Anyone who has unrolled a site plan in a field on a windy morning knows how quickly an ordinary plotter print gives up. A corner snags on a fence post, the drizzle spots the linework, and by lunchtime the drawing is a soft, crumpled roll you would rather not show a client. Our Tyvek banner paper is made for exactly those days. It is a lightweight 105gsm roll with a spun synthetic base that will not tear, and when you print it with pigment inks it keeps its image in the rain. If you print on a Canon imagePROGRAF TM, TX or PRO series machine, you already have the right inks in the printer.

What Tyvek actually is

Tyvek is not paper in the usual sense. DuPont makes it from very fine high density polyethylene fibres that are laid down at random and bonded together, which gives a sheet that looks and handles like paper but behaves far more like a tough film. Our banner grade adds a non-reflective matt coating to that spun white base, so aqueous inkjet ink sits on the surface and dries instantly. The base is semi translucent, a detail we come back to below.

Why architects and garden designers take it on site

The people who order this roll from us most often are architects and garden designers, and the reasons are practical ones:

•      It is 100% tear resistant. A print can be pinned to site hoarding, clipped to a board in a gale or pulled in and out of the van every day for a week, and the edges hold.

•      It copes with weather. Printed with pigment inks, the sheet is water resistant, so a planting plan or setting-out drawing can still be read when the heavens open. If you have been searching for waterproof plotter paper, this is the honest version of what you need.

•      It folds. You can roll it or fold it, so an A1 plan fits in a jacket pocket and opens out flat enough to read, again and again.

•      It is light. A full set of drawings weighs a fraction of the same set on heavy coated paper.

•      It does not glare. The matt finish stays readable in bright sunshine, which a gloss or satin sheet will not.

The same qualities make it a good choice for consultation boards, planning display sheets, temporary site signage and exhibition graphics.

Pigment or dye: the one thing to check before you print

The ink decides where your Tyvek print can live. Dye inks soak into the coating, and they can bleed or run once they get wet, so a dye print on Tyvek belongs indoors. Pigment inks lay tiny solid particles on the surface, which hold up to water and daylight far better. That is why we recommend pigment ink for anything going outside.

This is where Canon owners have an easy time. The imagePROGRAF TM and TX series run LUCIA TD pigment inks, and the PRO series runs LUCIA PRO pigment inks, so every colour on the sheet is pigment based. Some entry-level CAD printers pair a pigment black with dye colours. That combination is fine for indoor Tyvek, but keep the colour prints under cover. If you are not sure which inks your machine uses, check the cartridges on our Canon ink page or give us a call.

The roll works with both thermal inkjet heads, as used by Canon and HP, and piezo heads, as used by Epson. The coating is instant drying, so you can lift a print from the basket and roll it straight away without smudging.

Choosing a roll width

Every roll is 30 metres long on a 2-inch (50mm) core, and there are four widths to match the common printer sizes:

•      610mm (24 inch, A1), for 24-inch printers such as the TM-240, TM-255 or PRO-2600.

•      914mm (36 inch, A0), for 36-inch printers such as the TM-340, TM-350 or TX-3200.

•      1067mm (42 inch), for 44-inch printers such as the TX-4200 or PRO-4600.

•      1372mm (54 inch), for 60-inch printers such as the PRO-6600.

If you are still choosing a machine, our Canon large format printers and technical CAD printers pages set out the full line-up, and the wide format printer buying guide walks through the differences.

Finishing: hems, eyelets and cold lamination

Tyvek takes finishing well. You can hem the edges, sewn or taped, for a banner that hangs straight, and add eyelets for cable ties on fencing or hoarding. For boards that will be handled or reused for a long time, a cold laminate adds a tough protective layer. Stick to cold, pressure sensitive film rather than a hot pouch. Tyvek is polyethylene, and polyethylene softens at the temperatures a hot laminator runs at. You will find suitable films in our pressure sensitive laminates range, and the machines in laminators.

Remember that the base is semi translucent. Hung against a bright window or a lit wall, some light will come through the print. If that matters, mount the sheet on foam board or hang it against a solid backing. For carrying rolled drawings between sites, a drawing tube keeps them clean and dry.

Order your Tyvek banner paper from Prizma

All four widths are in our paper and media range and you can order online. If you run a solvent or UV printer rather than an aqueous one, ask us about our Solvent Tyvek Banner, which is made for those inks. To check stock, or to ask which roll fits your printer, call us on 01296 393700 or get in touch online.