Elevate Your Wide-Format Business With Installation Services

Wall, window, and even vehicle graphics have taken off, and in-plants are in the thick of this growing business. But who is installing these graphics?

Eric Nazim

“We’ve had a few [customers] that tried to do it themselves and have had poor results, and then we would reprint and go out and do it for them eventually,” says Eric Nazim, manager of the City of Oklahoma City’s Print and Mail Services operation. His shop, with two full-time and two part-time employees, began doing installations after adding a 64ʺ HP Latex 570 wide-format printer in 2021. Nazim initially did the work himself, drawing on YouTube videos and his past wallpapering experience. Today he has the help of a wide-format operator and a part-time mail employee, and their installation skills are in high demand.

In Alaska, Rich Little, supervisor of the Copy and Print Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), agrees that keeping wide-format installation in-house is a winning solution for in-plants. It helps save money while maintaining quality and brand integrity.

“If you have a good installer, you look at something and go, ‘That’s not the right color’ or ‘That’s not meant to be that way, so let’s stop, let’s figure it out, instead of just plowing forward,’” says Little, who splits installation duties with his large-format operator. “By hiring an outside private installer, they’re not going to stop. They’re going to just get the job done because that’s their job.”

A Growing Value-Added Service

Stair and floor graphics installed by University Printing at the University of Delaware. Right: A UD in-plant employee installs graphics on a trailer. | Credit: UD

Across the in-plant industry, graphics installation is a growing service. In 2022, 35% of in-plants provided installation services; in 2024, it grew to 40%, according to In-plant Impressions’ “Trends and Services in the In-plant Industry (2024)” report. Though those that perform installations acknowledge it pulls team members away from their duties for extended periods of time, they still feel graphics installation is a great way for in-plants to enhance their value.

Like Nazim, Michael Czerepak, assistant director of University Printing at the University of Delaware (UD), in Newark, started doing installations on his own. When a new employee who had an installation background joined his team, those jobs moved to her. She does about 95% of the installations but will recruit help from other people in the shop when needed.

Michael Czerepak stands with the University of Delaware’s new Canon Arizona 1360 GT flatbed printer.

Czerepak says customers used to attempt installs themselves, but as the in-plant’s substrate list and installation capabilities expanded, they’re now more comfortable letting his team do the work. There have, however, been a few times he’s leaned on outside installers.

“If I don’t have to outsource something, I try not to, unless time’s an issue,” Czerepak says. “I will admit that there are one or two installs that were too large for me to do on my own and I did bring in a local sign shop to help out. But I found that once a local sign shop’s on campus, they try to use that as an ‘in’ to get more business for them.”

A University of Delaware in-plant employee installs graphics on a trailer.

Nazim’s in-plant in Oklahoma City limits installations to graphics no larger than 3x3 ft., but he says none of the shop’s customers order prints larger than that.

“When it comes down to, ‘Hey, you’re going to have to hire a professional installer,’ that kind of scares them off from doing something too big,” he says.

Then comes the question of pricing. Both UD’s Czerepak and UAA’s Little set an hourly rate of $85. Conversely, Nazim charges for printing but not the install, which normally takes an hour or two, depending on the size of the graphic.

Design and Print It Right

When managers were asked for installation advice, what came up again and again was the importance of measuring — multiple times. It’s crucial to ensure the graphics fit the surface properly.

“I’m not saying people don’t know how to use a ruler or anything, but they read it differently than I read it,” Little says.

“Always measure twice,” suggests Rocke Bauhofer, reprographics specialist at California State University, Sacramento. Printing graphics a little larger than necessary, he adds, gives you extra material to work with in case your surface is not square plumb.

“A full walk through is always great to grasp [the] full scope of [the] project,” he says, as well as to give you a close look at the surface you’ll be installing onto.

Preflighting graphics is also a good idea, adds Melinda Arnson, manager of Printing Services at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.

“We’ve had two instances where PDF files were provided for a series of panels. Somehow, the colors were not consistent between the panels,” Arnson noted in an email. “A slight change in color values can greatly affect the outcome of the project if you are imaging adjoining panels, such as a set of windows, that are separate but create one large graphic.”

Nazim points out that contour-cut graphics are often more difficult to lay down than squares and circles.

“We have done a few contour-cut shapes for some department logos,” he says, “but we try not to make them too complicated, because the more little bits that go off in different directions, the harder it is to keep everything going out smoothly and not get off kilter.”

Substrate and Surface Advice

Window graphics installed by the City of Oklahoma City’s Print and Mail Services. | Credit: City of Oklahoma City

Nazim says the Goldilocks approach is key for substrate selection. Using a weak adhesive means your print won’t stay put. If you use too high of tack, you risk damaging a painted or stained surface when the graphic eventually comes off.

On the topic of paint, Wayne Meherg, director of Printing Services at Tuscaloosa-based University of Alabama, says in-plants should avoid installing on a freshly painted surface altogether. Knowing the limits of your surface and material is critical, he adds.

“A recent install at an athletic facility had to be done early morning due to the sun heating the application surface so hot the material would distort during installation,” he said in an email.

Meanwhile, Czerepak notes that different types of paint can impact adhesion.

“We’ve had to do installs on very oily paints that don’t necessarily take our standard adhesives well, so we’ve had to find substrates that can work in difficult areas,” Czerepak says.

Vehicle Application Tips

If you’re applying a graphic to a vehicle, you must start at the back and work your way forward.

University of Alaska's Rich Little demonstrated vehicle wrapping during ACUP 2025 (on an attendee's car).

“No matter what vehicle you’re working on, you’re always starting at the back because of the way it shingles,” explains UAA’s Little, who has demonstrated vehicle wrapping at the past two Association of College and University Printers conferences. “When the vehicle’s running, the water’s running one direction and shingles off kind of like a roof.”

He also notes that being precise in placing the graphics and using a sharp knife for a clean cut on each panel makes the final product look professional.

Be Prepared

Spraying a surface before applying the graphic not only gives you leeway to adjust placement, it also helps you eliminate air bubbles trapped under the substrate. Czerepak uses Rapidtac adhesion fluid for this, while Nazim uses glass cleaner.

Squeegees are also essential for a flat application, and Nazim recommends using one with a felt edge, which is smoother on vinyl than a squeegee with a hard plastic edge.

Czerepak says practicing your installation process — for instance, in your own facility — helps prepare you for the real deal.

“Not to be dramatic, but it’s like reading a jungle survival manual,” he says. “You could read the manual and understand how to survive in the jungle, but until you’re in the jungle, you’re not going to know how to do it.”

When it comes to adding a high-value service, wide-format graphics installation is an excellent opportunity for in-plants — even if it takes a few tries to get it right.

“Be willing to try new things,” notes Frank Oliver, Print Shop supervisor at DCMO BOCES, in Norwich, New York. “You will fail, but learn from those failures.”