Product Information | Wide Format Printing
Wide format printing is produced using large format flatbed or roll-to-roll printers. This allows for printing onto a huge range of substrates and sizes.
As wide format presses print at a slightly lower dpi (dots per inch) than traditional offset or digital presses, wide format printing is designed to accommodate extremely large sized print jobs at the expense of a higher print resolution.
This makes wide format printing ideally suited to outdoor applications, products that will be viewed from a distance and products that do not contain small text or QR codes.
Products
Wide Format printing is used for the following products. Please take this into consideration if your artwork contains 8pt or less text, QR codes/ barcodes or needs to be viewed up close.
Outdoor Vinyl Stickers
Our Outdoor Vinyl Stickers are printed on hardy white gloss vinyl with permanent adhesive. This makes them ideal for outdoor use as they are UV Rated 12-24 months.
Rigid Boards & Corflutes
Our Rigid Boards and Corflute’s can be trimmed to just about any size or shape that you require and are UV Rated for 12-24 months. Corflute is specifically designed to be water resistant, UV stable, scratch resistant, fade resistant and able to withstand harsh outdoor hot and cold environments.
Banners & Signs
Printed on tear & moisture resistant substrates which are UV rated for 12-24 Months.
Wide Format Printed Posters
Short run posters which can be printed on your choice of tear & moisture resistant synthetic, satin artpaper or canvas.
Pros & Cons of Wide Format Printing
Pros:
- Available on a wide variety of substrates
Vinyl Banners, Vinyl Adhesives, Corflute, Forex Foamed PVC, Fome-Cor, Smooth Polyester, PVC and much more. - Huge range of sizes
From small stickers through to enormous outdoor signs. - Durability/ Water Resistance
Hard Wearing, long lasting and more durable than traditional offset or digital printing. - UV Stability
Most wide format printed products are UV stable for at least 12-24 months. - Suitable for Outdoor Use
Vinyl Stickers, Outdoor Banners, Boards and Signs are perfectly suited to outdoor environments.
Cons:
- Lower dpi compared to offset/ digital printing
This can make solid ink coverage appear grainy when viewed up close. - Not suitable for small text
Wide format printing can lose the sharpness of small text. Therefore we don’t recommend using lightweight fonts or text less than 8pt. - Not suitable QR codes or barcodes
Due to the lower print resolution, QR codes and barcodes may not be scannable.
Artwork Set Up
When preparing artwork for Wide Format printing, please keep in mind the following recommendations:
- Solid/ light colours
Please be aware that solid or light colours may appear grainy when viewed up close. - Small sized text
We do not recommend small sized text less than 8pt as it may break-up. - Fine and lightweight fonts
We do not recommend fine or lightweight fonts as they may break-up.. - Barcodes & QR Codes
We do not recommend printing barcodes or QR codes as they may not scan.
Printed Examples
Please refer to the following close-up examples of Wide Format Printing. These examples are shown extremely close up to highlight the print quality and resolution of Wide Format Printing. Please note, the Wide Format printing effect is significantly less pronounced when viewed at a normal distance.
(Click to enlarge)
If you would like to see Wide Format printed samples, please click here, fill out the online form, making sure you specifically request Wide Format samples and our team will post you a sample pack so you can evaluate the print quality.
If you still have questions, or cannot find what you are looking for in the resources provided above, please contact us by clicking here and one of our team will get back to you promptly.