Web-driven Large-format Output: Truly Useful?
Would you upload a file to a Web site and pay to have a large-format print delivered to you, a co-worker or a client, as early as the next day? Seems to me such a service might have its uses. Say you're an in-house designer and your firm is exhibiting at a trade show. Suddenly there's a flurry of interest in a product that's not represented well at the show and a large display graphic is required asap for the show booth. However, you're hundreds or thousands of miles away.
To the rescue comes Pixel Outpost, a new Web-based service that can take your uploaded JPEG or TIFF file and crank out a color print up to 72 inches wide, then send it anywhere in the world. The catch? the site has launched with a consumer focus, so the maximum file size it can handle is a rather slim 8 MB.
I asked president Steve Kozel about this and he indicated that, "We have found that many designers wish to have the traditional sales rep channel, but the ease of use and fast turnaround of our service may be of interest if they can provide flattened TIFF or JPEG files. The 8 MB limit is geared towards the consumer, but if we find that the professional market is responding we will raise the file size limit appropriately.”
So perhaps its something simply to keep an eye on at this point. But to me the idea makes perfect sense and I'd be surprised to not see Pixel Outpost, or another site, provide a range of such services for the graphic design sector.
Editor
Graphics.com
Working at one of the online print companies there are some issues to be addressed. I will blog about in in a few days, I intend to list some of the pitfalls and beni's of working with an online printer, see that I work in one, there is a lot to share.
Look for it sometime next week.