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Every tradeshow booth, theatre lobby or expo stand relies on bold, eye-catching graphics. For businesses in the print, décor or promotional sector, having the ability to produce those visuals in-house gives you speed, control and margin. Rather than outsourcing to a print shop and managing delays or markups, a wide format eco solvent printer lets you deliver directly on your terms.
This guide will show you what you need, how to think about costs, and why a machine like the Gongzheng ThunderJet AQ1602S makes sense as your entry point.
Eco solvent inks are designed to bond with coated media, giving sharp, durable results even outdoors. Because the inks resist smudging and fading, they’re ideal for posters, signage and point-of-sale graphics that need to last more than a few hours.
Compared to water-based inks, eco solvent is more robust in real-world conditions. Compared to UV, it often has advantages on flexible media (vinyl, banner stock, coated paper) and can be more cost-effective for the types of posters used in events and exhibitions.
If you’d like more detail on eco solvent printers, see our overview here.
One of the most common questions we hear is, “What does it actually cost to produce a poster in-house?” To give a clear example, during a recent demo we printed four A1 graphics (594 mm × 841 mm each) using a high-performance MetaMark MD5-AB, Blockout 70micron Polymeric Calendered Vinyl with Peranent Grey Solvent Adhesive on a 140gsm liner, So not your normal off the shelf standard quality which would save more on costs!
Material Used: 1.682 linear metres of MetaMark 1.37 m wide vinyl
Material Cost: £8.41
Ink Cost: £0.30
Total Cost: £8.71 for all four prints
That works out to £2.17 per A1 poster, excluding lamination.
When you compare that to typical outsourced pricing, the difference is striking. BannerWorld lists poster printing at around £16.50 per square metre (BannerWorld), which puts a single A1 poster at roughly £20–£25 depending on media and finish. Larger theatre or tradeshow posters can exceed £100 per piece (VC Print).
So in practice, an A1 High Quality poster that cost us just over £2 in-house could easily cost ten times more if outsourced. Multiply that difference across even a small run and it’s easy to see how quickly in-house production pays for itself.
These jobs are needed every week by organisations of all sizes. Having the ability to produce them quickly and reliably means your business can take on work that others have to turn away.
The ThunderJet AQ1602S is designed for businesses ready to step into wide format production.
For print shops, embroidery businesses or promotional product companies, it’s a practical way to expand into posters and event graphics without overextending your budget
The best way to understand what a wide format eco solvent printer can do for your business is to see it in action. At YES Group, we offer live demonstrations in our Manchester showroom. You’ll see the ThunderJet AQ1602S running, review media options and get advice from our team on how to set up your own workflow.
Book your demo today and explore how in-house poster and event graphics printing can save money, expand your services and create new revenue opportunities.
