Caring for your Flag or Banner

A custom printed flag or banner can serve a great many purposes. They can help businesses emphasise standing and brand excellence. Flags and banners are also great for helping visitors or customers to find a location. They can be used to display national or regional pride, show school or university colours or even just to make a statement. But, just the same as with clothing, if you’ve made an outlay on these items you need to make sure you care for them correctly, so they look their best and last for as long as possible. We’ve answered some of the most commonly asked flag and banner care questions below.

Where should I fly my flag?

This doesn’t just mean where will it be best displayed and most visible. You need to make sure that your flag won’t be subject to more extreme weather conditions. While our flags are manufactured to be weather resistant and durable, their lifespan will be significantly reduced if they’re flown in constant bad weather. You should avoid flying your flag or displaying your banner in areas:

• Subject to high winds or heavy rain.
• In direct, sunlight or intense heat. This will encourage fading of the print and will gradually erode the fabric.
• Where pollution levels are significantly higher, such as next to a busy city centre road. Not only will this affect the print colour and cause staining, but it may have an effect on fabric erosion.

• Next to other obstacles, such as trees, other flag poles or telegraph poles.

How much should I spend on my flag or banner?

For something that is displayed outside and often only viewed from distance, it can be tempting to look at the cheapest options for flags and banners. While this might be sensible for those with budget restrictions or for flags or banners that are only going to be used infrequently, it can quite often be a counter-productive exercise for general use.

Cheaper fabrics are more likely to wear more quickly. Pulling and fraying, leaving unsightly loose fabric at the edges of your flag. You will also not get the same print quality on the very basic fabrics. There are lots of price options out there, so you don’t have to spend a fortune but it’s worth giving some consideration to quality.

What other equipment do I need for my flag or banner?

Fixing a banner can be quite a simple exercise, easily achieved with metal clips, zip ties or bungee cords. Understandably, for a flag, it is a little more complicated. There are a range of different types of flag poles. From architectural flag poles, to forecourt poles for the motor industry and show home poles for the construction industry.

Flag poles are available in different sizes up to 20m high and can be supplied with either a rotating arm or a halyard. Making sure you have the right fitting and equipment for you flag will affect how well it lasts and how often you have to replace it. If you’re unsure on this, you can speak to our installation team who can arrange all of this for you.

How do I clean my flag?

Returning to the clothing analogy, you should approach cleaning your flag as you would delicate clothes:

• They can either be hand washed or put in the washing machine on a 30 degree wash.
• You are fine to use normal washing powder to clean your flag.
• Flat dry your flag, use a large table or a clean area of floor depending on the size.
• Do not fold until your flag or banner is fully dry.
• Avoid ironing unless absolutely necessary. If you do have to iron, make sure you do so on the lowest heat setting and do not press to the fabric for too long.
• Do not dry clean your flag.

• Do not use bleach.
• Fold neatly and store your flag in a clean, dry area when not in use.

Do you have any other tips for my flag or banner?

• Think how long your flag will be flown for. If the plan is for it to be up every day, all year, then you won’t be able to avoid wear and tear – thanks to the UK’s changeable weather conditions. This will mean you need to replace it more often than you might think.
• But this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to replace it if it’s just looking a bit worn. Follow our washing instructions above and it may come out of the wash looking as good as new!
• It might be sensible to have more than one flag or banner, so that you can swap them over when washing one.
• Make sure you flag is the right size for the pole. A flag that is too large for the pole could cause damage to the flag, but also the pole too.
• Make sure your flag or banner is hung the right way round – you’d be surprised how often hanging flags upside down occurs!