PVC-Free Banner Material: 5 Facts Before You Order

PVC-free banner material is a printable banner fabric made without polyvinyl chloride, and it is the option to choose when a venue, a client or your own purchasing policy says no PVC. It takes the same full colour print, the same eyelets and hems and comes in the same sizes as a standard banner, so for most jobs the decision comes down to who the banner is for rather than how it will look.

Here is what to know before you pick it, and when standard PVC is still the sensible choice.

A standard banner is printed on 440gsm PVC: a strong, flexible vinyl sheet that has been the default for outdoor banners for decades. Our PVC-free banners are printed on a 400gsm PVC-free banner material instead. The figure in gsm is grams per square metre, so the PVC-free sheet is a little lighter for the same size.

It is printed full colour on one side, and you choose the same finishing as on PVC: plastic or metal eyelets, hemmed or cut edges, and cable ties if you want them.

We see three common reasons for choosing PVC-free banner material.

Venue rules. Some exhibition halls, museums, galleries and public buildings ask exhibitors to avoid PVC graphics. Check the exhibitor manual or ask the organiser before you order anything for a stand.
Brand or client policy. Larger companies, public bodies and some charities have purchasing policies that rule out PVC. If you are producing a banner for a client like this, ask them.
Personal preference. Some businesses simply prefer to avoid PVC where there is a practical alternative.

If none of those apply, standard PVC is a perfectly good choice and is what most outdoor banners are printed on.

	400gsm PVC-free	440gsm PVC
Print	Full colour, one side	Full colour, one side
Weight	400 g per square metre	440 g per square metre
Finishing	Eyelets, hems, cable ties	Eyelets, hems, cable ties
Typical use	Venues and clients that ask for no PVC, indoor displays, events	General outdoor and indoor banners
Turnaround	The same production days on the standard banner sizes; each product page shows the exact days per option

Both are solid materials, so wind does not pass through either. On an exposed fence or a tall scaffold, a mesh banner is still the better choice whichever policy you follow on PVC.

Backdrop printed on PVC-free banner material for an event — Backdrops and barrier banners can be ordered on PVC-free material too.

It is not only straight banners. Several of our products let you choose a PVC-free banner material in the options:

Backdrop banners for events, stages and photo walls.
Crowd barrier banners for races, festivals and queues.
Heras fence banners in a PVC-free version for site fencing.
Poster printing, where 400gsm PVC-free is one of the material choices for tough posters.

If a venue has given you a list of banned materials, send it to us with your order notes and we will check what you have chosen against it.

Recycling and disposal: the honest answer #

People often choose PVC-free banner material hoping it can go in the recycling bin afterwards. Be careful with that assumption. Printed banner materials are not accepted in most household or business mixed recycling collections, whatever they are made from, because they are coated and printed. What happens to a banner at the end of its life depends on what your local council and waste contractor will take.

Recycle Now has a local recycling locator that shows what your area accepts. Our article on whether PVC banners can be recycled goes into the options for standard banners.

The most useful thing you can do, whatever the material, is make one banner last. Leave dates off it if you can, so it works for next year too, store it rolled rather than folded, and clean it gently before it goes away.

Set your artwork up exactly as you would for a standard banner: the same size, the same bleed, and text at least 5 cm in from the edges where the eyelets and hems go. Our online designer works for PVC-free banners too, or you can upload a print-ready file, which gets a free file check by a person before printing.

Colours print very close on both materials. If an exact brand colour matters, tell us the reference in your order notes so we can flag anything that might print differently.

Indoors or outdoors? #

A PVC-free banner is often chosen for indoor jobs, because that is where venue rules on PVC tend to apply: exhibition halls, conference centres, galleries, schools and shops. It hangs well from a rail or a frame and sits flat against a wall with eyelets or hooks.

It can go outside too, and it is offered on our site fencing and crowd barrier products for exactly that reason. Treat it like any solid banner outdoors: hemmed edges and metal eyelets for anything that stays up, every eyelet tied, and the banner flat rather than drum tight. If the spot is exposed to strong wind, a mesh banner is kinder to the fixings than any solid material.

Looking after it between events #

Most PVC-free banners we print are for events that come round again, so a little care pays off.

Roll, do not fold. Roll the banner print side out around a tube if you have one. Folds leave creases that are hard to shift.
Clean before storing. Wipe off dust and marks with a soft cloth and mild soapy water, then let it dry fully before rolling.
Keep the ties. Snip cable ties close to the eyelet so you do not nick the banner, and keep a bag of spares with it.
Store somewhere dry. A cupboard or a shelf is better than a damp garage or a van floor.

Five questions to ask before you order #

Has the venue or client asked for PVC-free banner material in writing? If so, keep that note with your order.
Is the banner going somewhere windy? If yes, mesh may be the safer choice, even if it means asking the client.
Will the banner be reused? If so, keep dates and one-off offers off the design.
How will it be fixed? Choose eyelets and hems to suit, exactly as for PVC.
What is the deadline? Check the production days on the product page and allow for delivery.

UK mainland delivery is £7.95 per order and free when your goods total is £99 or more after discount codes; artwork fees do not count towards that total.