Site hoarding
Site hoarding graphics — measured as a run, not as a banner
A hoarding line is not one long banner. It is a repeated panel, and the panel is decided by the frame behind it before anyone opens the artwork. Get that order the wrong way round and the graphic arrives beautiful and unfittable — joins landing mid-logo, eyelets missing the rails, and a crew improvising on site. This page sets out how a run is measured and specified so that does not happen.
How a run is specified
In this order. Each step constrains the next, which is why reversing them costs money.
| Step | What is decided | Why it comes here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · The frame | Post centres, rail positions, panel height | The existing hoarding frame sets the panel module. Nothing upstream of this is free. |
| 2 · The panel | Finished panel size and how many repeat | A run divides into whole panels. Odd panels go at the ends, not in the middle, where the eye reads them as a mistake. |
| 3 · Material | Mesh or solid, weight, fire classification if specified | Exposure and duration decide this — and whether the line is a wind trap. |
| 4 · Artwork | Where the logo, imagery and messaging sit across the module | Designed to the panel, so the joins fall between elements instead of through them. |
| 5 · Finishing | Hems, eyelet spacing, reinforcement | Matched to the rails so the crew fixes rather than improvises. |
| 6 · Installation | Crew, access, sequence, traffic management | A long run is a programme item. It is sequenced, not just delivered. |
The most common and most expensive mistake is designing artwork for the total run length and panelling it afterwards. The panel comes first.
Why mesh on a hoarding line
A hoarding sits in open air, often on a corner or along an unobstructed stretch where wind accelerates. A solid PVC panel in that position is a sail: it loads the frame, it drums, it tears at the eyelets, and in the worst case it takes a section of hoarding with it. Mesh leaves roughly 30–40% open area so air passes through rather than pushing. The trade is a slightly softer image close up — which does not matter on something read from across a road at speed. Where a hoarding is sheltered, short-lived or indoors, solid material is the better print and we will say so.
What to send us to price a run
Five lines, and the quotation can be firm rather than indicative.
- The run in linear metres and the hoarding height
- A photo of the existing frame — post centres and rails are what we need to see
- How long the hoarding stays up
- Any fire classification the project specification requires
- Artwork or the brand guideline, and whether the content repeats or changes along the run
What we say plainly
Panels within the roll width we print in-house are printed, finished and checked in our own factory in Abu Dhabi; larger panels are produced to our specification and finished, inspected and installed by us. On a long run that distinction rarely matters, because a run is panelled anyway — but we would rather you hear it from us than discover it. What is ours throughout is the measurement, the panelling, the artwork preparation, the approvals, the installation and the inspection.
Questions we are asked
Can you match an existing hoarding that is already half installed?
Usually yes. Send a photo with a tape measure in frame against one panel, and the post centres. Matching an existing module is ordinary work; guessing it from a drawing that was never built to is not.
Should the artwork repeat along the run?
Usually a repeating module with a few feature panels reads better and costs less than one continuous image, because a continuous image has to be re-panelled every time the run length changes — and on a live site, it changes.
Do you install hoarding graphics?
Yes, with our own crews. Supply is priced per square metre and installation is quoted separately against the run, the access and the traffic conditions.
How is a long run sequenced?
In sections, so the site keeps a working access and the graphic goes up in a logical reading order. Panels are packed and labelled in sequence so the crew is not sorting on the pavement.
What about permits?
Hoarding graphics on a public-facing line usually involve the municipality or the developer, and sometimes both. Approvals are typically the long pole, not production — start them with the enquiry.