“Hey, I found this retractable banner stand on the internet for $49.95!”
We’ve heard it so many times: a customer will call us up and ask us to match the price for a banner stand they found on some supplier’s website. The internet is a wonderful thing, for sure, but buyer beware! We all love a bargain but there are a few things to consider when buying hardware and banners online, and why cheap banner stands might not be for you.
#1: Tensioning System
Most inexpensive banner stands use springs to tension the graphic and allow the banner to wind back into the base. If you are buying a banner stand to display in your lobby or facility and are not planning on taking the stand to various trade shows or events, this bargain solution might work just fine. But if you are planning on multiple uses, we would recommend a more robust product. The problem with springs is that they can and often do, release! No retracting after the spring has sprung! If you’re expecting to use your banner frequently, you should have hardware that can keep up with your travels.
#2: Warranty
The majority of online bargain banner stands will have, at most, a 90-day warranty and you’ll have to ship the stand away for repairs. If the warranty period has expired, often you’ll have to purchase new hardware if the stand cannot be repaired. A quality stand will have a lifetime warranty, thereby saving you repair costs for as long as you use the banner. We stock replacement hardware for stands with a lifetime warranty to avoid having to send your unit back to the manufacturer.
#3: Banner Quality
The quality of the banner material and printing will have a huge effect on how your company is perceived by your potential clients. Inferior vinyls will curl at the edges and poorly calibrated inkjet printers will produce inferior graphics. That’s not great for your company’s image!
What we recommend
Our top pick is the Expand M2 Retractable Banner Stand and we’ve sold literally hundreds. The Expand M2 is manufactured from the highest quality materials and has a sleek, simple design with a polished alloy shell. The mechanism has what is called a Modular Tension System which generates tension when the graphic is pulled up and makes retracting the media easy and reliable. No sprung springs! In addition, the M2 comes with a telescopic pole allowing you to easily adjust the height of your message 63” to 88.5” high. Best of all, with a few simple steps, the graphic and media roll can be removed and easily exchanged with a new message. The Expand M2’s quality hardware and easy maintenance features makes it the perfect companion for all businesses, even when marketing messages and company focuses change.
When it comes to the banner, we print on a non-curl PVC-free vinyl with our eco-friendly HP Latex printers. The vinyl is guaranteed to remain flat no matter where you place it, helping your message stand tall and proud. Plus by going with printing experts like Paragon Design + Display, we can make sure our high-quality printers produce your graphics exactly how you intended – no misprints, no errors, and as toxic-free as possible. It’s important for us at Paragon to utilize as much non-toxic materials and inks as possible. Almost all of our substrates and banner stocks are produced from recycled materials and many can be recycled after they are no longer useful.
Pricing
We’ll be honest: we can’t match the $49.95 price you found online because we care about the quality of the hardware and banner that we deliver to our customers. So what kind of quote can you expect from us? Because we provide high-class custom solutions to every project, there is no “one price fits all”. Your banner can cost anywhere between $300 and $500, but please contact us so that we can tailor the price to fit your needs.
So if you are in the market for a retractable banner stand that sets a new standard for portable media systems, give us a call. We’ll be happy to discuss with you the M2 and all the visual marketing solutions Paragon Design + Display can offer.
