The sizes we actually print most, for every common sign and banner, in one place. Plus the rule for how big lettering needs to be, so you pick a size from where people will stand rather than from a template.
There is no single legal or industry-wide standard size for most signs. What exists is a set of sizes that fit the materials (a 2400 × 1200 mm board sheet, a 1600 mm banner roll), the hardware (pull-up cassettes, A-frames, fence panels) and what people have learned reads well. These are the ones we print most often.
Written by Melbourne Trade Signs, a large-format print and signage company at Unit 6/43 Orbis Drive, Ravenhall VIC 3023. We print and install signage for builders and businesses across Melbourne. Updated October 2026.
| Product | Most common size | Other common sizes | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl banner | 3000 × 1000 mm | 1800 × 900, 2400 × 1200, 6000 × 1000 mm | Vinyl banners |
| Mesh fence banner | 2400 × 2100 mm | 1800 × 900, 3000 × 1000, 2500 × 2000 mm | Mesh banners |
| Pull-up banner | 850 × 2000 mm | 600, 1000, 1200, 1500 mm wide × 2000 mm | Pull-up banners |
| Teardrop flag | About 3.4 m (medium) | About 2.4 m small, 4.5 m large | Teardrop flags |
| Media wall | 2.3 × 2.3 m | 3 × 2.3 m, 4 × 2.3 m, 6 × 2.3 m | Media walls |
| Corflute sign | 600 × 900 mm | 450 × 600, 900 × 1200, 1200 × 1800 mm | Corflute signs |
| A-frame insert | 594 × 841 mm (A1) | 600 × 900, 420 × 594 (A2), 841 × 1189 mm (A0) | A-frame signs |
| Real estate board | 1200 × 900 mm | 900 × 600, 1800 × 1200 mm | Real estate signs |
| Builder’s site board | 900 × 600 mm (residential) | 1200 × 900 mm and up (commercial) | Construction signs |
| Safety sign | 600 × 450 mm (site entries) | 300 × 225, 450 × 300, 900 × 600 mm | Safety signs |
| Parking bay sign | 450 × 300 mm | 600 × 450, 900 × 600 mm | Parking signs |
| ACM panel | 1200 × 900 mm | 600 × 450, 900 × 600 mm | ACM signs |
| Board sheet (corflute, ACM, foamex) | 2440 × 1220 mm | 3050 × 1500 mm (larger ACM sheet) | Materials guide |
Every size on this page is a starting point, not a limit. We cut boards on a flatbed and weld banners to length, so any size in between costs what its area costs. The sizes above simply waste less material, fit hardware you can buy off the shelf, and match what councils, agencies and builders expect to see.
The number that matters most for cost is the short side. Banner material comes on rolls, and up to about 1600 mm the short side can run unjoined. Past that the banner needs a welded seam. A 1600 mm drop is one piece and a 1700 mm drop is two, for very little extra size.
Mesh is sized to what it hangs on. 2400 × 2100 mm covers one full Australian temporary fence panel and is the size most site mesh is ordered at. 2500 × 2000 mm is sized to a scaffold bay, and mesh comes in wide rolls, so drops up to about 3200 mm often need no seam at all.
Teardrop flags are sold by overall height: about 2.4 m fits under a verandah, about 3.4 m is the size we sell most, and about 4.5 m is for roadside frontages that need a proper base. Media walls are almost always 2.3 m high, so the frame clears ceiling fittings and the tallest guest. Widths of 2.3, 3, 4 and 6 m cover a solo shot through to a sponsor wall.
Corflute, ACM and foamex all come off a 2440 × 1220 mm sheet (often rounded to 2400 × 1200 mm). Sizes that divide evenly into it waste less board, and that is the main reason the common sizes below exist.
Most footpath A-frames take an A1 (594 × 841 mm) insert. Many metal frames are built for the squarer 600 × 900 mm instead, which is the most common mismatch we see. If you already own the frame, measure the visible window and the slot, or send us the model number.
The standard residential real estate photo board is 1200 × 900 mm, with 900 × 600 mm for units and narrow frontages and 1800 × 1200 mm for auction and development boards. A builder’s site board is commonly 900 × 600 mm on residential jobs and 1200 × 900 mm or larger on commercial frontages. The Victorian rules for site signs care about legibility from the street, not a fixed dimension. Our site signage page covers what has to be on the board.
Safety signs are sized from viewing distance (see below), which is why the range runs from 300 × 225 mm on a plant room door to 1200 × 900 mm entry boards read from a moving vehicle. 600 × 450 mm is the common outdoor size at site entries, and 450 × 300 mm is the usual reserved or visitor parking bay sign.
AS 1319, the Australian Standard for workplace safety signs, gives a simple ratio that makes a good starting point for almost any sign: about 15 mm of symbol height for every metre of viewing distance, about 5 mm of capital-letter height per metre, and about 4 mm per metre for lower case. Increase all of them by roughly half where lighting is poor or the sign sits somewhere easy to miss.
| Viewing distance | Symbol height | Capital letters | Typical sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 m | 45 mm | 15 mm | Door, switchboard or plant room sign |
| 5 m | 75 mm | 25 mm | Workplace wall sign, parking bay |
| 10 m | 150 mm | 50 mm | Site entry board, A-frame across a footpath |
| 20 m | 300 mm | 100 mm | Fence banner read from across the road |
| 30 m | 450 mm | 150 mm | Hoarding or roadside banner read from traffic |
Work backwards from the lettering. Decide where the reader stands, size the most important line to that distance, then pick the board that fits it with sensible margins. That is how you avoid the most common sign mistake we see: a sign that is technically correct and practically useless because nobody can read it from where they actually are.
Contrast matters as much as size. Dark type on a light background or light on dark reads at distance. Mid-tone on mid-tone disappears at about 20 metres, however big it is.
If you only have a logo and a sentence, that is fine. We build the file at the right size, allow for hems, eyelets and bleed, and send a proof showing exactly where everything lands.
There is no official standard, but 3000 × 1000 mm is the size ordered most for fence, sponsor and shopfront banners. 1800 × 900 mm is the common smaller size, and 2400 × 2100 mm is the standard mesh banner for one temporary fence panel.
For cost, keep the short side under about 1600 mm so the banner prints from one roll width with no welded seam.
600 × 900 mm is the most common, and it fits a standard wire stake. 900 × 1200 mm suits signs read from the road, and 1200 × 1800 mm suits builder boards and hoarding panels.
All of them are cut from a 2400 × 1200 mm sheet, so any size up to that is possible.
The standard pull-up banner is 850 mm wide by 2000 mm high. Artwork is usually supplied at 850 × 2085 mm because the bottom 85 mm rolls into the base. Narrow 600 mm and wider 1000 to 1500 mm units are also common.
Most footpath A-frames take an A1 insert, 594 × 841 mm. Many metal frames are built for 600 × 900 mm instead, so measure your frame before ordering a replacement insert. A2 suits narrow footpaths and A0 suits forecourts and car parks.
The standard residential photo board is 1200 × 900 mm. Units and narrow frontages often use 900 × 600 mm, and auction or development boards run to 1800 × 1200 mm. Rider strips are usually 1200 × 200 mm.
A reliable rule from AS 1319 is about 5 mm of capital-letter height per metre of viewing distance, and 15 mm of symbol height per metre. A sign read from 10 metres wants capitals of about 50 mm. Add about half again in poor light.
Yes. Rigid boards are cut on a flatbed and banners are welded to length, so any size works and you pay for the area. The common sizes simply waste less material and fit standard hardware.
Corflute, ACM, foamex, acrylic and banner PVC: what each is, how long it lasts, and when to use it.
Read the guide →Vinyl banners printed, welded and eyeletted in Ravenhall, in any size.
See banners →Printed on 3 mm or 5 mm board and cut to any size, with no minimum order.
See corflute →Tell us where the sign is going and where people will read it from. We will recommend a size and price it inside two business hours.