Guide · 6 min read
How to sell custom-size signs and banners on Shopify
Banners, boards and signs are printed to whatever size the customer needs, and the price follows the size, the material and the finishing. Most print shops either list a few standard sizes or answer every enquiry by email. Here's how to price any size on the product page, and the limits that stop orders your printer can't make.
Three ways to sell custom sizes
1. Standard sizes as variants
List 2 × 1 m, 3 × 1 m and so on. Simple, but signs are bought to fit a space: a shop front, a fence, a stand. A customer who needs 2.6 × 0.8 m either buys a size that doesn't fit or goes elsewhere.
2. "Contact us for a quote"
Signs are often needed for an event or an opening next week. Making the customer wait for a quote by email is when they try the next printer that shows a price straight away.
3. A calculator on the product page
The customer types the width and height, picks the material and finishing, and sees the price immediately. The size and options go onto the order with the artwork details. This is what the rest of this guide sets up.
A worked example
A 300 × 100 cm PVC banner at £12/m² is 3 m² × £12 = £36. Hems and eyelets every 50 cm around an 8 m edge make 16 eyelets × £0.50 = £8, for a total of £44. Printed on both sides, the print costs 60% more. Try your own:
Size limits: banners can be up to 320 cm on the shorter side (the roll width); boards must fit the sheet, 305 × 205 cm for foam board and 305 × 150 cm for aluminium, either way round.
The rules that keep it profitable
- A minimum charge. A small sign takes as long to set up, print, finish and pack as a big one.
- Limits per material. Banner vinyl comes on a roll, so only the shorter side is limited; boards come in sheets, so both sides are. Refuse sizes you can't make, with a clear message about joined panels for anything larger.
- Finishing by the edge, not the area. Hems, eyelets and pole pockets grow with the perimeter, so a long thin banner costs more to finish than a square one of the same area.
- Double-sided as a percentage. The second side shares the material and finishing, so it's usually priced as an extra 50–70% on the print.
- Artwork that fits. Ask for the size in the same unit you print in, explain bleed (an extra few millimetres around the edge), and warn when an uploaded image is too low-resolution for the chosen size.
- Price breaks for multiples. Ten identical boards cost less each than one, because the setup is shared.
Setting it up with a calculator
Here's how it looks with MeasureLab, the calculator app we make. The same ideas apply to any calculator app.
- Open the product in MeasureLab and start from the “Custom signs” template, or start blank.
- Add Width and Height inputs in cm, mm, inches or feet, with the smallest and largest sizes you can print. Turn on the unit switch if you sell to both metric and imperial customers.
- Add the material as a choice, each with its own rate per m² or per sq ft, so the area price follows the material.
- Price the finishing by the perimeter: eyelets as perimeter ÷ 50 cm, rounded up, × the price per eyelet; pole pockets as a price per metre of the edges they go on.
- Add double-sided printing as a choice that multiplies the print price.
- Set your rules in Pricing rules: a minimum charge, a setup fee if you have one, and quantity breaks.
- Publish, then place the calculator block on your product page in the theme editor.
Every order then carries the exact size, material and finishing, and the price is checked again at checkout.
Questions
How are custom-size banners usually priced?
By printed area for the chosen material, plus finishing such as hems and eyelets priced by the perimeter or per eyelet, with a minimum charge per order.
How many eyelets does a banner need?
A common rule is one every 50 cm (about 20 inches) around the edge, with one in each corner. Divide the perimeter by 50 cm and round up. Outdoor banners in windy spots often get one every 30 cm.
What if a customer orders a banner bigger than my printer?
Set a maximum size for each material: the roll width limits one side of a banner, and the sheet size limits both sides of a board. Offer joined panels or welded banners for larger sizes at a separate price.
Should double-sided printing cost double?
Usually less, because the material and finishing are shared. Many printers add 50–70% for the second side, plus a blockout material so the two sides don't show through.
Can I price per square foot instead?
Yes. The maths is the same with a rate per sq ft; the square metre and square foot guide covers the conversions and minimums.