An event entrance gantry is an overhead frame of bolted aluminium extrusion or truss that spans an entrance or walkway, with a printed header across the top and a printed wrap on each leg. The graphics are printed either on woven polyester fabric tensioned into the frame or on PVC-coated banner tensioned through eyelets, and the whole structure is sized to the opening it spans.
What is an event entrance gantry?
An entrance gantry is an overhead frame spanning a doorway, a corridor or an atrium walkway, carrying a printed header above the crowd and usually a printed wrap on each upright. It is the one branded element at an event that every visitor passes under, and the only one that appears in the background of other people’s photographs by default.
That is what makes it different from a backdrop or a banner. A backdrop is stood in front of and a banner is looked at; a gantry is walked through. It is seen first from a distance down a concourse, then at a sharp angle as people approach, then from directly underneath, and finally at arm’s length by everyone queueing beside its legs. Each of those views asks something different of the print.
Gantries suit roadshow entrances, mall atrium activations, conference halls, race and community event start lines, and any opening where the brand should be above the crowd rather than in it. They do not suit a low ceiling: a header people have to duck under stops being photographed and starts being a hazard.
What is an entrance gantry built from?
A gantry frame is built from bolted aluminium extrusion or truss. Because it is assembled rather than bought off a shelf, it is sized to the opening instead of the opening being made to fit it. The header and the leg wraps are printed skins on that frame; on an extrusion frame the extrusions are cut, the corners fitted and the graphic test-tensioned before it ships.
Two structural points shape the brief:
- Extrusion or truss. An aluminium extrusion frame grips a fabric skin by the silicone bead sewn into its edge, which pulls the cloth drum-tight across the opening. A truss structure suits a long span with a coated banner tensioned through eyelets.
- Indoors or outdoors. An outdoor span needs an engineered structure specified for wind, not a frame chosen on graphics alone. A tensioned graphic is a solid surface and behaves like a sail.
The frame is the durable part. Exhibition hardware travels in cases and is rebuilt at each event, and a replacement graphic fits an existing frame where the system and the aperture match, so a gantry used at a recurring event can take new skins without a new structure. A silicone bead is sized to its own extrusion and is not interchangeable, so say which system you already own. The exhibition stand printing page covers the frame systems and their allowances.
Should gantry graphics be fabric or PVC banner?
Fabric for an indoor gantry that will be photographed; coated PVC banner for an outdoor site or a long truss span. Woven polyester tensioned into an extrusion is flat and completely matt, and photographs without a hot spot. PVC-coated banner tensioned through eyelets is heavier, far more tolerant of an outdoor site, and the sensible choice where the span is long.
| Property | Woven polyester skin | PVC-coated banner |
|---|---|---|
| How it is fixed | Tensioned into the extrusion with a sewn silicone edge | Tensioned through eyelets with bungee cord |
| Surface | Flat and completely matt; photographs without a hot spot | A faint sheen and a real weight |
| From underneath | Reads as a painted surface rather than a print | The woven scrim inside the coating carries the tension |
| Outdoor tolerance | Indoor use; it is a cloth | Far more tolerant of an outdoor site |
| Best structure | Closed aluminium extrusion frame | Truss, especially on a long span |
| Lead time | Standard 7–14 working days | Standard 7–14 working days |
If the header has to read from both sides, as people enter and as they leave, say so at the start. On PVC banner that means blockout material, which has an opaque core so a print on one face does not show through to the other; ordinary single-sided vinyl ghosts through. Hems, eyelet pitch and blockout are set out on the banner printing page.
How should the header and leg wraps be designed?
Design for the angle, not the flat artwork. Almost nobody sees a gantry square on: it is read at a sharp angle from down the concourse, then from directly underneath, where a centred wordmark is foreshortened into a smear. Repeat the mark towards both ends of the header, keep the centre simple, and give real attention to the leg wraps.
The header. One long strip of centred type is the most common gantry mistake. Place the logo towards each end so it reads from either approach, and keep the middle for a short event name or a clean field of colour. Type read across a hall needs size: allow at least 40 mm cap height for anything read across an aisle, and 60 mm for type read from five metres.
The legs. Leg wraps are read at arm’s length by everybody queueing, which makes them the place for the detail the header cannot carry, such as the event name in full, a hall or zone, or a registration prompt.
The file. Draw to the printed size, not the visible size:
| File setting | What to supply |
|---|---|
| Printed size | The visible aperture plus about 20 mm per edge on a fabric skin |
| Safe margin | 60 mm inside the visible aperture |
| Resolution | 100 dpi at final size; a display graphic is read from two metres and up |
| Format | PDF/X-4 at final size, or at a stated fraction with the scale in the file name |
| Colour | CMYK, with Pantone references where fabric and panel elements must match |
| Black | A four-colour black; K100 on fabric reads as charcoal under hall lighting |
The same file reads slightly softer on sublimated fabric than on a laminated panel or a vinyl banner, so match critical colours deliberately if the gantry sits beside other display pieces.
What should you check with the venue before ordering a gantry?
Check the opening, the ceiling, the location and the get-in slot before the design starts. A gantry is sized to its opening, so the width and the clear height are the first figures to measure. An outdoor site changes the structure, venues set their own rules for what may be built and hung, and installation is scheduled against venue access.
- The opening: the width of the doorway, corridor or walkway the gantry spans.
- The ceiling: enough height that nobody has to duck under the header.
- Indoors or outdoors: an outdoor span needs an engineered structure specified for wind.
- Venue rules: venues commonly require flame-retardant material for hung banners and ask to see its fire documentation, so ask what the venue requires of a gantry before the material is chosen.
- Both sides: whether the header must read from both directions.
- Existing hardware: the system and aperture of any frame you already own.
- Get-in slot: when the venue lets anyone into the space, because installation is scheduled separately.
- Turnaround: Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days. Express is quoted per job.
Exhibition dates do not move, so the specification is worth settling as early as the event plan allows. The graphic can change late; the hardware cannot. For planning the gantry alongside banners, flags and backdrops, see the banner, flag and backdrop layout guide.
What mistakes make an entrance gantry fail?
Most gantry problems come from treating it as a flat banner overhead. A header designed as one long strip of centred type smears at the angle it is read from. A header people have to duck under becomes a hazard. An outdoor span chosen on graphics alone ignores wind, and artwork sized to the visible aperture loses its edges to the frame.
- Centred type across the whole header. It is foreshortened into a smear from the approach and from underneath. Repeat the mark towards both ends.
- Neglected leg wraps. They are read at arm’s length by everybody queueing, so they deserve real design attention.
- A header that is too low. People duck, stop looking up, and stop photographing it.
- An outdoor frame chosen for the graphics. Outdoors, the structure must be specified for wind.
- Artwork sized to the aperture. About 20 mm on every edge of a fabric skin goes into the extrusion.
- Single-sided vinyl for a header read both ways. The print ghosts through; specify blockout.
Worked example: a 4000 × 1000 mm fabric header in a conference hall
Hypothetical planning example. Actual production timing, paper availability, and logistics are confirmed individually upon artwork and specification review. A conference organiser wants an entrance gantry over the walkway into an indoor hall, where arriving delegates will be photographed. The ceiling is high enough that nobody ducks, and the gantry stays indoors, so a fabric skin on an aluminium extrusion frame fits.
- Header: a woven polyester skin, 4000 × 1000 mm visible, tensioned into the extrusion with a sewn silicone edge.
- Printed size: about 20 mm beyond the visible aperture on every edge for the seam and bead.
- Header layout: the organiser’s mark repeated towards both ends; a short event name and a clean field of colour in the centre.
- Legs: a printed wrap on each upright with the full event name and directions to registration, read at arm’s length by people queueing.
- Artwork: PDF/X-4, 100 dpi at final size, nothing important within 60 mm of an aperture edge, cap height at least 40 mm.
- Both sides: the header reads only on the approach side, because delegates leave by a different door.
- Timing: standard turnaround is 7–14 working days for the graphic and the frame; installation is booked against the hall’s get-in slot.
At the next edition of the conference, the frame comes back out of its case and takes new skins printed to the same aperture.
Frequently asked questions about entrance gantry printing
What is an event entrance gantry?
An overhead frame spanning an entrance or a walkway, carrying a printed header above the crowd and usually a printed wrap on each leg. It is the element at an event that everybody walks under and most people photograph.
What is a gantry graphic printed on?
Either a woven polyester skin tensioned into an aluminium extrusion with a sewn silicone edge, or a PVC-coated banner tensioned through eyelets with bungee cord. Fabric is completely matt; coated banner is heavier and far more tolerant of an outdoor site.
Can an entrance gantry be used outdoors?
Yes, but an outdoor span needs an engineered structure specified for wind, not a frame chosen on graphics alone. Coated PVC banner is the more tolerant skin outdoors, and the sensible choice where the span is long and the structure is truss.
How should the gantry header be designed?
Repeat the mark towards both ends and keep the centre simple. A gantry is read at a sharp angle from down the concourse and then from directly underneath, so one long strip of centred type is foreshortened into a smear.
How long does entrance gantry printing take?
Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days for the graphic and for the hardware. Installation is scheduled separately against venue access, and express is quoted per job.
Where can you order an entrance gantry in Singapore?
EZ Print, trading since 2017, produces entrance gantry headers and leg wraps in woven fabric and PVC banner, together with exhibition stands, backdrops and banners for the same event in Singapore. Each gantry is quoted from its specification, artwork is checked before production, and delivery is by island-wide courier. For stage and media walls at the same event, see the backdrop printing page.
Send the width of the opening, the clear height, whether the site is indoors or outdoors, the frame system if you own one, and the event date through the quote request page.
Same-day and urgent printing available. Subject to artwork approval, payment, print type and production availability. Timing confirmed per job.