A large banner on a tall building that reads Sharing Chicago Stories

What is Large Format Printing?

While small format printing is what people interact with on an everyday basis (magazines, books, cereal boxes), large format printing refers to printed materials that might be measured in feet as opposed to inches. Also known as wide format, large format printing requires equipment that is specialized for material sizes that will end up as blueprints, building wraps, store displays, wall panels at trade shows, oversized posters, big maps, banners, billboards, and other large printed projects.

Large format printing is ideal for catching the eye of customers in urban landscapes where marketing is visible around every corner. With large format printing, you can present a lot of detail over a sizable area with attention-grabbing graphic design. Despite the massive size available for your marketing, SpeedPro is able to capture your graphics with high resolutions: Our printers can print up to 1440 x 1440 dpi, with standard print resolution of 720 x 720.

Very specialized and costly equipment is required to produce large format printing projects. SpeedPro digital output is up to 6′ wide by 300′ long roll-fed and 5′ wide by 18′ long flatbed. Output can be tiled to produce full-color images of any size. This capability means that your options drastically increase when you consider large format printing for your project.

Screen printing was once preferable for quality, but the current technology involved in large format printing equipment has evened the playing field. The efficiency in production available through the use of machines has brought the cost down, as well, and now many people prefer large format printing over screen printing as in many cases it costs less. Combined with scale and quicker turnaround, large format printing is very cost-effective.

Due to the many possibilities of size, large format projects are often some of the best ways to promote services and products to potential customers at your storefront or out at events. Festivals, trade shows, and other large spaces are perfect opportunities to display eye-catching large advertisements.

You might even consider large format printing as a way to boost your own branding both in your neighborhood and inside the very spaces of your company. You could offer sponsored building wraps or sports banners to local charities or schools, or even have special customer wallpaper printed that can feature anything you like for inside the halls of your company’s offices.

There is almost no end to the kind of projects you can undertake with large format printing. Price will be affected by your chosen medium (what you actually print on) and the final size you want to go with. Here is a small list of projects you could take on with large format printing. It’s not exhaustive by any means, as you might be able to think of other different ways to present your marketing:

Outdoor signage
Point-of-purchase displays
Window Clings
Blueprints
Large maps or charts
Trade show wall panels
Business presentations
Posters
Color comps
Vinyl banners
Backlit Displays
Courtroom exhibits

St. Pete Innovation District retractable banners

What is Included in Large Format Printing?

One of the most exciting advantages of large format printing is the wide array of various media that can be used. Media are the types of material that you can choose to print on. With SpeedPro, your many choices allow you to tailor the appearance, texture, and visual appeal of your project to the location and expected audience and help create truly stand-out marketing.

SpeedPro media include:

Calendered Vinyl
Cast Vinyl
Translucent (for backlit signage)
Reflective (for nighttime viewing and safety)
Mirror Finish (for a metallic look)
Etched Frosted
Banner
Specialty Media
Photo Paper
Artist Canvas
Perforated Window Film
Static Cling
Street & Wall Graphics

Large format printers exist in a few differing versions, with each type offering advantages in certain uses:

Aqueous printers: Using a water-based ink, these printers make high-resolution graphics and operate quickly. While being less expensive machinery than the other printer types, the media that they print on requires an additional coating for the ink to adhere.

Solvent printers: Using a more durable solvent-based ink, these produce projects that are better for outdoor use. This ink is also more naturally adherent to surfaces and can be applied more readily to various media.

UV printers: With resin and latex-based inks, these printers can be utilized with the widest range of media. The inks used here are equally as durable as solvent inks if not more so.

At SpeedPro, we use UV-curable and eco-solvent inks to print your projects, allowing us to craft the most durable prints possible across the widest variety of media for your large format printing needs.

In addition to the medium and ink used for your large format printing project, you are also able to apply lamination to further protect your graphics and choose various substrate materials to enhance your project’s structure depending on the intended use.

SpeedPro Cincinnati North

Downtown Cincinnati has the energy you find throughout this Midwest city known for Skyline Chili and the Reds baseball team. In addition to showing their devotion to local food and athletes, Cincinnati residents like supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs. Many industries have become competitive, and you need a way to make your company stand apart from the rest.

We Offer Large-Format Printing in Cincinnati

People may not notice a radio or TV ad that plays incessantly in the background. But they’re bound to pay attention when a fleet of delivery vans with full, partial or decal vehicle wraps zip throughout Cincinnati. You probably wonder what company sponsored the neat stunt and what they do. You may find yourself Googling the business when you get home. This is the impact of large-format printing and marketing.