Large Format Printing: From Exhibition Stands to Building Wraps*

Scale Changes Everything

Large format printing operates by different rules to commercial print. A brochure is read at arm's length. A banner is viewed from across a room. A building wrap is seen from across the street. This changes how you think about resolution, design, and material choice.

Resolution at Scale

For standard commercial print, 300dpi at final print size is the baseline. For large format, this drops significantly — because viewing distance increases proportionally with size. General guidelines:

• Roller banners and display stands: 150dpi at print size
• Exhibition panels: 100–150dpi
• Large outdoor banners: 72–100dpi
• Building wraps: As low as 15–25dpi (viewed from significant distance)

This means a 3-metre wide banner doesn't need a 30,000-pixel wide image file. Understanding this prevents the common mistake of requesting impossibly large files — and helps your designer prepare artwork correctly.

Choosing the Right Substrate

Self-adhesive vinyl: The workhorse of large format. Applies to most flat surfaces. Available in gloss, matt, and specialist finishes. Can be printed with full bleed and cut to any shape.

PVC banner: Durable and weather-resistant. Ideal for outdoor events, construction hoardings, and long-term exterior use. Eyelets for hanging.

Fabric: Premium and increasingly popular for exhibition and retail environments. Lightweight, packable, and can be used with backlit frames for dramatic effect.

Foamex/Dibond: Rigid substrates for interior displays, mounted photography, and signage that needs to stand free or be fixed to walls.

Mesh: Perforated vinyl for window graphics or building wraps where wind load is a concern — the mesh allows air through while retaining the visual.

Artwork Tips

• Always supply files at 1:10 scale if the final size is very large (so a 10m banner = 1m file at 72dpi)
• Use vector logos and text wherever possible — these scale infinitely without loss
• Allow for bleed: at large format sizes, 50–100mm bleed is standard
• Consider viewing distance when setting minimum type sizes — 20pt body copy on a brochure becomes unreadably small on a roller banner

When we're preparing a job for large-format print, we always specify artwork at the right resolution for the viewing distance — not the theoretical maximum. Oversized files slow everything down and add no quality at a distance nobody will inspect from. If you need large format print for signage, exhibitions or outdoor campaigns, we'll make sure the artwork is built to perform at scale.