Posters make for great products and promotional materials. Whether you’re selling them online, using them to decorate your office, or giving them away at events and conferences, posters can certainly boost your business or brand. Poster printing is easier than ever before with new printing techniques and speedy delivery. However, getting a quality poster printed requires some time and work to make sure your file is ready and your printer is the right business for the job.
File Formatting
Before deciding which printer to send your poster to, you need to make sure it’s properly formatted. An improperly formatted poster can harm your business more than help it. Pay attention to the following when designing your poster to ensure the best poster printing job possible.
Color Spectrum
When designing for print, you’ll need to make sure you change your color spectrum from RGB (red, green, blue) to CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Computer screens use RGB to create colors, but printers use CMYK. If you send a file formatted for RGB, you’ll end up with a discolored or hazy poster.
DPI
The dots per image (DPI) influence the quality and sharpness of images and text. Computer screens can display low DPI images more easily, and common settings use 75 DPI. However, you’ll want to send a higher DPI image to the printer to ensure that everything is as crisp and clear as possible. For a quality poster print, make sure your DPI is set to at least 300.
Bleed and Margin
Most printing machinery has a regular margin of error when it comes to printing and cutting paper. To accommodate this, it’s important to give yourself margin and bleed room around the important parts of your poster. This prevents any unnecessary cut-offs of text or images that you need on your poster.
Finding a Poster Printing Company
With a properly designed poster and formatted file, it’s time to locate a printing company that will give you the best, highest-quality poster printing available. Finding the right printer is key to making sure your posters come out the way you want them to. When looking for a poster printing company, keep the following in mind.
Location
A printer’s location is critical to getting quality posters delivered. A company located in a central urban area has greater access to shipping and delivery methods. Not only does this allow you to choose faster shipping methods, but it also ensures your packages are well-maintained. Better shipping options help protect your posters in transit.
Reputation
A company’s reputation is important. When you’re choosing a poster printing company, make sure you check out their online reviews, especially ones with pictures. Photo reviews can help you see the quality of previous prints to ensure they match with your standards.
Getting quality poster printing is easy if you know what to look for. Properly formatting your file and ensuring you’re choosing the right printer for the job will help you get high-quality posters you can be proud of.
