There’s rarely a time when technology has ever stood still. Take printers, for instance. These devices have evolved to meet a wide variety of office workflow needs. For example, the wide format printer is the go-to machine for creating printed materials in large formats for design, marketing and advertising firms.
Businesses in other industries are also taking advantage of the features and benefits that wide format printers offer. Discover what makes a wide format printer work and how owning or leasing one can benefit your business.
What Is a Wide Format Printer?
Most businesses are used to seeing the typical multifunction printer, whether it’s a compact model placed on a desk or a standard-sized floor unit. But a wide format printer is quite different from its multifunction printer brethren despite sharing some crucial components.
Unlike your average multifunction printer, a wide format printer can produce printed materials that are much larger than a multifunction device’s maximum size of 11 x 17 inches. Instead, wide format printers can produce documents from 12 inches to over 100 inches in width, with lengths being as long as needed for the print job. That means users can print banners, maps, and a wide variety of other documents that are too wide and too long for your average multifunction printer to handle.
Wide format printers don’t use sheets of paper as you’d see with a multifunction printer. Instead, a wide format printer feeds from a large roll of paper. This means they can churn out printed materials in almost unlimited lengths. These printers aren’t just limited to paper, however. Fabrics, vinyl, and plastics are just some of the numerous material types that wide format printers can easily handle.
Most wide format printers rely on inkjet technology, but it’s not quite the same as the tech you’d find in a multifunction printer. The ink is typically higher quality. Still, wide format printers tend to use more colors to give their images a higher level of clarity and quality. There are some laser-based wide format printers out there, but most people prefer inkjets for the image quality they deliver.
Wide format printers shouldn’t be confused with wide format plotters, although the two appear similar at first glance. For starters, wide format plotters typically used actual pens instead of inkjets. Plotters also render drawings in a vector file format for enhanced visual clarity and precision, whereas printers typically use raster or bitmap to create their images.
How Your Business Can Thrive with An In-House Wide Format Printer
Having a wide format printer for your business opens the door to a vast amount of creativity and versatility. In many cases, you can create almost any type of printed material you need regardless of size or even material type. But more importantly, having your own wide format printer means you won’t have to outsource any of your printing projects to an external print shop, which saves you money and time.
If you’re still wondering how your business can benefit with its own wide format printer, here are a few examples of other industries that regularly put them to good use:
- Retail stores use wide format printers to create the vinyl wall and floor decals to advertise sales and direct floor traffic. Stores also use these printers to create sales banners and other graphics to lure shoppers to the latest deals.
- Photography firms rely on wide format printers to create high-quality, large-scale prints, including those printed on canvas.
- Construction companies and architectural firms regularly print detailed blueprints, layouts, and GIS maps using wide format printers.
- Companies advertising at trade shows depend on wide format printers to create eye-catching pop-up displays, wall graphics, and various other materials.
- Movie studios also use wide format printers to create scene backdrops for filming, posters and other promotional materials.
- Outdoor advertising firms also rely on wide format printers to print large materials for billboards and other outdoor displays.
- School districts and others in the educational field also print banners, flyers, and other promotional and educational materials using wide format printers.
Is it Right for Your Business?
Right about now, you’re probably wondering if your business can take advantage of a wide format printer, especially given all of the benefits mentioned earlier. Of course, that depends heavily on your business needs.
Think about your print workflow, for starters. The more you need larger printed materials, the more a wide format printer makes sense to purchase. If you regularly send your large format print jobs out to the local print shop, you’ll likely benefit from having your own wide format printer.
Cost is also an important consideration when it comes to adding a wide format printer to your office device fleet. A typical device can cost significantly more than an average multifunction printer, plus it may also cost more to operate and maintain. Nevertheless, you can recoup these costs and get a return on investment with increased usage.
There’s also the size of the wide format printer to consider. Remember, these are not compact devices by any means. If you plan to include one in your office, consider how much floor space you’d want to devote to it and how that used space may affect foot traffic.
Your employees may also need to become more familiar with how to operate a wide format printer, as opposed to a typical multifunction printer. However, these and other issues can potentially be mitigated with the help of a managed print services provider.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide whether it makes sense for your business to add a wide format printer to its equipment fleet. It is essential to consider your business’s use case and the added expenses. Contact Golden Gate Office Solutions today, and one of our print specialists can guide you through the process of purchasing a wide format printer for your San Francisco Bay Area business.
