In depth
Wide-format printers are roll-fed inkjet machines that print onto media wider than a standard sheet press can handle — typically from 1m to 5m wide. Substrates range from paper and vinyl to fabric, mesh, foam board, and rigid acrylic. Ink technologies include solvent (durable for outdoor signage), latex (lower-VOC, fast-drying), UV-cure (rigid substrates), and aqueous (indoor display work).
Pricing in wide format diverges from sheet-fed in several ways. Quantity is usually one or a few large pieces, so makeready overhead matters less. Substrate is consumed on a per-metre basis, so roll utilisation and offcut waste are first-class concerns. Finishing operations — laminating, eyeletting, contour-cutting on a CNC table — often cost more than the print itself.
PeakSpitz AIERP supports wide-format costing with per-metre and per-square-metre rate cards, roll-width-aware substrate consumption, and finishing operations modelled as separate billable lines. A wide-format estimate looks different from a sheet-fed estimate; PeakSpitz adapts the form accordingly.