What Is Large Format Printing?

You may not realize it, but you’ve been encountering and are constantly surrounded by large format printing. Going to your local convenience store to shop where they’re promoting a weekend sale? The poster they have on their window is large format printing.

Walking downtown and admiring a cool graphic ad wrapped around a building? Also large format printing. Attending an event and seeing welcome signs, banners, and standing tarpaulins to guide guests throughout the venue? Large format printing. 

There may even come a time when you would need large format printing for yourself, whether for your own private event or business. That said, it would be good to know at least the basics of the large format printing process. 

The most important thing you need to know is the types of large format printing. There are differences in the services offered, depending on what you need and the scale of this need. 

Large Format 

Anything that goes beyond the typical document size of 14 x 20 inches is considered to be large format. Meanwhile, if the material is printed on sheets using inkjet, the baseline large format size is at 17 x 22 inches. 

As for those in offset printing, an item is considered to be large format if the print sheets go beyond 42 inches. Depending on what the material is, a large print can go as 81 inches.

Wide Format

A wide format is reserved for prints that use an inkjet printer on rolls of materials ranging anywhere from 24 inches to 16 feet in width. The term is most commonly applied to display printers.

Super Wide Format

The super wide format is a massive print at 60 inches to 16 feet in width. You can usually see this used for printed vehicle wraps, window graphics, wallpaper printing, and more.

Factors to Consider in Choosing Large Print Format 

If you’re considering placing an order for a large format printing job, there are a few considerations that you need to factor in to ensure that you get exactly what you need.

It’s important to work closely with your printer because they are the experts at this and would understand the job requirements.  

Among these considerations are the purpose of your printed display, the location (indoor or outdoor) where it will be displayed, how long it will be used, your preferred material, the intended distance for viewing, and the manner of installation.

All of these factors will impact the final product that will be delivered to you, so make sure to clearly communicate your needs to your printer.

Categorised in: Custom Signage