Is gluing a single-sided PVC vinyl banner to a sheet of plywood a good idea? It depends.
A customer called me the other day and asked what type of glue he could use to glue a one-sided vinyl banner to a sheet of plywood. While this sounds like a simple question, I like to review questions like this from several angles.
How Long Do You Let the Vinyl Banner Stay on the Plywood?
The first question I would ask is, “How long do you intend this to stay on the plywood?” I ask this question because there are adhesives that might work for a short period of time, but there is only one I can think of that would last a long period of time, but I’m not sure how it might chemically react with PVC banner material (PVC is the same thing as vinyl).
Using Adhesives to Attach Vinyl Banners
We have used, in the past, for a short term application like this, silicone adhesive as it is quite thick and once it dries it is very tough. Over the long run, as in more than a few months, I don’t know if it would work.
There is a spray adhesive on the market called “Rubber and Vinyl 80” that might also work. Again, having never used it, I can only tell you it is made by a company in the US that has a VERY good reputation and we use many of their products and always recommend them highly, but it also has to be the correct usage.
My Advice on Using Adhesives
So, my advice, though, would be to steer clear of chemical adhesives that you’ve never used before and go for a bit more mechanical approach. You know wood won’t react with metal or vinyl or other wood, at least not with most combinations, so my advice would be to use wood strips around the outside perimeter of the banner and attach them over top of the banner with bolts that go through both pieces of wood and clamp the banner to the sheet of plywood.
Using a Strike Stapler
Another way might be to use a strike stapler and just staple the heck out of the banner so that wind can’t get beneath it…but I think this method isn’t really very attractive, though I’ve seen it done with paper banners frequently where budget was a concern, and with vinyl banners as well. I suppose if you’re pointing the way to an event such as a 10K run or the like, it would be acceptable, but if you’re advertising your business like that, I’d certainly ask you to think how you would respond subconsciously as a potential client seeing a thrown together sign full of staples.
I know that in my mind I would think, “gee, if they’re this cheap on their sign, maybe their product is also going to be cheap.” I might not even recognize that this is what I’m thinking, but I guarantee my subconscious did pick this up.
Ways to Get a Decent Looking Signage
There are other ways to accomplish a decent looking sign without squeezing George or the Queen until they turn red. DTS printing, or direct to substrate printing, has been around since the new millennium and is a very viable option that both is professional and will make your firm look professional. You can have a sheet of EPVC (expanded PVC) printed either directly or indirectly (a large decal can be affixed to this material easily with a laminator), and its smooth surface makes a very attractive sign in and of itself, particularly at .25” thickness.
I am a fan of banners of all types, from vinyl one or two sided banners to fabric dye sub banners, but I also know that they don’t fit every situation, and frankly, unless it’s the weekend and you had no choice but to requisition a banner out of storage, I would definitely find a better signing option than gluing a banner to a sheet of OSB or plywood.
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