Positioning the Banner & Background
So far, so good. This last step is the part where you will need another pair of hands.
- Together, carefully lift the banner from the scrap paper. Try to avoid getting adhesive on your fingers (it will turn black, but does wear off in a few days). Sticky fingers leave black finger prints on the paper.
- Turn the banner face up, keep it taut, and have one person position one end of the banner on the background. Remember to account for the margins.
- Beginning in one corner, smooth the banner onto the background using diagonal strokes (to avoid air pockets), working from the attached end of the banner to the free end.
- The adhesive takes a few minutes to set, so step back and evaluate the result. Trust your eyes - if it doesn't look right, it probably isn't straight. If you need to, carefully detach the banner and try again.
- When you are satisfied, use a straightedge and razor blade to cut through ONLY the title banner at each joint, leaving the heavy tape intact to serve as a hinge.
Great! Now, go wash your hands before you leave sticky fingerprints everywhere. Fingernail polish (and most other organic solvents) do a good job removing the adhesive from your skin.
Absolute alcohol (use 100% only!) on a tissue works well if you need to remove excess adhesive from the banner. Test it on a scrap of background, since some colors may fade or run. This is especially a problem with cheap white poster board (the kind often carried by university book stores), where the white surface may rub away entirely.
REVIEW the previous pages, Making a Rigid Banner and Applying Adhesive, or the Title Banner, Font Styles, and Assembling the Title Banner pages, or RETURN to the Main Menu page.
Jeff Radel