Drop flags

What a drop flag is

A drop flag hangs, it does not stand. It is a vertical banner falling from above: from a ceiling structure, from a truss, from a façade or from its own frame. Because it hangs above the crowd, it stays visible in places where any form of advertising at eye level disappears behind people and stands.

The same products turn up in the market as hanging banner, ceiling banner, vertical banner, drop banner or façade banner. They differ mainly in how they are hung and in format, not in principle.

Indoors or outdoors

Indoors a drop flag usually hangs from a top and a bottom pole, or from cords off a truss. The material can be lighter there, and the bottom pole keeps it hanging taut and still instead of moving every time a door opens.

Outdoors the sums change. A solid banner several metres high catches a great deal of wind, and that force lands entirely on the fixing points and on the façade. That is why outdoors, at larger formats, we work with mesh, which lets the wind through, or with a banner tensioned on all sides rather than left hanging loose.

Format and legibility

A drop flag is read from a distance and from below. That means large lettering, plenty of contrast and little text. A logo and three words work; a full message in small type is wasted cloth. Bear in mind too that the bottom section often disappears behind spectators or stands, so put what matters in the top half.

Fire safety

Event halls, conference centres and publicly accessible buildings often require a flame-retardant material. Check this with the venue before you produce. A banner turned away at the door on the day itself is an expensive discovery.

Why the price varies

The surface area is the basis, but rarely the deciding factor. What really counts: the material, whether flame retardancy is required, how the thing has to be hung, on poles, cords, cables or a frame, and whether we come and hang it or simply deliver. Hanging at height in a hall with people underneath is a different job from delivering a banner to an address.

With repeated use something else counts as well: a drop flag that comes back every year deserves a heavier finish than one that goes in the skip after a single trade fair.

What we do

We print the banners, help choose the material based on where it hangs and for how long, and take care of the hanging including the fittings that go with it. Send us the height and the width of the space, a photo or a plan of the fixing points, and any requirements set by the venue, and we know straight away what is possible.