Poster Printing
Poster prints are popular for decorating both residential and commercial spaces, and are also great for advertising use both indoors and out. Our poster printing service provides a range of quality from every day use to museum quality prints with a longevity of up to 100 years. It's a great way to turn a favorite photo into a frameable poster print as a wall decoration that has personal meaning, or to give as a special gift for a friend or family member. It's also one of the most popular methods of advertising in showrooms, offices, restaurants, bus shelters and theaters. They can also be used at trade shows, events and presentations, making them one of the most versatile type of print we offer. We can print your posters to a variety of papers up to 60" wide, or you can choose from a wide selection of specialty materials or adhesive backed products that are excellent for creating mounted poster prints. Some of our poster materials are restricted to indoor use, and others can be used outdoors or indoors. We also have various finishing options depending on how you want to display your poster, including lamination and mounting boards. Posters that will be framed generally don't need any finishing, but for posters that will hang on the wall outside a frame, or go in a sign holder, these options can be useful.
This page describes our services for poster printing. For professional photographers and artists looking to make art posters of their work, visit our Art Posters page.
If you would like to get prices on printing and shipping, or place an order, click the Pricing/Order button next to each item in the Printing Materials tab. The Pricing/Order wizard will prompt you for the necessary information such as quantity, dimensions and finishing options to show you prices in real time, and allow you to enter you state and zip code to see the shipping costs. If you're ready to order, you can provide additional information such as how you're sending files or if you need design work, if you want a proof, and how you want us to handle cropping of your files if necessary, and then add the print to your shopping cart. You can also compare product prices in the wizard by clicking the Products tab and selecting different materials from the drop down menu to see how the price changes.
The information below shows the variety of materials we offer for digital photo printing, finishing options, has our recommendations for the best materials to use in different situations, and explains how to place an order.
- Printing Materials
- Our Recommendations
- FAQ
- How to Order
Below are the most popular materials we offer for poster printing. Photo papers are a great choice when you plan to frame your poster. They are popular because they offer tremendous color depth and saturation. Our Textured Adhesive vinyl is a popular option for unlaminated, mounted graphics. Look at the Our Recommendations tab for suggestions on the best materials for different situations.
This symbol denotes a eco-friendly option. These materials are generally PVC free, recyclable, and printed with water based inks as an earth-friendly option.
Blue Back Poster Paper – 6.5 Mil
The blue backing on this economical media makes it highly opaque, while the satin finish provides brilliant, true-to-life color quality. Specially designed for outdoor billboards, poster printing and kiosks, it features water and scratch resistant durability and is also easily foldable without risk of scratching or rupturing. Available in widths up to 54".
Approx. longevity of 6 months to 1 year outdoors, and up to 20 years indoors.
Indoor/Outdoor Poster Paper - 10 mil
This heavy weight latex-saturated wet strength paper is tear resistant, water proof, fade resistant, and scuff and scratch resistant, making it an excellent choice for indoor and outdoor poster size prints and billboards. This paper can also be applied with standard wallpaper paste for an inexpensive short term wallpaper solution. Available in widths up to 54"
Approx. longevity of 6 months outdoors, and up to 20 years indoors.
Synthetic Satin Photo Paper - 7 mil
This synthetic paper is tear proof, water proof, fade resistant, and scuff and scratch resistant, making it an excellent choice for indoor and outdoor color poster printing without the need for lamination. It doesn't have quite the print quality of our high end photo papers, but is otherwise a great product that is also environmentally friendly. Available in widths up to 54".
Approx. longevity of 2 years outdoors and up to 25 years indoors.
Satin Photo Paper - 9mil
This photo paper is our least expensive, yet it provides excellent image quality and color depth without the glare issues of high gloss papers. Great for posters, prints, and indoor signs. Can be laminated and mounted on a variety of substrates such as posterboard, Sintra, or Gatorfoam. Available in widths up to 60".
Up to 200 year indoor longevity if kept away from direct sunlight.
Matte Lithography Paper - 13mil
This natural white, cover weight paper is water resistant and designed to mimic heavy offset printing paper. It features excellent image quality and longevity, so it’s great for photo poster prints, photo enlargements, art prints, and indoor signs. It can also be mounted to a variety of materials such as posterboard, Sintra, and Gatorfoam. Available in widths up to 36".
Approximate longevity of 50-80 years.
Economy Calendered Matte Vinyl - 4 mil
With an outdoor longevity of up to 3 years, this removable adhesive backed vinyl is excellent for outdoor retail sales signs and POS poster graphics. It has a blockout layer for excellent hiding power and the matte finish helps reduce glare. Can also be used indoors for sign and point of purchase displays. Will adhere to any smooth surface such as Alumalite, acrylic, Sintra, metal, or painted wood surfaces. Available in widths up to 60".
Longevity of up to 3 years outdoors, 5-25 years indoors.
Economy Calendered Gloss Vinyl - 4 mil
With an outdoor longevity of up to 3 years, this removable adhesive backed vinyl is excellent for outdoor retail sales signs and POS poster graphics. It has a blockout layer for excellent hiding power and the gloss finish makes for excellent color depth. Can also be used indoors for sign and point of purchase displays. Will adhere to any smooth surface such as Alumalite, acrylic, Sintra, metal, or painted wood surfaces. Available in widths up to 84".
Longevity of up to 3 years outdoors, 5-25 years indoors.
Building Wrap Vinyl - 3.5 mil
This opaque vinyl is used in wall and building wrap applications where many standard products will not work. It also allows store signs and retail posters to be applied to otherwise unusable wall areas. For rough textured concrete, the pressure sensitive adhesive provides easy application and removal while holding the graphic in place throughout the life of the advertisement.
Outdoor longevity of up to 2 years, indoors 5-25 years.
Finishing Options
This panel contains information on finishing options for poster printing.
Satin Eco-Friendly Polypropylene Laminate - 3 Mil
This satin finished pressure sensitive laminate offers surface protection for long-lasting, durable graphics with materials that are free of PVC (vinyl) or heavy metals. The absence of heavy metals or phthalates reduces the risk of damaging the health of humans or the environment. Compared to PVC laminating films, polypropylene provides better image clarity for more accurate, vivid colors. This film is a great option for indoor graphics at children’s museums, or other environments, where visitors are encouraged to touch the displays. This laminate is intended for indoor use, but can be used outdoors for up to 6 months.
Vinyl Laminate - 4 Mil
This pressure sensitive laminate is available in gloss, luster or matte finishes, with the matte finish being the most popular as it has a sand texture like polycarbonate that diffuses glare without muting the colors of the print. Laminates offers surface protection and can change the finish of your print to suit the display environment. When a high-gloss finish is desired, and glare is not a concern, gloss is the appropriate choice. Keep in mind that a gloss finish will show flaws, scratches and fingerprints more than any other laminate. Luster and matte offer the same protection without these disadvantages.
Polycarbonate Laminate - 5 and 10 Mil
These pressure sensitive laminates, also know as Lexan, are the most durable available. They resist scratches, abrasion and chemicals, and their textured velvet finish hides fingerprints and diffuses glare. They also provide a unique optical technology that prevents the laminate from making the print darker or dulling the color.
Permanent Adhesive
While not technically a laminate, this pressure sensitive adhesive applied to the back turns any print into a decal, complete with peel-off release liner. We can apply the adhesive and either send the print rolled for mounting to the surface of your choice, or mount the print for you to a variety of substrates. See the Mounting Materials section below for more information.
Posterboard
This paper board comes in 22x28 and is an economical mounting material for short term posters that need enough rigidity to stand up in a poster frame or other sign holder. Other sizes are available on a special order basis.
Foamcore
This 3/16 inch thick foam board has a polystyrene core with paper facing. It's great for short term displays or those on a tight budget, but it's too easily dented when handled for long term or abusive environments. Available in black, or white by request.
Gatorfoam
This foam board has a styrofoam polystyrene core with a Luxcell veneer and is available in thicknesses of 3/16 and 1/2 inch. It's much more durable and harder than foamcore making it more suitable in situations where it will be handled frequently, but the corners will still dent with impact so careful handling is recommended. The faces are also archival so it's great for long term display of prints. Available in black, or white by request.
Sintra
This expanded PVC plastic board is available in a variety of thicknesses, but 3mm and 6mm are the most popular for mounting. It's water resistant and fire retardant, making is desirable for display applications. Since it's a solid board, it's more durable than foamcore or gatorfoam, but it's also heavier and not as rigid. It also expands and contracts with temperature changes, up to .05 mil/ft per degree F.
Poster Printing
For the most inexpensive poster printing, the Blue Back Poster Paper is our least expensive custom poster printing paper. It gets it's name from the blue backing that provides opacity because this poster printing paper was originally designed to be used for paper billboards, and the blue backing helped hide the old poster underneath from showing through when a new billboard was pasted over top. Obviously, this paper is waterproof since it can be used outdoors, which is possible because it's printed with latex inks so water has no effect on the print. This poster printing paper has good image quality, but not the same museum quality that we provide on some of the more expensive papers. If you are on a tight budget, need poster printing that can be used outdoors, or need good quality digital poster prints that will only be used for a short time, this is an excellent material that is good looking and durable. The Indoor/Outdoor poster paper has a similar finish and print quality, but is a heavier weight paper so it's recommended for greater durability or where a thicker paper is needed.
Also great for short and long term use, and a step up in print quality are the Satin Photo Paper and Gloss Photo Paper. Both are great for retail store signage, but they have less water resistnace so they should be laminated if used where moisture is a concern. The have longevity of over 100 years if kept out of direct sunlight.
For digital poster prints with greater longevity, the Matte Lithography Paper produces exceptional quality and a moisture and smudge resistant image that will last indoors for over 100 years. It is the thickest of any of the papers at 13mil and a fairly substantial weight of 270 gsm, making it excellent for framing.
All the papers can be mounted, but for an inexpensive mounted poster, the Economy Calendered Adhesive Vinyl is a great option. It's printed with latex inks so it's waterproof, and when combined with one of our mounting materials, it makes for a very inexpensive poster that doesn't look it.
Lamination and Mounting
Lamination is recommended for posters that are not being framed behind gloss if they are going on display or being subjected to a lot of handling. It will protect the surface from moisture, scratches, and environmental contaminates. For most situations, we prefer the matte vinyl laminate as it helps reduce glare and fingerprints.
Mounting is necessary to make poster prints rigid, which is useful if you want to mount your poster on the wall without a frame, or if you need it to be self supporting in a frame or other display that only supports the poster around the edges. Posterboard or 1mm Sintra are both good options for the minimum amount of thickness. Either of these materials will give a poster just enough support to hold it's shape without adding much bulk. These materials can still flex, so if you want a more rigid mounting material, foam boards are the best choice. Foam boards are popular for mounting directly on a wall without a frame, or for inserting into frames or sign holders that can accommodate a 1/4" thick substrate. We offer both foamcore and Gatorfoam for mounting. Foamcore is very soft and easily dented so it's not recommend if it will be handled much, but it is very inexpensive so it's great for short term use. Gatorfoam has higher density foam center that makes it more durable and the recommend mounting material for most uses. It is still a foam board, so it will still dent if dropped on a corner or hit with something hard or sharp, but otherwise, it's a great all around mounting material.
For more artistic media choices, see our Giclee Reproduction page for our choices of watercolor paper and canvas for truly unique poster size prints.
Normal turnaround time is 4-5 days. During the order process you will be asked if you have a specific due date, and if you do, we will adjust your shipping method, if necessary, to get your order to you on time. If you need your order even quicker, we also have a rush service. If you authorize rush charges, we can get your order shipped the same day or the next day. Rush charges are typically 50% of your order up to a maximum of $75. If we're able to meet your deadline without bumping other jobs, we won't actually charge the rush charge, but you must authorize the rush to guarantee delivery.
That depends on the specific material you choose. We can print at our highest quality up to 64" wide, and at our standard quality up to 98" wide, but different materials are available in different sizes. Look through the descriptions of the materials in the Printing Materials tab to find how big each material can be printed.
When you're ready to order, you can use the Pricing/Order button next to each item in the Printing Materials tab, and the Pricing/Order wizard will prompt you for the necessary information such as quantity, dimensions and finishing options, and allow you to see the shipping costs. If necessary, you can click the Products tab in the wizard and choose a different material from the same product type in the drop down menu.
You will also be asked to indicate how you are sending your files and how you want us to handle cropping, if necessary. You will also be allowed to choose whether or not you want a proof, and if so, what kind of proof you would like. You can choose a reduced size printed proof for $30, which will be printed on the same material as your final print, or you can choose to have us evaluate your file to look for any potential problems and send a pdf proof for $15. A reduced size printed proof of the overall design is good for proofing color, or we can print a section of the graphic at full size so you can see how an image will look when blown up. If we feel the file will print poorly or your file doesn't scale to the correct size, we will always contact you to discuss your options before printing, so if you've already examined your files before sending them, a proof is often not necessary, but since custom printed graphics cannot be returned, a proof is your best way to verify what the final print will look like in advance.
Lastly, there is a Special Instructions field where you can provide any information you think we may need to process your order correctly.
Once you've provided all the required information, you can add the item to the shopping cart where you can either check out, or choose to continue shopping to return to the page you came from. On the shopping cart screen you can see all the items you've added to your order, delete any that you don't want, and have a chance to upload your file.
You don't need to create an account to complete your order, but doing so will allow your account history to be maintained for future reference and ordering convenience. The only account information that is stored are your billing, shipping, and e-mail addresses, and this information is secure and confidential. Creating an account WILL NOT result in unwanted e-mails from us, or anyone else.
To finish your order, you will be asked to specify either normal turnaround time for your order, or provide a specific due date. If you do specify a due date, you will also be given the option to authorize rush charge for your order. If you need your order completed in less than the normal 4-5 day turnaround, you should authorize rush charges to ensure you get your order on time. Rush charges are 50% of your order total, up to a maximum of $75. If we don't have to bump other jobs to meet your deadline, you won't be charged the rush fee, but if you don't authorize the charges, we'll do what we can to complete your order on time, but won't go so far as to bump other jobs. If you specify a due date, we will adjust the shipping method, if necessary, to ensure your order arrives by the date you specified. In this case, extra shipping charges may apply.
Next you will be asked to select the shipping method, and finally the payment type. You should know that your credit card is not being charged when you submit the form. We are collecting the information for your order, but you will not be charged until we have verified your order to make sure there were no mistakes made. That way, if there are aspects of your order that change, we can adjust the order and the shipping cost, if necessary, before you are charged.
Once you click the Order button, you will receive an order summary via e-mail for your records, and we will receive your order and the process can begin.
As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, please Contact Us and we'll be happy to help you with the process.