Product
Rollups.
We rarely
recommend them.
A roll-up is a cheap way to put your brand on a wall — and most of the time, that’s exactly what it looks like. We’ll explain why, and what we’d suggest instead.
What it is
Cheap, fast, transportable — and that’s where the appeal ends.
A roll-up banner is a printed banner that rolls into a small aluminium cassette base, with a thin pole that pops up to hold the print upright. Typical widths are 85, 100, or 120 centimetres. They fit on the back seat of a Polo, set up in twenty seconds, and cost less than almost any other branded format. That’s the reason most people buy them.
It’s also why most roll-ups end up looking the way they do: kinked after the second transport, cupping at the top, sun-bleached after a few outdoor uses, retired to a storage room within a year. The format optimises for cheap and fast, and it shows.
Why we usually advise against
The honest issues with roll-ups.
They wrinkle
The print is rolled and unrolled every time. After a few transports, you see horizontal kinks. Not a deal-breaker for a one-off internal meeting, but visible at any branded event.
They cup
The print is clamped at the top and rolled and unrolled every time it travels. Temperature swings and repeated cycles pull the surface out of flat into a shallow saucer shape — what the trade calls cupping. The more transports, the more visible the warp.
They look like roll-ups
The format is so common at trade fairs and lobbies that the visual association is fixed. A roll-up signals “corporate-on-a-budget” whether the brand wants to or not.
They get disposed
Most roll-ups are bought for one event, used a few times, then sit in a cupboard or get binned when the branding refreshes. The unit cost looks low; the cost per actual use rarely is.
What we suggest instead
Rental frame with a printed banner.
The roll-up’s job — vertical brand presence at a small footprint — is also done by a rental aluminium frame holding a tensioned printed banner. Same standing footprint. Cleaner look. Longer life. Designed from the start to come back to our stock, be cleaned, and ship out again with the next print.
- Frame stays in our stock across hundreds of events
- Print is tensioned in the frame — no kinks, no cupping
- Visually closer to a presswall than a roll-up
- Lower CO² per use when you account for the whole life-cycle
- Lower total cost over multiple events when you brand more than once a year
- End-of-life: the frame returns to stock, the print is sorted for recycling
If your event is genuinely a one-off, a rental frame still wins on look. If you have a series of events, it wins on both look and cost.
When we still produce roll-ups
If a client really wants one, we make it properly.
Sometimes the brief is fixed: roll-up, no alternative considered. We’ll have the conversation about why we’d normally suggest a frame — and if you still want a roll-up after that, we produce one. Just not a throwaway. Our roll-up is the only format we make in this category, designed for genuine repeated use: heavier-gauge print, a tensioned mechanism that doesn’t cup, a base built to be re-rolled hundreds of times. Higher unit cost, much higher use count.
We’d rather sell you one good roll-up that lasts than three cheap ones that don’t.
FAQ
Common questions about roll-ups.
So can I still order a roll-up from you?
Yes — if after the conversation you still want one, we produce it. We’ll just first explain why we’d normally suggest a rental frame instead, and what the trade-offs are.
What’s the price difference between a rental frame and a roll-up?
A rental frame setup costs more upfront than a single cheap roll-up. Over multiple events, it’s usually cheaper — because the frame doesn’t need to be rebought. We’ll quote both options side by side so you can compare.
Can’t a normal roll-up just be reused as well?
Mechanically: yes, you can roll and unroll the same banner many times. In practice: most cheap roll-ups wrinkle after the third transport and cup within a year. Our reusable roll-up is built differently, but for most events the rental-frame option wins on look anyway.
What sizes are roll-ups available in?
Standard widths are 85cm, 100cm, and 120cm, with heights around 200cm. Custom sizes are possible but the same format limitations apply.
Is a roll-up ever the right choice?
For genuinely portable, ad-hoc internal use — recruitment fairs, internal meetings, hotel lobby for one morning — a roll-up is fine. The brief simply doesn’t carry brand-image risk. For client-facing events with photos and press, it almost never is.
What other alternatives are there?
Besides the rental frame: tensioned banners for hanging or wall-mounting, beachflags for outdoor or large-space activation, and presswalls for proper photo-moment branding. We’ll recommend the right one based on the actual brief.
Considering a roll-up? Let us suggest the right format.
Tell us the brief — we’ll come back with the option that fits the event, not just the budget line.