We live in a world of advertisements, highlighted by the formats that have stood the test of time – huge billboards and banners. After all, it’s one marketing method that is sure to catch the eye and make waves in branding. And it’s all due to the advancements in printing technology that have allowed us to print on increasingly larger and more durable surfaces. But how does that apply to a business? Who and why might need a large format printer? Read on to find out.
What Is a Large Format Printer?
Let’s start with some basics, such as determining what qualifies a device as a large format printer. If you have a printer at home, it’s likely a “normal size” printer, capable of printing on papers with an A4 (8.3×11.7) or legal size (8.5×14) at most.
Then, there are A3 printers (A3 is exactly twice the width of A4 paper – 16.5 by 11.7 inches). While they are much rarer than A4 printers, they are still considered “normal-sized.”
We only go into the world of large format printing when the paper (or more appropriately, print medium) sizes start reaching A2 (16.5×23.4) and above. Typically, a printer that can print something wider than 16.5 inches is considered a large format printer.
So, what can you make with one? It turns out plenty:
- Advertising banners and billboards
- Trade show booth materials
- Maps
- Architecture and engineering CAD documentation
- Display graphics for retail stores
- Posters
- Wall and floor decals
- Vehicle wraps
And the list can go on. If there’s an advertising method that uses physical prints, there’s probably a large format printer that can produce them.
Large Format Printer Types
As mentioned, the sheer scale and variety in large format printing means that there are multitudes of printer types to accommodate them. There are a few different categorizations that can help you narrow your options.
By Paint Type
The printing methods available vary in how the dye is applied to the surface medium.
- Inkjet printing: This works pretty much how “normal sized” printers do, just on a larger scale. It works by rapidly spreading droplets of ink onto the surface, which either seep or bond with the material.
- Laser printing: Laser printers use a charged drum to positively charge a surface, then pass it over a negatively charged toner so it “picks up” the pigment. The choice of using a laser printer gets progressively rarer when you venture into large-format printing.
- UV printing: When working with rigid mediums, such as metal, glass, or plastic, the pigment needs to be cured to stick, which is where UV lighting comes in.
- Solvent printing: This type of printing uses solvents specially designed to adhere to the material being printed on, typically fabric, vinyl, or paper. After curing the paint with heat, it creates a longer-lasting image.
- Dye sublimation printing: Commonly used for printing on fabric (such as apparel), this method transfers dye from one medium to the next by heating it. Effectively, this copies the design rather than printing a new one.
By Print Medium
Since a large format printer can print on either rigid surfaces or flexible materials, they come in three different versions:
- Flatbed printers: A flatbed printer is designed for a flat, rigid surface like plastic, wood, or metal.
- Roll-to-roll printer: These printers accept and pass through rolls of material, such as paper, vinyl, or fabric, to paint or cut into them.
- Hybrid printers: These printers accept both types of materials, but might ultimately be too much if you need only one particular type of print.
Printer vs. Plotter
When working with large format printers, you might come upon the term “plotter.” Both printers and plotters ultimately do the same thing—creating images or designs—but they do so slightly differently. Plotters use automated pens or markers (and in some cases, knives) that are passed over the print medium to create (or carve out) an image.
This process is generally slower than inkjet or laser printing, as the plotter heads have different movement capabilities. However, plotting is much better for vector-based images as it uses the same underlying system of motion.
Vector images use vector graphics, which use mathematical functions to describe the lines that are a part of the image. By comparison, traditional printers print in a raster format, placing ink in dots (or pixels) on a page to construct an image (similarly to how it’s displayed on a computer screen). One major advantage of vector graphics is that designing in a vector system prevents quality loss due to changing the resolution.
By pressing a pen and moving it around the medium, plotters draw straight or continuous lines much more efficiently and accurately than printers. This makes them particularly valuable for architecture and engineering studios.
Using a Wide Format Printer In-House vs. Outsourcing
Considering the variety in wide format printing, it can be difficult to determine exactly how a single device can be a valuable investment for a company. Here are a few main ways owning one can benefit your processes:
- Complete control over the process: With a large format printer in the office, you have complete control over the device and how it’s scheduled. You don’t have to place orders and wait for a third-party provider to send you the result.
- Saving time: Similarly, owning a printer means that it’s pretty much always available. Whenever you need something printed, you can just send a print job to the device via the printer software. Modern printers allow for Wi-Fi or email connectivity, making them usable even when you’re working remotely.
- Quick re-dos: If you spot a mistake in the design after it’s printed, changing it in your CAD or image software should be quick and easy, but rectifying a mistake in an order with an outsourced printer might not be.
- Minimizing risks: Whether it’s security risks due to sharing your designs outside the studio or communication issues while trying to find a reliable third-party vendor, there’s always a risk involved where an unaffiliated person is responsible for wrapping up your design.
Go Big to Succeed
Considering how much one large format printer model can differ from another and all the various specifications you need to keep in mind, it can be difficult to determine how owning one can affect your business processes. Even if you’re operating a design studio, it can be tempting to stick to designing and let someone else handle the actual printing.
However, there’s one surefire way to get help.
You can partner with a dedicated managed print service provider like Docutrend. With our experience helping companies like yours reach their full potential, we can quickly ascertain what devices and software will be your best fit moving forward. Contact Docutrend today to start running a better business.