Roller Banner Size Guide: Standard UK Dimensions
Roller banners don’t take up a huge amount of floor space, but once they’re standing they give you a lot of room to get your message across.
Most are around two metres tall, with the width changing depending on the type of stand you choose. Standard roller banners are commonly around 800mm or 850mm wide, while wider versions give you more room for larger artwork or a display that needs a little more presence.
You might also see them described as pull-up banners or roll-up banners. Whichever name is being used, they work in much the same way, with the printed graphic pulling out of a cassette at the bottom and attaching to a support pole.
The size you need really comes down to where it’s going to stand and what you want people to see.
What size is a standard roller banner?
There isn’t one fixed size that every roller banner has to be.
Around 800mm x 2000mm or 850mm x 2000mm is common for a standard banner in the UK. It gives you plenty of height for the design while keeping the stand narrow enough to fit into exhibition spaces, reception areas and other places where floor space can be limited.
You can also go wider when the design or the space calls for it.
For comparison, these are the current sizes across our online roller banner range:
| Banner stand | Finished size | Useful for |
|---|---|---|
| Essential Banner Stand | 800mm x 2000mm | Exhibitions, conferences, reception areas and general displays |
| Wide Banner Stand | 1200mm x 2000mm | Larger displays and designs that need more width |
| Premium Banner Stand | 800mm x 2000mm | Events, exhibitions and displays that will be used regularly |
| Double-Sided Banner Stand | 800mm x 2000mm | Open spaces where the banner can be seen from both directions |
It’s still worth checking the product you’re ordering before starting the artwork. Similar-looking stands don’t always use exactly the same setup, and using the template for that particular banner is the safest place to start.
Think about where it’s going first
It can be tempting to look at the sizes and simply choose the biggest one that fits the budget, but more space isn’t always more useful.
For a reception area, smaller exhibition stand or somewhere beside a doorway, a standard-width banner normally gives you plenty to work with without getting in everybody’s way.
A wider banner starts to make more sense when the display is going into a larger space, you’ve got a strong piece of photography to work with or the design genuinely needs more horizontal room.
Even then, you don’t have to fill every available inch.
If all you really need is a logo, headline, image and a short message, giving those elements some space will normally work better than adding more information simply because the banner is wider.
Choosing a banner for an exhibition
Exhibitions can be tricky because your banner rarely has the space to itself.
There might be a table in front of it, products around it and other stands competing for attention a few metres away. Before choosing a size, think about where the banner will actually sit once everything else is in place.
A standard roller banner is useful because it’s easy to position and doesn’t need much floor space. For a larger exhibition stand, going wider can give the display more impact, particularly if you’re using a large photograph or a simple message that needs to work from further away.
You can also use more than one banner.
Two narrower banners sitting together can give you more flexibility than one very wide one, especially if you have different products or messages to show. Keeping the colours and overall design consistent will make them feel like one display rather than two unrelated pieces of artwork.
What about receptions and smaller spaces?
Roller banners work well in reception areas because they can make good use of a relatively small patch of floor.
A standard pull-up banner can sit alongside a desk, waiting area or entrance without becoming the main feature of the room.
Have a look at what will be around it before you settle on the artwork though. Chairs, tables, brochure holders and even plants have a habit of covering the lower part of a banner.
If something important is sitting right at the bottom of the design, there’s a chance nobody will ever see it.
In a larger reception or open space, a wider banner gives you the option to use a bigger image or make the branding more prominent without needing a completely different type of display.
When a wider or double-sided banner works better
Sometimes the standard width just isn’t quite enough.
A wide roller banner is useful for landscape photography, a group of products or a design that starts to feel cramped when everything is squeezed into a narrower space.
It can also hold its own a little better in larger rooms and exhibition halls.
Double-sided banners solve a slightly different problem.
If the stand is going somewhere people can walk past from either direction, printing on both sides means you’re not showing somebody the back of the display half of the time.
That can be particularly useful at event entrances, in open exhibition spaces or anywhere the banner won’t be sitting directly against a wall.
Make sure the artwork matches the stand
Once you know which banner you’re ordering, use the artwork template for that specific stand.
It’s worth doing even if you’ve designed a roller banner before. Similar-looking stands don’t always use exactly the same artwork dimensions, and part of the printed graphic may sit inside the cassette once everything has been assembled.
Check the finished size, bleed and safe areas before getting too far into the design. Keep anything important away from areas that could disappear into the base, particularly phone numbers, web addresses and logos.
Image quality matters too.
A photograph can look perfectly sharp on a laptop and then struggle when it’s enlarged across a graphic that’s nearly two metres tall. Where you can, start with the original high-resolution image rather than something downloaded from a website or social media.
The size and the design still need to work together
Choosing a larger roller banner doesn’t mean you suddenly need twice as much content.
Most banners are being seen while someone is walking through an exhibition, entering a building or standing some distance away. Whatever size you choose, there should still be something obvious to notice first.
If you’re at the artwork stage, our guide to how to design a roller banner that actually gets noticed looks at things like message placement, viewing distance, images, contrast and QR codes in more detail.
So which size should you choose?
For most everyday uses, a standard roller banner gives you a good amount of display space without needing much room around it.
Going wider can be useful when the artwork needs the extra width or you’re trying to make more of an impact in a larger space. A double-sided stand makes more sense when people will see the banner from both directions.
Rather than starting with the biggest size available, start with where it’s actually going to stand.
Think about the room, what will be around it and how far away people are likely to be when they first see it. Once you’ve got that worked out, choosing the banner itself becomes much easier.
You can also take a look at our roller banner and banner stand range to compare the different options and artwork requirements before getting started.
