FAQs - Pole Pockets/Sleeves on Banners

 

They are, and in an easy-to-chose format—Pole Banners.  A Pole Banner automatically includes a pair of Pole Pockets at the Top and Bottom edges of the banner.  We currently have four types of Pole Banners available to choose from (as with all eSigns.com sign products sizes are listed by height first, width second):

 

1 — Single-Sided Pole Banners are printed on one side of our 13 oz. general-purpose Vinyl, and are available in a wide range of standard sizes.  These sizes start with a 2'×2' square sign and run all the way up to a 9'×50' horizontal sign (inclusive).  Single-Sided Pole Banners include 3" flat-measure (1.375"-diameter) Pole Pockets at the Top and Bottom edges, hems, a glossy finish, and corner grommets.  The combination of Pole Pockets and grommets aid in using a Single-Sided Pole Banner virtually anywhere. 

    Recommended Use:  Short-term outdoor, long-term indoor.

 

2 — Indoor Pole Banners are printed on both sides of our 12 oz. smooth-surface Indoor Vinyl, and are available in a fairly wide range of common indoor sizes.  These sizes include heights of two [2'] to ten [10'] feet (inclusive) and widths of two to seven [7'] feet depending on the specific size chosen.  Indoor Pole Banners include our standard 3" flat-measure (1.375"-diameter) Top and Bottom Pole Pockets and a matte finish.

    Recommended Use:  Long-term indoor.

 

3 — Outdoor Pole Banners are printed on both sides of our Premium 18 oz. Outdoor Vinyl, and are available in a wide range of standard sizes.  Like the single-sided signs described above, these sizes start with a 2'×2' square and run up to a 9'×50' horizontal (landscape) sign (inclusive).  Outdoor Pole Banners include our standard 3" flat-measure (1.375"-diameter) Pole Pockets at the Top and Bottom edges, hems, corner grommets, and a matte finish.  The combination of Pole Pockets and grommets aid in using an Outdoor Pole Banner virtually anywhere.

    Recommended Use:  Long-term outdoor, long-term indoor.

 

4 — Mesh Pole Banners are printed on one side of our 8 oz. Mesh Vinyl,  and are available in a wide range of standard sizes.  These sizes start with a 2'×2' square sign and run all the way up to a 9'×50' horizontal sign (inclusive).  Mesh Pole Banners include 3" flat-measure (1.375"-diameter) Pole Pockets at the Top and Bottom edges, hems, a matte finish, and corner grommets.  The combination of Pole Pockets and grommets aid in using a Mesh Pole Banner virtually anywhere.

    Recommended Use:  Long-term outdoor, long-term indoor.

• In the descriptions of the Pole Banner types above you've listed "flat-measure" and "diameter" values for Pole Pockets, could you explain the meaning of both terms please? 

 

Certainly.  These are the two most commonly-used ways to describe the size of a Pole Pocket, and their meanings are:

 

— Diameter is the maximum size of the of pole over which the pocket will fit.  If one looks at the end of a pole that will be used to mount a sign, its diameter is the distance across that end.  If you already have lengths of wooden poles, PVC pipe, or something similar that you'll be using with your Pole Banner but don't know their diameters, here are two quick methods that may be used to measure them.

        1 - Use a ruler to measure across one end of the pole.  This method isn't quite as accurate as the next one, but it will serve our purpose here and is the easiest method of the two.  This measurement equals the diameter of the pole, without any further calculations needed.  If, for example, you get a result of one inch (1") across the end of a pole that pole's diameter is one inch.

        2 - Use a tape measure (sewing/tailoring ones work best, as they're the most flexible) to measure around the pole.  This method is a little more complex, but will be more accurate than the first method.  The measurement around the pole is its circumference.  Once you have the pole's circumference, the calculation of its diameter is a simple one:

d = C ÷ π

Meaning that the diameter (d) of the pole is equal to (=) its circumference (C) divided (÷) by Pi (π or 3.14).  If we use a pole with a circumference of three inches as an example, we find a diameter of one inch (after rounding).

d = 3" ÷ 3.14 = 0.955414" which rounds up to 1.0"

— Flat-measure is taken from the hem/seam of the banner out to the edge of the of the Pole Pocket when the banner is completely flat (on a floor, table, or other smooth surface). 

 

 

— To calculate what the finished flat-measure of a pole pocket when the pole's diameter is known:

((π × d)+2)÷2 = fm

Which is ((3.14 × diameter)+2 for slack and pole pocket hemming)÷2 = flat-measure (fm).

 

Using example poles that are 2.5" in diameter, we'll determine what flat-measure of pole pocket that the banner will need to have so that it can be mounted using the 2.5"-diameter poles.

 

((3.14 × 2.5) + 2) ÷ 2 = (7.85 + 2) ÷ 2 = 9.85 ÷ 2 = 4.925" — fractions round up to the nearest whole number, which means that the flat-measure pole pocket for a pole of 2.5" in diameter is 5.0".

 

— To calculate the maximum diameter of pole that maybe used when a pole pocket's flat-measure is known:

((fm × 2)-2)÷π = d

Which is ((flat-measure × 2)-2)÷3.14 = d.

 

Using a 5" flat-measure pole pocket, we'll determine the maximum diameter of pole that may be used to mount the sign.

 

((5 × 2) - 2) ÷ 3.14 = (10 - 2) ÷ 3.14 = 8 ÷ 3.14 = 2.548" — in this case fractions round down to the nearest half-inch, which means that the maximum diameter of pole for a 5" flat-measure pole pocket is 2.5".

 

For quick reference, the table below gives the flat-measure pole pocket values for eight different pole diameters:

 

— To request custom-sized pole pockets, please add a special instruction to your print-ready or online design that specifies EITHER the diameter of the pole pocket ("Please finish with 2.0"-diameter Pole Pockets.") OR the flat-measure of the pole pocket ("Please finish with 5" flat-measure pole pockets.").

 

Please Note that ordering larger pole pockets may require ordering a larger sign than usual to account for the additional material being used for the non-standard pole pockets.  Please contact Customer Service when ordering custom-sized Pole Pockets to see if a larger banner size will be needed.

For details on adding special instructions to print-ready or online designs, please see our Custom-Sized Banners knowledge base article.

 

Pole Banners may be ordered so that their Pole Pockets are on the left and right sides, rather than on the top and bottom, though how to request this differs, depending upon the design method being used.  The recommended design method for this is the Upload a Print-Ready Design method. 

 

— To order a Pole Banner with side pockets using a Print-Ready Design we recommend building the design as you normally would in your preferred graphic program.  Let's use a 4'×6' Outdoor Pole Banner as an example.  This is a horizontal sign that normally has Top and Bottom Pole Pockets.  When building the design we would do it just as if we were creating a 4'×6' Vinyl banner up until saving the file.  Just before saving the final design, we would rotate the design 90° so that it is 'standing' on either its left or right sides, and so that the file is now 6'×4' in size.

 

When uploading the file to the eSigns.com site, we would select the 6'×4' vertical Outdoor Pole Banner size, upload the file, and add an instruction into the Notes box to help make sure the desired result is expressed clearly and briefly, along the lines of:  "Please finish as a 4'×6' sign with the Pole Pockets on the Left and Right (4') sides."

 

— To order a Pole Banner with side pockets using an Online Design, the process is somewhat more complicated, but not so much so that it cannot be done.  For this method we would have to select the vertical size of 6'×4' at the beginning in the online design tool.  This puts the pole pockets on what will be the left and right sides of the sign when it is mounted. 

 

Now comes the complicated part—building the design "sideways."  Each design element—text, clipart, photos, etc.—will have to be rotated in the design in order to achieve the desired result.  At present online designs themselves cannot be rotated.  This method can take some time, so we highly recommend saving your work every 5-10 minutes.

 

Once the design is finished, we would save it a final time and add it to the account's shopping cart.  (For all of our customers who have built designs this way, congratulations!  You've successfully accomplished what is arguably the most difficult thing there is to do here at eSigns.com.)  Once the design is in the shopping cart, the special instruction "Please finish as a 4'×6' sign with the Pole Pockets on the Left and Right (4') sides." would be added as detailed in  our Custom-Sized Banners knowledge base article.