July 25, 2022
Those who say print is dead haven’t talked to many marketers. Thanks to the human brain’s heavy emphasis on visual information, print media still holds extraordinary power over consumers and offers many inherent advantages over other forms of advertising. And here’s an interesting twist — print media has clear advantages over other visual media. In fact, according to the CMO Council, 79% of consumers take action after seeing print ads; after seeing digital ads, that number drops to just 45%. The council also found that print ads are more memorable than their digital counterparts.
That sounds strange until you realize how we encounter and interact with print advertising fundamentally differs from how they experience digital ads. Digital ads largely interrupt or try to draw focus away from the content people want to consume. At best, digital ads are competing for scraps of attention; at worst, they can annoy their audience. Print ads aren’t perceived as disruptive, and in the case of a billboard at a busy intersection, a vehicle wrap, or large window graphics, viewers generally are a more captive, less distracted, and less exasperated audience.
Print advertising can deliver impressive results, and now thanks to wide format printers (also often called large format printers), businesses can produce large, eye-catching images entirely in-house.
Wide Format Printers Boost Brand Awareness
When it comes to print, size matters. With a wide format printer, you’ll be able to produce sharp images that can be viewed from afar, significantly expanding your ad’s reach. Larger images are also key to enticing further exploration and awareness.
For example, according to a Display Wizard survey, around half of trade show exhibitors said eye-catching displays are the best way to lure attendees to their booths. Considering that 81% of trade show visitors are potential customers for exhibitors, if trade shows are part of your growth strategy, something as simple as being able to produce your own high-quality display materials is a smart long-term investment.
Wide Format Printing Helps Your Business Get Noticed
Because these printers can produce billboards, banners, and other sizeable materials, if you’re looking to get significant attention over a long period of time, investing in your own wide format printer is a great way to do it. Giant posters have been used in some of the most effective recent marketing stunts and can generate attention worldwide.
Wide Format Printers Feature Upgraded Security
Older printers often represent a significant cybersecurity risk to your organization. Not only can wide format printers expand your marketing capabilities and help you set your business apart, but today’s wide format printers can also be exceptionally secure.
At Marco, we recommend HP printers for wide format printing. Thanks to embedded features and additional security add-ons, HP wide format printers are the most secure of their kind. Their hard drives are self-encrypted, and with a suite of additional data protection and fleet security management tools, there are plenty of reasons besides image quality and speed that HPs have dominated today’s wide format printing market.
Wide Format Printers Can Accommodate a Variety of Materials
Materials produced on wide format printers are perfect for outdoor display and therefore need to be capable of withstanding the elements for an extended period. Wide format printers use UV-cured inks that can help your text and images last on a variety of materials.
The following are the most common materials that wide format printers can accommodate, but this by no means is a comprehensive list:
- Vinyl
- Metal
- Cloth/Canvas
- Translucent or Magnetic Film
- Photo Paper
- Glass
- Wood
- Foam Board
- Corrugated Plastic
How To Get the Right Wide Format Printer for Less
While our experts recommend HP wide format printers for their best-in-class print capabilities and print security, depending on how and what you’d like to print (and how quickly), there are still several choices to be made. Our wide format printing experts are always happy to give a custom recommendation, and thanks to our strategic partnerships, we can help you get the very best deal.
That said, wide format printers are always an investment, and the good news is that HP takes that investment seriously. HP’s Cash In & Trade Up program allows you to upgrade your old printer and get cash back on select HP models. Talk to one of our printing experts to learn more!
