Flex printing is the backbone of outdoor advertising in India. From massive highway hoardings to shop name boards, flex banners deliver high-impact visuals at economical rates. PrintsWallah offers multiple flex material grades - including frontlit, backlit, star flex, black-back, and normal flex - to match every application and budget. Our state-of-the-art large-format printers produce sharp, weather-resistant prints that maintain colour integrity for months.
Flex banner printing dominates India's outdoor advertising landscape, accounting for over 65% of all large-format signage produced annually. The PVC-coated polyester fabric -commonly called 'flex' in India -serves as the primary medium for everything from small shop name boards to massive highway hoardings spanning hundreds of square feet. The Indian flex printing industry is estimated at ₹8,000-10,000 crore annually, employing over 500,000 people across printing, installation, and allied services. PrintsWallah operates in this massive market across 20 major cities, offering complete flex banner solutions from design to installation.
Understanding flex types is crucial for selecting the right material for your application. Frontlit flex (also called daylight flex) is designed for external illumination or daylight viewing, with a white opaque PVC surface that reflects light. Available in 280, 340, 380, 440, and 510 GSM variants, frontlit flex is used for shop boards, event banners, construction site hoardings, and promotional displays. Backlit flex is translucent, designed for illumination from behind using LED or fluorescent light sources. Available in 440 and 550 GSM, backlit flex creates vivid, evenly illuminated signage for glow sign boards, lightbox displays, and cinema hoardings. Star flex refers to premium-grade flex with enhanced coating and weave density, offering superior print quality, color vibrancy, and weather resistance.
Glow sign board printing represents one of the most valuable applications of flex banners in India. Every shop, restaurant, clinic, salon, and business establishment requires illuminated signage -and flex-based glow sign boards offer the most cost-effective solution compared to acrylic or metal alternatives. A standard glow sign board consists of an MS (mild steel) or aluminum frame, LED strip lighting, and backlit flex printed with the business name, logo, and services. A typical 6×3 ft glow sign board with LED illumination costs ₹3,500-6,000 complete -compared to ₹8,000-15,000 for equivalent acrylic LED boards. PrintsWallah produces over 5,000 glow sign boards monthly across our 20-city network.
Shop board printing on flex is the most ordered category in our entire product range. From kirana stores to premium retail outlets, flex shop boards provide weather-resistant, full-color signage at unbeatable prices. Standard shop board sizes range from 4×2 ft (small shops) to 20×4 ft (large showrooms), printed on 440 GSM frontlit flex with eco-solvent or UV inks. Pricing varies from ₹8-15 per square foot for eco-solvent printing to ₹18-30 per square foot for UV printing with premium finishes. Installation options include channel mounting (flex stretched over MS frame), pasting on ACP sheets, or tensioned cable systems for large spans.
Highway and outdoor hoarding flex must withstand extreme weather conditions -scorching summers exceeding 45°C, monsoon rains, and high winds up to 80-100 km/h. For these applications, PrintsWallah specifies minimum 440 GSM star flex with reinforced edges, UV-resistant inks, and heavy-duty eyeleting at 1-foot intervals. Hoarding sizes in India range from 10×10 ft (small roadside) to 40×20 ft (highway billboards) and even larger for building wraps. For hoardings above 20×10 ft, flex is printed in panels with heat-welded seams that create invisible joins. Our large-format printers handle panels up to 10 ft wide, with seaming capability for unlimited length.
Event and promotional banner printing on flex serves India's massive events industry -weddings, corporate events, trade shows, festivals, political rallies, and sports tournaments. Standard event banner sizes include 6×3 ft (stage backdrop panel), 8×4 ft (entrance banner), 10×5 ft (stage main banner), and 20×8 ft (outdoor event banner). Flex banners for events are typically printed on 280-340 GSM material for easy handling and rolled transport. With pole pockets, eyelets, or Velcro edges for mounting, event banners can be installed in minutes. PrintsWallah offers event banner packages with design, printing, and on-site installation for conferences and corporate events.
The printing technology used for flex banners in India has evolved significantly. Eco-solvent printing using solvent-based inks on wide-format printers (Konica, Epson, Roland) remains the most economical option at ₹8-12/sq ft, producing good quality output suitable for signage viewed from 3+ meter distance. Latex printing offers improved color gamut and environmental compliance at ₹12-18/sq ft. UV-curable printing provides superior durability and instant drying at ₹18-30/sq ft, ideal for premium applications. Digital printing has largely replaced screen printing for flex, though screen printing remains relevant for ultra-high volume runs exceeding 10,000 sq ft of identical design.
Flex banner finishing and installation significantly impact the final appearance and durability of signage. Professional finishing includes heat-welded edges (preventing fraying), reinforced eyelets (brass or stainless steel at specified intervals), pole pockets (top/bottom sleeves for pipe mounting), Velcro strips (for frame mounting), and hemmed edges. Installation methods vary: channel systems (flex stretched into aluminum channels) for shop boards, eyelet-and-rope for temporary banners, frame mounting for backlit displays, and tension cable systems for large spans. PrintsWallah provides installation services across all 20 cities, with experienced teams handling everything from small shop boards to multi-story building wraps.
