Whether you’re planning a marketing campaign to capture the attention of new customers or simply sprucing up your workspace interiors, it’s easy to assume large-scale printing to be a simple, straightforward process.

But unlike a typical office printer, high-quality display products like banners, signs and permanent interior fixtures don’t just fly off the press with the touch of a button.

The majority of these products pass through the hands of multiple specialists from initial file preparation to the final steps before installation––a carefully choreographed process carried out by experienced professionals in a number of roles.

Printing these display products is just one step in a much larger production process many companies simply aren’t prepared to handle on their own, which is why we recommend reaching out for assistance as early as possible when planning a new project. 

Partnering with experts to save money and improve quality

Here at our facility, we encounter a variety of organizations that have clear ideas and goals for wide format projects, but don’t fully understand how printing professionals can make those ideas come to life while saving money and making a higher quality product in the process. 

After making just one on-site visit to the Suttle-Straus facility, representatives from a major software company interested in establishing their own printing service not only opted to have our team handle the project, they discovered we could help them create a variety of other projects they had been wanting to produce and install on-site.

To highlight all the advantages of working closely with your printer, we’ve laid out three major benefits of presenting them with the goals you need to accomplish rather than a rigid printing order.

1. Discover better ways to bring your ideas to life 

If you’ve worked with printers to create display products in the past, it’s easy to assume what worked for prior projects will work equally well for new ones. 

In our experience, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Limiting yourself to a particular printing material, process or type of ink, for example, not only results in a less-than-stunning product, it keeps you in the dark to new printing materials designed specifically for what you’re trying to accomplish. 

The astonishing pace of innovation and development in the printing world has transformed the role of the printer from a simple service provider into a crucial consulting role––guiding companies toward new ways to create amazing pieces without breaking the bank.

That’s why we encourage clients to approach us with goals rather than product orders whenever possible. Nine times out of ten, these conversations lead to far better results given the wide range of new tools and techniques in our printing arsenal.

2. Get advice from specialists during the crucial planning process 

The mistake we see companies making time and time again is one I mentioned earlier: planning and preparing display graphics without consulting an experienced printing team from the very beginning.

Successful wide format and display projects use the medium itself to shape the message into an eye-catching installation. 

By leveraging the knowledge and experience of printers who know exactly how to apply your idea to a physical canvas, you can create far more exciting displays that resonate in the real-world––a refreshing change of pace for consumers increasingly tuning out the constant bombardment of ads, spam and other noise online.

3. Revisit and execute ideas you otherwise would have shelved

If the phrase “wouldn’t it be great if we could…” has ever come up in a planning meeting only to be nixed by an apparent lack of options, you may be surprised to discover what really is possible with today’s printing technology.

After just one visit to our printing facility, the software company I mentioned earlier not only partnered with our team to create amazing new wallpaper to line their interiors, they revived ideas for other projects they thought they’d have to go elsewhere to produce. 

Cases like this highlight the importance of taking the time to get acquainted not only with the materials being used by professional printers, but the innovative new printing equipment and other technologies that enable printers to create stunning installations that deliver a clear message.

Looking for a team of experts who can bring your ideas to life through wide format?

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on April 2, 2015.