Redditch Print

{Redditch Print}{Bordesley Hall,The Holloway}{Alvechurch}{B48 7QA}{Birmingham}{United Kingdom}{(01527) 63750}
Bordesley Hall,The Holloway B48 7QA Alvechurch, Birmingham
Phone: (01527) 63750

Large Format Print – A Guide

Large Format Print

Written by Aaron Howes | 15th July 2020

If you’re planning on putting on an event, exhibiting at a show, or even just need some signage to stand out from the crowd, the chances are you are going to need to produce some business materials in large format. Whether it’s a full blown exhibition stand, a set of PVC banners or pull up banners, or some durable signage, being able to produce print ready designs in a large format can be a difficult ask without the appropriate design experience.

Producing designs in large format is a little more difficult than the run of the mill print design work, and it is always helpful to have people at hand to assist in keeping the quality up, and the file sizes down! Redditch Print can help you to produce designs that are ready to go from the offset without the difficult back and forth often associated with large format printing. We have been helping businesses with their large format print requirements for years and pride ourselves on our ability to take away the stress often associated with it.

For those brave enough to attempt it themselves we have produced this handy guide to help you to avoid some of the common pitfalls associated with large format print design.

Vectors Vectors Vectors

We know what you’re thinking… what’s a vector? Don’t worry, we have a definition for you. Now bear with us, because it can get a little complex.

Vector graphics use geometric instructions rather than pixels like a normal image would. With no pixels to think about, your design can be printed at any size without increasing the file size or losing any quality. Think of it like this – a circle is always a circle, no matter how big it is. A circle as big as a house will contain the same amount of geometric information as a circle as big as a penny. Vectors work like this, meaning they’re infinitely scalable and therefore perfect for large format printing because the file sizes remain very small.

Now imagine that your penny-sized circle is made up of pixels – lots of tiny little squares like when you used to stand too close to the TV as a child. If we scale up that circle the pixels will get bigger too, and your circle will start to look like a load of big squares. The only way to make the circle look like a circle again is to increase the number of squares it is made up of. This is referred to as resolution. The higher the resolution, the more pixels there are. The downside with this is that pixels require memory, meaning that large format images in a high enough resolution are often backed up by a massive file size.

Using vector graphics means that designers can work at a smaller size to begin with and can then easily scale up a design when the time comes to print. The use of vectors also aids consistency, and items used on small things like business cards and flyers can easily be scaled up for use on banners and exhibition stands.

Near and Far

Contrast is something that is often overlooked when producing large format designs and too much time is spent on minute details. The majority of large format print will be seen from afar, often across a busy exhibition hall, or perhaps from the other side of the street. It is therefore vital that a design has a high impact from distance, to coax the viewer to come closer and find out more. Once you have attracted the attention of a viewer you can focus on the smaller items such as leaflets and brochures that provide a little more insight into what you are trying to sell and really drive that message home.

Don’t Forget the Basics

Just because you are producing something at a bigger size doesn’t mean that the basics like bleed or using the correct colour space should be ignored. Large format print still has to go through the same printing processes as smaller items like leaflets and flyers, just on a larger scale. Creating a design without bleed can result in unwanted borders around images so don’t forget the usual stuff.

Let Redditch Print Help

Redditch Print can help you with all forms of large format printing, from banners, exhibition stands and signage, through to flags, pull up banners and more.Whatever your display requirements, we can accommodate with great quality solutions. Get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help you realise your large format print projects for less.