#1 Graphic Design and Installation in Dallas-Fort Worth
#1 Graphic Design and Installation in Dallas-Fort Worth
The workhorse of event signage. One case, sixty seconds to set up, no tools, and it says exactly one thing clearly. Part of the iCandy Grafix displays range and the product we ship more of than anything else in this category.
The graphic retracts into a weighted aluminium base like a window blind. This is the standard and it is what roughly eight out of ten clients end up with. Common sizes are 33×80 and 47×80 inches, with 24 and 36 inch widths also available.
Sets up in under a minute: lift the graphic, hook the support pole into the top rail, done. Packs into a padded carry bag.
A lightweight scissor frame that the graphic hooks onto at four corners. Cheapest option and the lightest to carry. Good for a one-off event where the banner will not see heavy reuse. Less stable than a retractable and it shows every crease in the graphic.
The pole adjusts, so one stand handles several different graphic sizes. Useful for organisations that produce different banners through the year and do not want a stand for each.
Two graphics back to back in one base. Genuinely worth the premium in aisle positions where people approach from both directions, which at most trade shows is every position.
The printed graphic is identical either way. We print both on the same machine with the same ink.
What differs is the base weight, the spring tension mechanism, and the quality of the top rail clamp. A $99 stand and a $300 stand look the same in the box and behave very differently at event number twenty.
Buy economy if this stand goes to one or two events and then lives in a cupboard. That is a perfectly rational purchase, and we will not talk you out of it.
Buy premium if it goes out monthly. We replace a meaningful number of cheap mechanisms that jammed at six months, and at that point, the client has paid for two stands. The cassette on a premium unit also re-rolls the graphic straight every time, which matters because a graphic that re-rolls crooked develops a permanent curl along one edge.
Keep the bottom six inches clear of anything critical. That zone gets blocked by the base itself and by whoever is standing in front of the stand, which at a busy show is constantly.
Put the logo and the headline in the top third, at head height and above. Keep supporting copy on one line. A banner stand is read by someone walking past at normal pace, and the realistic capacity of that moment is a logo, five or six words, and possibly a phone number.
The most common error we see in supplied artwork is a full paragraph of body copy in the middle of the banner. Nobody has ever read it.
Most retractable cassettes can be re-graphicked. If you have a stand where the message is out of date but the hardware still works, bring it to our shop in Anna, and we will check the mechanism and quote a replacement print.
This is typically 40 to 60 percent of the cost of a whole new unit, and it takes an existing stand back to new. Not every cassette is designed to be reopened, so it is worth looking at it before you assume either way.
2 to 5 business days after proof approval. Rush production is sometimes possible. Call to check against the current schedule.
Store the stand upright or flat in its bag, never with weight on top of the cassette. Retract the graphic fully when packing rather than leaving it partly extended, since partial retraction over time sets a curl into the film.
The most common retractable banner stand size is 33 inches wide by 80 inches tall. iCandy Grafix also produces 24, 36, and 47-inch widths, plus adjustable-height units where one stand needs to work with several different graphics.
Usually yes. Most retractable cassettes can be re-graphicked, typically for 40 to 60 percent of the cost of a new unit. Bring the stand to our Anna, TX shop, and iCandy Grafix will check whether the mechanism is designed to be reopened before quoting.
Only in still conditions. Indoor retractable stands act like a sail and will go over in light wind, taking the graphic with them. For outdoor use, iCandy Grafix recommends feather flags or a purpose-built outdoor stand with a fillable water base.
Under a minute. Lift the graphic from the cassette, hook the support pole into the top rail, and stand it up. No tools are required, which is the main reason retractable stands dominate event signage.
A retractable stand rolls the graphic into a weighted base and is more stable and more durable. An X-frame is a lightweight scissor frame that the graphic hooks onto, costing less and weighing less but showing creases and offering less stability. Retractable is the better choice for anything reused.
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