Gloss vs Matte Banners

Gloss Vinyl versus Matte Vinyl Banners - Why Matte Is Much Better

One of the common choice options available to consumers in the banner printing industry is when a customer is faced with picking a Matte Finish or a Gloss Finish vinyl for printing their vinyl banners. As a print professional competing in the large format printing industry for years now, we really don't understand why such a debate between matte and gloss finishes is even an issue due to the fact that choosing matte vinyl printed banners is the obvious choice.

With many online printers continuing to push gloss finishes, we wanted to clarify the difference between matte and gloss to inform our readers why a glossy finish is the inferior choice, and put this debate to rest once and for all.

The obvious difference between a glossy finish and a matte finish banner is how external light reflects on the vinyl. Visually viewing the sign from a front stance, the gloss finished product will more readily provide a glare effect while the matte finish will soften the glare from any light source making your banner's printed graphic stand out better.

Well, if its a shiny car we want to show off, a glossy finish will win the day every time. However, we are referencing the printing of your banner's message that need to be visually interpreted by people passing by. Unnecessary glare will obstruct your message and prevent your target audience from reading your sign, while a matte finished banner will soften the annoying glare allowing for the details and visual message to stand out.

In our experience, we have heard many stories of customers who did not think of these simple facts between glossy and matte finish and ended up purchasing a gloss finish for their signage needs. After viewing their glossy sign outdoors in the real world, more often than not, a customer will return it for the matte finish, so the sign is more easily interpreted in heavy lit conditions.