How much does a feather or teardrop flag cost in Australia?

What they cost, by height

Every figure below is one complete flag — print, pole set and ground spike — including GST and delivery Australia-wide. Feather heights are the pole; the teardrop on the same pole is a little shorter because of its shape. Read from the same price list the checkout charges from.

A single-sided flag is one printed skin, and the print shows through to the back mirrored — readable from the front, a reversed image from behind. That is fine for a flag against a wall or along a fence line, where everyone approaches from one direction. A double-sided flag is two skins sewn either side of a blockout layer, so the design reads correctly from both directions, and it costs more on a bigger flag rather than a flat amount: the second skin on a 5 metre jumbo is far more fabric than on a 2 metre extra small. On the medium, the difference is $173.62 against $236.87. Choose double for a flag on a footpath, a median, an open home or a market lane, where half the people see its back.

The price per flag drops at five and again at ten. A medium printed both sides is $236.87 on its own, $196.45 each at five and $179.38 each at ten, every one delivered with its pole and spike. One to fifteen flags are priced online; a larger run is quoted, because at that point the fabric is bought by the roll and the number comes out lower than this page can show.

A ground spike is included. It screws into grass or soil and is the right base for a lawn, a verge or a sports field. Everything below is for ground the spike cannot go into.

A cross base adds $25 per flag and stands on concrete, pavers or a floor indoors. A cross base with a water bag adds $30: the bag fills from a tap and weighs the base down, which is what you want on a footpath in a breeze. The premium cross base is heavier and adds $35, or $40 with its water bag. A 15 litre water base, the most stable of all, adds $45 and suits a flag that stands all day in the open.

A rectangle flag adds $15 over a feather or teardrop of the same height. It carries more fabric and hangs square from a horizontal arm, so a long line of text fits it better.

A carry bag adds $10 and is worth having on any flag that goes to more than one event; the pole sections, the skin and the spike travel together and nothing gets left behind.

Nothing you need to fly it. The print, the pole set and the spike are in the price, and so is delivery, so $137.87 really is the complete cost of the smallest flag. Design from your own file is set up free. A flag designed from nothing is quoted per job, and the free flag templates have each shape marked out with its sleeve and safe area, which is the quickest way to get a file right the first time.

1. Is the pole in it? A lot of flag prices are the skin alone, for a pole you are assumed to own. A flag price without a pole set is a replacement skin price.
2. Is a base in it? Ours includes a ground spike. If the quote lists no base at all, add one before you compare.
3. What height? Heights are quoted as the pole, not the fabric, and a “3 metre” teardrop is about 2.7 metres of flag. Compare poles with poles.
4. One side or two? A cheap price is nearly always single-sided with a mirrored back. Fine if that is what you want; not fine if you did not know.
5. Printed how? Dye sublimation puts the ink into the fibre, so it fades slowly rather than cracking. A printed-on-top flag looks the same on day one and not on day ninety.
6. Including GST and delivery? Every figure here includes both.