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The Basics of Large Format Printing

The demand for large format printing services is growing. Large format printing has become extremely versatile and is now used for both retail outlet, professions, advertisers, and private, home usage.

Large format printing

What exactly is large format printing? Most people point of poster or architectural drawings but it actually encompasses much more. Large formats are prints that can be up to 16 feet wide and virtually any length. Does your project call for something larger than 16 feet wide? This I not a problem as there are procedures to simply join pieces together to seamlessly produce ventures that can exceed 16 feet.
With smaller printing jobs it used to be common that the larger the number of prints that were ordered the cheaper each item would cost, more commonly referred to as “offset printing.” However this is not true of digital printing since there is no minimum volume limitations this allows small quantities jobs to be as equally cost effective as larger quantity jobs.

Large Format Printing Basics – Concerns

Proper consideration can help the quality and durability of your design go from acceptable to outstanding. For example, you need to consider bleeds in your project, especially if it will need to be pieced together. Bleeds are an important part of a successful large format print as they are frequently made from multiple pieces that will need to be joined. These bleeds are the 3 to 5mm zones on the boundaries of the design that allow for small errors and will give the finished product fluidity with no gaps or white lines showing through. Another consideration that technical support can help you with is the images themselves that you have chosen. You should not rely on images that were copied or found on the internet. Although this can successfully be printed on a small scale on a home printer it does not work well in a large format. Pictures such as those found on the internet expanded to 10 feet wide will look blurry, unsatisfactory, and unprofessional. Depending on the size of your project technical support can help you decide which resolution will make your project look its best. Generally a resolution of at least 300DPI (dots per inch) will generate a high quality reproduction, avoiding your finished item from looking grainy.

Many types of materials can be utilized in large format printing now. What type of substrate you utilize will rely on the application you want the project to be utilized for and the toughness it should take. For example, a poster in the building will not have to be secured from the components but a billboard outside will likely have to be laminated ( covered with a plastic material sealer) to keep it searching fresh. Other styles of materials used are obvious plastics with adhesives for flooring, and windows, vinyl, canvas even. The possibilities are almost small and endless only by creativity.

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