Part 3

The writer several years ago discovered that there was no standard size among lithographers for posters; that is, while they were made on the 28 by 42 basis per sheet, posters are pasted up in such a varied combination of sections that the lapping precludes the possibility of having a standard size. This is largely accounted for by the tendency of lithographers to save on printing. For instance, a certain sheet in an 8-sheet poster may carry four colors; another sheet may carry but two, and they will so arrange their posters as to make the printing of the largest number of colors come on as few sheets as possible. I recently took thirty 8-sheet posters, which had been used by national advertisers and measured them. Hardly any two of them were the same size; they ran from the largest—114 inches in length by 76 inches in width—to the smallest—109 inches in length by 75 inches in width. The average length of the thirty posters was 111.3 inches, and the average width 75.7 inches, while the largest one contained 8,664 square inches and the smallest 8,175 inches. This brings up a question which has apparently heretofore been overlooked by advertisers; that is, the actual amount of space to which an advertiser is entitled on the bill-boards. The space allotted by the bill-poster for an 8-sheet poster is 112 inches high by 84 inches, and the advertiser who is only getting 109 or 110 inches in length by 75 or 76 inches in width is apparently not getting the best run for his money. It would, therefore, seem that all posters should be made so that they will occupy the full quota of the allotted space when pasted up. This may add slightly to the cost of paper but it will mean an added prominence for your posters.

The following will show just the amount of space an advertiser is entitled to on the boards:

4 sheets 42 × 112 inches. 8 sheets 84 × 112 inches. 12 sheets 126 × 112 inches. 16 sheets 168 × 112 inches. 20 sheets 210 × 112 inches. 24 sheets 252 × 112 inches. 32 sheets 336 × 112 inches.

The most popular poster in vogue is the 8-sheet; the next popular sizes are the 16-sheet and the 24-sheet. These larger stands are always four sheets high, the only difference being in the width. While most campaigns are made up on the 8-sheet basis, large advertisers who believe in securing extra prominence run almost exclusively to the 16, 24 and even 32-sheet sizes. The only objection to these larger posters is that outside of the largest cities there are very few boards which will accommodate them, and the better plan to pursue is to use a combination of an 8-sheet poster and a larger size, say a 24-sheet, using the 8-sheets exclusively in the small towns, a combination of the 8’s and 24’s in the medium size towns, and an exclusive showing of the 24-sheets in the larger cities; although some advertisers even prefer to sprinkle in a number of 8-sheets with their 24’s in the largest cities, in order to secure a greater number of individual locations at a lower cost.

Smaller posters, such as half-sheets, one-sheets and two-sheets are printed all in one piece, and are used largely for indoor store display, sniping (that is, on ash-barrels, fences, barns and non-listed locations), although in many cases whole stands are made up by a repetition of one- and two-sheets. Usually, however, this is not advisable as the sheets are too small for the reading matter to carry for any great distance.

The hare could run rings around the tortoise, but the tortoise beat him out because he kept pegging along without a halt. Be persistent!

Cost of Posters

The cheap sketch is the most expensive in the end.

There are all kinds of posters, just as there are all grades of printing and paper, and therefore there is a great variance in costs.

Shun the cheap poster and buy the best the lithographer can turn out. The posting costs nearly ten times the cost of the poster—and the expense of posting is just the same for a bad poster as a good one.

For the reason that one often wishes to know “about” what a certain quantity of posters of a certain size would cost, the following table of approximate costs is given. Everything depends upon the make-up of your sketch and the manner in which it can be handled. An eight-sheet poster with five colors on every sheet will cost much more than the same size poster with five colors on some sheets and two on others. These prices are based, therefore, on the average run of pictorial posters:

APPROXIMATE COST OF AN ORDINARY PICTORIAL POSTER.

First M Additional Thousands Run at the Same Time =8-Sheet=

2 colors $250.00 $125.00 3 colors 300.00 150.00 4 colors 350.00 200.00 5 colors 400.00 250.00

=16-Sheet=

2 colors 525.00 325.00 3 colors 575.00 375.00 4 colors 650.00 450.00 5 colors 725.00 500.00

=24-Sheet=

2 colors 850.00 500.00 3 colors 1000.00 600.00 4 colors 1100.00 675.00 5 colors 1250.00 750.00

Above estimates are based on paper weighing 140 lbs. to the ream—size 42″ x 56″. Stone-drawing included, but not cost of original sketch.

Helpful Hints

Use good paper and non-fading inks.

Better prices can always be secured by furnishing your own sketches and then getting competitive prices. Where the lithographer originates the idea and furnishes the sketch he naturally and rightly charges liberally for it.

Rain-lapped posters can be had at a slight additional expense. To “rain-lapp” a poster means to paste the upper sheet over the margin of the next lower sheet just as shingles are placed on a house. The posters are usually pasted in sections four sheets high. Where posters are unpasted, the bill-poster starts at the upper edge of the board in placing the poster and pastes the lower sheet over the margin of the next top sheet. In consequence, the board does not drain the rain as it should, and the sheets tear off much more readily than with rain-lapped paper.

It is a custom with lithographers that posters should be paid for when the edition is completed, at a specified time, but they will store and ship posters as needed for any reasonable length of time. Such storage paper is usually protected by insurance for the customer’s benefit.

It is the habit of large poster advertisers to have the lithographer make all separate shipments, a list, with quantity designated for each town, being furnished by the advertiser for that purpose. The advertiser, in such cases, pays actual cost of labor and materials for wrapping and shipment, where the size of order is large enough to warrant.

You can save money on cost of paper by ordering a number, or a season’s supply, of posters at one time, especially if the designs are similar in color treatment. At any rate, the larger quantity insures a saving in paper and press-work. The lithographer is thus saved the extra expense of rush work, for which the advertiser always pays the penalty.

The cost of shipping for entire country is about four cents per eight-sheet poster.

Make freight shipments of over forty pounds. Express shipments under forty pounds.