Capability

Wide format printing for graphics that have to hold up

Wide format covers everything too big for a sheet press — banners, backlit film, window vinyl, wall graphics, rigid panels, fabric. IAC runs UV-cured roll and flatbed presses alongside a five-metre dye sublimation line, so the substrate gets chosen for the application rather than for whichever machine happens to be free.

  • UV-cured roll and flatbed printing
  • Dye sublimation fabric to 16 ft seamless
  • Banner, backlit film, vinyl, mesh, canvas and rigid media
  • Contour cutting, laminating, welding and grommeting in house
  • Pantone-referenced colour targeting per substrate
  • Serving Toronto, Mississauga, Markham, Vaughan and the wider GTA

UV-cured, latex and dye sublimation, and when each wins

UV-cured inks polymerise instantly under lamps, so they sit on the surface and will bond to almost anything — vinyl, styrene, coroplast, ACM, acrylic, wood. That makes UV the default for rigid and outdoor work, and it means prints come off the press dry and ready to laminate or cut. Dye sublimation is the answer for polyester textiles, where the dye enters the fibre and the graphic can fold. Solvent and latex sit between the two for flexible roll media needing conformability. The right call depends on substrate, viewing distance and how long the graphic lives.

Media we run

Scrim vinyl banner in a range of weights for indoor and outdoor hangs, with reinforced hems and grommets or welded pole pockets. Backlit film for lightboxes and transit displays. Cast and calendered self-adhesive vinyl including 3M films for wall, window, floor and vehicle work, matched to appropriate overlaminates. Perforated window film for one-way vision. Mesh for fence and building wraps. Photo papers and canvas for interior and fine art applications. Rigid substrates run on the flatbed rather than mounted afterwards, which keeps registration tight for contour cutting.

Colour management and prepress

A wide format job is only as good as its file. Our prepress team checks resolution against final size, corrects bleed and safety margins for the finishing method, and flags gradients that will band across a long fill before it costs you a reprint. Brand colours are targeted against Pantone references per substrate — a red on matte banner vinyl and the same red on gloss backlit film need different builds to look the same in the room. Where a program spans multiple substrates we run press proofs so the set matches.

Examples

Related work

  • Wide view of a Foot Locker store interior showing an Anthony Edwards 3 freestanding display surrounded by Nike apparel and sneaker displays.
    Retail POI Foot Locker interior with Anthony Edwards 3 freestanding display Large format print
  • A tall Anthony Edwards 3 freestanding banner display standing on the sales floor of a Foot Locker store.
    Retail POI Anthony Edwards 3 tall banner on Foot Locker sales floor Large format print
  • An Anthony Edwards 3 branded freestanding display banner positioned at the entrance of a Foot Locker Toronto retail store.
    Retail POI Anthony Edwards 3 branded display at Foot Locker entrance Large format print
  • A tall backlit SEG frame panel printed with a misty forest tree silhouette graphic installed on a hotel gym wall.
    Lightboxes Backlit forest silhouette SEG panel in hotel gym Large format print
  • A close-up view of a two-tier dumbbell rack positioned in front of a large backlit frosted forest silhouette lightbox panel.
    Lightboxes Dumbbell rack beside backlit frosted forest lightbox panel Large format print
  • A gym interior showing a dumbbell rack, weight benches, and large backlit frosted tree silhouette panels mounted along the wall.
    Interiors Gym interior with backlit tree silhouette wall panels Large format print

FAQ

Wide format printing for graphics that have to hold up — questions

What is the difference between wide format and large format printing?

In practice, nothing — the terms are used interchangeably across the industry for any print wider than roughly 24 inches. Some shops draw a line at around 60 inches and call anything beyond it grand format, which typically means billboard, building wrap and oversize fabric work. We quote all of it the same way, by substrate, size, quantity and finishing rather than by which label the job falls under.

What resolution do my files need to be?

Less than people expect. Wide format graphics are viewed from a distance, so raster images at roughly 100 to 150 dpi at final print size are normally plenty, and billboard-scale work can go considerably lower. Vector artwork and outlined type scale without loss and are always preferred for logos and text. What actually causes problems is artwork built at postcard size and blown up, or low-quality web images — resolution cannot be added after the fact.

How long will an outdoor printed graphic last?

It depends on ink, media, laminate and exposure. UV-cured inks on appropriate outdoor media with a UV-blocking overlaminate hold up for multiple seasons, while unlaminated short-term media on a south-facing wall will fade much sooner. Tell us the intended lifespan and orientation when you quote and we will spec the media and laminate to match rather than defaulting to the cheapest build.

Keep looking

Other capabilities

Next step

Send your file and finished size for a wide format quote from our Toronto plant.

Send drawings, a store list or a rough idea. We will come back with substrate options, hardware and a quote.

Request a quote→ 416.493.8888