Banner Time for the Surtex Art Licensing Show!

I wanted to try out some online printing companies for my banners this time around and chose two based on recommendations and personal experience.  The first one I chose to go with is Smart Press, I've ordered oversized canvas prints from them in the past and have always been very happy with the quality and accurate colors.  I had never ordered a banner from them before and figured it was worth a try, especially considering the competitive pricing!  I created a plain 3'x7' banner without any grommets, hems, etc and the cost was only $26.14 plus $12.22 for ground shipping.  I chose the plain banner because I will be using Command Poster Strips for mounting (you can purchase in bulk on Amazon).

The second option was All State Banners based on an online recommendation for banners used at Surtex in the past that I read about online somewhere, don't remember offhand where though.  I chose the same product/size, etc. and the pricing was almost double but still competitive, and half of what I paid last time I went to Surtex (I used a local printer).  Their price was $49.35 and shipping was $11.95.

Click on images to enlarge

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Here is the banner image I used for both companies.

I first ordered from Smart Press and then several days later from All State; interestingly the All State banner arrived first and I was impressed with the quick shipping, but had a couple of issues with the quality and color matching.  The colors were considerably more saturated than what I was expecting and from what I show on my screen and my own prints from my home printer.  The reds in particular were overly saturated, but the main concern was the black ink at the top of my banner immediately showed highly visible smear fingerprint marks wherever I touched it.  And these banners will be handled considerably in the packaging and hanging department, this was definitely not something I was expecting and was nervous to see how Smart Press would handle the black ink.  

Well...I was more than pleasantly surprised when my Smart Press banner showed up the very next day! The colors were PERFECT and there was not even a hint of an issue with the black ink, whew, my worries were unfounded!!  And the material of the banner is very lightweight and doesn't kink and when unrolled lays perfectly flat (as did the All State banners).  Needless to say I will be going with Smart Press for my banners due to the great pricing, the high quality material and perfect color matching, can't be beat! And since this is not the first time I've purchased from them and have always been happy in the past, it's a no brainer :)  You can check them out here:  www.Smartpress.com  And if you are still interested in All State here is their link as well:  www.Allstatebanners.com

I forgot to mention the material/substrate I ordered:  I used the 13 oz Scrim Vinyl Matte, it has a light satin/lustre appearance and lightweight.