How to prepare artwork for an 85×200 roll-up banner
Size, resolution, bleed and why the important text sits at least 10 cm above the bottom edge. Plus what the timeline looks like after proof approval.
Artwork for a roll-up banner is the simplest print file you will ever build, and at the same time the one that comes back for correction most often. There is one reason for that: not all of the graphic is visible. The bottom edge goes into the cassette. If you did not account for it, your phone number disappears inside the mechanism. Here is how to get it right the first time.
Graphic size versus visible area
The graphic for a Strong 85×200 roll-up is produced at 85 × 200 cm. That is the file size. But the visible area is smaller, because the bottom edge of the graphic is fixed to the cassette and sits rolled up inside it. Hence a simple rule: important text must sit at least 10 cm above the bottom edge.
In practice the bottom 10 cm of the file is a technical zone. Extend the background into it, but put no logo, no phone number, no address and no QR code there. If your logo is centred in the lower part of the design, lift it. If you have a contact bar along the bottom, start it higher up.
| Zone in the 85×200 file | What belongs there | What does not |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10 cm | background, colour, continuation of the graphic | text, logo, phone number, QR code |
| Outer 10 mm on every side | white bleed for trimming | anything important |
| Middle section | the main message, product, photo | fine print below 14 pt |
| Upper section | logo, company name, a short line | long paragraphs |
The test is crude but it works: look at the file on screen shrunk to the size of a business card. If you cannot tell who you are and what you sell, the visitor walking past the stand will not either.
Resolution and colour
For banners we work at 150 dpi at final size. That is enough, because a banner is viewed from a metre away or more, not held in the hand. For small formats — business cards, flyers, folded leaflets, stickers — we want 300 dpi. Push a banner to 300 dpi and the file becomes several times heavier while the difference on the material is invisible.
The colour mode is CMYK. Do not submit RGB. An RGB file will get converted one way or another, but bright blues and greens will come out duller than what you saw on screen, and nobody is happy with the result. If you have a brand colour with an exact value, supply it in CMYK and write it in the email.
Black text is built as 100 % K, with no other inks mixed in. Black text assembled from four colours looks fuzzy along the edges at the slightest misregistration, and on a banner that shows. Large black areas are a different story — rich black is normal there.
Bleed, safe area and fonts
On banners leave 10 mm of white bleed on every side for trimming and the hem. On small formats it is 3 mm. The bleed is not a place for decoration — it gets cut off or hidden in the hem.
The safe area is the zone inside the trim where everything important lives. Keep the logo and the phone number at least 3 cm away from the left and right edges. That way, if the graphic hangs slightly off-centre after setup, the message still reads as centred.
Fonts are converted to curves or embedded in the PDF. If they are not, the machine substitutes the nearest available typeface and the text reflows — usually so that a line breaks in the worst possible place. Converting to curves cannot be undone, so keep your working file before you export.
Transparency gets rasterised. Shadows, blend modes, glossy highlights — all of it should be flattened to plain raster before it leaves your software. Otherwise you risk shadows printing as grey rectangles.
Formats and recommended settings
| Format | Accepted | Recommended settings for an 85×200 banner |
|---|---|---|
| yes, preferred | final size, CMYK, 150 dpi, fonts as curves, 10 mm bleed | |
| AI | yes | final size, CMYK, images embedded rather than linked |
| EPS | yes | CMYK, fonts as curves |
| TIFF | yes | 150 dpi for a banner, CMYK, no layers |
| JPG | yes, at 300 dpi | CMYK, maximum quality, no repeated resaving |
Uploading happens through the site. If the file is heavy because of full-resolution photos, downsample the images to 150 dpi at final size and export again — that usually settles it without costing you any print quality.
The mistakes that send a file back
- An RGB file. Most often it comes from presentation software and from default export settings.
- A logo taken off the website. A logo pulled from a web page is typically 400 pixels wide. Stretched to 40 cm it turns into squares. Find the vector file — AI, EPS or PDF.
- Text right up to the edge. Nothing can be trimmed exactly along a letter. Keep 3 cm inside.
- Important text in the bottom 10 cm. It goes into the cassette and simply is not seen.
- Unflattened transparency. It produces surprises during processing.
- Black text made of four inks. It looks dirty and blurred around the outline.
- A file at 1:10 scale with no note. Scaled artwork is fine, but say so, otherwise it is read as final size.
File check and proof approval
Every order goes through a free file check before printing. We look at size, resolution, colour mode, bleed, fonts and where the important text sits relative to the cassette. If something is off, we write down exactly what to change. The check is free however many times it repeats.
After the check you receive a digital proof, and printing does not start without your approval. This is not a formality — the proof is the moment you see how the graphic will look, including where the visible area ends. Approval is mandatory, because once printing has started the printed item is not refundable: it is a personalised production.
Here is how the timeline moves. Standard production is 3 working days and it starts counting after the proof is approved, not from the moment you order.
| Situation | Effect on the timeline |
|---|---|
| File is correct, proof approved the same day | 3 working days of production |
| File comes back for correction and you resend the next day | plus 1 working day |
| Proof waits two days for approval | plus 2 working days |
| 24 h express | ×1.35 on the print price |
| Same day | ×1.60 on the print price |
The numbers in practice: a 510 gsm vinyl graphic for an 85×200 roll-up is €24.00. With 24 h express that becomes 24.00 × 1.35 = €32.40. Same day is 24.00 × 1.60 = €38.40. On PP film at €19.00, express is €25.65 and same day is €30.40. So every day lost to a file correction can cost you €8.40 extra if you end up switching to express. The minimum value of a print order is €15.00.
If there is no file at all, or it needs rebuilding rather than correcting, the design service is a flat €25.00. It is usually a one-off — next time you simply come back with the same file.
A short working order
- Create a document at 85 × 200 cm, CMYK, 150 dpi.
- Leave 10 mm of white bleed on every side.
- Keep everything important at least 10 cm above the bottom edge and 3 cm off the sides.
- Black text at 100 % K, fonts as curves, transparency rasterised.
- Export a PDF, upload it and wait for the free check.
- Approve the proof. That is when the 3 working days of production begin.
The conclusions in short
- The file is 85 × 200 cm, but the bottom 10 cm goes into the cassette — no text or logo there.
- Banners: 150 dpi, CMYK, 10 mm bleed. Small formats: 300 dpi, 3 mm.
- Fonts as curves, black at 100 % K, transparency rasterised, no RGB.
- We accept PDF, AI, EPS, TIFF and JPG at 300 dpi. PDF gives the fewest surprises.
- The file check is free and approval of the digital proof is mandatory.
- 3 working days of production after approval. 24 h express is ×1.35 and same day ×1.60 — on €24.00 that is €32.40 and €38.40.
