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!_