A Guide to Large Format Printing with Bestype

Large-format printing services refer to a printing process that produces graphics on a scale too large for most commercial printers. Most commercially available flatbed printers can’t handle projects over a certain size—shops specializing in printing larger projects use state-of-the-art equipment that enables them to create sharp, clear, high-quality results. They can be used in many scenarios, from a trade show booth or exhibition display to large-scale wall decals and posters for advertising.

Projects using this printing technique mostly hang flat, on a wall, or against a window. Designers also create folding or free-standing designs, which feed through the large format printer to receive ink—then technicians assemble the objects later. Large-format printing can transfer ink to many materials and substrates, including:

• Matte Paper
• Glossy Paper
• Cardboard
• Watercolor Paper
• Lamination
• Paper Stock
• Cotton Canvas
• Artist Textured Vinyl

Technicians also know how to feed many other types of creative material through large format printers, including foam board, PVC piping, metal, canvas, fabric, and other materials. That means you can choose the specific material that’s right for your large-format design and the print wizards here at Bestype will bring your vision to life.

To make an impact on the citizens of the Big Apple, advertisers need to think even bigger. Look up and look around—you’ll see large-format advertising everywhere. New York City’s ecosystem of display advertising relies on grand format printing. Graphic designers can vary the size of large-format printed matter to match the machine’s widest output size. At Bestype, our experienced team devotes themselves to top-quality printing of New York City’s posters, banners, signs, and hoarding graphics.

The state-of-the-art equipment available in our print shop is here to create whatever large-format printing project you can dream up. When you contact us to request your quote and complimentary project consultation, you will be establishing a long-term relationship. Our technicians help you achieve your goals of getting your designs printed accurately and going after the ultimate goal: giant-sized supremacy.

Our consultation with you will detail what you want to print and how you want to print it. We’ll also show you how to dream within your budget and find ways to design your project affordably. If you’re not a designer, we’ve got you covered. We have various templates available to turn whatever you imagine into a finished large-format design. If you already have the design in mind for your project, our consultants will review a few important design principles to ensure amazing large-format printing results.

1. Perspective: How high do you want to display your object? From where will your viewers see or interact with your design?
2. Scale: We recommend scaling your image anywhere from 1/4 to 1/6th of its size while working with it on your computer, but how large would you like us to reproduce your graphic?
3. Unique materials: What materials would you like to use to print your graphic? Our technicians can offer similar alternatives in the rare event that our technology isn’t compatible with the exact type of fabric or substrate you want to use in your project.
4. Color check: We will double-check with you that the colors you’ve chosen for your large-format printing project match as closely as possible with the design that appears on your monitor. We recommend selecting Pantone colors when you’re designing your project to achieve exact, color-calibrated results. Be aware of how your colors and materials look in sunlight, office light, and dim light, and how they’re perceived by anyone viewing video or film versus what appears on your monitor.
5. Fun with Fonts: Not every font face plays well with large-type printing. Serif fonts with delicate or fancy features may appear blurred when they’re blown up for wide-format projects. Viewers may not be able to scan the letter shapes or discern words from a distance—kerning and alignment matter deeply to the success of your design.
6. App Choices: Many designers have a preference for working in either Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. In our opinion, Illustrator is more compatible with large-format printing because it creates your images using vector graphics—we can scale these images and preserve their resolution.
7. Saving Your File: You can upload your file to us as either an EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) or AI (Adobe Illustrator) file. Because these formats are vector files, we can work with you to scale them without pixelation and possible distortion of your image. You can send us a hybrid combination of your files, with your background saved as a bitmap image (GIF or JPG) created in any design application, and your more sophisticated images as EPS or AI vector formats.

At Bestype, we can accommodate a broad range of printing projects and offer a lot of large-format printing solutions. Whether it’s something as simple as custom wrapping paper, posters, banners, or hoarding graphics and vinyl wraps, we can accommodate your needs. In general, wide-format printing uses media anywhere from 18 to 100 inches wide. Thanks to digital printing advances, printers churn out projects with optimal clarity and vibrant colors. A stunning graphic design or custom artwork can be printed relatively quickly.

Bestype’s large format printing experts are right in the heart of SoHo at our retail location. We’re a short hop by subway, bus, or cab from anywhere in New York City. Our conveniently located print shop is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our technicians are available to guide you and offer large-format printing assistance when you need it. Of course, you’re always invited to visit us in our SoHo print shop! We would love to show you how we use large format printers to create all kinds of signs, banners, and other oversize items. You’ll see firsthand the speed with which we can turn projects around.