The low-down on the high-up world of large printed building banners
One of the first encounters many people in the UK will have had with…
28/04/2024
Go big or go home is the order of the day for large format signage – whether indoor or outdoor, for advertising or decoration, if you’ve the space and the idea, we have everything else you need to start making a big impact.
Requiring specialised machinery, large format signage and printing uses a range of tools and techniques to turn your digital artwork and design into eye-catching focal points that can serve to advertise your brand, draw visitors to an exhibition stand, promote sales and events, and much more besides.
Typically, digital print sizes included in the ‘large format’ bracket will range from A2 width (420mm) all the way up to more than three metres, and covers any length. Obviously, this is a pretty broad definition of large, meaning you’ll need to make sure you’re dealing with a printer that has the required equipment to print at a scale that meets your needs.
The same is true for signage – though some three dimensional signage, monoliths and totems etc. can be very bespoke one-offs, you’ll still need to double check the companies you’re considering have the required experience and equipment for your project.
While we’ve performed custom jobs for some of the nation’s best loved brands, we’ve developed a particular expertise in the following forms of large format signage and printing.
Since its founding, Lavastar has developed extensive experience in printing high quality digital designs onto vinyl for use indoors and outside for a host of promotional and wayfinding requirements.
Whether you’re looking for banners, exhibition graphics, flags, showroom displays or any other novel use, we can print your digital designs onto high quality, durable fabrics – or help you realise ideas with help from in-house designers.
Your digital designs are printed onto a self-adhesive film which is then applied to a lightweight panel (two aluminium sheets sandwiching a polyethylene filling). Useful for both external and internal signage due to its durable and weatherproof nature, ACM printing, especially at larger scales is a difficult process to get right, but can produce stunning results.
All our installers carry CSCS cards
CHAS accredited
Nationwide service
5 star rating on Trust Pilot
Sign company of the year
Large format job of the year
Clean Air licensed applicator
Call: 0845 459 4525
or Email: info@lavastar.co.uk
Call: 0845 459 4525 or Email: info@lavastar.co.uk
As it covers such a large proportion of all signage and printing projects, we could discuss everything from the printing of blueprints and posters all the way up to building wraps, but rather than outline the whole of the entire printing industry, we thought we’d break it into ‘types of use’ rather than individual types of print.
In an increasingly digital world, trade shows and exhibitions represent a rare chance for many businesses, especially in B2B and wholesale sectors, to meet their customers face-to-face, and it’s a chance that brands obviously want to make the most of. That’s where large format digital printing excels.
According to research from market research platform Gitnux, 82% of trade show attendees possess final purchase sign-off, and 49% of attendees travel to shows with purchase intent. That makes your exhibition stand a hugely important marketing asset – and, whether it’s the stand itself or signage directing footfall or capturing attention, you’ll want to make sure you’re working with a partner you trust to achieve the best results.
In retail, every inch of space is an opportunity, and while you don’t want to overwhelm visitors to your store, you do want to capture and retain their attention – whether they’re passing your premises or need to be made aware of a new product or promotion. Large format printing for this purpose can help to set the tone of an environment, convert browsers into buyers and, perhaps most importantly, passers-by into customers.
For a long time, it was common to see large renovation and building projects use debris netting and plain panels for dust mitigation and weather proofing. Over the last few decades, however, high concept large format printed designs have added a decorative flourish to a functional requirement. Such large scale printed designs have reduced negative sentiment surrounding building works and can serve as a way to preserve or enhance the appearance of a building during renovation – all while advertising the construction company undertaking the work.
FAQs
Gradient banding is typically a translation problem between digital design platforms and physical printing methods (from issues with rendering pantone or hex colours in CMYK to physical limitations of printer heads and incorrect design tool selection), but they can be overcome with expert advice, which our team of experienced designers can provide.
Providing you’re using an appropriate design tool (Adobe Illustrator or similar professional quality tools), designing at a scale of around 25% should be sufficient provided you make sure a quality of at least 100 dpi (dots per inch). While smaller prints are often done at 300 dpi and above, large scale prints will still appear crisp at 100 dpi. Beyond the fundamentals, however, standard design advice applies - make sure the text is readable from the distance you’d expect it to be read at; choose the right colour palette, consider the environment it will appear in and, where possible, seek expert advice before proceeding to print.
Large format printing is the collective term for a process that turns your digital artwork into eye-catching focal points to advertise your brand, draw visitors to an exhibition stand, promote sales and events, and much more besides, typically between 420mm to more than 3000mm.
Our large format printing services include options for vinyl printing, fabric printing and aluminium composite panel (ACM) printing.
We are happy to receive files by any secure file transfer platform or, where file size is not a hindrance, by email. We will always make sure that we discuss secure file transfer with you during the onboarding process.
We have an in-house team of expert product and graphic designers, and offer professional design services at no extra cost. By using our complete service, you can save your company money and make sure your job runs smoothly, with everything handled under the same roof.
You can find our reviews over at TrustPilot. However, it’s tough to convince people to take the time to leave a review, so if they matter to you, don’t forget to leave us one when the job is done!
Who We Work For & What They Say
On many occasions Lavastar over delivered on quality of the work, creativity on our design and the delivery times were always on time or before. I would highly recommend Lavastar to other corporate clients.
The print has always been to high standard and we have used many suppliers in the past who have always managed to get it wrong and its great to have so much trust in Lavastar to get it spot on.
Lavastar are passionate about what they do and experts in their field. This is evident in their approach from the initial design stage to post completion.
We don’t like to brag (we do a bit), but we’re a winner of the Large Format Job of the Year award at the British Sign Awards (as well as various other awards) and, as a family built business, we take enormous pride in the work we do and the relationships we build. That’s what has led us to becoming one of the most trusted providers of large format signage and printing in London and the UK. Thanks to our in-house team of expert designers, experienced professionals, and a solid history of successful large format design, printing, installation and maintenance, Lavastar is the ideal partner for a brand looking to make sure they get things right the first time around.
Large format signage & printing posts