Flyers · Glossary
What is pull up banner size? Common sizes in mm and pixels
Pull up banners have no single standard size; printers sell a few fixed stands. The common Australian sizes are 85 by 206 centimetres, 60 by 166 and 118 by 206, and the stand hides the bottom few centimetres. US retractable banners are often 33 by 81 inches. Artwork at 100 DPI for an 85 by 206 banner is 3346 by 8110 pixels.
A pull up banner, also called a roll up or roller banner, is sized by the stand that holds it, not by a paper standard. Every printer publishes its own template, and the hidden strip at the base is the detail that catches people out.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Market and printer | Width x height | Pixels at 100 DPI | Pixels at 150 DPI | Hidden at base |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia, VistaPrint (large) | 85 x 206 cm | 3346 x 8110 | 5020 x 12165 | 6.6 cm covered by stand |
| Australia, VistaPrint (small) | 60 x 166 cm | 2362 x 6535 | 3543 x 9803 | as above |
| Australia, VistaPrint (trade show) | 118 x 206 cm | 4646 x 8110 | 6969 x 12165 | as above |
| UK, VistaPrint | 60 x 165, 85 x 206, 100 x 200, 118 x 206 cm | 3937 x 7874 for 100 x 200 | 5906 x 11811 for 100 x 200 | check template |
| US, VistaPrint retractable | 24 x 62, 24 x 81, 33 x 81, 47 x 81 in | 3300 x 8100 for 33 x 81 | 4950 x 12150 for 33 x 81 | check template |
| Blank PNG on this page | 850 x 2000 mm at 60 DPI | 2008 x 4724 |
Sized by the stand, not by a standard
Paper has ISO 216; banners have stands. A roll up banner is printed on film or fabric that winds into a cassette at the base, and the printer sells the graphic and the stand together, so its sizes are whatever stands it stocks. VistaPrint Australia sells three, 60 by 166, 85 by 206 and 118 by 206 centimetres. VistaPrint UK lists 60 by 165, 85 by 206, 100 by 200 and 118 by 206. VistaPrint in the United States sells retractable banners at 24 by 62, 24 by 81, 33 by 81 and 47 by 81 inches. Always download the template for the exact product you are ordering.
The hidden base and the safe zone
The bottom of the graphic stays inside the cassette even when the banner is fully extended. VistaPrint Australia says the stand covers 6.6 centimetres at the very bottom and asks for the design to extend into the bleed while text stays inside the safety area. On top of that, the lowest 30 to 40 centimetres sit below a standing visitor's eye line, often behind a table, so nothing important belongs there. Put the logo and the main message in the top third, where it can be seen over a crowd, and keep the middle for one image and a few words.
How many pixels a banner needs
A banner is read from two metres or more, so it does not need flyer resolution. At 100 DPI an 85 by 206 centimetre banner is 3346 by 8110 pixels, about 27 megapixels, and at 150 DPI 5020 by 12165. Printers often accept lower densities for banners when the file is mostly vector type and flat colour. Photos are the limit: a phone photo stretched to 85 centimetres wide lands near 120 DPI, which reads well from a distance but shows softness up close.
Common mistakes
The first is designing to a generic size found online rather than the printer's template, so the bleed and hidden base are wrong. The second is the call to action, a website or phone number, placed at knee height. The third is a long paragraph; people walk past a banner in seconds and will read six to ten words. The fourth is a white background on a white stand in a white exhibition hall, which makes the banner disappear against the wall behind it.
Banners and the flyer editor
The flyer editor has no pull up banner canvas; its sizes are A4 portrait and landscape and six social formats, and none is tall and narrow enough. The usual pairing is a banner built from the printer's own template and an A4 flyer from the generator in the same colours, using the brand kit so the two match. To reuse a flyer's artwork on a banner, the print scale calculator works out the enlargement and the image resizer outputs the pixel size the template asks for. The blank PNG above is 2008 by 4724 pixels, 850 by 2000 millimetres at 60 DPI, a light starting canvas that scales cleanly to an 85 centimetre stand.
Questions people ask
What is the most common pull up banner size in Australia?
85 by 206 centimetres is the mid size sold by VistaPrint Australia as its large option, and the 85 centimetre width appears across Australian, UK and NZ ranges. It stands taller than most visitors and leaves room for a logo, a headline and one image without crowding.
What file format do printers want for a banner?
Most ask for a print ready PDF at the full size of their template, with bleed included and fonts embedded or converted to outlines. Some accept a high resolution JPG or PNG. Check the template notes for colour mode, since some large format printers prefer CMYK files.
How much does a banner weigh to carry?
The cassette is as wide as the banner, so an 85 centimetre banner travels in a bag a little longer than 85 centimetres, which one person can carry. Wider trade show stands are longer and heavier, so check the printer's listed stand weight and bag size before booking a flight.
Can I replace the graphic on a pull up banner stand?
Many cassette stands accept a replacement graphic, and printers sell graphic only reprints for that reason. It usually involves unrolling the old print, removing a top rail and fitting the new one. Cheaper stands are sealed and the whole unit has to be replaced.
How far away can a pull up banner be read?
The headline should be legible from across the stall or the aisle, a few metres at least, which calls for letters many centimetres tall rather than a point size chosen on screen. Use the poster text size calculator to set a minimum letter height for the distance across your stall or room, then size the headline above it.
Make one with flyers
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
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Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .