What Can a Large Format Plotter Create? (Other Than Banners and Signage)
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The world of wide format printing consists of banners, posters, and signs. Marketers, photographers, and other creative professionals have used wide format imaging devices to create vibrant and attractive visual documents for decades.
Even though signage makes up a major part of worldwide demand for large format plotter technology, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Wide format printers are valuable contributors to document processes for engineers, architects, and construction firms.
Large Format Plotters for Plan Printing by Industry
Whenever an architecture firm delivers blueprints to a client, it must rely on professional reprographics technology to generate the document. Wide format plotters similar to those that marketing agencies use allow architects to create those blueprints while giving construction professionals the ability to quickly replicate those building plans on-site.
Similarly, engineers of all kinds rely on wide format printing to render CAD drawings and plans in a variety of industries. A product engineer may use multiple prints to present a product render to a client. An electrical engineer may need to use large format plan printing to map out an electrical grid.
Each of these use cases comes with specific needs based on the particularities of the industry in question. Architects, engineers, and construction professionals look to their large format plotters to deliver value in different ways.
1. Architectural projects
Architects often need to print full-size prints and drawings for their clients. An architect printing out an image of a potential building design will spare no expense for the quality and color depth of that image. Wide format printers that target architects are ultra-high-quality inkjet printers with visual features that match the best poster and banner printers.
But unlike marketing agencies that often wish to print thousands of high-quality banners, architects generally only need to print a few thousand square feet of material per month. This means that the ideal large format plotter for an architecture firm offers high-quality inkjet printing at low volume.
2. Engineering projects
Engineers often need to print larger documents, in larger numbers, than architects. The details vary depending on the specific kind of engineering. Product engineers may need output similar to that of an architecture firm, while electrical engineers regularly print out complex diagrams for internal use.
One important ability for engineers is scanning wide-format documents while capturing red lines. If a client or a stakeholder physically marks up an engineering render to illustrate desired changes, engineers want those comments to translate to a digital format.
Engineers generally have higher-volume print projects. Some will opt for extensive finishing options to help reduce the amount of time they spend handling paper and organizing prints. Automated finishing devices can stack, collate, and organize print output so that documents are immediately ready upon print.
3. Construction projects
Construction professionals value durability. This applies both to construction printers and to printed materials used on-site. Construction companies that subcontract work to multiple partners must keep everyone up-to-date on the job at hand.
As a result, construction companies can generate a large volume of prints on any single project. With any small deviation from the plan, additional printing for everyone involved is needed.
Construction prints are typically internal documents. They usually don’t need to offer the same kind of color depth and vibrancy that presentation documents need. Instead, constructors place a higher value on the ability to print on damage-resistant media that can handle moisture and dust on the construction site.
Contact a Professional Printing Service Provider
Because large format plotters tend to be very expensive, architects, engineers, and construction professionals don’t always buy their own large-format printers. Not only does the device have to produce at least the equivalent of its cost in overall value, but it requires maintenance and consumable replacement.
In these conditions, professional wide format print services represent a clear value for firms with low- to mid-volume reprographics needs. Kelley Create serves the needs of a wide variety of architects, engineers, and constructors who regularly need wide format plotter service, but can’t justify the value of purchasing their own equipment.
Qualified professional print service providers make world-class prints available to small firms at competitive rates. Growing firms can rely on that partnership to influence and inform future acquisitions.
As professional technology providers, we leverage partnerships with some of the world’s most reputable manufacturers to offer ideal CAD and blueprint printing services to our customers. A wide range of powerful HP equipment allows our customers to gain access to the highest quality prints at any volume necessary.
Do you have large format print jobs that need to be completed by professionals? Speak to a print expert about your large format plotting needs today.
