Vinyl Flex Billboards

Product Information

• Print Resolution: Circle Graphics prints vinyl flex billboards at 360 dpi in 4-color process.
• Inks: our inks are made with automotive-grade pigments designed to resist fading for 2 years.
• Vinyl Characteristics:
• 13 ounce, three-ply material with PVC on the outside layers and an 800 denier polyester scrim inside.
• Produced by LG Chemical, one of the largest billboard flex-vinyl producers in the world.
• Black-backed material is standard unless white-backed vinyl is specified.
• Semi-gloss finish.
• Anti-mildew, anti-UV, and flame retardant.
• Meets NFPA-701 (National Fire Protection Association, the governing national body) guidelines for flame resistance.
• Designed to withstand temperatures as low as minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Warranty: guaranteed for two (2) years against fading in excess of 15%. Vinyls with UV clear coat (which must be requested at the time of the order and which has an additional cost) are guaranteed for three (3) years against fading in excess of 15%.

Pricing Information

• Please access your specific pricing plan by logging into MY CIRCLE and clicking on "Price Lists for My Company".
• Pricing is based on the total square feet of the LIVE (or IMAGE) AREA of your order.
• For example, a 14' high x 48' wide vinyl flex billboard (without extensions) will have 672 square feet of Live Area which will be multiplied by price on the customer's pricing plan.
• Extension pricing is based on the LIVE AREA of the actual extension.
• Please note that Circle has a minimum dollar order size and different pricing per square foot based on the square footage of the design (with premiums charged for extremely small as well as extremely large sizes). Specifics are provided in the customer's price lists.

Art Requirements

The most important "art requirement" that we can recommend is to USE OUR PHOTOSHOP TEMPLATES! If you create your design using the correct template (see link below) you will realize several important benefits and ensure that we produce your design in the fastest and most accurate manner possible.

Here are some of the benefits of using our vinyl templates:

• Each template is set up for optimal output. The resolutions for each template are already optimized for the specific size and will produce optimal output when enlarged.
• Each template will be the correct size, if you use the correct template for your desired product.
• Each template contains guidelines for both the live area and finished area. For example, a 14x48 will enlarge to a 15x49.
• Each template has the proper color profile already applied.
• Each template is already saved with LZW compression.

Click the following link to see a list of recommended Photoshop templates for most standard sized vinyl flexes. Vinyl Flex Photoshop Templates. Remember, open these in Photoshop.

Vinyl Flex Photoshop Templates
(Remember, open these in Photoshop)

Our Photoshop templates are not for you? We hope you'll reconsider; however, we still need your print-ready artwork so here are some helpful tips.

• Our preferred file format is a flattened Photoshop .tif file using LZW compression. Please always name files of this type using the 3 character extension ".tif" at the end of your file name (even if you are on a Mac).
• If you build your file using the recommended format there will be no need to use additional compression software such as WinZip or Stuffit when uploading your files.
• Circle Graphics supports the latest versions of all the software listed below for both Macintosh and Windows:
• Major drawing applications (i.e., Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Macromedia Freehand)
• Major page layout applications (i.e., QuarkXPress, Adobe Pagemaker and Adobe Indesign)

NOTE: We do not accept files built in MS Word or Powerpoint or any other word processing or publishing program for that matter.

NOTE: When using these software packages to create files please follow the same basic information herein, but keep in mind that you will need to compress the files into one archive using Stuffit for Macintosh users and WinZip for Windows users. This helps maintain the file's integrity and prevents fonts from getting corrupted during upload.

• Create your files to a manageable scale (versus the full scale of the final board). We recommend working at a scale of 1/2" = 1' scale and using a .25" amount of bleed.
• Please provide a minimum resolution of 300 ppi, 408 ppi for optimal output, for any photographic elements. For example, a 14'x48' billboard would scale to 7"x24". Be sure to include .25" of bleed to be used for wrapping around the structure and all critical elements should be .25" from the edge of the Live area.
• When building your file, please work in CMYK using US Web Coated (SWOP v2) color profile.
• If assigning PMS color callouts for solids, please use the Pantone Solid to Process library of colors as all jobs will be printed in 4-color process.

Recommended reduced scales and file set-up information for common flex sizes.

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Production Standards

• Unless otherwise requested, we will apply our "Standard Finish" to your vinyl flex. Our standard finishing is set forth as follows:
• Bleed: our standard bleed is to provide a 6" bleed around the entire live area dimension. For example, a 14' x 48' (live or image area) will have a finished area of 15' x 49'. We print a full bleed to the edge of the blank (over the pocket area).
• Our pocket dimension is a standard 3.5 inches.

Note: Naturally, should you have special bleed requirements you simply need to discuss these with your Account Manager, and we can accommodate these requirements (and they will become part of your customer record).

• All vinyl flexes are marked with "goal posts" that run across the top of the board exactly .125" above the live area as well as "corner marks" to allow for ease of alignment during installation.

Click here to see an Illustration of our Standard Finishing (PDF)

• Our vinyl flex is black backed vinyl with a slight gloss finish. We seam all of our vinyl and our seams are welded vertically approximately every 6.5'. For example, a 14x48 with 3.5" pockets will have 8 panels and 7 vertical welds.
• Vinyl flexes with extensions will be packaged together (main board and extension). The extension will also be marked with a goal post to allow for ease of installation. To aid installers we add three inches to each side of an extension for when they wrap the extension around plywood. (In order to match your extension size to the size we will produce please draw a rectangle around the extension and 3" all around.)

Click here to see an Illustration of our Extension Finishing (PDF)

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Product Folding, Labeling, and Packaging

• All vinyl flexes are labeled with a small color image of the artwork on the pocket. They also have our Order and Line item number, Size information, and Orientation information (e.g., "TOP LEFT (front)" meaning this would be the top left of the flex when viewed from the front).
• We ship in boxes. Shipment in tubes is available at an extra cost to handle tubing and special freight arrangements.
• On each box there are three labels as set forth below:
• Shipping Label: details of the shipment provided by our shipping company
• Packing Slip: indicating the job number, the product type and quantity ordered and the quantity contained in the box
• Picture Label: a label with a black and white image of the board contained inside

Click here to View Standard Packaging Information on each Box (PDF)

• Our standard folding method for vinyl flexes is to fold left to right and from top to bottom.

Please Click here to see our Standard Folding Method (Vinyl Fold Method # 1) (PDF)

Please Click here to View All of our Different Folding Methods (PDF)

• We DO NOT FOLD INK-TO-INK. Circle uses solvent-based inks like all digital printers. These inks have a tendency to "stick to themselves" even when completely dry. Vinyls leaving our factory are not folded where ink touches ink. We use a "release liner" that protects the very first fold from being ink-to-ink.
  
  Likewise, we ask that our Customers take care when handling or re-folding their flex vinyls. Circle encourages our customers not to allow the printed side of a vinyl to come into contact with another section of the printed side (i.e., ink-to-ink). The Customer should always use a non-stick material to protect the print side before they lay it on top of another printed section. To do otherwise will likely cause the ink to stick to itself and peel off when unfolded and hung. Circle cannot be held responsible for this type of damage to a printed billboard.

Please Click here to see an Illustration of Ink-to-Ink Folding (PDF)

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