Light pole banners for Minnesota main streets

Area is width times height divided by 144. Some bracket makers size hardware by banner area, so give your installer the square footage (the square footage calculator does the math). Our hardware sets are matched to banner width only, so for a tall banner, ask us which bracket style comes in the set and what area it is rated for.

Cities can write a different spec than our 2 in pockets, 18 oz vinyl and four corner grommets. Saint Paul's banner form lists 30 x 60 in as its standard downtown size (smaller in some neighborhoods) and asks for 2-3/4 in rod pockets. Send us your city's written spec, including any bracket model or mounting method it names, before you order, and we will tell you what we can and cannot match.

Wind slits do less than most people expect. In a 2016 wind tunnel study written up in The Conversation, vents raised a banner's wind load at low wind speeds (up to 5% in that test), and the reduction stayed small until a large share of the banner was open. Full-size tunnel tests by a street banner maker found slits tended to increase wind load.

Tension protects a banner: taut arms stop it from whipping, and flutter wears out material and ink. One maker's spring-loaded brackets release in high wind and return to position after, though another says banners under 24 x 72 in, on quality hardware, do not create enough wind load to need spring hardware. We add slits only when your city's spec asks. More in our guide to hanging a banner.

What bracket makers tell installers

These arm, banding and upkeep notes come from bracket makers' instructions for their own hardware. Your installer should follow the instructions for the brackets you use and your city's rules.

• Existing brackets

  A 2 in pocket takes a rod up to about 1.125 in across. Moorhead lists a 1-1/16 in arm for one banner type and tells applicants to field verify, so send us your arm diameter and we confirm the fit.

• Arms and bands

  Arms run a few inches longer than the banner is wide. Heavy-duty banding is recommended for tapered poles, square poles 4 in or more on a side, two banners per pole, and very windy sites.

• Height and upkeep

  The bottom of the banner sits at least 15 ft up on streets and in parking lots. The bands get retightened as needed 2 to 4 weeks after the first install, then checked once a quarter and after high wind storms.

• Downtown seasonal banners

  A spring, summer, fall or holiday series, swapped on the city's schedule.

• Hometown Heroes and veteran banners

  One banner per service member, each with its own photo and name, from one shared design. Vinyl prints full-color portraits; some fabric banner methods are not suited to photos.

• Graduating senior banners

  One per graduate along the school drive, set from a roster with variable data.

• Campus, park and field banners

  Wayfinding on campuses and in parks, and sponsor banners on ballfield poles. The pole owner's rules apply.

Two design rules for every set. Keep names and logos clear of the top and bottom 2 in, which fold into the pole pockets, with extra room inside the seam lines (the safe area). Size type for the street with the letter height calculator.

How ordering works

1. 1. Send the city's spec

   Size, rod or pocket size, material, sponsor rules and dates, or a photo of the bracket and the arm diameter.

2. 2. We design and proof

   Every banner in the series comes to you on a proof for you and the city to review.

3. 3. We produce and ship

   It ships to you or your city crew with pockets and grommets finished, plus the hardware set if you ordered one. We confirm the date with your quote.