How should I design my artwork so it’s clear for a large stage backdrop?

Not surprisingly, banner design is a commonly asked question among many bands and graphic designers. Since graphic design for brochures, social media and other marketing uses are typically smaller spaces, many designs are not set up for printing large format band backdrops, or festival banners. Taking a tiny JPG and blowing up the graphic design for a print banner will simply distort the image and produce a fuzzy looking banner.

Below we have explained the artwork specifications for you, feel free to pass this on to your graphic artist and designers too!

Graphic Design Printed Banners

Vector Format

Types of files includes:

  • AI
  • EPS
  • PDF

Vector files can be saved at any image size in the correct aspect ratio. So for example, an 8’ x 10’ banner would be 8”HIGH x 10” WIDE.

Raster Format

Types of files include:

  • JPG
  • GIF
  • PNG
  • PSB
  • PSD

Raster files should be saved at 150 dpi in full print size. So for an 8’x10’ printed banner it would be 96” HIGH x 120” WIDE. Simply multiply the size by 12 to calculate the measurements, since there are 12″ in a foot.

If you are having a hard time saving such a large file to your computer, you can try saving it at half that size, so for the 8’x10’ it would be 48” HIGH x 60” WIDE at 300 dpi. This provides us with double the dpi, so that we resize it for printing, we’ll still retain a decent amount of resolution and we can typically print at very high definition if provided this size file.

If you are still having trouble working with your art file, feel free to reach out to us at bands@northcoastbanners.com. We are happy to help walk you through the process.  If you have a file that is already designed, and it is too low resolution, send it over to us and we can help. We have a graphic vectorization service that can bring most art files up to the required resolution so that your printed stage banner will look beautiful. We also work with a number of graphic designers who can assist with full graphic design services from scratch. 

If you need help choosing a festival or stage banner size, please check out our product page.

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