Ordering signs shouldn't require a translator. Here's what the words on our forms and product pages actually mean - with pictures.
Terms you'll see when preparing or submitting your design files.
Extra background that extends past the finished edge of your print. We trim through the bleed so your design runs cleanly to the edge with no white slivers. If your art touches the edge, it needs bleed - usually 1 inch per side on large format.
A preview of your job that we send you before anything gets printed. You check spelling, colors, and layout, then approve it or request changes. Nothing goes to the printer until you've signed off on the proof.
How much detail your image file holds - measured in dots per inch. Low-resolution images look sharp on a phone screen but turn blurry or blocky when blown up to banner size. For large format, 100–150 DPI at final print size is plenty.
Vector files (AI, EPS, most PDFs) are built from math, so they stay razor sharp at any size - ideal for logos and text. Raster files (JPG, PNG, photos) are made of pixels and can only be enlarged so far before they get fuzzy.
The four ink colors - cyan, magenta, yellow, and black - that mix to produce every color in your print. It's a different color system than your screen (RGB), which is why we proof color-critical jobs before running them.
How banner edges get reinforced and how banners hang.
The edge of the banner folded over and heat-welded to itself, creating a double-thick border all the way around. It's what keeps a banner from stretching or tearing at the edges - standard on all our banners.
The metal rings punched into the banner's hem, spaced roughly every 24 inches. You run rope, bungees, or zip ties through them to hang the banner without ripping the material.
A sleeve sewn into the top and/or bottom of the banner that a pole or pipe slides through. Used for street-pole banners, backdrops, and anywhere you want a clean hang with no visible hardware.
Banner material woven with thousands of tiny holes that let wind pass through instead of catching it like a sail. The right choice for fences, building wraps, and any large outdoor banner in a windy spot.
How heavy - and therefore how tough - the vinyl is, measured in ounces per square yard. 13 oz covers most everyday banners; 18 oz is thicker and stronger, built for truck-side curtains and long-term outdoor abuse.
The parts of an illuminated sign - these come up on our artwork form.
The metal housing of an illuminated sign - the box on the building or pole that holds the lights. The printed flex face stretches across its open front. When our form asks for "sign box width and height," measure this frame, not your old graphic.
The flexible, translucent PVC sheet your graphics are printed on for a backlit cabinet sign. Unlike a rigid plastic panel, it ships rolled, can't shatter, and gets stretched drum-tight across the sign box during install.
The metal trim strips around the rim of a sign cabinet that clamp and hold the flex face in place. If your cabinet has retainers, we need their size so we can add the right amount of extra material around your graphic for them to grip.
Pulling the flex face tight in every direction as it's installed, so it sits flat and wrinkle-free like a drum skin. Tensioned faces need extra material beyond the visible area - that's why our form asks whether your job needs stretching.
Vinyl made to let light shine through it evenly instead of blocking it. It's what keeps a backlit sign's colors glowing at night instead of going dark - used on light boxes, awnings, and illuminated cabinet faces.
Material with an opaque core layer that stops light from passing through. Used when you don't want show-through - like double-sided signs where each side needs its own image, or faces that must read rich in direct sun.
Stick-on graphics for walls, windows, and flat surfaces.
Two grades of adhesive vinyl. Cast is premium - thin, flexible, and able to conform to curves and texture without lifting, with the longest outdoor life. Calendared is thicker and more economical, best on flat surfaces and shorter-term graphics.
Window film printed with your graphic and punched with a fine pattern of holes. From outside, people see a solid image; from inside, you still see through the glass. Common on storefronts and office windows.
A graphic that grips glass with static instead of adhesive. It peels off cleanly with zero residue and can be repositioned or reused - made for sales, seasonal promos, and anything temporary.
A clear protective layer sealed over the print - either a film (gloss or matte) or a liquid UV clearcoat. It shields the ink from sun fading, scratches, and cleaning chemicals, roughly doubling outdoor life. Included on every backlit flex face we produce.
Words that describe how we print and what we print on.
A fabric print with a thin silicone strip sewn around its edge. The strip tucks into a groove in a slim aluminum frame, pulling the fabric perfectly flat - no visible hardware. Swapping graphics takes minutes, no tools.
Our printing method: flexible material feeds off one roll, through the printer, and onto another - letting us print seamless pieces up to 16 ft on the short edge. It's why we specialize in banners, vinyl, and flex faces rather than rigid panels.
Shop-speak for "the material we print on." Banner vinyl, mesh, translucent flex, wallpaper media, SEG fabric - each is a different substrate, and picking the right one is half of getting a sign that lasts.
Call us at 713-240-6473 - or just describe the job in plain words on the form and we'll figure out the specs together.