Does PVC still belong in your pop-up?
Many brands know exactly how their pop-up should look. Far fewer are told what its graphics are made of.
Brands put enormous care into their products, packaging and sustainability goals. But temporary graphics often pass through several partners, and the material may never be discussed.
That is how PVC can end up in pop-up graphics without anyone consciously choosing it. If you don’t know whether your graphics contain PVC, you’re not alone.
👀 PVC on the windows?
And not only on the windows. Temporary graphics can cover the entire pop-up — including floors, counters and display units. Yet PVC may be specified by a printer, agency or production partner before the brand ever sees the finished space.
Not because the brand wanted PVC. Because nobody stopped to ask.
This isn’t about blaming brands. It’s about making sure they know they have a choice.⚡
We have a challenge — and we’d genuinely like your advice 💬
PVC can enter a pop-up campaign without the brand ever consciously choosing it. Our challenge is making that material choice visible before the campaign goes into production.
❓ How can we get this information in front of brands early enough to make a difference?
Would a clear cost comparison, physical samples or a material question in the campaign brief help? Who should we be talking to — brands, agencies, printers or retail designers?
🩷 STAFIX® GRIP: Ready to look beyond the raw material price?
A printed graphic is more than its raw material. Its real cost includes printing, finishing, installation, removal and any adhesive-residue clean-up. Because every retailer values its own staff time differently, the GRIP subtotals below leave in-house installation and removal for each store to add at its own rate.
🦍 Spoiler alert: The cheapest material can make a surprisingly expensive exit.
Cost comparison for 20 m² of pop-up window graphics
* Add your own in-house labour cost.
GRIP window graphics can be installed and removed quickly by the store team. No adhesive means no residue and no post-campaign cleaning.
How we calculated it
- Raw material before printing: indicative prices of €1.75/m² for conventional PVC — the midpoint of the €1.50–2.00 range — and €4.60/m² for STAFIX® GRIP. For 20 m², this gives a raw-material cost of €35 for PVC and €92 for GRIP.
- Printing and finishing: estimated at €20/m² for both materials, or €400 for the full 20 m². The same price is deliberately used for all three alternatives so that the comparison isolates the effect of material choice and campaign execution.
- Professional installation: €500 for both PVC and GRIP, based on ten hours × an illustrative labour rate of €50/hour. The same allowance is deliberately used for both materials, so the comparison does not assume that a professional installs GRIP faster.
- In-house GRIP installation and removal: No fixed euro amount is assigned to the starred cells. Add your store’s own internal labour cost. GRIP window graphics can be installed and removed quickly by store staff without specialist tools. Because there is no adhesive, no separate allowance is needed for residue removal or post-campaign cleaning.
- PVC removal and clean-up: Estimated at 20 hours × €50/hour = €1,000. Removing conventional self-adhesive PVC can take considerably longer than installing it: the graphics must first be peeled away, and adhesive residue left on the windows then has to be cleaned off. Based on professional installer feedback for a 20 m² project, the 20-hour allowance covers both stages.
All prices exclude VAT. The €50/hour professional labour rate is a rounded illustrative assumption, sense-checked against published European prices for comparable sign, film and removal work. The estimates of ten hours for installation and 20 hours for PVC removal are based on feedback received from a professional installer for a 20 m² project. No euro value has been assigned to in-house GRIP work, as internal labour costs vary by retailer. Public pricing references: Hensel Werbetechnik installation rates and RK Car Design window-film removal terms.
Same professional installation allowance. €943 between the subtotals.
Both materials carry the same €500 professional-installation allowance. The subtotals are €1,935 for PVC and €992 for GRIP before the store adds its own removal time — a gap of €943 in the costs shown.
The raw-material difference is just €57. The real separation comes at the end of the campaign. In this 20 m² example, professional installation was estimated at ten hours, while removing the PVC and cleaning the adhesive residue was estimated at 20. GRIP has no adhesive to leave behind, so there is no separate post-campaign cleaning stage.
Want to keep installation in-house? Add your own numbers.
When the store team handles installation as well, the GRIP subtotal is €492 before in-house labour. That leaves a €1,443 gap in the listed costs compared with PVC, with the store’s own installation and removal time still to add.
No specialist tools. No adhesive residue. No installer return visit. Just ask Stafix.
The cheapest print doesn’t necessarily create the cheapest pop-up.
Look beyond the print. Compare the whole campaign — including your own staff time.
Illustrative calculation for 20 m² of window graphics on suitable smooth surfaces. GRIP subtotals exclude in-house labour for the starred tasks. Actual costs depend on the country, supplier, access, surfaces, adhesive condition, campaign design and each retailer’s internal labour costs.
Check our math
Note: This calculation was made by humans and a gorilla. Humans and gorillas can make mistakes. Did we miss a cost or make an assumption you disagree with? Tell us.
GRIP — for your perfect pop-up
GRIP stands out as an incredibly tough product built for the demanding conditions. It thrives with a full year of indoor use and up to 6 months outdoors, handling extreme temperatures from -30°C to 70°C with ease. Versatile and reliable, GRIP is reusable, washable, and offers both white and clear options.
- Self-adhesive material with a silicon layer
- PVC-free, glue-free, and residue free
- Reusable, washable, and recyclable
- Lifespan 12 months indoor, 6 months outdoor
- Face stock material PP, PET
PVC-free · White or optically clear · Residue-free · Reusable
One pop-up. Many surfaces.
A pop-up may use graphics on windows, floors, counters, doors, display units and other temporary surfaces. One material will not solve every application.
Stafix helps match the material to the surface, campaign duration, conditions and intended reuse. GRIP is an excellent PVC-free choice for windows and many other clean, very smooth surfaces. For floors and other applications, we help select the right material and finishing.
🦍 Get your free samples!
Book a chat with us
10 minutes of your time. 10 free PVC-free stickers for you.
Just leave your email — and a note if you wish. We’ll contact you to arrange a quick 10-minute chat about your pop-up, including the surfaces, location, campaign duration and graphics.
Based on the conversation, we’ll recommend suitable PVC-free materials. As a thank-you for your time, we’ll print 10 free stickers with your own design for testing. No obligation to order. 🦍
💬 Let’s arrange your 10-minute chat
See Stafix products in person
Order free Stafix product samples and discover the sustainable future of self-adhesive POS materials. Our products were developed to supercharge your campaigns.
