Putting a banner in a giant sign box

[KrankyWizard]

I'm being asked to quote this and I have no Idea how its mounted. We found a few of these tensioner looking things still on the banner but I'm not sure what it's called to order more. What weight banner I would need for this job or if there is a company I can order from, I thought signs365 but not sure 18oz is enough for this project.

Any little bit of information would help me out a ton, thanks for reading.

 

[unclebun]

That's not a banner. It's a flex face. Finding suppliers who can print flex face is your first step. Flex Face may look like banner but it's designed for even light transmission. Banner material is not.

If you don't have all the old stretcher system intact to reuse it can be hard to figure out where it came from. That's why you'll see so many of these with the face just screwed straight to the cabinet with sheet metal screws by someone who isn't in the business of doing flex face signs.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You need someone to show you how to install those. Flexfaces are a pain in the ass and it takes practice to install it looking like a completly flat sheet. Id start off with a smaller one.

 

[KrankyWizard]

I was searching around and emailing random companies that might know what the mounting hardware was. The nice guys at grimco let me know it's an "ABC Clip".

I've never heard of a Flex face before. The Sign hasn't been lit in a long time, I believe it was changed knowing it wont be lit. Do they have a Flex face that isn't for lighted boxes? The customer doesn't want it lit.

 

[Medina Signs]

It's the same material - lit or not lit. You have to cut the face larger than the visible area so you'll need a bleed of a few inches - 3-4" on each side. Check the frame extrusion. Sign Comp maybe?
Also, you need clips and the tensioning tool. There are videos out there for guidance.

 

[JBurton]

ABC has a pretty thorough walkthrough: https://www.abcsignproducts.com/easy-sheets/flex-face-tensioning
Personally I've never used this style, they look like a PITA, but they all are.
Face suppliers that are good are Indy imaging, Miratec, and Oxford printing. We've been using Oxford recently, as they are down the street, and they are great folks. Miratec is top shelf in their color rendering, and Indy Imaging has always priced us fairly and quickly.

 

[KrankyWizard]

I'll start looking at getting quotes from them. I'm waiting to hear back on the tension clips at ABC Sign Products.

 

[MikePro]

I'm being asked to quote this and I have no Idea how its mounted. We found a few of these tensioner looking things still on the banner but I'm not sure what it's called to order more. What weight banner I would need for this job or if there is a company I can order from, I thought signs365 but not sure 18oz is enough for this project.

Any little bit of information would help me out a ton, thanks for reading.

ABC Flexface Tensioning System
(link here)
uncertain as to where we have bought replacement clips in the past, but I believe mmmaybe ReeceSupply?
we used to do these, later upgraded to a toggle-bolt style for easier tensioning, but there's better systems out there now via SignComp.

edited to add: dang! Burton beat me to it!

 

[KrankyWizard]

ABC Flexface Tensioning System
(link here)
uncertain as to where we have bought replacement clips in the past, but I believe mmmaybe ReeceSupply?
we used to do these, later upgraded to a toggle-bolt style for easier tensioning, but there's better systems out there now via SignComp.

edited to add: dang! Burton beat me to it!

I believe we are going to just use the system the sign is set up in already with the ABC Tension clips, but could the toggle-bolt style work on a ABC tension style frame?

 

[MikePro]

I believe we are going to just use the system the sign is set up in already with the ABC Tension clips, but could the toggle-bolt style work on a ABC tension style frame?

mmmaybe, as you would be drilling holes through the existing frame or adding brackets to "make it work" as opposed to using the existing clip-style to snap-into the extrusion that is already there
...and then you would also have to fabricate new frame covers to conceal all that new hardware & the gap created.

its all a PITA really, but these would be called "universal flexclip" or "wedge clamp".

 

[JBurton]

Only way I'd change clips is if it also got new extrusion to retrofit, and even then I'd only likely do it if it was a prestretched face.

 

[Gino]

Done lotsa these, but not personally. Always farmed this out. Seemed to always need one in the dead of winter and ya'd be out there freezing your fingers off.

 

[JBurton]

Done lotsa these, but not personally. Always farmed this out. Seemed to always need one in the dead of winter and ya'd be out there freezing your fingers off.

That's always how it goes. Seeing as how he's in Tennessee, this weekend would be optimal...

 

[Gino]

Most of the east is supposed to get hit hard with freezing rain, sleet and lotsa snow, so I hope he's not planning this soon.
We're supposed to get around 20". We'll see how accurate these mental midgets at the weather beaureu really are.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Just reading comments. googled flex face, sent me to grimco. duratex 20oz backlit banner material? or 15 oz backlit banner material? Now I'm curious reading about it. You can print on it and then attach it with the clips?

 

[Gino]

You're better off letting a billboard company print it judging by the height of that pole/sign

 

[JBurton]

Just want to make sure folks are aware, billboard faces and flex faces are not the same material, typically billboards are super light like 8oz, not translucent, low resolution, low color accuracy, not laminated and only have a life of about a year.
A flex face is translucent, color accurate, typically laminated, high-er resolution, and if you have something like 3m panaflex 3, it'll last 10 or 15 years.

 

[MrDav3C]

Heres some we made & installed last year, my fav job of 2025!

 

[JBurton]

View attachment 180726 Heres some we made & installed last year, my fav job of 2025!

For one, that's a bad ass crane/basket setup. But what kind of modules are you using there? Looks to be like 6' tall letters, and you have like 20 modules in each can.

 

[MrDav3C]

For one, that's a bad ass crane/basket setup. But what kind of modules are you using there? Looks to be like 6' tall letters, and you have like 20 modules in each can.

Struggling to find the exact spec on my phone, we had some guidance with the LEDs which I'll try to find when I'm back in the office tomorrow but it illuminates beautifully and can be seen from pretty far!