13 oz or 18 oz vinyl banner

The number is the weight of one square yard of the material. A 3 x 6 banner is 18 square feet, which is 2 square yards, so a 13 oz banner weighs about 26 ounces, roughly 1.6 pounds, and an 18 oz banner about 2.3 pounds. Both are scrim vinyl: a woven polyester mesh laminated inside the PVC that keeps a grommet from pulling through.

Heavier is not stronger where banners actually fail. The hem and the grommet carry the load, and both are the same on either material. What the extra weight buys is opacity, because 18 oz vinyl has a blockout layer in the middle that stops light and the image on the other side from showing through.

A single sided banner on a wall, a fence, a stage or a table front is 13 oz work. The print is identical, the colors are identical and the banner is lighter to hang and cheaper to ship. This is the weight most storefront, event and job site banners are printed on, and it is what all six Bannerology sizes use.

Against bright sunlight directly behind the banner you may see a faint shadow of whatever is behind it, a fence post for example, but not readable detail. On a wall or a solid fence the banner looks solid white at any hour.

Double sided printing is the main reason. Without the blockout core, the image on the back ghosts through the front. Pole banners on street lights, banners that hang in open air with viewers on both sides and banners with a light source behind them use 18 oz for that reason. Long term building signs under a tensioning frame are the other case, where the heavier panel resists sagging between tightenings.

Bannerology prints 13 oz single sided. If your job needs double sided or 18 oz, email orders@bannerology.com with the size and quantity and we quote it; it is a different production run, not an option on the stock banner page.

Wind load depends on the area of the banner, not what it weighs. An 18 oz banner catches exactly the same wind as a 13 oz banner of the same size and pulls harder on its ties because the panel itself is heavier. If wind is the worry, the answer is mesh, or better mounting, or a smaller banner, never a heavier solid vinyl.

A 3 x 6 banner is $41.99 for one and $39.05 each for five, with hems on four sides and brass grommets every 2 feet included. Pole pockets are an option at $5.00 per banner. Banners ship in 1 to 2 business days. Shipping is $9.95 when the items subtotal is below $99.00, and free at $99.00 and above. Alaska and Hawaii freight is quoted individually.