Need to print poster

[globex]

I need to print a large poster about 46" x 68". I bought a poster of similar size online for $15. However, I've looked and asked around and if I want to make one of the same size the smaller price I've found was $100 for the print job. How can this be? I need it to be black and white, doesn't have to be super quality, just has to be really big. Does anyone know a place that could print this for me at a reasonable price (say $40 or less)?

[Gordon Moat]

The on-line price to you may have reflected a run of thousands of posters. If you have a poster made on a commercial press, the cost can be very low for each poster, though this only works for getting thousands printed.

To have one poster made would require a place with a wide carriage inkjet or flatbed printer. Only the larger machines can make prints this wide. I have yet to see any commercial printing place do wide inkjet for under $10 per square foot. However, you might want to try FedEx/Kinkos and see what they would charge, they would probably be the cheapest place.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[matthew blais]

I use these guys for many things. They have it all. Their main business is wrapping trucks and such, but do banners and large posters for me when I need.
Out the door price for printing is/has been $6 sq. ft. & $4 sq ft for banners.
Mounting et al is extra. So a 4' x 6' size would run you about $144, making the $100 you were quoted not so bad...
$40 is most likely not realistic.

http://www.monstermediainc.com/

If you're looking to offset print and do a quantity, then you'll probably have to look for a large press, preferrably sheetfed.

[globex]

That is mad.

How about those do-it-yourself poster kits? Where you print on several sheets and then glue them together? I've heard that there are ones that glue together nearly seamlessly, does anyone have any experience with this?

[Gordon Moat]

Putting the print onto many pieces of letter sized paper can be done on some printers. This method is called tiling, and if it is in your printer menu choices you can do that. Sometimes you can control this on printers without that menu option when you use either Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress. Those are layout software applications that can spread a larger document out for a tiled print onto several smaller pages.

Like I suggested previously, you might want to try Kinkos (FedEx/Kinkos). They will probably be the absolute cheapest way to get a large print. They do have an issue with making copies of copyrighted images, so you might be out of luck if your image is copyrighted. Best of luck.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[globex]

What about the paper itself?

Kinkos said it would cost over $100.

[vskovalchuk]

Cosco prints 30x20 for only $9.99, cut your poster on 2 using photoshop or any other program and print two posters. ad here you go - 60x40 poster for only $20....

[Lee Hamiel]

May want to see this thread:
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-...id=00IOxo&tag=

Also:
http://www.elcocolor.com/hot_internet_only_specials.htm

Looks like they go up to 30x60

[Gordon Moat]

I would imagine the OP is long gone by now. Probably unlikely that he might understand his $15 poster was printed in a run of a few thousand, thereby keeping the cost down. Anyway, interesting that there is a lab using a Durst Epsilon and charging this little. I wonder if the quality is any good.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat

[Cindy_4701]

Hi, can you tell me anything about the quality of these prints? Were you satisfied? I shoot with 8x10 and thinking of printing at 4 ft. by 5 ft but I would want a finely detailed print--

Thanks,

Cindy

I use these guys for many things. They have it all. Their main business is wrapping trucks and such, but do banners and large posters for me when I need.
Out the door price for printing is/has been $6 sq. ft. & $4 sq ft for banners.
Mounting et al is extra. So a 4' x 6' size would run you about $144, making the $100 you were quoted not so bad...
$40 is most likely not realistic.

http://www.monstermediainc.com/

If you're looking to offset print and do a quantity, then you'll probably have to look for a large press, preferrably sheetfed.