Customized signs and banners are perfect for advertising festivals and sales, and if your business or organization has annual or periodic events that require the same information to be on each year's signs, then you can save some money each year by using the same ones over and over -- if you take care of them.
Banners and non-flexible signs need care before they are put away for the season, to ensure that they stay in good shape. The age of the materials does eventually take a toll, requiring you to get new signs, but at least for a few years, you'll have some nice signs and banners that save you money.
Cleaning Off
Once you take down the signs and banners, wash them off, if they can handle being wet; it's best to dust them all first and then wet them. Try scrubbing them gently with a mild cleanser, too. You'll need to let them dry thoroughly, and you can help them along by wiping off obvious drips of water. Take care of the cleaning before inspecting the material because you want to catch all problems that might have occurred. If you inspect the banners and signs before cleaning, you could miss tiny spots of damage that were hidden by dirt.
Inspecting for Tears
So, once the banners and signs have been cleaned, look over all of them thoroughly. Look for scratches, rips, bite marks (you never know what pests are thinking when they first come across the material), scuffs that won't clean out, disintegrating lettering -- all of these are things you may have to repair, or you may even find that it's time to replace that particular sign or banner.
Rolling and Covering
Before storing the signs and banners, cover them for protection (ensure everything is completely dry first). For non-flexible signs, wrap them securely in plastic with packaging or strapping tape placed over every seam or opening in the plastic. For flexible banners, roll them up; do not fold them as those creases can become almost permanent after long storage times. Once rolled, wrap them up and tape them shut. Store all banners and signs inside your business and not outside where weather phenomena can damage them.
Labeling
Be sure you also label the wrapped signs and banners so that, if you need to retrieve one, you don't unwrap several as you search for the one you want. Using a permanent marker on the exterior plastic wrap should be fine.
If the signs are damaged, or if you need to change information on the signs, contact a sign company to see about setting up accounts with templates kept on file. Those will help you in the future should you need to reprint one or more of the signs. Contact a company like ABC Stamp Signs & Awards for more information and assistance.