Poster Printing

Poster printing is really about bringing an image to life. Once you have invested the time, money and effort to capture an image, you typically have a few options to display it for others (and yourself) to admire. There is, of course, the option to print standard 4” x 6” glossy photos – usually; this is a quick and affordable option, indeed. However, poster printing can take your project to the next level of visibility as well as satisfaction. Traditionally, posters are printed at least 12” x 18” in size although as a rule of thumb, the bigger the better in most cases. Once a poster is printed to 18” x 24”, it can be admired from across the room. In terms of poster printing technologies available, there are also several popular processes and technologies – including, offset vs. digital presses and inkjet vs. toner based coverage. The length of the print run is often the determining factor for press type. Because offset poster printing requires relatively expensive plates to be made to print the colors, it typically only makes sense when you are printing at least a couple hundred of the same poster at a time. The digital printing revolution however has made it economical to print much smaller quantities of posters without sacrificing quality or paying a fortune. In fact, given today’s digital printing presses, it is feasible to print even one or two posters at a time if necessary. If you were looking for museum quality poster printing, then most likely you would find a commercial inkjet press that will meet your needs. If the posters are simply temporary – perhaps for a birthday party or window display – then, large format toner based prints and laser prints should suffice. Pricing can also vary wildly. Large format inkjet posters can cost upwards of $10/sq. ft., whereas laser printed posters may cost a fraction of that.