Two quotes, both “per metre”, one twice the other. Usually neither is wrong — they are measuring and including different things.
Two suppliers quote for the same banner. One says KSh 450 a metre, the other says KSh 900. Same size, same artwork. Somebody is obviously overcharging. Usually nobody is, and the difference lies in three things the quote does not say out loud.
Which metre are we talking about?
The first ambiguity is the unit itself. A price "per metre" can mean a linear metre (one metre of length at whatever the roll width is) or a square metre. On a banner 3m long and 1m tall those give the same answer. On a banner 3m long and 2m tall they differ by a factor of two.
If a square metre is hard to picture, think of an A0 poster. The ISO 216 paper sizes are defined so that A0 has an area of one square metre, and each smaller A size is half the one before. A banner 3 m long and 2 m tall is six A0 sheets of print.
Ask which. It is not a rude question, it is the only way the two numbers become comparable, and a supplier who is vague about it is a supplier you will be arguing with later.
Which material?
The word "banner" covers materials that cost very different amounts to make.
PVC, from KSh 400 a metre. The standard outdoor material: tough, waterproof, takes eyelets, lives on fences and frames. This is what most people mean, and it is the lowest of the three rates.
Satin, from KSh 1,000. A fabric with a soft finish and no glare, which is why it is used indoors, behind stages and anywhere being photographed. PVC under lights produces a shine straight into the camera; satin does not.
Canvas, from KSh 1,200. Heavier, textured, and used where the banner is meant to look like a piece, not a sign: reception areas, restaurants, longer-term display.
A PVC quote against a satin quote is not two prices for one product. It is two products.
The line people skip: comparing on the per-metre figure and ignoring finishing. Finishing is what decides whether the banner survives its second outing, and it is where a cheap quote is usually cheap.
What finishing means, and why it is where the money hides
A printed sheet is not a banner. Between the two sit several operations, and different suppliers include different ones:
- Hemming. The edge folded and sealed so it cannot fray. Welded hems outlast stitched ones outdoors, because stitching perforates the material along a line that eventually tears.
- Eyelets. Metal rings for fixing. The number and spacing matter: corners only is fine indoors and inadequate on anything exposed, where you want one every half metre.
- Reinforcement. Extra material at the corners and along the top, where all the load goes.
- Pole pockets, where the banner hangs from a rail instead of being tied.
A quote that includes all of that at KSh 900 and a quote that includes none of it at KSh 450 are the same quote. The second one just has a second invoice coming, or a banner that fails.
What is not in the metre at all
Three costs sit outside the per-metre figure entirely, and they are the ones that turn an agreed price into a surprise.
Artwork. If you supply a print-ready file at the right size, nothing. If somebody has to lay it out, resize a low-resolution logo or rebuild a design from a screenshot, that is design time and it is charged separately.
Frames and fixings. A banner is a printed sheet. The frame it hangs on, the poles, the bases and the ties are separate items, and a quote for "the banner" almost never includes them unless you asked.
Getting it there and getting it up. Delivery within Nairobi is included; for other towns the courier charge is passed on at cost. Installation on a building or a structure is a separate job with its own risks and its own price.
The three questions
Ask these and the quotes become comparable in about a minute. Is that linear or square metres? Which material, and what weight? What finishing is included: hem, eyelets, spacing, reinforcement?
A supplier who answers all three without hesitating has quoted your job. One who cannot has quoted a rate card and will be adding to it.
One more thing worth checking, because it is invisible until it is not: the print resolution the price assumes. Large-format work is normally viewed from several metres, so a lower resolution is entirely appropriate and cheaper. But a banner that will be read at arm's length, such as a menu board or a specification panel, needs more, and that is a legitimate reason for a higher figure.
Format still open? The comparison of banner types comes before pricing. Going outdoors? Read why banners fail outdoors before deciding how much finishing to pay for; that article is mostly about eyelets.
Sources: ISO 216 paper sizes (Wikipedia; the standard itself is not free to read) (read 14 Oct 2026).
Common questions
Is a cheaper banner always worse?
Not necessarily. It may be the right material for an indoor, single-use job, in which case paying for welded hems and heavy reinforcement is money wasted. The problem is not cheapness, it is a cheap banner bought for an exposed permanent site. Match the specification to where it is going and the cheap option is sometimes exactly right.
What size should a banner be?
Start from viewing distance, not from budget. A rough guide that works: about 25mm of letter height for every 10 metres a reader will be from it. Work out the biggest thing on the banner from that, and the overall size follows. Most banners that fail to communicate are the right size and carry far too many words.
How long does a PVC banner last outdoors?
The material lasts years; the print fades before the substrate fails. In direct sun expect noticeable loss in strong colours within a season or two, reds and deep blues first. Finishing decides the rest: a well-hemmed, properly eyeletted banner survives the wind that destroys a corner-only one in a single storm.
Can you print a banner from a photograph I have?
It depends on the file, not the photograph. A phone image can print surprisingly well at banner size because the viewing distance is generous, but an image already compressed and resized for social media often cannot. Send the original file, not one forwarded through a messaging app; that step alone is what usually ruins it.
