- What it is
- A printed sail on a springy sectional pole, held upright by a ground spike, a cross base or a water-filled base. The teardrop is the rounded one and holds its shape in still air; the feather is the tall tapered one and moves far more. Both sleeve onto the pole down the leading edge, so the sail flies from the mast rather than hanging from a rope, and both stay legible in no wind at all — which is the difference between these and a conventional flag.
- What it is printed on
Knitted or woven polyester flag cloth, printed by dye sublimation. On a light knitted cloth the colour strikes through so the reverse reads as a soft mirror image — that is the single-sided flag most buyers are actually purchasing without being told. A double-sided flag is two printed panels sewn either side of an opaque blockout layer, which removes the show-through and roughly doubles the load the pole and base have to carry. Neither is a sheet the caliper table holds.
- How it feels
- Light, dry and slightly open — hold a single layer up and you can see daylight through the knit. The sewn sleeve down the leading edge is the stiff part and the only part under real load. The hem around the sail is a fine rolled edge a thumb can follow, and a double-sided flag is noticeably heavier and hangs straighter when the air is still.
- What it suits
- Roadshows, pavement frontage, launches, sports and community events, showflat approaches, and any site where a queue forms outdoors. Flags read at distance and in motion, which is precisely what an A-frame cannot do. They do not suit an indoor hall with a low ceiling, and they do not suit copy: at the distance a flag works, it holds a mark, a colour and about three words.
- Lead time
- Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days. Counted from approved artwork rather than from the enquiry.
- The common mistake
- Designing to the flat panel and forgetting both the sleeve and the curve. The leading edge disappears into the pole sleeve, the trailing edge curls away from the viewer the moment there is any air moving, and the foot of the sail sits behind the base and whoever is standing at it. Keep the mark in the upper middle of the sail, well clear of both edges, and design it to be legible on a surface that is never once flat.
Print idea
Teardrop and feather flags
A printed sail sleeved onto a flexible pole and held by a spike or a weighted base. It is read as a shape and a colour long before anybody reads a word on it.
Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
What teardrop and feather flags is
A printed sail on a springy sectional pole, held upright by a ground spike, a cross base or a water-filled base. The teardrop is the rounded one and holds its shape in still air; the feather is the tall tapered one and moves far more. Both sleeve onto the pole down the leading edge, so the sail flies from the mast rather than hanging from a rope, and both stay legible in no wind at all — which is the difference between these and a conventional flag.
Knitted or woven polyester flag cloth, printed by dye sublimation. On a light knitted cloth the colour strikes through so the reverse reads as a soft mirror image — that is the single-sided flag most buyers are actually purchasing without being told. A double-sided flag is two printed panels sewn either side of an opaque blockout layer, which removes the show-through and roughly doubles the load the pole and base have to carry. Neither is a sheet the caliper table holds.
- The finished drop.
- The visible area.
- The sewn pole pocket. The pole goes through it and the artwork inside it disappears.
The specification
Six fields, and the last one is the useful one.
The same six questions are answered for every entry in this section, in the same order, so two objects can be compared without reading two pages of prose. The mistake is stated last and stated plainly, because it is the one that costs a reprint and it is the reason this page is worth sending to a colleague.
Where this sits.
Every entry is indexed three ways, because a buyer arrives knowing the occasion, the object or the material and almost never all three.
- Application
- Material and effect
Also worth looking at
- Branded pop-up gazeboStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Roll-up banner standStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Entrance gantryStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Pull-up bannersThe specification, and how it is quoted
- ExhibitionThe specification, and how it is quoted
- Every print idea, indexed three waysThe section index
- The materials libraryCaliper, weight and what each finish costs
Send the specification for this, and it comes back quoted.
Every job is quoted from its specification — stock, quantity, sides, finish, size and deadline.
- Quantity
- Stock — or the feel you want, if you do not know the stock
- Sides printed
- Finish
- Flat and finished size
- The deadline
Artwork is welcome but not required to start. Email sales@ezprint.com.sg if you would rather attach files.