This is the question worth answering before you spend anything, and the honest answer is that they suit different jobs.
An X banner is lighter, cheaper and simpler. There is no cassette and no spring mechanism, just a frame and a tensioned graphic, so there is less to go wrong and less to carry. That makes it the right choice when you need several displays at once, when the campaign is short, or when the budget will not stretch to a rack of roller banners.
A roller banner is the better long-term buy if you are taking one display to event after event. The graphic retracts into its own aluminium cassette between shows, which protects it, and the weighted base is more stable in a busy hall.
Plenty of exhibitors own both. A roller banner as the main display, and a couple of X banners to mark the edges of the stand or carry a promotional message. If you are assembling a kit you can carry in one trip, our guide to building a portable display kit puts X banners at the centre of it.
All three take the same tensioned X-frame. The size you need depends on how far away people will be standing when they read it.
A compact display for tight spaces such as reception desks, counters and point of sale areas. Best for directional signage and one focused message.
The most versatile size and the one most people want. A strong balance between visibility and footprint, suited to retail floors, exhibitions and promotional spaces.
The large format option, for maximum impact in an open indoor space. Suits exhibition halls, conferences and high footfall areas where the display needs to read from a distance.
Every X banner is printed in full colour to your own artwork. The graphic tensions across the frame using eyelets at each corner, which pulls it flat and keeps the finish smooth rather than rippled.
Send us your design and we will check it before anything goes to print. Once the artwork is approved the banners are produced quickly and supplied ready to install, and you can order replacement graphics later if the message or the branding changes without buying new frames. Our guide to supplying print-ready artwork covers what to send.
An X banner rarely works alone. Put a printed table cover on the trestle, a greeter stand at the front for conversations, and an exhibition stand behind you as the backdrop. Our trade show budget guide sets out what a full setup costs, and what to put on your exhibition stand covers what each banner should say.
X banners are the lightweight layer. These are what they sit alongside.
For outdoor work, an X banner is the wrong tool. Our printed banners and outdoor frame banners are built for wind and weather, and the comparison guide explains which suits which job. Indoors, our guide to which indoor branding products to use compares the whole range.
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