For most domestic and business print users, a machine capable of producing A4 or A3 prints is plenty big enough to support all of your day-to-day printing requirements. But what happens when you want to print something bigger? Something so big it would take a huge piece of paper and a massive machine just to create it? A poster for example, or even a billboard…

The answer? You’ll need a wide format (aka large format, super wide or grand format) printer. Boasting a paper width capacity of anywhere between 18” and 100”+, wide format printers are predominantly used in a professional capacity to print banners, posters, trade show graphics, vehicle image wraps and architectural drawings. In short, they can print pretty much anything of any size — making them incredibly useful for a range of supersize printing tasks.

Given the main selling point of the wide format printer comes from its ability to produce huge printouts, we wanted to find out — what’s the largest wide format printer in the world, and just how big do these machines really go?

According to US tech firm, Big Image Systems, their wide format printer is the biggest of its kind anywhere on the planet. Aptly named ‘Infinitus’, this colossal printer can produce huge 12mx50m prints on a single sheet of paper, and is often used to produce backdrops for theatre stage shows, TV and film sets and corporate events that require a massive graphical background.

To put the staggering proportions of this printer into perspective, here are some stats to get your head around:

Infinitus paper is…

  • 5m longer than the width of a football pitch
  • 5m shorter than the Leaning Tower of Pisa
  • Double the height of Buckingham Palace
  • Equal to the wingspan of the Angel of the North
  • Big enough to park 60 average-sized cars on

Impressive stuff, but sadly you won’t be able to buy your own Infinitus to play with anytime soon. If you are interested in investing in a wide format printer, however, we stock a great range at affordable low prices. Here are three to consider if you want to combine great image quality with XL output:

HP OfficeJet 7110 Wide Format Printer

Printing Size: A3+

Price: £96.73

 

HP DesignJet T520 36” ePrinter

Printing Size: A1+

Price: £1,381.84

 

HP DesignJet T1300 1118mm PostScript Wide Format

Printing Size: A0+

Price: £6,702.83

 

To browse a complete range of wide format printers, visit our dedicated printers page and use the filter function on the left to select ‘Wide Format’ printers only. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to browse all of our affordable printers and print consumables, visit the homepage or call us on 0845 365 3605.