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What is a stage scrim?

A stage scrim is a large, square piece of vinyl mesh banner that allows for sound and light to permeate through the holes in the vinyl mesh. A stage scrim is most often used by bands on stage for their live performances. Scrims are more often than not placed in pairs on stage in front of guitar amps as a way of marketing a band or artist to the crowd. Band scrims are an affordable alternative to large backdrop banners and offer an easy setup from venue to venue. Stage scrims will usually be hung with either grommets or pole pockets onto a proper heavy duty aluminum stand or the cheaper PVC pipe setup. Stage scrims are one of the most cost effective ways to brand your band and make your live concert setup look extremely professional.

What is the history of band stage scrims?

Bands have always used different mediums to help fans identify their presence on stage. One of the early marketing methods was large fabric and vinyl backdrops. This was a great way to effectively market, but was often not very cost effective and hard to setup. Most venues could not accomodate for the large banner. The banner would also hang behind the band and more often than not would be obstructed from the view of fans rendering the setup useless.

Around 2010, bands, specifically on the Warped Tour started placing solid vinyl banners on stage in front of their guitar amps in order for fans to see what band was playing. This was an extremely effective marketing tactic. With hundreds of bands playing on multiple stages on one day, it was often hard to figure out which band was playing. The band stage banner was a quick was for concert goers to indentify which band was playing at that exact moment. However, the solid banner had its flaws. Bands were placing the banners in front of their instruments therefore it would block the sound coming from them. Many early scrim adopters noticed that large festivals were placing a vinyl mesh over their large speakers that allowed them to advertise in these spots on stage, but also let sound come through. This became the iteration of the stage scrim we have today. A vinyl mesh that allows for an image to be placed on the scrim, but also allowing sound and light to freely pass through it. The scrim has now moved on from the Warped Tour and is now a mainstay at festivals, venues, and concerts alike.

Why does my band need stage scrims?

Custom stage scrims are the one of the most effective ways to promote your band. More often than not, you will not be the headliner at a show or concert. Most event goers are there to see the headliner and are often not familiar with the opening acts. Many fans will not pay attention during the opening bands so it is imperative to capture their attention. If at any moment you do capture their interest, they need to be able to identify you immediately. Stage scrims are the best way to achieve this in a split second. Scrims are the best way to market your band in public as it shows you have invested time and money into looking professional. It is a great way to show off your new logo or album artwork and can really help push sales of merch, music, and up your streams on digital platforms. Band scrims can take you from looking like a novice garage band to looking like the national touring act coming through a major city. They will give your stage presence the boost it needs to take over a large room.

What material are scrims made out of?

At Merchcult, our band scrims are made out of a high quality 70/30 10 oz vinyl mesh banner. This means that 70% of the banner is a solid vinyl while the other 30% are the holes that allow the air, sound and light to flow freely through the banner. Your artwork is printed with our state of the art digital printers that allow for vibrant colors and detailed artwork. All of our scrims come with 2" pole pockets that allow you to easily setup quickly and effectively. The sides of the scrims and hemmed and reinforced to make sure that your stage scrims last for years. Scrims can very easily be rolled up and not have crease marks due to the nature of the vinyl mesh.

What kind of artwork should I place on my custom stage scrims?

The type of artwork you place on your scrim will ultimately effect how well your fans will receive them on stage. Typically, you want artwork that is very bold and readable. It must have great contrast to be readable. Since you are losing 30% of the vinyl due to the nature of the holes, contrast and vibrancy is key to making your graphics stand out. A low contrast and hard to read logo, font, or artwork will make your scrims very difficult to see especially in a venue with low stage lighting. We recommend having a dark background with a very light text or logo, or a light background with very dark foreground art. This will ensure that your image stands out. The larger you can make your artwork on scrim, the better fans will be able to read it. Think of your fans that are 200 feet away. Can they read what you are placing on your scrim from that far away? Avoid small text and images in order to give your scrim the maximum effectiveness.

Try to place the important elements near the top of the scrim as sometimes shorter event goers will not be able to see the bottom of your amp scrims because of their height or location at the venue. Many bands use the same artwork on both scrims, but others like to play off of each scrim by having the band name on one, and then the logo or album artwork on the other. Another great idea is having 2 different artworks that play off of each other or are one larger image split up into the two different scrims. This is a creative way to have multiple images on stage. And at Merchcult, this does not cost you any more money to have the two different images.

Your artwork must also be high resolution or in vector format. At Merchcult, we can work with pretty much any type of artwork, but to avoid issues, we recommend creating your artwork at a print ready size in order for the scrims to print perfectly. We recommend creating your artwork at size at 150DPI. So on a 5'x5' scrim, you would create your artwork at 60"x60" (9000 pixels x 9000 pixels) at 150 DPI. This will ensure the best quality when printing.

What size should my band scrims be for stage?

Your stage scrim size ultimately depends on the types of venues, festivals, and concerts you will be performing. At Merchcult, we can make you scrims at any size you would like. They do not even have to be square. We can make them rectangle as well. Our most popular sizes are 5'x5', 6'x6', and 7'x7'. The most versatile size that we have come to find is 6'x6'. This allows for a large display on stage that will give maximum visibility, but also will work in those smaller venues where there is not a ton of space on stage. You need to go through your past events and then also think into the future to see what size makes the most sense for your band, and then ultimately proceed with what feels comfortable. You need to also take into account how many members you have on stage and how much room you have with those members and their equipment. You do not want to feel cramped on stage with your setup. Keep that in mind before choosing the correct size for your setup.

Should I buy 1 or 2 custom stage scrims for my band?

Again, this will typically depend on your band and setup for stage. Typically, a band will purchase 2 stage scrims and then place one in front of each guitarists amp speaker. This is the most aesthetically pleasing way to do it, and makes your stage look balanced and symmetrical. However, some bands only have one guitarist so it only makes sense to have 1 scrim on stage. Other bands like to put the scrim behind the drummer like you would a stage backdrop therefore only needing one. Ultimately, the decision is up to your needs, but 2 will usually look the best in most situations.

Where do you place band scrims on stage?

A band scrim will typically sit in front of a guitarist or bassist amp speaker. This is done to create the most room for the band to still be able to maneuver on stage with ease and not be in the way of their performance. The scrim then allows for the sound from the guitar cabinets to freely come through the scrim. As previously mentioned, a scrim can also go behind the drummer. This situation works well when space is limited in certain venues. Scrims can take up a lot of space on stage, so before buying scrims, diagram your current setup and see if you need to tweak anything to make it all fit on stage properly.

How do you setup a stage scrim and how long does it take?

Stage scrims are extremely easy to setup and are made to be easily put up and taken down efficiently so that no time is wasted in the setup process. A scrim can be unrolled and then utilizing the pole pockets on the top and bottom of the scrim, it can then be placed on the poles on the top and bottom of a professional aluminum stand or the more budget friendly PVC pipe stand. The most time will be spend setting up the stand that is retractable or putting together the pipe pieces into a finished product. A scrim should take no longer than 10 minutes per scrim to setup. It should be a fast process that can be cut down in time with multiple band members setting up at the same time.

Where can I purchase a stage scrim stand?

At Merchcult, we offer high quality stage scrim stands. They are a retractable metal that extend as far as 10'x8'. All our stands comes with a carrying case that makes it easy to carry in with the rest of your band equipment. At the current moment, we do not have the stands listed on the site to purchase, but we can send you an invoice to pay for the stands. If cost is an issue, you can always make stands for extremely cheap using PVC pipe. This is a cost effective way to still display your scrims on a budget.

How much do stage scrims cost?

Stage scrim cost will vary depending on the size of the scrims you want made. The smaller the scrim, the better the pricing will be. The larger the scrim, the more expensive they will be. For example, our 5'x5' scrims are $124.50 for 1 and $249 for 2. For 6'x6' scrims, 1 is $152.50 and 2 are $305. Our 7'x7' scrims are $185.50 and 2 of them are $371. If you need another size not listed, we can always quote you out on any size and give you the correct pricing. We find that our pricing is better than our competitors and is more in line with bands that are on a budget that need cheap band scrims. We try to keep our products affordable to ensure bands can stay on the road and be profitable.

What is your current turnaround time for custom band scrims?

We currently run on a 2 week turnaround from the time the order is placed to delivery. This is an actual 2 weeks and not business days. For example, if you placed an order for scrims on March 3, you could expect your scrims to arrive around March 17. This is not an exact guaranteed date, but a general time frame to give you an idea of when they should arrive. We always say to order with plenty of time before your next event so they are not arriving last minute and you have time to get familiar with them and how to use and set them up. If you are in a rush, we can expedite the process. Sometimes there is a rush fee associated with that so please ask us before ordering if you are on a tight deadline.

What is the difference between a stage scrim and a banner?

A stage scrim and a banner are both made out of a vinyl material. The biggest difference is that the scrim will have small holes in it to allow the sound, air and light to pass through while the banner will be solid. A scrim will be more pliable and flexible because of the holes while the banner will be more stiff and prone to wrinkes and creases. A scrim will hold up much better in the weather elements because of the holes while the banner will take extreme wear from the elements because of no pass through.