FractalChars[rasterSize_,font_,char_String/;1==StringLength[char]]:=
  ReplaceAll[ImageData[ImageCrop[Binarize[Rasterize[Style[char,FontFamily->font],RasterSize->rasterSize]]]],{1->" ",0->char}];
FractalChars[rasterSize_,font_,word_String]:=FractalChars[rasterSize,font,#]&/@Characters[word];

(*And here's the convenience function that ultimately calls DataGrid.*)
BannerGrid[finalSpacings_,finalBorderWidths_,finalOptions_,charGridder_Function,rasterSize_,text_String]:=
With[
  {charData=FractalChars[rasterSize,"Courier",text]},
  DataGrid[{1,StringLength@text},finalSpacings,finalBorderWidths,finalOptions,charGridder/@List/@charData]];

(*An example banner.*)
BannerGrid[{0,5},{{1,1},{0,0}},<|"border"->"X"|>,DataGrid[{1,1},{0,0},{{1,1},{0,0}},<||>,#]&,20,"1969"]//AsString