5 WIDE-FORMAT PRINTING FAILS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

FEBRUARY 26, 2019| SpeedPro Cleveland West

When using an unproven or low-quality wide-format print provider, you ultimately put your own business’s reputation at risk. When mistakes are made with your signage and seen by hundreds, thousands or even millions of consumers, you’re forced to do damage control. Fixing those mistake will also cost you time and money.

Here are some of the most common printing errors that could have been avoided by using a proven and reputable wide-format printing partner, along with some tips to help you avoid these situations:

1. Bad Readability

Picking the right font is imperative for creating an attractive wide-format graphic design. But, while some fonts are unique and stand out on paper, they could cause readability issues when the size is increased several times. When your message is hard to read, the whole point of printing it large becomes moot. Your potential customers will likely be irritated and move along. And, while a bold font typically stands out on documents and smaller size collateral, it can make your wide-format material look crowded. On the other hand, messages in thin fonts can get obscured by the background.

Selecting the appropriate fonts will require some playing around with those that match your brand standards. Try printing messages or parts of messages in large size, stand back several feet and determine how easy it is to read.

 2. Too Much Text

As a business owner, you have a lot to tell your customers about why they should work with you. It’s tempting to fit as much messaging as possible on your trade show backdrop, vehicle wraps, banners and other wide-format graphics. But, too text much can also become a readability problem. Peoples’ attention spans are short, and they don’t want to spend a lot of time deciding which printer to use for producing their large-format signs.

It’s best to keep messaging simple, direct and clear.

3. Spelling Errors and Bad Grammar

Nothing can cause doubt in a consumer’s mind like misspelled words and grammar mistakes. These errors are another readability issue, but some that make businesses look careless and amateurish.

There’s an easy way to prevent these mistakes from occurring: Review your text and have another person proof it as well.

4. Low-Image Quality

Blowing up an image that appears clear and crisp as a 3 in. by 5 in. picture on your computer screen to a pixelated, non-distinguishable mess of colors on an 8 ft. by 10 ft. backdrop is a common mistake. This usually happens because of low image resolution that’s hard to detect just by eye-balling a small image.

The simplest solution is to use high resolution images taken by a professional photographer, which will yield better results. To increase the likelihood that your art will be printed crisp and clear, convert your image to a vector file. Typically, vector images can be enlarged to any size without distortion.

 5. Poor design

Because wide-format signage are created to be seen by large numbers of people from varying distances, your design must be distinguishable. If someone attending a trade show can’t make out your sign, or motorists driving by a window graphic is confused by your design or can’t read the text, you’ve failed at capturing and holding their attention. They will not take the next steps to learn about your business.

Poor designs can also be seen on vehicle wraps, and if they cover a whole fleet, you’ve got a costly fix on your hands.

Consider creating mockups and viewing from different distances – two feet, 10 feet, 15 feet and so on. Take note of what stands out and what gets lost, and make changes until the impact is the same at all distances.

The Simplest Prevention of All

Using a reputable printing service with an excellent track record of success can put all your concerns about wide-format fails to rest. The quality and professionalism of your printing and graphics vendor has a significant impact on your return on investment.

SpeedPro Cleveland West  has its clients’ interest at heart on every project. We don’t think of ourselves as your vendor, we consider clients as partners and ourselves as an extension of your marketing team. We collaborate with our partners to determine the right solution to every business’s print needs.

Quality should be your printing partner’s No. 1 focus. SpeedPro’s extreme resolution levels and unparalleled color matching technology create top-quality marketing solutions for clients. Studio owners and their teams pride themselves on their creative, strategic and consistent work – and they’re personally invested in its quality.

Your printing partner should understand and relate to your needs. Most of SpeedPro studio owners come from business backgrounds, too. They’re familiar with corporate protocol and communicate seamlessly with clients and their companies. As a business-to-business printing provider, our customers rest easy, knowing their vendor stands by the highest standards of professionalism.

To learn more about how SpeedPro Cleveland West can help you create flawless wide-format displays, contact us today at info@speedproclevelandwest.com or call us at 440-617-6461.