Choosing a large format printing company is more important than you may have realised when it comes to ensuring your project or event goes smoothly and your end visual result looks great. There are lots of things to think about when it comes to getting your decision right, so it’s essential that you find the printer that best suits your needs.  

What is Large Format Print Used For?

Typically, large or wide-format printing is used to produce large graphics in branding, marketing and advertising in settings where standard-sized graphics would not work such as retail, sports events and hospitality. This increased scale and the bigger resolution involved makes it important to focus on choosing a printing company specialising in large or wide format print. They will have the necessary cutting and printing equipment to produce graphics on this scale without compromising on quality or image resolution.  

Why Choose A Large Format Print Company?

Large format printing involves specialist equipment and far bigger printers than regular commercial units so if you require larger graphics and signage, you will require a specialist printing company. Generally speaking, large format print companies are deemed to be those producing items from 2.5m – 5m wide, in situations where big visual displays are required.

Large format printing is across many sectors and industries, often being used to create hoarding signage or other construction signage on building sites, vinyl wraps for fleet vehicles and retail signage and window displays amongst others. In shops and stores, wide-format printing works especially well in larger, high street-type settings. These graphics also work well in the hospitality sector such as in sports stadiums, hotels and restaurants.  

For big sporting occasions, wide-format printing can be used to create signage across a whole event, including for sponsorship boards, maximising exposure.  

These kinds of graphics are intended to be seen by large numbers of people, including from a distance and often on television too, and they are a particularly good tool for brand implementation, especially for bigger brands. 

Large format graphics can be produced in many different materials, from acrylic to vinyl to large three-dimensional tension fabric systems (TFS) which are a great branding tool and graphic solution for sports signage, or exhibitions, major conferences and similar large events.  

What To Consider When Choosing a Large Format Printing Service

Clearly, the company you use must be able to meet your particular needs and produce large format graphics in the size and materials you want. Equally, if your project includes custom shapes and three-dimensional signage, it may also be important that your large format printing company offers digital cutting as necessary.  

Here are some of the things to take into account when making your choice, and the questions you’ll probably want to ask:  

#1 How wide can they print?  

This one may sound obvious, but it’s genuinely the first question you should ask when choosing a large format printing company. Typically, they should be able to produce signage and other graphics up to 5m wide.  

#2 Which industries do the large format printing company operate in?  

Discuss whether the organisation you’re considering hiring for your wide format print job has worked at similar events to yours, or in the same or a similar industry. That provides the reassurance that they appreciate the unique pressures you face.  

It’s also worth finding out whether they work with similar sizes and types of brands, and that the company is a good fit in terms of price and past experience.  

#3 Do they install wide-format graphics as well as producing them?  

Some companies produce wide-format print products without offering a graphic installation service. If that’s the case, you will need to think about how the large format print work is going to be fitted.  

#4 Which materials do they work with?  

As mentioned earlier, wide-format printing is a broad discipline encompassing a variety of materials from vinyl signage to TFS solutions for the more specialised installs. Especially if you have a particular design in mind involving a particular material type, discuss whether the printing company has experience in working with it.  

#5 Will their quality be up to the standards you require?  

As a customer, you clearly have the right to have your wide-format printing done to a high standard, and poor-quality printing can have a serious negative impact on your event or brand. Unfortunately, as with anything else, quality among providers of wide-format print and super-wide format print varies.  

So when choosing a large format printer, look for a quality website with photos of past projects. Clearly, it’s even better if you can actually see the graphics yourself. Look for testimonials from similar jobs to yours and, if you can, speak directly to someone who has previously used the service.  

#6 Do they have the necessary specialist equipment?  

Large format printing needs specialist, high-spec and ideally, cutting-edge equipment so check that your potential wide-format printing service has access to all the necessary equipment on-site and that they won’t need to hire or buy anything in.  

#7 Does the service print and produce their own work in-house? 

Some wide-format print firms outsource jobs, either because they don’t have the right kit or because they have too much other work. But this can cause problems, for example with quality control.  

Check when choosing a large format printing company that your firm can genuinely take on the work itself, and won’t need to outsource.  

Talk to Rocket Graphics About Wide Format Printing Services

Here at Rocket Graphics, we have particular expertise in large format printing services. We’ve been in the industry for more than 35 years, operating from our base just outside of London in Watford. Covering the whole of the UK and beyond, we’ve worked with prestigious brands across numerous sectors, from high-profile sporting events like the Rugby World and Ryder Cups to flagship High Street retail stores, and corporate headquarters with household names like Visa.  

Unlike some other wide-format printing providers, we invest extensively in our staff and printing equipment to be able to print, produce and install graphics of a superb quality up to 5m wide and we do everything ourselves in-house.  

So if you’re looking a choosing a large format printer, talk to us before you talk to anyone else.