What program to use to design a banner?

Hi guys! I'm trying to design my own banner for festivals and such, but I don't know what program to use. I have Adobe Lightroom, Gimp and Inkscape. Don't know if any of those will work... And i'm not sure what size it needs to be so that the quality of the banner looks good when printed? Please help!
Thanks!

Ooooh I"m studying graphic design at the moment and thought I could help, but I am only 'just' up to the printing processes subject DOH!! Sorry - AND i haven't used lightroom before, or the others, but am finding a whole new world in the land of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign - so I will be watching this thread closely to see the answer also! Good luck Taly

I made one in Mircosoft Publisher. It was easy. Just typed in what I wanted and chose 6 feet as the size. That's how wide my canopy is.

If you use Vista for your banners, they have the mb sizes required for the best results. My son used the 30 day free trial on photoshop and created mine. Just had it printed up Thursday. Watch for sizing issues. Height and length. 2 feet doesn't always work for a four foot sign. I wanted 18 inches tall, but my sign was made for 24. Couldn't squish it . Settled for 20. Also pixels and file size. Have fun. Let us know how it turns out. Vista is really helpful.

Vistaprint has a groupon available right now! I found it under philadelphia, paid $17 for a $70 gift card!!! They have a program you can create your banner using their background or you can upload your own logo.

I agree...VISTAPRINT! I paid only $20. for mine. They come in different sizes. Don't forget to get the adhesive hangers. I did and had to pay another shipping fee to get $3.99 hangers! You can design from their art or from your own pics for a little more $$.

Vistaprint! Their banners are super cheap, especially if you wait for a sale or use one of the 10% off codes they sometimes have in commercials. They have very customizable templates or you can upload your own stuff. Even if you don't pay for the fast shipping, you usually get everything within a week or two. And yes, the hangers are a life-saver!

Hey guys thanks for the advice! Here is what I designed. Let me know what you think before I order it? Btw if anyone needs a banner, on Labor day its FREE! Just pay for upload and shipping.