Retractable Banner Artwork — Sizing, Safe Zone, and Template Downloads

The two mistakes every first-timer makes

• Critical text in the bottom 6 inches — the retractable base HIDES the bottom 4.5" and eyes stop reading at 2.5 ft. Keep logo, CTA, and phone number in the TOP two-thirds.
• 300 dpi at 1:1 scale — for a 33" × 81" banner that's a 9,900 × 24,300 pixel file (200+ MB TIFF). Design at 100 dpi at 1:1, OR 300 dpi at 1:4 scale.

Standard sizes we roll

• 33" × 81" — the industry-standard retractable, the one you'll see at 90% of trade-show booths. Product page: /shop/product/standard-retractable-roll-up
• 36" × 81" — the extra-wide variant when you need one more foot of horizontal room. Product page: /shop/product/banner-retractable-36
• 8 × 8 ft step-and-repeat — logo wall for photo ops, press events, red carpet. Product page: /shop/product/banner-step-repeat-8x8
• 10 × 10 ft step-and-repeat — the standard convention-center backdrop size. Product page: /shop/product/banner-step-repeat-10x10

Download templates

Each template ships as a PDF with trim (cyan) + bleed (magenta dashed) + safe area (green dashed) marked. Design over the trim line and keep every logo / CTA inside the safe area.

• 33" × 81" retractable: /api/templates/33x81.pdf?label=Retractable+33x81&orientation=portrait
• 36" × 81" retractable: /api/templates/36x81.pdf?label=Retractable+36x81&orientation=portrait
• 8ft × 8ft step-and-repeat: /api/templates/96x96.pdf?label=Step+and+Repeat+8x8
• 10ft × 10ft step-and-repeat: /api/templates/120x120.pdf?label=Step+and+Repeat+10x10

File spec cheat sheet

• PDF/X-4 or press-quality PDF, CMYK, all fonts outlined or embedded.
• Design resolution: 100 dpi at 1:1, or 300 dpi at 1:4 scale.
• Bleed: 0.5" on all sides (bigger than standard because trimming a rolled banner has more slop).
• Safe area: 1" from top/sides, 6" from the bottom edge.

Spec everything from koltprinting.com/shop/product/standard-retractable-roll-up — we hold jobs until proof approval, so upload your file the moment you're happy with it.