What Are the Different Types of Poster Printing?

It’s a fact that posters are a really good way of generating attention, awareness and results for your business, event, or show. But what options do you have when it comes to getting these posters created and printed? Are there even different poster types out there?

The truth is there are actually a handful of ways that posters can be created, printed and finished as well as a number of different use cases. In this article we’ll focus on the different methods of poster creation to give you a better understanding of what all of this looks like behind the scenes.

Here we’ll explore the different types of posters than you can actually get printed.

We’ll look at two types of poster printing processes and three different finishing options that will provide you with the flexibility needed to unleash total creativity as well as maximize your budget and meet demanding timelines.

Lithographic Posters

One of the types of poster printing is using lithography to apply the image to the substrate (in most cases paper). Lithographic poster printing can be a more expensive option if you aren’t ordering a high quantity of poster because it involves the use of large, steel plates with ink that gets applied to the poster. The setup costs are higher which makes it less feasible for smaller print runs. However, with our equipment, which is different from other printing companies, you can order the large format poster at almost any quantity you need because we don’t need plates or set-up sheets to produce your job.

But this type of poster printing is commonly used for work that needs to have a very high level of quality such as fine art prints or exclusive collectibles.

Digital Poster Printing

The other poster printing type is a digitally printed poster.

This process differs from litho in that it uses ink printed directly onto the material incrementally at a very high rate. Most people are familiar with this process in relation to their home printer. This is the same idea for digital poster printing.

This process is much less expensive for medium to short print runs because it requires less setup.

You get more flexibility with this type of poster printing as well if you are looking to create a number of poster variations but can’t afford to purchase or don’t need high volumes of each variation. 

Poster Finishing Options

While finishing isn’t necessarily a poster type it does create the most opportunity for creating unique ways of getting your poster to stand out and be seen by your target audience.

One of the most common poster finishing options you’ll need to choose from is what type of “sheen” are you looking for on the surface of your poster.

The options are

• High gloss – This will provide that very shiny top coat look some may want to give a more luxurious or premium feel to the message and promotion. You’ll commonly find these in high end stores or places where a more premium feel is required.
• Semi Gloss – While still “shiny” it’s not as strong and gives the perfect balance of looking professional but not over the top. This is the most common finishing applied to posters and what you most likely see at your everyday grocery store, retailer or office space.
• Matte – This finish will basically have no shine at all. This can often be found with more vintage looking posters and paradoxically in more modern minimalist designs. Typically this finish will be used by more craft focused brands or companies who want to print on a very tight budget as this finishing option is typically the most affordable.

Your choice of finishing will be dictated by the look and feel of the message that you want to achieve and can be practically impacted by factors such as the lighting and color contrast of backgrounds where the posters will hang.

While there are quite a few other options you can choose from when it comes to getting your posters design, printed and finished we hope this sheds some light on what you can do for future poster printing projects. Our new Fuji JPress will make your posters look totally amazing no matter how many versions, the quantity or the size up to 22” x 28”.  Oh, and did we mention most poster orders are ready to ship in 24-48 hours!

Have a question about poster printing? Did we miss a poster type or poster finishing option that you think we should cover? We want to hear about it!

Contact Us Now for More Information

Phone: 724-837-0530