Long-Life Building Tarpaulin (480gsm)
Proof before print: every order gets a digital proof for approval. Turnaround: printed in 24–48 h, delivered worldwide in 7–10 days. Trade accounts: volume pricing from 50 sq ft.
Long-Life Building Tarpaulin (480gsm) — The heaviest cloth we print — specified when a graphic has to stay up for years, not months, specified for building wraps.
Tarpaulin construction puts a substantial coating over a heavy woven base, producing a panel with real physical presence. It is the specification for building wraps, long-term hoarding and site enclosures — anywhere the cost of taking a graphic down and replacing it outweighs the cost of buying a heavier one in the first place.
Building wraps are the largest format we produce and the least forgiving. They are installed at height, they stay up for months or years, and getting one down to fix a problem is expensive — so the specification has to be right before anything is printed.
Best for
- Full and partial facade wraps
- Multi-storey building graphics
- Retail storefront wraps
- Development and hoarding facade panels
- Feature-wall and architectural graphics
Key advantages
- Longest outdoor service life in the range by a clear margin
- Thick coated construction shrugs off abrasion, grit and repeated tensioning
- Fully opaque, so artwork stays dense and readable in direct sun
- Takes welded hems and heavy-duty eyelets for secure structural fixing
- Wipes clean, so a multi-season graphic still looks maintained
Specifications
| Material & construction | Heavy woven polyester base with a coated tarpaulin finish |
|---|---|
| Fabric weight | 480 gsm |
| Print method | Dye-sublimation (colour transferred into the fibre) |
| Print sides | Double |
| Opacity | Opaque |
| Finish & feel | Heavy coated surface with a smooth, substantial hand |
| Wind & breathability | Solid panel — we vent, mesh-panel or slit large spans for exposed positions |
| Water resistance | Water-resistant — the PU coating sheds rain; hems and eyelets are stitched, so we specify this as water-resistant |
| Indicative service life | Outdoor 3-5 yrs (shorter in high-UV regions) |
| Recommended finishing | Welded hems, heavy-duty eyelets, reinforced webbing edges, keder track |
| Care | Wipe down with a damp cloth and mild detergent; do not machine wash the coating |
| Material & recycling | Polyester base with a protective coating; recycle through coated-textile streams |
| Water resistance (typical) | Coated construction; hydrostatic head measured per AATCC 127 / ISO 811, typically well above the 1,200 mm PU band |
Choosing the right specification
Specify for the wind, then specify for the years. Mesh for anything large and exposed; a coated tarpaulin where the wrap is sheltered and needs to last. Panel large facades rather than attempting a single piece — seamed panels are easier to handle at height, easier to tension evenly, and far easier to replace individually if one is damaged.
How ordering works
- Send your artwork — Upload print-ready artwork at any stage — we check scale, resolution and bleed before anything goes to press and come back to you if something needs adjusting.
- Made to your size — Every panel is cut and finished to your dimensions. Tell us the finished size you need and how it is being fixed, and we will allow for hems and fixings correctly.
- Printed by dye-sublimation — Colour is transferred into the polyester fibre under heat, so the image becomes part of the cloth rather than a layer sitting on top of it.
- Finished and shipped — Hems, eyelets, pole pockets, silicone edge and other finishing are applied before your order is folded, boxed and dispatched worldwide.
Related specifications
This is the 480gsm version. Other sizes and weights in the same fabric are made to order — tell us the finished dimensions you need and we will quote them.
Technical detail
Why a heavier coating lasts longer outdoors. Coating mass is what stands between the yarn and ultraviolet light, and UV combined with heat cycling is what ends the life of an outdoor graphic, not water. A tarpaulin-grade coating carries far more mass per square metre than a standard PU finish, which is the reason this construction is specified for installations measured in years rather than months.
What to expect from service life. Indoors and out of direct sun, printed polyester holds its appearance for five years or more. Outdoors, published ranges for dye-sublimated polyester run from roughly six to twenty-four months depending on how exposed the position is, with the shorter end applying in high-ultraviolet regions such as the Southwest, Florida and the Gulf Coast, and in coastal or high-wind locations. Sheltered and north-facing installations reach the longer end. Coated and tarpaulin-grade constructions extend beyond that band because the coating carries the UV load.
Best suited to
Multi-year outdoor installations where the cost of taking a graphic down outweighs the cost of buying a heavier one — building wraps, long-term hoarding and site enclosures.
Also in this range
For portable and hand-carried work, our lighter Oxford and PU ranges are easier to handle; for very exposed spans, our vented mesh reduces wind load.
Not sure which fabric is right? Order a free swatch pack and see the weight, texture and finish in your own hands before you commit to a full run.
What you can make with this fabric
Every application this fabric is suited to — tap through for sizes, templates and examples.
