Large format printing is printing on rolls of material wide enough for banners, boards and wall-sized graphics, priced by the square foot instead of by the sheet. In Pune, it is what businesses need when a print must be seen from across a road, a hall or a showroom. 3 Red Media does large format printing on its own setup at Chandni Chowk, from a single shop board to a run of hoardings.
If an ordinary printer handles A4 and A3, large format starts where those stop. The material comes on rolls, the print can be many feet long, and the job is finished by hand afterwards: cut, eyeleted, laminated, stuck onto board or stretched on a frame.
What can be printed in large format
The printing is only half of it. The material you print on decides what the finished piece becomes.
| Material | Becomes | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Frontlit flex | Banners, shop boards, hoardings | Flex printing |
| Backlit flex | Glow sign boxes, lit fascia panels | Backlit flex |
| Self-adhesive vinyl | Stickers, glass graphics, wall graphics, vehicle branding | Vinyl printing |
| Perforated window film | One-way vision on glass | One-way vision |
| Vinyl on sunboard | Rigid indoor signs, cut-outs, easel boards | Sunboard printing |
| Roll-up standee media | Pull-up displays for counters and events | Standees |
| Canvas | Wall art, photo canvases, décor for cafés and homes | Canvas printing |
How big is big? Thinking in sq ft
Everything in this trade is worked out in square feet. Multiply width by height in feet: an 8 × 4 ft board is 32 sq ft. If your measurement is in inches, divide each side by 12 first, so 96 × 48 inches is also 8 × 4 ft. When a print is wider than the material roll, it is printed in panels and joined, which is routine for hoardings and stage backdrops.
Since price follows area, a small change in size can matter. Going from 10 × 4 ft (40 sq ft) to 12 × 5 ft (60 sq ft) adds half again to the material. It is worth measuring the real space before deciding on a size.
Preparing a file for large format printing
This is where most problems come from. A logo pulled off a website or a design made for Instagram will look soft or blocky when blown up to 10 ft. A few rules avoid that.
Resolution depends on viewing distance
The further people stand from a print, the less resolution it needs. Large format work is usually prepared at a lower dpi than a brochure, measured at the final size.
| How close people see it | Example | Resolution at full size |
|---|---|---|
| Arm’s length (under 3 ft) | Standee, canvas, counter graphic | About 150 dpi |
| Across a room (3 to 15 ft) | Wall graphic, backdrop, shop board | About 100 dpi |
| Across a road (15 ft and more) | Hoarding, building banner | About 50 to 72 dpi |
Proportion, bleed and safe area
- Make the artboard the same ratio as the final print. For a 10 × 4 ft board, a 100 × 40 cm or 1000 × 400 mm canvas works.
- Add a little bleed (extra background) on all sides so trimming never leaves a white edge.
- Keep text and logos well inside the edge. Eyelets, pockets, frame lips and joins all eat into the border.
- On joined prints, avoid placing a face or a small word right where two panels meet.
Fonts, colour and file types
Convert text to curves or outlines before sending a CDR or AI file, or the printer may substitute a different font. Design in CMYK if you can, and expect bright screen colours (especially neon greens and electric blues) to print slightly calmer, because screens glow and printed material does not. Send PDF, CDR, AI, TIFF or a high-resolution JPG. For more detail, see how to send artwork.
Have only a phone photo or a small logo? Send it anyway with your text. A proof is always shared on WhatsApp first, so you see exactly how it will look before anything is printed.
Who uses large format printing in Pune
The users are wide: builders branding a site, a new café dressing its walls, a company setting up a stall, a school announcing admissions, a hospital putting up directional boards. Exhibition work is a good example of mixed large format, with a backdrop, standees, counter graphics and floor stickers all printed for one stall. See exhibition stall printing for how those pieces fit together.
Indoors or outdoors changes the choice
The same design may need different material depending on where it goes. Outdoors in Pune, prints face harsh summer sun from March to May and wind and rain through the monsoon, so flex and laminated vinyl are the usual picks. Indoors, you can choose finer media like canvas or sunboard that would not survive weather. Tell us the location when you ask for a price and the material can be matched to it.
Ordering
Share the size, where the print goes, and your file or content on WhatsApp. You get a price and a digital proof; nothing is printed until you approve it. Urgent work depends on size and queue, and the ready time is confirmed before you say yes. Finished prints can be picked up at Chandni Chowk or delivered in Pune and PCMC. You can also request a price through the quote form.