Connections
New Printing Technology is Changing How Signs & Banners are Printed
Wide format, UV Curable printing is changing the print industry and if you’re not on board, you’re going to miss out. I’ll admit that when I was first introduced to UV Curable printers, I was a little hesitant because sometimes products that tout higher capacities and lower costs often come with a hitch – like lower quality, particularly in the banner printing industry.
But, ever since we brought our first UV Curable printer into the Lloyds of Indiana office, I’ve been a convert. These machines consistently put out high quality, versatile print jobs for a fraction of the costs of traditional cut vinyl methods.
They can cut labor costs by up to 75%, lower printing costs by 65% and increase your production capacity by 65%. And because of their speed, quality and reliability, they’re quickly becoming a mainstay in most print shops – meaning if you don’t have one, your competitor probably does and he’s already undercutting you on prices.
The Legend 72HUV wide-format printer [(which we sell) costs less than $80,000, but it goes way beyond entry-level. This beast of a printer can print full-graphics directly to a sign or almost any surface and it can do a standard banner printing job in about 7 minutes. The best part? It does it for about $0.28 per square foot (putting it on par with single cut vinyl methods).
I’m also consistently amazed by the variety of surfaces that you can print on with this machine. It goes way beyond basic banner printing. You can print on any flat surface, including rigid media, or mediums like paper, cloth or vinyl. We once used it to print on a door.
I can’t say it enough though – if you’re running a high-traffic print shop or you want to be a high-traffic print shop and you’re not using wide format UV Curable printing methods, you’re missing out.
Top 4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Calling the Sign Shop
I hate to see people waste money, so before you go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a vinyl sign or full color banner for business, you should sit down and ask yourself these 4 essential questions:
How will my sign be used?
If you’re looking for a temporary, large-format paper sign to hang in the window on sale day your needs are going to be different than if you’re looking for a permanent masthead to hang outside of your business (in which case, you’ll probably want a hard surface, durable product).
In terms of design, you’ll also want to ask yourself if the sign is intended to direct people, sell people or inform them?
Who is my target audience?
If you’re looking for a sign that’s going to advertise a children’s toy store the look is going to be significantly different than a sign intended to welcome attendees to your annual Bookkeeping Conference.
Another consideration is the actual mechanics, meaning how far will your target audience be from the sign and how long will they have to read it? For example, a full color banner intended to catch the attention of drivers on the freeway might just be a few words.
What will my sign copy say and how will it be laid out?
Once you know the purpose of your sign and your target audience, you can focus on the actual copy and layout. Is there a certain message you want to convey? Do you have any logo requirements? Also, does your sign need to fit in with an already existing design aesthetic or brand strategy?
How will my sign be installed?
This is another important consideration – will your sign be displayed indoors or outdoors? How will it be attached and are there any restrictions put in place by building codes or the building owners? By knowing this information ahead of time and planning for it, you could save hundreds on your next vinyl sign or full color banner.