Banner hems, pole pockets and eyelet spacing
A banner ordered at 3000 x 1000mm has to measure that once it is hemmed — which means the print is bigger than the finished size, and the eyelets have to land in folded material rather than single-thickness PVC.
Work the cut size back from the hem
Start from the finished size the customer ordered, then add the hem allowance on every hemmed edge. A 25mm hem folded once needs 25mm extra per edge; a pole pocket needs the pocket depth plus the fold.
Supply artwork at finished size with 5mm bleed and let the cut size be calculated — that way the design stays composed to what will actually be visible, and the hem allowance never eats into copy.
Hem depths and when to use them
- 25mm — standard for banners up to about 3m, hung with eyelets.
- 40mm — larger banners or anywhere the fixing takes strain.
- 50mm — long exposed runs and fence banners.
- 75mm — pole pockets and rope channels.
Why eyelets sit 20mm inside the edge
An eyelet set 20mm in from the finished edge passes through the folded hem, so the load is carried by two or three thicknesses of PVC and reinforcing tape rather than one. Set it closer and the eyelet tears out in the first strong wind; set it further in and the banner puckers between fixings.
The eyelet mark on the cut file is a 5mm circle used as a guide for the press. It should never print, so it belongs on its own layer with overprint set.
Spacing the eyelets
Roughly 500mm is the working default for exterior banners: close enough to stop scalloping between fixings, open enough to keep the eyelet count sensible. Tighten to 300–400mm on exposed sites, open to 700–1000mm for interior banners that carry no wind load.
Spacing should be balanced along each side so both corners always carry an eyelet, with the remainder distributed evenly rather than left as an odd gap at one end.
Pole pockets and wind
A pocketed banner takes its load along the whole edge, so it needs no eyelets on the pocketed sides. Size the pocket to the pole diameter with clearance to thread it — a 32mm pole wants roughly a 50mm finished pocket.
On large exterior banners, discuss wind slits or a mesh substrate with the customer before printing. Neither is a prepress decision, but both change the fixing pattern.
What Banner Prep does with this
Upload the banner at finished size with 5mm bleed and choose the hem. The thru-cut moves out to allow for it, 5mm eyelet marks are placed 20mm inside the finished edge at your spacing and balanced per side, 6mm register dots go outside the cut, and pole pockets adjust the allowances when added.
The print PDF carries the bleed; the cutter file is layered Illustrator artwork with thru-cut, eyelet marks and register marks each on their own top-level layer.
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