Find the Perfect Wide Format Printer for Professional Printing

Buying or leasing a new wide format printer can be a tricky and daunting prospect. Whether you’re buying your first wide format printer, upgrading your existing machine, or looking to add to your fleet, there are many factors to consider.

An important factor is generally the price. There is a plethora of options that can cost anywhere from approximately a thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars So, it’s important to understand your specific needs in a wide format printer. You don’t want to end up overspending to get features that you aren’t going to use.

Conversely, buying a cheaper wide format printer that doesn’t pack the features that you need may end up being even costlier in the long run. In this article, we’ll unpack some of the main factors to consider when buying a new wide format printer, to help you narrow down your choices and make a difficult decision that much easier to make.

Key Features of a Wide Format Printer

As you can imagine, wide format printers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and offer diverse sets of functionality. These include the types of inks they use to the types of materials (or substrata) they can print on, not to mention – as the name suggests – the width of the paper (or other material) they can print on.

Here is a brief run-down of some key features to consider:

Which Type of Printer Best Fits Your Needs?

A wide format printer will operate using one of three distinct methods. Each method is best suited for printing on particular materials, and therefore for specific use cases.

1. Inkjet printers – These are the most common types of wide format printer. They use water-based, solvent-based, or UV-curable inks. They’re versatile and suitable for printing on a wide variety of substrata, including many types of paper, vinyl, and fabrics.
2. Toner-based printers – These printers use an electrostatic toner as opposed to ink and are well suited for printing on coated papers and plastic-based substrata.
3. Plotter-based printers – These printers use pens or markers to plot images onto the substrate in high detail. Although, to an extent, they’ve been replaced in many instances by more modern ink-jet printers, plotter-based printers were the go-to standard for decades for high-detail printing like CAD drawings and technical illustrations.

Printing Width

How large do you need your prints? A wide format printer will generally print from around 18 inches up to 100 inches, although some can print even wider, though the price will increase. Make sure the machine you buy can handle the specs at which you need it to print.

Print Speed

In many cases, quality is more important than speed. In other words, the resolution and vibrancy of the colors of the printed material may be more important than how fast the wide format printer can produce them. But in many cases, for example, if you’re a professional photographer constantly facing deadlines, time may be of the essence.

Printing speed can vary greatly, with basic printing ranging from around 11 to over 100 square feet per hour, and high volume printing ranging from around 645 square feet per hour to over 1,100.

Location, Location, Location

A wide format printer is not a small, compact item that can be placed on a desk in the corner of the office. So, make sure the room in which the machine will be stored has enough space for the machine allow it to effectively operate.

Also, depending on the model of the printer, it can be noisy and give off foul odors. This can affect the health and motivation of your employees. So, make sure you have sufficient ventilation and noise reduction in the area where it will operate.

Substrate Compatibility

On what materials will you need to print? As touched on earlier, each wide format printer will be best suited to a particular substrate. Besides a diverse set of paper types, thicknesses, and finishes, a wide format printer may also be able to print on fabrics, vinyl, plastics, glass, wood, and even ceramics.

The way in which the machine handles the different substrata can also make a big difference here. Consider roll-fed and flatbed designs, especially if you’re going to be printing at a higher volume. They make the loading and unloading of materials that much easier and quicker to accomplish.

Colors

Will you only need basic colors in your prints, such as for simple promotional banners? Or are you going to need the highest photographic quality? There’s everything from basic CMYK to expanded color spaces like Pantone and spot colors to choose from. But the higher the color quality, the higher the cost of the printer and the ongoing supplies of the inks or toners are likely to be.

Print Quality

How much detail will you need? A lower-end wide format printer generally offers resolutions of around 1,440 dpi (dots per inch), which is fine for banners, large signs, and decals. However, if you need higher resolutions, e.g. for high-quality posters or photographic prints, you can find models offering as high as 2,880 dpi.

Security

Perhaps counter-intuitively, your printers can often be the weakest link in your business’s network security. These days, a wide format printer should offer some level of security, such as password protection, access control, and data overwrite systems. The more users the machine will have, the more worthwhile it is to ensure you have top-notch security.

Software and Integration

One factor often overlooked when buying a wide format printer is how smoothly it will integrate with your existing setup. A wide format printer will typically come with the relevant printer drivers and software to enable printing from your PCs. But many are also built to integrate with your existing software set-up, such as with CAD, design, and print management software.

A Wide Format Printer Partner

As you can see, there’s much to consider when choosing a new wide format printer. Taking your time and doing thorough research can’t hurt, but an experienced, trustworthy office technology partner will make the task that much simpler. If you’re in the Louisville, Lexington, Elizabethtown, London or Paducah areas, reach out to Duplicator Sales & Service to discuss your requirements. We’ve been providing office technology sales and services to satisfied customers since 1959. Contact us for a quote.