Café Barriers & Printed Umbrellas
A café barrier does two jobs at once. It marks out the seating you are licensed for, and it puts your name at eye level for everyone walking past. The posts are the permanent part and the printed banner is the part that changes, so a re-brand later costs you a banner rather than the whole system.
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Café Barriers, done properly
We supply the lot — stainless or powder-coated posts, weighted, fixed or socketed bases, and double-sided printed banners tensioned into the frame so they stay drum-tight instead of flapping. Ropes, clips, gates and end posts all come off the same range, so you can extend a run next season without it looking bolted on afterwards. Parasols are printed to match, canopy and valance, in the same colours as the barrier.
- Double-sided printed banners, tensioned tight in the frame
- Re-brand by swapping the banner, not the posts
- Weighted, fixed or ground-socket bases to suit the site
- Matching printed parasols, canopy and valance
What should you know before ordering café barriers & printed umbrellas?
Do you have a pavement licence for the seating area?
Sort that out first, because the licence decides where the barrier goes. Councils license tables, chairs and the barriers around them, and the licence shows the area you may use. BD Signs measures the barrier run from that licensed area, so it marks out exactly the space you are allowed and no more. Ordering before the licence is granted risks paying for a run that does not fit.
Which café barrier base suits your pavement?
Weighted bases if the barrier comes in at night; fixed or ground-socket bases if it stays out. Weighted bases need no drilling, which suits sites where the landlord or council will not allow fixings. Ground sockets let the posts lift out and leave little in the paving when they do. BD Signs will recommend one once we know how your seating is set out and packed away.
Should the parasols match the barriers?
If they share a pavement, yes. People walking past see the barrier, the parasols and the shop front as one picture. BD Signs prints the parasol canopy and valance in the same colours as the barrier banners, so the seating area reads as part of your brand instead of a mix of borrowed drinks logos.
How does BD Signs make café barriers & printed umbrellas?
Designed in-house, manufactured in our own factory, fitted by our own teams. 30 years in the industry.
- Step 1
Plan the run
We start from your licensed seating area: the length of each run, where the gates and end posts go, and which side faces the street. That sets the number of posts, bases and banners the job needs.
- Step 2
Artwork for both faces
Our designers set the barrier banners for both faces — the street side and the seating side — in your colour scheme, and match the parasol artwork to them. You sign off a proof before printing.
- Step 3
Print and make up
Banners are printed double-sided in our own factory and finished to tension into the frame so they stay drum-tight. Stainless or powder-coated posts, bases, ropes, clips and gates all come from one range.
- Step 4
Delivery and setting out
The system is delivered ready to assemble, or set out on site by our own teams. Next season, a longer run or a re-brand means adding posts or swapping banner skins rather than starting again.
What rules apply to café barriers on the pavement?
In England, putting tables, chairs and barriers on the public highway needs permission from the council — usually a pavement licence. The Business and Planning Act 2020 set up the current pavement licence process, which the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 made permanent, and barriers are among the items a licence can cover. Some councils also grant permission under Part 7A of the Highways Act 1980.
Government guidance asks councils to keep a clear route past outdoor seating for all users, including disabled people. It points to the Inclusive Mobility guidance, which treats 2000mm as the normal minimum footway width. It also mentions barriers that help blind and partially sighted people find the edge of a seating area, such as colour contrast and a tap rail for long cane users.
Your licence sets the area and any conditions that come with it. BD Signs builds the barrier to that licensed area; the licence itself is between you and your council.
Café Barriers we've printed
What do people ask about café barriers & printed umbrellas?
Can we re-brand without buying new barrier posts?
Yes. The posts and bases are the permanent part of a café barrier. When your colours or name change, BD Signs prints replacement banner skins to the same size, they tension into the frames you already own, and the old ones come out. A re-brand outside then costs you new banners, not a whole new barrier system.
Can we add to the barrier next season?
Yes. Ropes, clips, gates and end posts all come off the same range as the original posts, so an extra run matches the first one instead of looking bolted on. Before you extend, check the licensed area — more seating on the pavement may need a change to your pavement licence before the new run goes out.
What should go on each side of a café barrier banner?
Your name on the street side, and something worth ordering on the seating side. The outside face is read by people walking past, so it carries the brand. The inside face is read by customers already sitting down and deciding what to have next — a good place for desserts, drinks or a side. BD Signs prints both faces, so neither one goes to waste.
The rest of the range
“Used BD Signs Design and Print services to design a new logo for my company and to design and print some large labels to use on my jobs. Professional service from start to finish. Highly recommended.”
“Excellent service as always. Friendly staff. Highly recommend.”
Need café barriers?
Send us the sizes, the quantity and your artwork — or just your logo and what it needs to say. We will proof it, print it and get it to you.
Or email info@bdsigns.co.uk — we answer everything the same working day.