Large format solvent printing
If you are a representative of a large, medium, or small business, you pay great attention to the image of your company or want to present yourself or your brand to potential customers for the first time, then you will in any case have to turn your attention to the modern possibilities of large format printing.
Large-format printing today is not applying or coloring your information to a medium of unknown quality, but a high-tech production process.
Modern equipment for digital solvent printing on advertising media (banner, self-adhesive film, vinyl mesh, paper, PVC, etc.) provides high-quality large-format printing with a resolution of 180 to 1440 dpi and a print speed of more than 210 sq.m. at one o’clock.
According to the type of ink, digital large format printing can be divided into two main types – water and solvent.
So what is large format printing used for today:
- advertising design of points of sale, shop windows, exhibitions (interior advertising);
- advertising design of building facades (lightboxes, firewalls, signboards),
- advertising design of corporate vehicles;
- advertising design of construction objects (information boards, signboards, posters, streamers, pictograms, firewalls, and banners)
- advertising design of sports and cultural events (posters, streamers, firewalls, signs, signage and navigation systems, and much more)
The listed options for the use of large-format printing do not end there and are so wide that it is impossible to list them all. Interestingly, large-format printing has found its application even at home.
Printing on banner fabric
The most demanded and mass type of products are made by means of large-format printing in the manufacture of banner extensions and posters.
“What is a banner?” – you ask, a banner is a mostly white material, which is a vinyl fabric produced using casting or pressing (lamination) technology. Based on the banner manufacturing technology, there are differences in the scope of their application.
A cast banner is considered to be stronger, more durable, and more resilient due to its monolithic structure and high tensile strength. The laminated banner does not have such elasticity.
To ensure saturation and naturalness of color reproduction, banner fabric manufacturers strive to achieve optimal whiteness. The surface of the banner can be either matte or glossy.
It is convenient to use a cast banner for large-format printing of various banners, firewalls, and advertising banners used in outdoor conditions where it is subject to wind and other loads. The laminated banner is cheaper due to the production technology.
Large-format printing of signs for exhibitions, shop interiors, industrial premises, and also can be used for banners, firewalls, and advertising banners used in outdoor conditions, but not for a long time, like the cast.
The service life of a banner with large format printing is 1 – 3 years.
Printing on vinyl mesh
Vinyl mesh is a material very similar in structure to the banner fabric material. Vinyl mesh for large format printing consists of a reinforced polyester thread.
The main purpose of the mesh is to mask the facades of reconstructed and repaired buildings. Vinyl mesh is a material with very high dimensional stability and weather resistance.
The images printed by the method on the mesh are less bright and saturated compared to the banner fabric, but due to its cellular structure, the mesh experiences fewer wind loads, which allows it to be used in large sizes.
The grid is indispensable for repair and construction work when it is necessary to close the construction (repair) process from prying eyes and at the same time advertise a certain product, service, or company.
Printing on paper
Moving along the roads or highways of megacities and beyond, it is impossible not to notice that the main advertising media are free-standing advertising structures of various sizes (3×6, 5×15, 3×18, 6×18, etc.), otherwise called billboards.
For boards 3x6m in size. there is a name – “City-format”. It is the 3×6 m billboards that are the most common, it is the 3×6 billboards that the advertising companies of large brands rely on.
As we understand there are a lot of billboards, and information changes very often (usually once a month), which means that for the production of posters for these billboards, you need to use inexpensive material that meets technical requirements.
Typically, a vinyl banner and paper are used to make posters. In the case of long-term placement and small runs – vinyl. The main advantage of paper in comparison with a banner is the price, the banner’s durability, and the possibility of re-assembly and dismantling.
For large format printing, we use poster paper and Blue Back (with a blue backing).
Printing on self-adhesive film
The ability to print on self-adhesive film has ensured the development of the outdoor and indoor advertising market for many years to come.
Advertising materials printed on self-adhesive film have found their application in the interior design of sales offices, shop windows, advertising on vehicles, in the manufacture of pavement signs, signs, signs, posters, stickers, pictograms, and just stickers.
Depending on the place of operation, self-adhesive films have a service life of 0.3 to 15 years.