Political flags are bought from a picture and judged on a windy Tuesday in week six. These four decisions are what decide the second part.

The fly hem decides how long it lasts

The fly end is the free edge furthest from the pole. It cracks like a whip thousands of times a day, and it is where every outdoor flag starts to fail.

A single-stitched hem there frays inside a month. Four rows of lock stitching costs very little and is the difference between a season and three weeks. Ask for it by name; if a listing does not mention the fly hem at all, that tells you what it is.

The reverse decides whether it works at all

A standard flag is single-reverse: printed once, so the back is a mirror image. On a two-way road that means half the people you paid to reach see the name backwards.

A double-sided flag is two printed faces with an opaque blockout liner between them. Without the liner the two images ghost through each other and both sides become unreadable, which is worse than the mirror. If a listing does not say blockout liner, assume single-reverse.

Fabric decides colour life, not brightness

Knitted polyester lasts longer outdoors and needs a little more wind to fly. Nylon lifts in almost no air and is brighter on day one, and it fades sooner.

For anything running past one cycle, ask for a UV-stable fabric and ask roughly how long it holds colour. Fade resistant on its own is a word, not a measurement.

Legibility is a hard ceiling

A flag is read at distance and in motion by somebody watching the road. A name and one short line is the honest limit; every extra element takes legibility away from the name.

Coalition lock-ups are where this bites hardest. Four organisations on one flag becomes a grey smudge at fifty feet, and it is better to hear that at proof stage than after the run.

What to send when you ask for a quote

Quantity, size, where the flags are going, whether the road is two-way, how exposed the site is, and your artwork. That is enough for a real quote and a mockup the same day.

Leave room for whatever disclaimer line your jurisdiction requires. We will hold the space; what goes in it is between you and your counsel.