Location, Location, Location  AND  Permission, Permission, Permission.

Finding the right location is the first step in starting a program. Receiving permission to display banners in the selected location is part of that process.

Outdoor programs can take more time to begin than indoor programs due to the fact that permission to utilize light poles has to be received by whoever owns and maintains the poles - typically the county, city or utility company. However, we can provide you with everything you need to get up and running once a location is selected and permission is received.

We recommend ordering a free sample banner from us to help show those in the decision-making process the full-size banner you're wanting to display. A banner in hand is truly worth 1,000 words.

For more details on starting a program, simply download our "Get Started" PDF for additional steps and things to consider.

There are a few.

The biggest obstacle to starting a program is getting the permission needed to display banners, particularly outdoors. It can take weeks or more than a year to get council and/or utility company approval to display banners at the desired location. We recommend getting as many veteran groups and council members involved in this process to help push for a timely approval process.

Time can be another obstacle. In order to have a successful program, there should be enough time to plan & promote the program. Trying to start a program in a very short amount of time may result in fewer sponsorship orders received initially.

If time is limited, you may opt to have an introductory display with a limited amount of banners displayed. Typically, once the first set of banners go up, interest from the public increases considerably and more sponsors submit their orders for the next display period.

Many communities have told us that they have shopped around, but always come back to us. Why? Printing businesses simply can not offer what we can. Additionally, the price difference for the quality, full-color, double-sided banners that we provide is minimal. In fact, when you include cost of design, promotional materials, banner guarantee, support and the heart for our military that we put into each banner, you will wind up paying more going elsewhere. Guaranteed.

We offer so much more at our per banner pricing than others - making us the best at what we do. So that there's no doubt; if you can find a company that can offer everything that we do at a "cheaper" price, we will beat it.

Simply put, you'll pay more going to a "cheaper printer" - in additional costs and time. They may give you a printed banner, but they can't give you everything that you'll need to start and manage a successful program at the price we offer.

We can offer wholesale pricing based on what you need. Setup, website ordering, promotional materials, program management services that come with the program are all calculated into our pricing. If you don't need some of these extras, we can offer lower pricing.

If camera-ready artwork is provided (call us for specs), and all you need is printing, we can offer you the best pricing around.

Our Cost-Match Guarantee simply makes us the best military banner program and greatest value nationwide.

If any printer can offer you everything we do at the same or lower price, we will still beat it. We simply won't be outdone. We provide everything you need to start and run a successful military banner program - from quality banners and promotional materials to community-specific online ordering as well as our banner guarantee. No other printer offers the level of quality, extras and support that we do. They may be slightly lower for printing a banner but they won't include anything else.

So go ahead and price around - We are the best value around - GUARANTEED.

ABSOLUTELY NONE.

We provide everything you need to get your program up and running before any banners are billed. This includes all design, promotional materials and website setup, printing and shipping of promotional materials and sample banner. Brackets, if needed, are the only items that require payment prior to shipping.

In this case, we can offer discounted pricing which can save you approximately 25%-30% of our program pricing.

Some printers may quote a lower cost for banner printing but do not offer all of the extras we do to help your program be successful. If you don't need the extras, you can receive wholesale prices which will always meet and beat any printshop pricing - guaranteed. We simply won't be outdone. Call us to discuss your specific program needs.

YES.

In some cases, an outdoor banner display is not possible due to lack of permission or a limited amount of poles. In this case, we recommend an indoor program which is easier to begin and display. Public buildings, military museums, and malls are great locations for indoor banners and can be just as attractive and honoring to your military heroes

The most commonly requested banner size is a 24"x48".

However, we offer other popular sizes as well as custom sizes to meet the specifications of pre-existing hardware or banners currently displayed in a location.

Banner size selection is typically determined by location and how high on the pole the banners will be displayed. It is best to get a general idea of the size needed and then request a free sample banner based on that size. The size can be modified afterwards, if needed, but that may affect pricing

Here are some things that you should do to ensure a successful banner program:

• Set a display time-line to ensure banners are in-hand for the display period.
• Determine if the display location is already equipped with the necessary brackets/hardware to display banners. If not, determine which brackets will be needed and order them with enough time to receive and install them prior to the display period.
• Promote the program early enough throughout the local community (city and organizational websites, email blasts, social media, flier & poster distribution, TV and print media, local veteran groups, etc.).
• Acquire potential corporate sponsors for the banners, if needed.
• Work with local military/veteran non-profits to help promote the program.
• Have someone manage sponsorship payments to ensure they are received with enough time to produce and display the banner.
  
• Determine when and how the banners will be hung and who will hang them.

THIS IS A TRICKY QUESTION.

There are many factors to consider. Once the artwork is approved and confirmation of payment is given, we can produce the banners rapidly. However, based on our peak and non-peak periods, production may require more time for individual banners to get through the process, so the sooner the artwork is approved and confirmation of payment has been received, the quicker we will be able to get them through the production process.

Standard Turnaround Times Are:
Banner Proof Setup: 1-2 Business Days
Production (After Approval & Payment Confirmation): Up to 3-4 Business Days.

The Military Tribute Banner program was specifically created to be community-support-based in order to minimize the impact on the finances and resources of the local government or organization.

Over 95% of our programs derive the funding for their display directly from the sponsors themselves, who pay for their banner(s) to be displayed. There is generally no out-of-pocket cost to start and fund programs.

In some cases, grants and/or donations are received to cover the cost of a number of banners to be displayed.

NEVER.

Our program is set up so that there is absolutely no cost to begin a program. We provide you with everything needed to begin your program at no cost.

Your first invoice is sent when the first set of banners is shipped (usually in quantities of 15-20 at a time). By that time you should have received all sponsorship payments from the sponsors for that set, as we do not produce any banners without confirmation from you that payment has been received.

ABSOLUTELY.

Most of the programs we have created have helped communities raise thousands of dollars for their local military/veterans programs and projects. This is a great, unique way to help raise funds. Depending on the sponsorship rate, organizations and towns can raise over $100 per banner once the payment from the sponsor is received.

Many programs far exceed their expectations when it comes to the number of banner sponsorships received and the amount of funds raised. Although we do not dictate how those additional funds are used, we highly recommend they go to support the local veteran/military programs and projects within your community. This also helps in promoting the program as well.

Billing for program banners is usually done on NET10 terms and only when banners are ready for shipping. We usually ship in quantities of 15-20 at a time in order to reduce shipping costs. There are no up-front or out-of-pocket costs, as sponsorship payments are typically received days prior to invoicing.

You determine the sponsorship rate for your program. The price you set should take into account the location and duration of the display. The more prominent the location and the longer the display period, the higher sponsorship rates should be set. The rate should cover the cost of the program such as banner production, pole brackets if needed, and any installation / removal costs. It should also include (but is not mandatory) an additional amount for fund-raising that would go to support your local veteran/military programs or organizations.

All sponsorship payments are made directly to the town, city or organization in charge of the program. This can be done by check and/or credit card payment online (PayPal or merchant service account required for credit card processing). MILITARY TRIBUTE BANNERS DOES NOT RECEIVE PAYMENTS FROM SPONSORS. We invoice the program after each set of banners is shipped.

To avoid any potential issues, WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND that sponsorship payments be made in either the name of the program city/town, or non-profit group, and not in the name of an individual. Bank accounts should be set up accordingly prior to the program start. Sponsorship payments are considered income by the IRS so make sure to keep track of all payments received and all expenses. If using PayPal to receive credit card sponsorship payments, PayPal may send you end-of-year form 1099 for tax purposes.

YES.

A credit card payment option is available so that sponsorship payment can be made at the time of ordering. We can link your program ordering page to your PayPal Business account for credit card processing of sponsorship orders. Your PayPal account should be a business account so that sponsors can pay by credit card without having to log into or create a PayPal account.

We also recommend creating a separate banner payment page through your PayPal account so that sponsors can pay by credit card at a future date if they did not complete the payment process at the time of ordering.

If you wish to utilize another credit card merchant service, you will need to create a payment page and link through their site and then forward us that link to embed into your payment page.

.

Often due to tight budgets and fixed incomes, there will be individuals brought to your attention who are worthy of being honored, but their family member can't afford to do so.

We recommend getting businesses involved to help sponsor banners for individuals who fit this criteria. Often businesses want to help, but don't necessarily have an individual to sponsor. They may be willing to sponsor several banners for those worthy of honor. Their business name can go on the banner if you so chose. We do not place any business logos on banners so as to not make them look commercialized. The business name can be added in the same type face and size as all other sponsors to keep consistency among all banners.

Our banners are priced without any installation hardware, as many communities may already have brackets installed on their poles that can be utilized to display Military Tribute Banners.

We do offer durable bracket hardware that can be installed on most standard size outdoor poles and they come in different sizes and quantities. Click here for more information about our pole brackets.

Brackets are not difficult to install, but do require some time. Often, bracket installation is left to the parks and rec department or the utility company to install. Due to liability issues, they may not allow non-authorized individuals to install brackets on their poles.

Bracket installation often requires the use of tall ladders or bucket trucks to install properly. Be sure to determine bracket and banner installation and removal details for your program early enough in order to avoid last minute issues.

Information on the banners should be kept to certain items as there is limited space on banners.

Photo, name, branch of service, major wars/conflicts, and one or two major awards received is what's most commonly found on banners. Although every veteran has numerous awards to list, as well as other notable items, there simply isn't enough room to include it all. Ranks are often allowed but never in front of the honoree's first name.

These banners are meant to recognize an individual's service to our nation and not necessarily all of their achievements and awards. This way a person who served for just two years gets the same recognition as one who served for many more and obtained a higher rank.

No. You may choose to receive the honoree’s information and photograph from the sponsors and then submit them to us through your program submission page; however, this will take a considerable amount of time on your part.

Most of our programs are set up for the sponsors to provide the information and photograph themselves for your program through your program submission page. All promotional materials and advertising would direct the individuals to your program page to sponsor and pay for a banner. This makes it easier for you to manage your program without having to do a lot of the work. You will have a log-in account that allows you to view all sponsorship requests submitted for your program and their status. You will also receive a copy of each proof that is sent to the sponsor for your records and to see each banner that will be produced.

We understand the importance of making sure that no one willingly steals "honor" when it comes to serving in our military. However, we do incorporate the "Honor System" when it comes to information submitted for a banner.

Our staff is made up of veterans from all branches of service, as well as military connected individuals. Based on the photo and information submitted, we can normally spot when information is being "embellished." At this point, we may request a copy of a DD-214 to verify the information provided.

We don't want to play "Gotcha!" with honorees, but we will ask for clarification if something doesn't seem right. We have had only one case of notable embellishment, but that was resolved by the honoree's wife who set him straight.

Each Military Tribute Banner program comes with your own login to our website where you can view all of the banner submissions for your program. You will be able to see the order number, order status, honoree's name, sponsor's contact information, as well as the payment status.

This gives you the ability to contact the sponsor directly when needed and/or send payment reminders so that the banners can be produced in a timely fashion.

No. We are called Military Tribute Banners so that all individuals who have served, are currently serving, and those committed to serve our nation in the future can be honored.

Many families have proudly sponsored honorees who are currently serving in our armed forces. This is a great way to show the community who from among them is on active-duty.

We also just started our New Enlistment commitment. We will produce, at no-charge, banners that honor the young men and women who have signed up to join our military at a future date. We believe they deserve recognition, as less than 1% of all Americans have ever taken that step.

There may be circumstances that prohibit that individual from completing their commitment, but it was a commitment to serve none-the-less.

A color or black & white photo of the honoree in their military uniform is always best. Do not crop the photo. Simply let us know if you want a portion of the photo to be cropped out and we will take care of it. Have it scanned in high-res and sent to us as a jpg with the maximum quality settings. (Click here for scanning details)

If a photo of the honoree in military uniform is not available, a current photograph of the honoree wearing a veteran's or branch hat has been utilized. High school photos have been used as well, especially for those who served in earlier wars or perhaps were killed in action. We  also have placed their branch emblem on a patriotic background in place of where their photo would go. This will still give them the honor they are due and, at the same time, it keeps a consistent look among all banners.

Most often, the individuals to be honored on the banners are submitted by the community once promotion of the program begins. If needed, general vetting of submitted honorees is done through DD214 verification to ensure that no "stolen valor" occurs. So far, there has not been a single case of someone submitting false information to the program.

You may also compile a list of honorees who are in need of a sponsor because their family member can’t afford to do so due to economic circumstances.  We recommend getting businesses involved to help sponsor banners for individuals who fit this criteria. Many businesses may not have specific individuals to honor but would love to participate and help sponsor worthy individuals.

In most cases when there is no photo of the individual in uniform to be found, other options are available.

A current photograph of the honoree wearing a veteran's or branch hat has been utilized. High school photos have been used as well, especially for those that served in earlier wars and, perhaps, were killed in action. We also have placed their branch emblem on a patriotic background in place where the photo would go. This will still give them the honor they are due at the same time keeping a consistent look among all banners.

Over time, a banner can show wear and tear as well as damage due to various reasons. Our guarantee is limited, but in the event that a banner needs to be replaced after the guarantee periods, we offer replacement banners at significant discounts (up to 50%). However, no changes can be made to qualify as a replacement.

All of our banners come with a guarantee - 24"x48" and smaller come with a 6-month guarantee and larger banners come with a 3-month guarantee. You can double the guarantee by selecting our premium vinyl for an upcharge. The guarantee covers banners that are damaged by weather, box trucks, torn, lost, or stolen. These banners will be replaced at no-charge (no changes allowed) and shipped.

Our banners are extremely durable and have held up well against many strong storms nationwide. They are not covered against hurricane force winds. In these situations, we highly recommend taking the banners down as well as any brackets prior to the storms arrival.

We recommend a minimum of 300 dpi for images that are 3"x5" or larger. For smaller photos, increase the scan resolution to 600 or 1200 dpi. Save your files as jpgs or pdfs at the highest quality setting that format allows. REMEMBER, only scan the photo. We don't need additional blank area as this increases the file size unnecessarily.

Once the banner sponsorship information and photo is received, it will go into the set-up process and a proof will be sent to the sponsor for review. A copy of the proof will also be sent out to the program head at the same time.

Sponsors typically approve or request changes to their banner(s) once they receive the proof, as they only have to concentrate on their own submissions. They are better equipped to verify spellings, information and overall accuracy rather than one person trying to review hundreds. Your status page will reflect when proofs are sent out and when they get approved by the sponsor.

If time is running short for display, you may want to contact the sponsor for approval and/or payment of their banner in order to process it in time for display.

Our banners are extremely durable and withstand most weather conditions. Colors last over a year under standard sun and storm conditions. 

Like anything else, banners displayed outdoors for several months can begin to look "weathered". We recommend retiring banners after they start looking weathered and a replacement banner be ordered if you wish to continue displaying that particular honoree for an additional period of time.

The biggest "enemy" to our banners are box trucks and tree branches, so keep that in mind when hanging them.

We do not add wind slits to Military Tribute Banners. Our banners are extremely durable and withstand most weather conditions. However, there is a misconception that if wind slits are added to banners, they will withstand more wind force.

FIRST, adding wind slits to banners can cause the banners to tear at the edges of the wind slits in strong enough winds. Not to mentions, nobody wants their honoree with slits going across their photo.

SECOND, in researching this subject, it is our general consensus that wind slits create a very small decrease in wind resistance on the banner. Here is an article. Do Wind Vents in Banners Make a Difference?

Plus, we guarantee our banners against damage for a certain amount of time. To date, out of the thousands of banners we have produced, very few  have had to be replaced due to wind damage. We replace more due to box trucks damage - and there's no slit big enough to minimize the force of a box truck.

Most programs give the banners to the honoree, or their family, on behalf of the community/sponsor as a grateful "Thank You" after each display period. In some cases, the program stores the banners after they are taken down for re-display at a future date. Keep in mind that re-displaying banners for long periods of time can cause the banners to "weather" and fade.

ABSOLUTELY! We use HP machines and inks, and durable UltraFlex vinyl materials purchased from U.S. companies. Although we could cut costs some by purchasing items overseas, we feel very strongly about making sure we KEEP IT IN THE U.S. We can't guarantee that there weren't a few "nuts and bolts" produced elsewhere, but we will never produce U.S. Military banners utilizing foreign brand equipment or with supplies we do not purchase from American suppliers, if at all possible.

NO.

We are a for-profit company, helping non-profits and communities honor and support their local military heroes. We are not out there competing with worthy veteran and military non-profits for donations.

We must make a profit in order to hire the best of the best military-connected individuals, purchase top-notch equipment, as well as provide many extras to each program.

We seek to honor all who served in our United States military - those who have donned the uniform of the U.S. military and to make the ultimate sacrifice if needed. Many have.

We started our Gold Star Commitment in honor of Jason M. Back, Captain, U.S. Marines, who died in 2015 due to inner battles caused by serving in recent wars.

Our Gold Star Commitment produces at no-cost, banners of the fallen heroes from the Vietnam War era to current wars (1957-present), that they died while serving. It also covers those individuals from the current wars (1990-present) who died by accident while serving or by self-infliction due to the inner battles caused by these wars. Families of these fallen heroes are still suffering greatly the loss of their loved one. Their wounds are still "fresh," which is why we chose this segment of honorees first.

In the future, we seek to add the fallen of other wars to our Gold Star Commitment program. No time frame has been established as of yet.

Once outdoor banners come down, we recommend cleaning each banner with a solution of water and mild soap. Wipe each side thoroughly and rinse with clean water. Let dry completely. This helps remove a lot of the dirt and pollution that can build up on banners over time.

If you wish to store the banners for future use, keeping them rolled (not folded), sleeved and stored vertically in a cool, dry location is best.  They will have a natural curve because of being rolled for a long period, but they will straighten out over time once re-hung.

Make sure to label each banner for easy retrieval later on.