top banner or a counter sign |
| 25 ft | 2 1/2 in | Across a booth or a small room |
| 50 ft | 5 in | A shop front from the pavement |
| 100 ft | 10 in | Across a car park |
| 200 ft | 20 in | A building front from the road |
| 300 ft | 30 in | A stadium or a highway approach |
BetaThis is in beta, so some things may not work yet. We’d love your feedback.Send feedback
What the Vinyl Banners configurator says about size
- Sizes
- The configurator offers 23 sizes for this product. Every one of them is listed above, exactly as the configurator lists it.
- Custom size
- This product does not take a custom size. Pick one of the sizes above, or contact us if you have a custom order.
- Large format
- This is a large-format product, so the configurator does not apply the small-press bounds to it.
Enjoying this tool?
You might also like Vinyl Banners
You have the size and the letter height that reads from afar. Print it as a vinyl banner.
Vinyl BannersFrom $79.004.8·11 reviewsShop now About the banner size visualizer
See the banner at real scale next to a person, and get the letter height it needs so people can actually read it from where they will be standing.
The standard vinyl banner sizes are 2 x 4, 2 x 6, 3 x 6 and 4 x 8 feet. Whatever the size, the capitals need one inch of height for every ten feet people will read it from.
Standard vinyl banner sizes
2 x 4 ft is the small banner, for a table front or a market stall. 3 x 6 ft is the most ordered size and covers a shop window or a fence panel. 4 x 8 ft is the large outdoor banner and matches a standard sheet of plywood, which is why it fits so many hoardings.
Any size in between is a custom cut. Vinyl comes off a roll, so the cost follows the square footage, not the shape.
The letter height rule
The sign trade works to one inch of capital letter height for every ten feet of viewing distance. A banner read from 50 feet needs 5 inch capitals. From 100 feet, 10 inch capitals. That is the rule the calculator above uses.
It is a legibility floor, not a design target. If the reader is moving, driving past or walking quickly, go up a size. And the rule counts capital height, not point size: a 72 pt font does not give you a 1 inch capital.
The practical consequence is that a banner holds far less text than people expect. A 3 x 6 ft banner read from 50 feet has room for about five words at 5 inch capitals. Write the five words.
Hems, grommets and the safe margin
An outdoor banner is hemmed: the edge is folded over and welded to stop it tearing, and grommets are punched through the hem every two to three feet. The hem consumes about an inch all the way round, and a grommet punches a hole through whatever is printed there.
So keep everything important at least 2 inches in from the edge on a hemmed banner. Bleed stays at 0.25 in, and large format prints at 150 DPI at final size, or less on a very large banner viewed from a distance.
Common questions
Questions about banner sizes
What are standard banner sizes?
2 x 4, 2 x 6, 3 x 6 and 4 x 8 feet are the standard vinyl banner sizes. 3 x 6 ft is the most commonly ordered and 4 x 8 ft is the standard large outdoor banner.
How big should the letters be on a banner?
One inch of capital letter height for every ten feet of viewing distance. Read from 50 feet, use 5 inch capitals. Read from 100 feet, use 10 inch capitals.
How much bleed does a banner need?
0.25 inches on every edge, and keep all text at least 2 inches inside the trim so the hem and the grommets do not cut through it.
What resolution does a banner need?
150 DPI at the finished size is the standard for large format. On a very large banner read from far away, 100 DPI at final size is acceptable, because nobody is looking at it from a foot away.
What size banner do I need for a 10 foot table?
A 2 x 8 ft or 3 x 8 ft banner across the front. Keep the text in the middle third, because the ends of a table banner are usually hidden by people standing at it.
Explore more
Where to go next
Retractable Banner Size
Roll-up stand sizes with the printed area and the hidden area both marked.
Yard Sign Sizes
Yard sign sizes to scale, with the drive-by readability check.
Poster Sizes
Every poster size we print, from 8 x 10 in mounted to 48 x 96 in large format, drawn to scale.
Sticker Sizes
Every sticker and label size, with the cut line, bleed and safe area drawn.