Whether you are printing a massive outdoor banner for an upcoming exhibition or a sleek roller banner for your retail storefront, large format printing demands attention. However, a design that looks stunning on your 13-inch laptop screen can easily become pixelated, blurry, or distorted when scaled up to two meters wide.
At Sherwood Universal, we’ve been helping Nottingham businesses bring their large-scale visions to life since 1975. To help you get flawless results on the first run, we’ve put together this definitive guide on how to prepare your artwork files for large format printing.
1. Vector vs. Raster: Why File Type Matters
When it comes to large format print, not all image files are created equal.
- Raster Images (JPEG, PNG): These are made of a fixed number of pixels. If you stretch a JPEG to fit a large banner, it will pixelate and look blurry. Only use high-resolution photography for raster files.
- Vector Graphics (AI, EPS, PDF): These are based on mathematical formulas, meaning they can be scaled up infinitely without losing a single drop of sharpness. Whenever possible, keep your logos, text, and illustrations in a vector format.
2. The Golden Rule of Resolution (DPI)
For standard documents, 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch) is the industry standard. However, for large format prints viewed from a distance (like billboards or high-wall banners), you can often use 150 DPI at full output size to keep file sizes manageable.
Pro Tip: Never pull a logo off your website and expect it to work on a banner. Web images are typically 72 DPI and will look incredibly blurry when printed large.
3. Setting Up Bleed and Crop Marks
Bleed is the extra area around the edge of your design that gets trimmed off during finishing. Without it, slight shifts in the cutting process could leave an unsightly white border around your banner.
- For large format print, we typically recommend a 3mm to 5mm bleed.
- Keep all crucial text and logos inside a “safe zone”—at least 10mm away from the final trim line.
Prepping artwork can feel technical, but getting it right ensures your brand looks sharp, professional, and authoritative. If you’re unsure about your file setup, our local Nottingham team is here to help. Contact us today using our online form, or give us a call on 0115 967 55 55 to discuss your next large format project, and let us handle the technical details for you.